Jennifer Jason Leigh

Jennifer Jason Leigh

Birth name: Jennifer Leigh Morrow
Born: February 5, 1962
Age: 62
Birthplace: Hollywood, California, U.S.
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Biography

Jennifer Jason Leigh (born Jennifer Leigh Morrow on February 5, 1962) is an American actress, writer, producer and director. Leigh began her career as a teenager in the 1970s, guest-starring on several television shows. Her film breakthrough came in 1982 for her performance as Stacy Hamilton in Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Leigh continued performing past her teen years, receiving critical praise for her roles in the 1990 films Miami Blues and Last Exit to Brooklyn. In 1991, she appeared in Ron Howard's Backdraft, and in 1992 she acted in the drama-thriller Single White Female. In 1993, Leigh appeared in the ensemble film Short Cuts, directed by Robert Altman and, in 1994, she starred in the Coen brothers' The Hudsucker Proxy. Leigh was nominated for a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Dorothy Parker in Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994). She starred in a 1995 film written by her mother, screenwriter Barbara Turner, titled Georgia. In 2001, she co-directed a film with Alan Cumming titled The Anniversary Party.

In 2002, Leigh appeared in the crime-drama Road to Perdition. In 2007, she starred in Margot at the Wedding, which was directed by her former husband, Noah Baumbach. She had a recurring role on the television series Weeds as Jill Price-Gray. In 2015, she received critical acclaim for her voice-work as Lisa in Charlie Kaufman's Anomalisa, and for her role as Daisy Domergue in Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight, for which she was nominated for the Golden Globe, Critic's Choice, BAFTA and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

For her stage work, Leigh was nominated for a Drama Desk award for her Off-Broadway performance as Beverly Moss in Mike Leigh's Abigail's Party. Leigh's Broadway debut occurred in 1998 when she became the replacement for the role of Sally Bowles in Cabaret.

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Early life

Leigh was born in Hollywood, California. Her father, Vic Morrow (born Victor Morozoff), was an actor, and her mother, Barbara Turner, was a screenwriter. Her parents divorced when she was two. Leigh's birth name was Jennifer Leigh Morrow. She changed her surname early in her acting career, taking the middle name "Jason" in honor of actor Jason Robards, a family friend. Leigh's parents were Jewish (their families were from Russia and Austria, respectively).

Leigh has an older sister, Carrie Ann Morrow, who was credited as a "technical advisor" on her 1995 film Georgia. Leigh also has a half-sister, actress Mina Badie (born 'Badiyi' - from her mother's second marriage). Badie acted alongside Leigh in The Anniversary Party. The director, Reza Badiyi, became Leigh's stepfather when he married Leigh's mother, Barbara.

Career

1971-1989

Leigh worked in her first film at the age of nine. It was a nonspeaking role for the film Death of a Stranger (The Execution) (1973). At 14, Leigh attended acting workshops, taught by the esteemed Lee Strasberg, at the Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center in Loch Sheldrake, New York. Afterwards, she landed a role in the movie The Young Runaways (1978). She also appeared in an episode of Baretta and an episode of The Waltons. Several TV movies followed, including a portrayal of an anorexic teenager in The Best Little Girl in the World, for which Leigh dropped to 86 pounds (39 kg) under medical supervision. She made her big screen debut playing a blind, deaf, and mute rape victim in the 1981 slasher film Eyes of a Stranger, which she quit school to star in. In 1982, she played a teenager who gets pregnant in the Cameron Crowe-scripted high school comedy Fast Times at Ridgemont High, which served as a launching pad for several of its young stars. While decrying the writing as sexist and exploitative, Roger Ebert was enthusiastic about the acting, singling out Leigh and writing, "Don't they know they have a star on their hands?" With the exception of Ridgemont High and a small role in the Rodney Dangerfield comedy Easy Money, Leigh's early film work consisted of playing fragile, damaged or neurotic characters in low-budget horror or thriller genre films. She played a virginal princess kidnapped and raped by mercenaries in Flesh + Blood (1985), an innocent waitress pursued by the psychopathic title character in The Hitcher (1986) (both films pitting her opposite Rutger Hauer), and a young woman on the verge of a nervous breakdown in Heart of Midnight (1989).

