Daryl Hannah | |
|---|---|
 Hannah in 2019 | |
| Born | (1960-12-03)December 3, 1960 (age 65) Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 1978–present |
| Spouse | |
| Relatives |
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Daryl Hannah (born December 3, 1960)[1] is an American actress, director, and environmental activist. She has acted in comedic and dramatic roles in more than a hundred film and television productions since the 1970s.
Hannah has appeared in films such as the supernatural horrorThe Fury (1978), the science fiction thrillerBlade Runner, the romantic comedySummer Lovers (both 1982), the fantasy comedySplash (1984), the romantic comedyRoxanne, the dramaWall Street (both 1987), the comedy dramaSteel Magnolias (1989), and the martial arts featuresKill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) andVolume 2 (2004). In television, she starred in theNetflix seriesSense8 (2015).
Outside of acting, Hannah has directed and was nominated for theGrammy Award for Best Music Film. She is also noted for her environmental and social activism.
Hannah was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Susan Jeanne Metzger, a producer and former schoolteacher, and Donald Christian Hannah, atugboat andbarge company owner.[2][3] Her parents divorced, and her mother subsequently married businessmanJerrold Wexler, brother of cinematographerHaskell Wexler. Hannah grew up with siblings Don andPage Hannah and her maternal half-sister,Tanya Wexler, inLong Grove, Illinois.[4] She was raisedRoman Catholic; her stepfather, Jerrold Wexler, wasJewish.[5]
Hannah became interested in movies at a young age, partly due toinsomnia. She has said that she was very shy growing up.[6] As a young child, Hannah was emotionally isolated and struggled in school.[5] She was subsequently diagnosed withautism, and medical professionals urged her parents to have her institutionalized and medicated.[7][8][9] Instead, her mother decided to relocate with Hannah temporarily to Jamaica, in hopes that the change in environment would help her daughter.[5] Hannah later attended the progressiveFrancis W. Parker School in Chicago before enrolling at theUniversity of Southern California in Los Angeles, where she studied ballet and acting.[10][11]
Hannah made her film debut at age 17 in 1978 with an appearance inBrian De Palma's horror filmThe Fury.[4] She had an early role along withRachel Ward in the 1983 horror filmThe Final Terror.[12] The film was shot in 1981 but was released in 1983.[13]
Hannah played the acrobatic and violentreplicantPris inRidley Scott's science fiction classicBlade Runner (1982), in which she performed some of her own gymnastic stunts. That same year, she appeared in the summer hit releaseSummer Lovers. Her role as amermaid inRon Howard's hit fantasy/comedySplash (1984), oppositeTom Hanks brought her much recognition. Also in 1984, she appeared inThe Pope of Greenwich Village, co-starring withMickey Rourke andEric Roberts.In 1985, Hannah appeared in and provided backing vocals in the music video "You're a Friend of Mine", performed byClarence Clemons andJackson Browne. She also appeared in the music video for Browne's "Tender Is the Night". Hannah's other 1980s roles included thefilm version of the best sellerThe Clan of the Cave Bear (1986) andLegal Eagles (1986) starringRobert Redford andDebra Winger. She appeared in theAcademy Award winningWall Street (1987), for which she received aRazzie Award.[14] Hannah starred in the title role ofFred Schepisi's filmRoxanne (1987), a modern retelling ofEdmond Rostand's playCyrano de Bergerac. Her performance was described as "sweet" and "gentle" by film criticRoger Ebert.[15] She also starred inHigh Spirits (1988) oppositePeter O'Toole and ended the decade withWoody Allen'sCrimes and Misdemeanors (1989) andSteel Magnolias featuringSally Field,Shirley MacLaine andJulia Roberts (1989).
Hannah played the daughter ofJack Lemmon's character in both of theGrumpy Old Men comedies. That same year, she played Nancy Archer in the HBO comedy remake ofAttack Of The Fifty-Foot Woman. In 1995, Hannah was chosen byEmpire magazine as No. 96 of the "100 Sexiest Stars in Film History."[16] That year she appeared as homicidal sociopath Leann Netherwood inThe Tie That Binds. In 1998 she played the co-lead toChristopher Reeve in the made-for-television film remakeRear Window. That same year she also starred in the direct-to-video filmAddams Family Reunion playingMorticia Addams.
