Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver | |
|---|---|
 Sigourney Weaver at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival | |
| Born | Susan Alexandra Weaver |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Spouse | Jim Simpson (1984–present) |
Sigourney Alexandra Weaver (born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Lieutenant Ellen Ripley in the Alien film series and as Dana Barrett in the Ghostbusters movies. Weaver is also a three-time Academy Award nominee for her performances in Aliens, Gorillas in the Mist and Working Girl. She is one of the very few actresses who has been nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for her role in a science fiction movie (Aliens).
Early life
Weaver was born Susan Alexandra Weaver in New York City, the daughter of Elizabeth Inglis (née Desiree Mary Lucy Hawkins) (d. 2007), an English former actress, and the NBC television executive Sylvester "Pat" Laflin Weaver (d. 2002), an American of Scottish, Ulster Irish and early New England ancestry.[1][2][3][4] Her uncle, Doodles Weaver, was a comedian and actor. She began using the name "Sigourney Weaver" in 1963, aged fourteen, after a minor character (Sigourney Howard) in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby.[5][6]
Weaver attended the Ethel Walker School, a prep school in Simsbury, Connecticut where she was made fun of all the time for being a "nerd" and for her height. She also attended The Chapin School She was reportedly 5'10" by age 13, but only grew another inch to her adult height of 5'11". She graduated from Stanford University (BA, English, 1972).[7] She earned an MFA (1974) at Yale School of Drama,[8] where she appeared in the chorus of a production of Stephen Sondheim's The Frogs and as one of a mob of Roman soldiers in another production[9] as well as, later, in original plays by friend and classmate Christopher Durang. She later appeared in the 1981 Off Broadway production of his comedy Beyond Therapy directed by then up-and-coming director Jerry Zaks. She is fluent in French and in German.
Film career
Although Weaver has played a number of critically acclaimed roles in movies such as Gorillas in the Mist, The Ice Storm, Dave, and The Year of Living Dangerously, she is best known for her appearances as Warrant Officer/Lieutenant Ellen Ripley in the blockbuster Alien movie franchise. She first appeared as Ripley in Ridley Scott's 1979 film Alien. She reprised the role in three sequels, Aliens, Alien 3, and Alien Resurrection. She was nominated for a Best Actress Academy Award for portraying Ripley in Aliens. She also starred in two films in 1988, receiving Academy Award nominations for her roles as Katherine Parker in Working Girl and as naturalist Dian Fossey in Gorillas in the Mist. She lost out to Geena Davis and Jodie Foster respectively, although she received Golden Globes for both roles. Go Philles!
Weaver also appeared in Ghostbusters and Ghostbusters II as Dana Barrett. She played the role of agoraphobic criminal psychologist Helen Hudson in the 1995 movie Copycat, and went on to become one of the most highly paid actresses of the 1990s. In addition to her trademark role as Ripley, Weaver has recently concentrated on smaller roles such as 1999's A Map of the World and 2006's Snow Cake. She has also appeared in comedic roles, such as Jeffrey (1994), Galaxy Quest (1999), and Heartbreakers (2001), in which she starred with Jennifer Love Hewitt.
In 1997, Weaver won the BAFTA Award for her supporting role in Ang Lee's The Ice Storm. In 2003, she was voted 20th in Channel 4's countdown of the 100 greatest movie stars of all time. She was one of only two women in the top 20 (the other was Audrey Hepburn). That year, she also played The Warden in the movie Holes. In 2006, Weaver returned to Rwanda for the BBC special Gorillas Revisited.
Weaver was approached to star in The Accused but felt the nature of the story was too violent. She was considered for the role of Catherine Tramell in Basic Instinct, but Sharon Stone was cast instead. Jane Campion wanted a "Sigourney Weaver-type" for her film The Piano, but Weaver's agent turned the film down without consulting Weaver[citation needed]. Holly Hunter went on to win the Oscar for the role, and Weaver fired her agent [citation needed]. Bryan Singer originally wanted Weaver for the role of Emma Frost in X-Men: The Last Stand, but Singer (along with screenwriter Dan Harris, who had directed Weaver in Imaginary Heroes) left the project, and the idea to include Frost was dropped. In 2009, Weaver starred as Mary Griffith in her first made-for-TV movie, Prayers for Bobby, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award. She also guest starred in the TV show Eli Stone in the fall of 2008.[10]
Weaver also has done voice work in television and film. She had a guest role in the Futurama episode "Love and Rocket" in February 2002, playing the female Planet Express Ship. In 2006, she was the narrator for the American version of the Emmy Award-winning series Planet Earth. Also in 2006, Weaver narrated "A Matter of Degrees". A short film that plays daily at The Natural History Museum of the Adirondacks (The Wild Center) in Tupper Lake, New York. In 2008, Weaver was featured as the voice of the ship's computer in the Pixar and Disney release, WALL•E. She also voiced a narrating role in another computer-animated film, 2008's The Tale of Despereaux, based on the novel by Kate DiCamillo. Weaver has also expressed interest in starring in a fifth Alien film. Pre-production details for the film are expected to start soon. Ivan Reitman has confirmed that Weaver will reprise her role as Dana Barrett in the planned 3rd Ghostbusters movie due for release in 2012.