1990-1999

In 1990, Leigh made a significant career breakthrough when she was awarded New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress and the Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayals of two very different prostitutes: the tough streetwalker Tralala who submits to a brutal gang rape in Last Exit to Brooklyn, and Susie, a teenage prostitute who falls in love with ex-con Alec Baldwin in Miami Blues. Roger Ebert included Last Exit in his list of Best Movies of 1990, calling Leigh's performance brave, though his review of Miami Blues was much less sympathetic, simultaneously criticizing Leigh's ability to play dumb roles and praising her ability to play smart roles. Entertainment Weekly, in a backhanded compliment, called her "the Meryl Streep of bimbos". Leigh was then cast in her first mainstream Hollywood studio film, the firefighter drama Backdraft, in which she played a more conventional role, the girlfriend of lead actor William Baldwin. Leigh found more success in the gritty crime drama Rush (1991), portraying an undercover cop who becomes a junkie and falls in love with her partner, played by Jason Patric. Her next film, Single White Female (1992), was a surprise box-office success, bringing Leigh to her largest mainstream audience yet, portraying a mentally ill woman who terrorizes roommate Bridget Fonda. Leigh was awarded the MTV Movie Award for Best Villain and nominated for Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress. Leigh costarred with Kathy Bates as a tormented, pill-popping woman hiding a history of childhood sexual abuse in the adaptation of Stephen King's novel Dolores Claiborne (1995). Leigh achieved her greatest acclaim in the role of Sadie Flood, an angry, drug-addicted rock singer living in the shadow of her successful older sister (Mare Winningham), in Georgia (1995). For the role, Leigh dropped to 90 pounds (41 kg) and sang all her songs live, including a rambling 8½-minute version of Van Morrison's "Take Me Back". Georgia was met with critical praise. James Berardinelli wrote, "There are times when it's uncomfortable to watch this performance because it's so powerful", and Janet Maslin of the New York Times described Leigh's "fierce, risk-taking performance and flashes of overwhelming honesty". Leigh won New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress and Best Actress from the Montreal World Film Festival, as well as an Independent Spirit Award nomination. Some expressed surprise that she was not nominated for an Academy Award, while Winningham was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Throughout the 1990s, Leigh worked with many independent film directors. She worked with Robert Altman in Short Cuts (1993), playing a phone-sex operator, and Kansas City (1996), as a streetwise kidnapper. Leigh has expressed admiration for Altman and called him her mentor. In a change of pace from her "bad girl" roles, Leigh played the fast-talking reporter Amy Archer in the Coen Brothers' comic homage to 1950s comedy, The Hudsucker Proxy (1994). Leigh took her first lead role as the writer and critic Dorothy Parker in Alan Rudolph's film Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994). She received a Golden Globe Award nomination and a National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress, as well as Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress and Fort Lauderdale Film Critics Best Actress Award. In another change of pace, she starred in Agnieszka Holland's version of the Henry James novel Washington Square (1997), as a mousy 19th-century heiress courted by a gold digger. In 1998, she appeared alongside Campbell Scott in the Hallmark Hall of Fame TV film The Love Letter. In David Cronenberg's eXistenZ (1999), she played a virtual-reality-game designer who becomes lost in her own creation.

2000-present

Leigh had a brief role as a doomed gangster's wife in Sam Mendes's Road to Perdition (2002) and costarred as Meg Ryan's brutally murdered sister in Jane Campion's erotic thriller In the Cut (2003). After a long period of avoiding prostitute roles, she played alongside Christian Bale as his prostitute girlfriend in the thriller The Machinist (2004). Mick LaSalle of the San Francisco Chronicle commented that "As the downtrodden, sexy, trusting and quietly funny prostitute, Leigh is, of course, in her element". Her performance as a manipulative stage mother in Don McKellar's film Childstar won her a Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in 2005. After many years of wanting to be in a Todd Solondz movie, she appeared in Palindromes (2004). She also appeared in the psychological thriller The Jacket (2005), alongside Adrien Brody. In recent years, Leigh appeared in the 2008 ensemble film Synecdoche, New York and has acted in two films written and directed by her then partner Noah Baumbach: Margot at the Wedding, costarring Nicole Kidman, and Greenberg. Leigh has said that the roles were not specifically written for her, as Baumbach does not write roles with actors in mind. In 2009, Leigh was cast in the Showtime TV series Weeds, becoming a regular guest in the eighth season. She also joined Revenge on ABC, in 2012. Leigh has received three separate career tributes: at the Telluride Film Festival in 1993, a special award for her contribution to independent cinema from the Film Society of Lincoln Center in 2002, and a week-long retrospective of her film work held by the American Cinematheque at Los Angeles's Egyptian Theatre in 2001.

In 2015, Leigh starred in Quentin Tarantino's The Hateful Eight (2015). The film, a Western set in Wyoming after the Civil War, was released on December 25. Leigh, along with the rest of the cast, appeared at Comic-Con to promote the film in July 2015. Leigh's performance has received multiple award nominations at various award ceremonies, including her third Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, her first BAFTA Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role and her first Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Stage roles

In 1998, Leigh took on the lead role of Sally Bowles in Sam Mendes's Broadway revival of the musical Cabaret, succeeding Natasha Richardson who originated the role in Mendes's production. She succeeded Mary-Louise Parker in the lead role in Proof on Broadway in 2001. Her other theatrical appearances include The Glass Menagerie, Man of Destiny, The Shadow Box, Picnic, Sunshine, and Abigail's Party. In 2011, she played Bunny in the Broadway revival of House of Blue Leaves in New York City alongside Ben Stiller and Edie Falco.

