Jessica Lange

Jessica Phyllis Lange (born April 20, 1949 in Cloquet, Minnesota) is a two-time Academy Award-winning American actress.

Biography

Early life

A granddaughter of Dutch/German and Finnish migrants^*, Lange 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 model for the Wilhelmina modeling agency.

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 continuted 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.

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.

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, Hanna and Walker (with Shepard) and Alexandra (with dancer/actor Mikhail Baryshnikov). 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."^*

Partial filmography

Broken Flowers (2005)
Don't Come Knocking (2005)
Big Fish (2003)
Masked & Anonymous (2003)
Normal (2003) (TV)
Prozac Nation (2001)
Titus (1999)
Hush (1998)
A Thousand Acres (1997)
Rob Roy (1995)
Losing Isaiah (1995)
Blue Sky (1994) – Academy Award for Best Actress
O Pioneers! (1992) (TV)
Cape Fear (1991)
Music Box (1989) – Academy Award nomination for Best Actress
Everybody's All-American (1988)
Crimes of the Heart (1986)
Sweet Dreams (1985) – Academy Award nomination for Best Actress
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1985) (TV)
Country (1984) – Academy Award nomination for Best Actress
Frances (1982) – Academy Award nomination for Best Actress
Tootsie (1982) – Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)
to Beat the High Co$t of Living" target="_blank" >^* (1980)
All That Jazz (1979)
King Kong (1976)

Academy Awards and nominations

1982 - Nominated - Best Actress in a Leading Role - Frances
1982 - Won - Best Actress in a Supporting Role - Tootsie
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
1994 - Won - Best Actress in a Leading Role - Blue Sky

External links

Jessica Lange Online
Jessica Lange commentary on the Iraq War
Jessica Lange biographical page
Jessica Lange Fanlisting
WorldCantWait Web Page
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