Awards
In addition to her Academy Award nomination for Aliens, Weaver has received two other nominations in her career, both in 1988. This makes Weaver one of only eleven actors and actresses to have received two Academy Award nominations in the same year. Weaver received a Best Actress nomination for her role as gorilla conservationist Dian Fossey in Gorillas in the Mist and a Best Supporting Actress nomination for her role as Katharine Parker in Working Girl, opposite Harrison Ford and Melanie Griffith. She won neither award but was awarded a Golden Globe for each role.
Personal life
Weaver has been married to filmmaker Jim Simpson since October 1, 1984. They have one daughter Charlotte Simpson, who was born April 13, 1990.
After making Gorillas in the Mist: The Story of Dian Fossey, she became a supporter of The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and is now the DFGFI's honorary chairperson.[11] Weaver is an environmentalist.[12] In October 2006 she drew international attention through a news conference at the start of a United Nations General Assembly policy deliberation. She outlined the widespread threat to ocean habitats posed by deep-sea trawling, an industrial method for harvesting fish. She also narrated the American version of the BBC/Discovery Channel show Planet Earth.[13][14] On April 8, 2008, she hosted the annual gala of the Trickle Up Program, a non-profit organization focusing on those in extreme poverty, mainly women and the disabled, in the Rainbow Room.[15]
Weaver has donated $5,800 to various Democratic politicians, including Senators Ted Kennedy and Barbara Boxer. She supported President Barack Obama's 2008 Presidential campaign.
Filmography
Selected stage credits
- Crazy Mary (2007, Playwright's Horizons) as Lydia
- Mrs Farnsworth (2004, Flea Theater) as Mrs Farnsworth
- The Mercy Seat (2002, Acorn Theater) as Abby
- The Guys (2002, Flea Theater) as Joan
- Sex and Longing (1996, Nederlander Theater) as Lulu
- The Merchant of Venice (1986, Classic Stage Company) as Portia
- A Streetcar Named Desire (1986) as Stella
- The Marriage of Bette and Boo (1985) as Soot
- Hurlyburly (1984) as Darlene
- Old Times (1983) as Anna
- Beyond Therapy (1981, Marymount Manhattan Theatre) as Prudence
- As You Like It (1981) as Rosalind
- Lone Star (1980) as Elizabeth
- New Jerusalem (1979)
- Conjuring an Event (1978)
- A Flea In Her Ear (1978)
- Marco Polo Sings a Solo (1977) as Freydis
- Das Lustania Songspiel (1976)
- Gemini (1976, Playwright's Horizons)
References
- ^ SIGOURNEY WEAVER - WEAVER'S SCOTTISH ANCESTRY MIX-UP
- ^ He is related to Matthew Laflin who was an American Manufacturer of Gunpowder, Businessman, Philanthropist, and a early pioneer of Chicago, Cook County, Illinois.
- ^ http://books.google.com/books?id=5v8TAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA211&lpg=PA211&dq=matthew+laflin&source=bl&ots=GGdxUFYTiq&sig=_ymLht0TzpA-0gDMB90K4rZx0i0&hl=en&ei=As1USqDnNJSotgOdiKCJDw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=5
- ^ Reitwiesner, William Addams (2007). "Ancestry of George W. Bush". Retrieved 2009-07-24.
{{cite web}}: Cite has empty unknown parameter:|coauthors=(help) - ^ Sigourney Weaver - Biography
- ^ Sigourney Weaver
- ^ VINCIGUERRA, THOMAS (2005-09-11). "Stars of Stage, Screen ... and Freshman Biology". The New York Times. New York City. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
- ^ "Training Great Actors: A Scene from Shakespeare". Yale University Tercentennial (April Weekend Videos). Yale University. 2001. Retrieved 2008-02-01.
- ^ Sigourney Weaver The Frogs
- ^ "Sigourney Weaver Puts Eli Stone on the Couch". TV Guide. 2008-08-15. Retrieved 2008-08-15.
- ^ About Dian Fossey - Info about the Life of Dian Fossey - DFGFI
- ^ Center for Health and the Global Environment
- ^ Reuters AlertNet - United Nations to consider deep sea trawling ban
- ^ Planet Ark : United Nations to Consider Deep Sea Trawling Ban
- ^ Trickle Up Trickle Up Gala
16. ACID TEST IMDB Movie Page
17. ACID TEST Official Site
External links
- 1949 births
- Actors from New York
- American environmentalists
- American actors
- American film actors
- American stage actors
- American television actors
- American voice actors
- BAFTA winners (people)
- Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (film) winners
- Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (film) winners
- Living people
- People from Manhattan
- People from New York City
- Shakespearean actors
- Stanford University alumni
- Yale School of Drama alumni