Writing and directing

In 2001, Leigh co-wrote and co-directed The Anniversary Party, an independently produced feature film about a recently reconciled married couple who assemble their friends at their Hollywood Hills house, ostensibly to celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary. As the evening progresses, the party disintegrates into emotional confrontations and bitter arguments as the facade of their happy marriage crumbles. Leigh was inspired by her recent experience filming the low-budget Dogme 95 film The King Is Alive. Leigh and co-writer Alan Cumming drew freely from their personal experiences in the writing of the film. Leigh plays an aging actress who makes jokes about her lack of Academy Award nominations and is fearful of losing her bisexual husband (Cumming). The film was shot in 19 days on digital video, and costarred the pair's real-life Hollywood friends, including Kevin Kline, Phoebe Cates, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jennifer Beals, John C. Reilly, Parker Posey and Leigh's sister Mina Badie. Leigh and Cumming jointly received a citation for Excellence in Filmmaking from the National Board of Review, and were nominated for the Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature and Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. The movie received generally positive reviews.

Other work

Leigh filmed a role in Stanley Kubrick's final film Eyes Wide Shut (1999) as a grieving patient of Dr. Bill Harford (Tom Cruise) who declares her love for him after her father's death. Kubrick wanted to reshoot the scenes, but Leigh was unavailable due to scheduling conflicts with eXistenZ; instead her scenes were cut. Leigh was originally cast as Vincent Gallo's girlfriend in his self-directed film The Brown Bunny, and was apparently prepared to perform oral sex on Gallo as the script required. Leigh subsequently commented that "it just didn't work out" and the role was eventually played by Chloë Sevigny. In 1997, she was featured in Faith No More's music video for "Last Cup of Sorrow". She was selected as one of "America's 10 Most Beautiful Women" by Harper's Bazaar magazine in 1989 and served as a jury member at the 57th Venice International Film Festival in 2000.

Personal life

In 1982, Leigh's father, Vic Morrow, was accidentally killed along with two child actors when a helicopter stunt went wrong while filming Twilight Zone: The Movie. Leigh and her sister filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Warner Bros., John Landis and Steven Spielberg. They settled out of court a year later and the terms of the settlement have never been made public.

Leigh has described herself as shy, introverted and averse to Hollywood publicity, and scandal. Speaking about her roles in smaller, independent films, she said, "I'd much rather be in a movie that people have really strong feelings about than one that makes a hundred million dollars but you can't remember because it's just like all the others."

She met independent film writer-director Noah Baumbach in 2001 while starring on Broadway in Proof. The couple married on September 2, 2005. Their son, Rohmer Emmanuel, was born on March 17, 2010. Leigh filed for divorce on November 15, 2010, in Los Angeles, citing irreconcilable differences. She sought spousal support as well as primary custody of the couple's son, with visitation for Baumbach. The divorce was finalized in September 2013.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1981 Eyes of a Stranger Tracy Harris
1981 The Best Little Girl in the World Casey Powell
1982 Wrong Is Right Young Girl
1982 Fast Times at Ridgemont High Stacy Hamilton
1983 Easy Money Allison Capuletti
1984 Grandview, U.S.A. Candy Webster
1985 Flesh + Blood Agnes
1986 The Hitcher Nash
1986 The Men's Club Teensy
1987 Sister, Sister Lucy Bonnard
1987 Under Cover Tanille Lareoux
1988 Heart of Midnight Carol Rivers
1989 The Big Picture Lydia Johnson
1989 Last Exit to Brooklyn Tralala Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress
1990 Miami Blues Susie Waggoner Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress
1991 Backdraft Jennifer Vaitkus
1991 Crooked Hearts Marriet Hoffman
1991 Rush Kristen Cates
1992 Single White Female Hedra 'Hedy' Carlson/Ellen Besch MTV Movie Award for Best Villain
Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
1993 Short Cuts Lois Kaiser Golden Globe Special Award for Best Ensemble Cast
Volpi Cup for Best Acting Ensemble
Nominated—National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress
1994 The Hudsucker Proxy Amy Archer
1994 Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle Dorothy Parker Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead
Nominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
1995 Dolores Claiborne Selena St. George Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
1995 Georgia Sadie Flood Montreal World Film Festival Award for Best Actress
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead
Nominated—Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress
Nominated—National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress
1996 Kansas City Blondie O'Hara
1996 Bastard Out of Carolina Anney Boatwright
1997 Washington Square Catherine Sloper
1997 A Thousand Acres Caroline Cook Verona Love Screens Film Festival: Best Actress
1999 eXistenZ Allegra Geller
2000 The King Is Alive Gina Tokyo International Film Festival Award for Best Actress
2001 Skipped Parts Lydia Callahan Also co-producer
2001 The Man Who Wasn't There Female Inmate uncredited
2001 The Anniversary Party Sally Therrian Also writer, producer and director
Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature
Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay
2001 The Quickie Lisa
2002 Hey Arnold!: The Movie Bridget (voice)
2002 Road to Perdition Annie Sullivan
2002 Crossed Over Karla Faye Tucker
2003 In the Cut Pauline
2004 The Machinist Stevie Nominated—Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Supporting Actress
2004 Palindromes Mark Aviva
2004 Childstar Suzanne Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominated—Vancouver Film Critics Circle for Best Actress in a Canadian Film
2005 The Jacket Dr. Beth Lorenson
2005 Rag Tale Mary Josephine Morton
2007 Margot at the Wedding Pauline Peñíscola Comedy Film Festival Award for Best Actress
Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast
Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female
2008 Synecdoche, New York Maria Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast
Independent Spirit Awards: Robert Altman Award
2010 Greenberg Beth Also writer and producer
2013 The Spectacular Now Sara
2013 Kill Your Darlings Naomi Ginsberg
2013 Hateship, Loveship Chloe
2013 Jake Squared Sheryl
2013 The Moment Lee
2014 Welcome to Me Deb Moseley
2015 Anomalisa Lisa (voice) Alliance of Women Film Journalists Award for Best Depiction of Nudity, Sexuality or Seduction
Nominated—Annie Award for Voice Acting in a Feature Production
Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female
Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
2015 The Hateful Eight Daisy Domergue Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress
Hollywood Film Award for Ensemble of the Year
National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress
San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—AACTA International Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Awards Circuit Community Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role
Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Critics' Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Detroit Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture
Nominated—Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Phoenix Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated—Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
2016 LBJ Lady Bird Johnson Post-production
2017 Amityville: The Awakening Joan Post-production
2017 Annihilation The Psychologist Filming