Hannah played Elle Driver, a one-eyed assassin, inKill Bill: Volume 1 (2003), directed byQuentin Tarantino. Her performance in this film and her appearances inSpeedway Junky (1999),Dancing at the Blue Iguana (2000),A Walk to Remember (2002),Northfork (2003),Casa de los Babys (2003) andSilver City (2004), have been described by some reviewers as a comeback.[17] AfterKill Bill, she appeared in several TV films and miniseries, including the Syfy original filmShark Swarm,Final Days of Planet Earth for theHallmark Channel, andKung Fu Killer forSpike. She also appeared inShannon's Rainbow andThe Cycle in 2009.[18]
In the 2010s, Hannah appeared in several films, includingA Closed Book andEldorado. Robert Koehler ofVariety wrote ofA Closed Book that it allows curious fans to see what Hannah has been up to lately.[19] In 2013, she starred inZombie Night, aSyfy original film byThe Asylum as well as in TV movieSocial Nightmare (a.k.a.Mother: She'll Keep You Safe), a thriller by The Asylum about internet bullying. In 2013, she joinedSkin Traffik,[20] and, in 2014, she signed on toSigns of Death.[21]
Beginning in 2015, Hannah portrayed Angelica Turing inSense8,[22] a series onNetflix fromthe Wachowskis. The series ran for two seasons, with a final episode released on June 8, 2018.[citation needed] Also in 2018, Hannah releasedParadox, for which she served as writer and producer; the film featured musicianNeil Young.[23]
In 2020, Hannah starred inThe Now, a comedy series forThe Roku Channel oppositeDave Franco.[24]
In 2023 she was nominated for aGrammy Award for Best Music Film for Neil Young & Crazy Horse's "A Band A Brotherhood A Barn".[25]
In 2025, Hannah directed the 2025 documentary filmCoastal, a behind the scenes look at Neil Young's Coastal concert tour.[26]
Hannah is also an accomplished theater actress, reprising Marilyn Monroe's starring role inThe Seven Year Itch in 2000 in London'sWest End. Reviews of the play commended Hannah's performance, with Lizzie Loveridge ofCurtain Up! saying that the play was the "perfect vehicle" for Hannah to "show her talents as a comedienne."[27]
Hannah wrote, directed and produced a short film titledThe Last Supper. She directed, produced, and was cinematographer for the documentaryStrip Notes, which was broadcast onChannel 4 in the UK and onHBO and documented the research Hannah did for her role as a stripper inDancing at the Blue Iguana.[citation needed]
In 2002, Hannah appeared inRobbie Williams' video for the song "Feel" portraying Williams' love interest.[28]
Hannah and actressHilary Shepard Turner created two board games,Love It or Hate It andLIEbrary.[29][30] Hannah previewed the latter onThe Ellen DeGeneres Show in 2005.[31]
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Hannah, an active environmentalist, created her own weekly video blog calledDHLoveLife on sustainable solutions.[32] She is often the sound recordist, camera person and on-screen host for the blog.[33] As of 2006, her home—which was built with green materials—ran onsolar power, and she drove a car that ran onbiodiesel.[34] She has been vegetarian since age 11,[35] and later becamevegan. In late 2006, she volunteered to act as a judge forTreehugger.com's "Convenient Truths" contest.[36][37][failed verification] On December 4, 2008, Hannah joinedSea Shepherd Conservation Society's crew aboard theMY Steve Irwin as part ofOperation Musashi.[38]
On June 13, 2006, Hannah was arrested, along with actorTaran Noah Smith, for her involvement with over 350 farmers, their families and supporters, confronting authorities trying to bulldoze the largest urban farm in the U.S., located inSouth Central Los Angeles. She chained herself to a walnut tree at theSouth Central Farm for three weeks to protest against the farmers' eviction by the property's new owner, Ralph Horowitz. The farm had been established in the wake of the1992 L.A. riots to allow people in the city to grow food for themselves. However, Horowitz, who had paid $5 million for it, sought to evict the farmers to build a warehouse. He had asked for $16 million to sell it but turned down the offer when the activists raised that amount after the established deadline. Hannah was interviewed via cell phone shortly before she was arrested, along with 44 other protesters, and said that she and the others were doing the "morally right thing".[39] She was released from Century Regional Detention Center after several hours.[40]
Hannah has also worked to help endsexual slavery and has traveled around the world to make a documentary.[41]
