Jessica Lange
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| Jessica Lange | |
 Jessica Lange as Patsy Cline in the 1985 film Sweet Dreams |
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| Birth name | Jessica Phyllis Lange |
| Born | April 20, 1949 (age 57) Cloquet, Minnesota, USA |
| Notable roles | Frances Farmer in Frances Patsy Cline in Sweet Dreams |
| Academy Awards | |
|---|---|
| Best Actress 1994 Blue Sky Best Supporting Actress 1982 Tootsie |
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Jessica Phyllis Lange (born April 20, 1949) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress.
Contents |
[edit] Biography
[edit] Early life
Lange, the third of four children, was born in Cloquet, Minnesota to Dorothy Florence Sahlman and Albert John Lange. Her maternal grandparents were of Finnish descent, while her paternal grandfather was German and her paternal grandmother was Dutch.[1] She studied art briefly at the University of Minnesota before going to Paris where she studied mime. She returned to New York City in 1973 and took acting lessons while working as a waitress and a fashion model for the Wilhelmina modeling agency.
[edit] Career
In 1976, Dino De Laurentiis cast her in his motion picture remake King Kong, which started and almost ended her career. The unfavorable reviews were devastating but critics took notice when she made an impressive turn in Bob Rafelson's remake of The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981).
Her performance in her next film, Frances (1982), in which she portrayed actress Frances Farmer, was highly lauded and earned her a Best Actress Academy Award nomination. She received two nominations that year, the other as Supporting Actress in the comedy Tootsie (1982), for which she won. She continued giving impressive performances through the 80s and 90s in films such as Sweet Dreams (1984) (playing country/western singer Patsy Cline), Music Box (1989), and Blue Sky (1994) for which she won the Best Actress Academy Award.
Lange once stated that her role as Patsy Cline in the film Sweet Dreams was her all time favorite role because of Cline’s fascinating character.
In 1992, Lange made her Broadway debut opposite Alec Baldwin in Tennessee Williams' A Streetcar Named Desire. In 2000, she appeared on the London stage as Mary Tyrone in Eugene O'Neill's Long Day's Journey Into Night. In 2005, she returned to Broadway in another Tennessee Williams' play, The Glass Menagerie with actor Christian Slater. The revival was met with mostly negative reviews in New York, although was acclaimed by the european press.
[edit] Personal life
Lange was married to photographer Paco Grande from 1970-1981. Since 1982, she has lived with playwright/actor Sam Shepard. She has three children, Alexandra (born 1981) with dancer/actor Mikhail Baryshnikov, and Hannah Jane (born 1985) and Walker Samuel (born 1987) with Shepard. Lange currently lives in New York City.
Lange is a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF. She has also been a public critic of President George W. Bush, once remarking "I despise him and his entire administration." [1]
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | King Kong | Dwan | |
| 1979 | All That Jazz | Angelique | |
| 1980 | How to Beat the High Co$t of Living | Louise | |
| 1981 | Notre Dame of the Cross | (uncredited) | (documentary) |
| 1981 | The Postman Always Rings Twice | Cora Papadakis | |
| 1982 | Tootsie | Julie Nichols | |
| 1982 | Frances | Frances Farmer | |
| 1984 | Country | Jewell Ivy | |
| 1985 | Sweet Dreams | Patsy Cline | |
| 1986 | Crimes of the Heart | Margaret 'Meg' Magrath | |
| 1988 | Far North | Kate | |
| 1988 | Everybody's All-American | Babs Rogers Grey | |
| 1989 | Music Box | Ann Talbot | |
| 1990 | Men Don't Leave | Beth Macauley | |
| 1991 | Cape Fear | Leigh Bowden | |
| 1992 | O Pioneers! | Alexandra Bergson | |
| 1992 | Night and the City | Helen Nasseros | |
| 1994 | A Century of Cinema | Herself | (documentary) |
| 1994 | Blue Sky | Carly Marshall | |
| 1995 | Losing Isaiah | Margaret Lewin | |
| 1995 | Rob Roy | Mary MacGregor | |
| 1997 | A Thousand Acres | Ginny Cook Smith | |
| 1997 | Off the Menu: The Last Days of Chasen's | Herself | (uncredited)(documentary) |
| 1998 | Hush | Martha Baring | |
| 1998 | Cousin Bette | Cousin Bette | |
| 1999 | Titus | Tamora | |
| 2001 | Prozac Nation | Mrs. Wurtzel | |
| 2003 | XXI Century | (Documentary) | |
| 2003 | Masked and Anonymous | Nina Veronica | |
| 2003 | Big Fish | Older Sandra Bloom | |
| 2003 | Naked | Irma Applewood | |
| 2004 | Peace by Peace: Women on the Frontlines | Narrator | (documentary) |
| 2005 | The Needs of Kim Stanley | (documentary) | |
| 2005 | Broken Flowers | Carmen | |
| 2005 | Don't Come Knocking | Doreen | |
| 2005 | Neverwas | Katherine Pierson | |
| 2006 | Bonneville | Arvilla | |
| 2007 | The Mermaids Singing | upcoming | |
| 2007 | Grey Gardens | 'Big' Edith Bouvier Beale | upcoming |
[edit] Academy Award Nominations
For successful Academy Awards, see the Infobox.
Unsuccessful nominations were :
- 1982 - Nominated - Best Actress in a Leading Role - Frances
- 1984 - Nominated - Best Actress in a Leading Role - Country
- 1985 - Nominated - Best Actress in a Leading Role - Sweet Dreams
- 1989 - Nominated - Best Actress in a Leading Role - Music Box
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Maureen Stapleton for Reds |
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress 1982 for Tootsie |
Succeeded by Linda Hunt for The Year of Living Dangerously |
| Preceded by Holly Hunter for The Piano |
Academy Award for Best Actress 1994 for Blue Sky |
Succeeded by Susan Sarandon for Dead Man Walking |
| Preceded by Holly Hunter for The Piano |
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama 1995 for Blue Sky |
Succeeded by Sharon Stone for Casino |
