Early life

Venora was born in East Hartford, Connecticut, one of six children of Marie (née Brooks) and Robert P. Venora, who owned a dry cleaning establishment. Diane graduated from East Hartford High School (class of 1970), during which she was active in musicals and plays. She studied at Boston Conservatory of Music and two years later won a scholarship to The Juilliard School in New York City, where she graduated in 1977. At Juilliard she was a member of the Drama Department's Group 6 (1973-1977), which also included Kelsey Grammer, Harriet Sansom Harris, and Robin Williams.

Career

After graduation, Venora performed extensively on the stage, particularly in Shakespearean plays. She made her film debut alongside Albert Finney and Gregory Hines in Wolfen (1981). In 1983, she starred in Joseph Papp's production of Hamlet at the New York Shakespeare Festival in the lead role, the first woman to play the role at the prestigious showcase. She has a long history with Hamlet, having played the title role, having played Ophelia opposite Kevin Kline, and having played Gertrude onscreen opposite Ethan Hawke.

In 1988, her critically acclaimed performance in Clint Eastwood's biographical feature of jazz great Charlie Parker, Bird, as Chan Parker, his wife, earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination and the New York Film Critics Circle Award.

In 1994, after taking five years off to care for her daughter, Venora landed a starring role in the ABC TV series Thunder Alley (playing Ed Asner's character's daughter), followed by a recurring role as plastic surgeon Geri Infante in the Emmy-winning TV series Chicago Hope.

In 1995, she starred opposite Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in Heat, earning high regard from both critics and audiences for her portrayal of Justine Hanna, the Pacino character's troubled wife. That performance and her follow-up as Juliet's mother, Gloria Capulet, in Romeo + Juliet (1996) earned her supporting roles in The Jackal (1997), The 13th Warrior (1999), and The Insider (1999). She was most recently seen in the 2010 film, All Good Things.

Personal life

Venora was married to cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak in 1980; the couple divorced in 1989. She quit show business in 1989 to spend more time with her daughter Madzia, then eight years old. During her hiatus, Venora lived in New York, teaching disadvantaged children and acting in an occasional play. In 1994, Venora and her daughter moved to Los Angeles.

Filmography

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	Wolfen	Rebecca Neff
1982	A Midsummer Night's Dream	Hippolyta
1983	Cook & Peary: The Race to the Pole	Marie Fidele Hunt
1984	The Cotton Club	Gloria Swanson
1985	A.D.	Corinna	TV mini-series
1985	Terminal Choice	Anna Lang
1986	F/X	Ellen Keith
1987	Ironweed	Margaret 'Peg' Phelan
1988	Bird	Chan Parker	New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress Creu de Sant Jordi for Best Foreign Actress Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress (2nd) Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
1994	Thunder Alley	Roberta 'Bobbi' Turner	8 episodes
1994-1995	Chicago Hope	Dr. Geri Infante	11 episodes
1995	Three Wishes	Joyce
1995	Heat	Justine Hanna	Nominated - Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
1996	The Substitute	Jane Hetzko
1996	Surviving Picasso	Jacqueline
1996	Romeo + Juliet	Gloria Capulet
1997	The Jackal	Major Valentina Koslova	Nominated - Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Best Supporting Actress - Suspense
1999	True Crime	Barbara Everett
1999	The 13th Warrior	Queen Weilew
1999	The Joyriders	Celeste
1999	The Young Girl and the Monsoon	Giovanna
1999	The Insider	Liane Wigand
2000	Hamlet	Gertrude
2000	Looking for an Echo	Joanne Delgado
2001	Megiddo: The Omega Code 2	Gabriella Francini
2002	Heartbreak Hospital	Sunday Tyler/Andrea Harmon
2004	Stateside	Mrs. Hengen
2004	Breaking Dawn	Mother
2005	Self Medicated	Louise Eriksen	Phoenix Film Festival for Best Ensemble
2008	Stiletto	Sylvia Vadalos
2009	Follow the Prophet	Red
2009	The Ministers	Gina Santana
2010	All Good Things	Janice Rizzo

[ Source: Wikipedia ]