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1977 Baretta Marcie Episode: "Open Season"
1978 Family Jenny Blair Episode: "And Baby Makes Three"
1978 Disneyland Heather Episode: "The Young Runaways"
1980 Angel City Kristy Teeter Television film
1981 CBS Schoolbreak Special Laurie Mcintyre Episode: "I Think I'm Having a Baby"
1981 The Waltons Kathy Seals Episode: "The Pursuit"
1982 St. Elsewhere Diane, young woman at bar Episode: "Samuels and the Kid"
1982 Trapper John, M.D. Karen McCall Episode: "The One and Only"
1983 ABC Afterschool Special Andrea Fairchild Episode: "Have You Ever Been Ashamed of Your Parents?"
1983 Girls of the White Orchid Carol Heath Television film
1990 Buried Alive Joanna Goodman Television film
1998 The Love Letter Elizabeth Whitcomb Television film
1998 King of the Hill Amy (voice) Episode: "I Remember Mono"
1998 Tracey Takes On... Paige Garland Episode: "Sports"
1998 Adventures from the Book of Virtues Alexandra (voice) Episode: "Gratitude"
1998 Thanks of a Grateful Nation Teri Small Television film
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film
1998 Hercules Tempest (voice) 4 episodes
1999 Superman: The Animated Series Cetea (voice) Episode: "Absolute Power"
1999 Todd McFarlane's Spawn Lily (voice) 2 episodes
2000 Twitch City Faith Episode: "The Life of Reilly"
2001 Frasier Estelle (voice) Episode: "The Two Hundredth"
2002 Mission Hill Eunice Eulmeyer (voice) Episode: "Kevin Loves Weirdie"
2009-2012 Weeds Jill Price-Gray 16 episodes
2012 Revenge Kara Clarke-Murphy 7 episodes
2014 Open Holly Pilot
2017 Twin Peaks TBA

Stage

Year Title Role Theater Notes
1986 Picnic Madge Owens Ahmanson Theatre April 8, 1986 - May 24, 1986
1989 Sunshine Sunshine Circle Repertory Theatre December 9, 1989 - January 14, 1990
1998 Cabaret Sally Bowles Stephen Sondheim Theatre
Studio 54
August 4, 1998 - February 28, 1999
2001 Proof Catherine Walter Kerr Theatre September 13, 2001 - June 30, 2002
2005 Theater of the New Ear: Anomalisa Lisa Royce Hall September 14, 2005 - September 16, 2005
2005 Abigail's Party Beverly Acorn Theater December 1, 2005 - March 11, 2006
Nominated—Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play
Nominated—Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actress
2011 The House of Blue Leaves Bunny Flingus Walter Kerr Theatre 25 April 2011 - 25 June 2011

[ Source: Wikipedia ]


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