Hannah was among 31 people arrested on June 23, 2009, in a protest againstmountaintop removal in southernWest Virginia, part of a wider campaign to stop the practice in the region. The protesters, who also includedNASA climate scientistJames E. Hansen, were charged with obstructing officers and impeding traffic after they sat in the middle of State Route 3 outsideMassey Energy's Goals Coal preparation plant,The Charleston Gazette reported.[42] In aDemocracy Now! phone interview on June 24, 2009, Hannah spoke briefly on why she went to West Virginia and risked arrest.[43]
Hannah was arrested on August 30, 2011, in front of theWhite House as part of a sit-in to protest against the proposedKeystone oil pipeline from Alberta to theU.S. Gulf Coast.[44] In aHuffington Post piece co-authored withPhil Radford, Hannah explained that the purpose of her action was to "shine the light" on President Obama's decision on the pipeline for "millions of voters" to see.[45] In October 2011, Hannah and other pipeline opponents rode horses and bicycles and walked from thePine Ridge Indian Reservation to theRosebud Reservation to protest the project.[46]
Hannah was the executive producer ofGreedy Lying Bastards, a 2012 documentary againstclimate change denial.[47]
In September 2012, Hannah signed environmental activist Tom Weis' open letter calling on PresidentBarack Obama and GovernorMitt Romney to withdraw their support for the construction of the southern leg of theKeystone XL pipeline, that would transportoil sands fromMontana toTexas. Other signatories included climate scientistJames Hansen and actorsSheryl Lee,Mariel Hemingway, andEd Begley Jr.[48] On October 4, 2012, Hannah was arrested and jailed inWood County, Texas, for criminal trespassing. She and a local landowner, 78-year-old Eleanor Fairchild, were arrested while protesting against theTransCanada Keystone XL oil sands pipeline by attempting to block heavy construction equipment. Although they were charged with trespassing, they were in fact protesting on Fairchild's land.[49] On February 13, 2013, Hannah was arrested at theWhite House along withRobert F. Kennedy Jr. and Conor Kennedy during a climate change protest against the proposed Keystone Pipeline.[50]
On April 26, 2014, inWashington, Hannah andNeil Young led a march by the "Cowboy and Indian Alliance" group against the Obama administration to reject the proposed Keystone Pipeline.[51][52][53]
Hannah endorsed SenatorBernie Sanders for president in the2016 U.S. presidential election.[54][better source needed]
She is a member of theWorld Future Council,[55][56] and a patron ofThe Gorilla Organization, a UK-based charity working to protectmountain gorillas.[57]
On March 2, 2025, she introduced herself at the97th Academy Awards ceremony with the phrase "Slava Ukraini," proclaiming her support for the Ukrainian cause amid theRusso-Ukrainian War.[58]
Hannah had long-term relationships withJohn F. Kennedy Jr.[59] and musicianJackson Browne.[60] She and Browne began dating in 1983 and broke up in 1992 amid unsubstantiated rumors that Browne had been physically abusive to her.[61] Browne prevailed in a defamation dispute with Fox Television, which issued a retraction.[62][63] Hannah and Kennedy initially met in the 1980s.People Magazine claims they dated for more than five years, breaking up in 1994.[64] Hannah began a relationship with musicianNeil Young in 2014 and they married in 2018.[65][66][67]
Hannah was among the numerous women who broughtsexual abuse allegations againstHarvey Weinstein.[68] In a part ofRonan Farrow's 2017 exposé, Hannah claimed that Weinsteinsexually harassed her multiple times during the production ofKill Bill and that he once tried to break into her hotel room. Fearing that he intended to rape her, she fled the room through a fire escape.[69] Hannah later expressed belief that Weinstein sabotaged her career in retaliation for refusing his advances since she struggled to find acting work after appearing inKill Bill.[70]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1978 | The Fury | Pam | |
| 1981 | Hard Country | Loretta | |
| 1982 | Blade Runner | Pris Stratton | |
| Summer Lovers | Cathy Featherstone | ||
| 1983 | The Final Terror | Windy Morgan | |
| 1984 | Reckless | Tracey Prescott | |
| Splash | Madison | Saturn Award for Best Actress | |
| The Pope of Greenwich Village | Diane | ||
| 1986 | |||
| Legal Eagles | Chelsea Deardon | Also performance artist | |
| 1987 | Roxanne | Roxanne Kowalski | |
| Wall Street | Darien Taylor | Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress | |
| The Clan of the Cave Bear | Ayla | ||
| 1988 | High Spirits | Mary Plunkett Brogan | Nominated—Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress |
