Sigourney Weaver | |
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![]() Weaver in July 2017 | |
Born | Susan Alexandra Weaver October 8, 1949 New York City, U.S. |
Occupations |
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Years active | 1971–present |
Spouse |
Jim Simpson (m. 1984) |
Children | 1 |
Relatives | Pat Weaver (father) Elizabeth Inglis (mother) Doodles Weaver (uncle) |
Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (/sɪˈɡɔːrni/; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress and film producer. She is known for her starring roles in science fiction and horror franchises, having amassed numerous screen and stage credits.[1] She has received multiple accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award, as well as nominations for three Academy Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award.[2] She appeared on Channel 4's list of the 100 greatest movie stars of all time in 2003.[3]
Born in New York City, Weaver is the daughter of American television executive Pat Weaver and English actress Elizabeth Inglis. She made her screen debut with a minor role in the romantic comedy film Annie Hall (1977) before her breakthrough role as Ellen Ripley in the science fiction horror film Alien (1979). She reprised the role in the sequel Aliens (1986), later installments Alien 3 (1992) and Alien Resurrection (1997), and the video game Alien: Isolation (2014). Ripley is regarded as a significant female protagonist in cinema history,[4] and Weaver's performance in Aliens received a landmark nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress. Her other franchise roles include Dana Barrett in the Ghostbusters films (1984–2021) and Dr. Grace Augustine / Kiri in the Avatar film series (2009–present), which rank among the highest-grossing films of all time.[5]
In 1989, Weaver won two Golden Globe Awards and received two Academy Award nominations (for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress) for her respective roles as primatologist Dian Fossey in Gorillas in the Mist (1988) and a young associate in Working Girl (1988). In a rare occurrence, she shared her Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama with Jodie Foster and Shirley MacLaine in a three-way tie. She also became the first actor to win two Golden Globes for acting in the same year. She won the British Academy Film Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Ice Storm (1997). Her other film roles include The Year of Living Dangerously (1982), Dave (1993), Death and the Maiden (1994), Copycat (1995), Galaxy Quest (1999), The Village (2004), Vantage Point (2008), You Again (2010), Chappie (2015), A Monster Calls (2016), Call Jane (2022), and Master Gardener (2022).[6] She also had voice roles in the animated Pixar films WALL-E (2008) and Finding Dory (2016).
On stage, Weaver's Broadway performances include The Constant Wife (1975), Hurlyburly (1984), and Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (2013). Her performance in Hurlyburly earned her a nomination for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. On television, she received Emmy Award nominations for her roles in the horror film Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1998), the drama film Prayers for Bobby (2009), the political miniseries Political Animals (2013), and for narrating the National Geographic documentary Secrets of the Whales (2021). Her other television projects include the Marvel action miniseries The Defenders (2017) and the drama miniseries The Lost Flowers of Alice Hart (2023), the latter of which also featured her as an executive producer.