| 1989 | Crimes and Misdemeanors | Lisa Crosley | Uncredited |
| Steel Magnolias | Annelle Dupuy Desoto | ||
| 1990 | Crazy People | Kathy Burgess | |
| 1991 | At Play in the Fields of the Lord | Andy Huben | |
| 1992 | Memoirs of an Invisible Man | Alice Monroe | |
| 1993 | Grumpy Old Men | Melanie Gustafson | |
| 1994 | The Little Rascals | Miss June Crabtree | |
| 1995 | The Tie That Binds | Leann Netherwood | |
| Grumpier Old Men | Melanie Gustafson | ||
| 1996 | Two Much | Liz Kerner | Nominated—Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress |
| The Last Days of Frankie the Fly | Margaret | ||
| 1998 | The Gingerbread Man | Lois Harlan | |
| The Real Blonde | Kelly | ||
| Addams Family Reunion | Morticia Addams | Direct-to-video | |
| Hi-Life | Maggie | ||
| 1999 | My Favorite Martian | Lizzie | |
| Speedway Junky | Veronica | ||
| Diplomatic Siege | Erica Long | Hide and seek [2000] Anna | |
| 2000 | Cord | Anne White | Direct-to-video |
| Wildflowers | Sabine | ||
| 2001 | Jackpot | Bobbi | |
| Dancing at the Blue Iguana | Angel | ||
| Cowboy Up | Celia Jones | a.k.a.Ring of Fire | |
| 2002 | A Walk to Remember | Cynthia Carter | |
| Searching for Debra Winger | Herself | ||
| Hard Cash | Virginia | Direct-to-video | |
| 2003 | Northfork | Flower Hercules | |
| The Job | CJ March | ||
| Casa de los babys | Skipper | ||
| The Big Empty | Stella | ||
| Kill Bill: Volume 1 | Elle Driver | ||
| 2004 | Kill Bill: Volume 2 | Italian Online Movie Award for Best Cast MTV Movie Award for Best Fight(withUma Thurman) Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture | |
| Silver City | Maddy Pilager | ||
| Whore | Adriana | ||
| Careful What You Wish For | Store Patron | Short film | |
| 2006 | Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair | Elle Driver | |
| Love Is the Drug | Sandra Brand | ||
| Keeping Up with the Steins | Sacred Feather / Sandy | ||
| Olé | Maggie Granger | ||
| 2007 | The Poet | Marlene Konig | |
| Cosmic Radio | Herself | Cameo | |
| 2008 | Vice | Salt | |
| The Garden | Herself | ||
| Dark Honeymoon | Jan | ||
| 2009 | The Cycle | Carrie | a.k.a.The Devil's Ground |
| Shannon's Rainbow | Dr. Rita Baker | ||
| 2010 | A Closed Book | Jane Ryder | Bahamas Film Award for Best Actress[71] |
| 2011 | Every Generation Needs a Revolution | Herself | Short film |
| A Fonder Heart | Margaret Boone | ||
| Lovemakers | Mimi | ||
| 2012 | Eldorado | The Stranger | |
| 2013 | Garbage | Herself | |
| The Hot Flashes | Ginger Peabody | ||
| 2014 | 2047: Sights of Death | Major Anderson | |
| Father Rupert Mayer | Joanna Sebastian | ||
| 2015 | I Am Michael | Deborah | |
| Skin Traffik | Zhanna | ||
| Awaken | Mao | ||
| Sicilian Vampire | Carmelina Trafficante | ||
| 2017 | The American Connection | Flora | filmed in 2007 |
| The Slider | Carol | ||
| 2018 | Papa | Sarah Freidman | |
| 2019 | The Sound of a Wild Snail Eating | Narrator | Short film |
| Undateable John | Rose | ||
| 2023 | Buckle Up | Angel |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Paper Dolls | Taryn Blake | Television film |
| 1993 | Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman | Nancy Archer | |
| 1997 | The Last Don | Athena Aquitane | 2 episodes |
| Gun | Jill Johnson | Episode: "All the President's Women" | |
| Muppets Tonight | Herself | 1 episode | |
| 1998 | Rear Window | Claudia Henderson | Television film |
| Rescuers: Stories of Courage: Two Families | Maria Althoff | ||
| 2000 | First Target | Alex McGregor | |
| 2001 | Jack and the Beanstalk: The Real Story | Thespee | |
| 2002 | Frasier | Caller #2 (voice) | Episode: "Frasier Has Spokane" |
| 2006 | Final Days of Planet Earth | Liz Quinlan | Television film |
| 2007 | All the Good Ones Are Married | Alex | |
| 2008 | Storm Seekers | Leah Kaplan | |
| Kung Fu Killer | Jane | ||
| Shark Swarm | Brooke Wilder | ||
| 2013 | Social Nightmare | Susan Hardy | |
| Zombie Night | Birdy | ||
| 2013–2014 | Hawaii Five-0 | Cherie Tranton | 2 episodes |
| 2015–2018 | Sense8 | Angelica Turing | 17 episodes |
| 2021 | The Now | Maxine Poole | 11 episodes |
| Year | Title | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | The Last Supper | Also writer and co-producer |
| 2001 | Strip Notes | Documentary |
| 2018 | Paradox | Also screenwriter[72] |
| 2019 | Mountaintop | Documentary |
| 2022 | Barn (A Band, A Brotherhood, A Barn) | Documentary |
| 2025 | Coastal | Documentary |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | The Seven Year Itch | The Girl | Made famous byMarilyn Monroe. Helped Hannah overcome stage fright.[73] |
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