Lane was born on January 22, 1965, in New York City. Her mother,Colleen Leigh Farrington, was a nightclub singer andPlayboy centerfold (Miss October 1957), who was also known as Colleen Price. Her father, Burton Eugene Lane, was a Manhattan drama coach who ran an acting workshop withJohn Cassavetes, worked as a cab driver, and later taughthumanities atCity College.[5] When Lane was 13 days old, her parents separated. Lane's mother went to Mexico andobtained a divorce, while retaining custody of Lane until she was six years old.[5] Lane's father received custody of her after Lane's mother moved to Georgia. Lane and her father lived in a number of residential hotels in New York City and she rode with him in his taxi.[6]
When Lane was 15, she declared her independence from her father and flew to Los Angeles for a week with actor and friendChristopher Atkins, with whom she starred in the 1981 filmChild Bride of Short Creek. Lane later remarked, "It was reckless behavior that comes from having too much independence too young."[6] She returned to New York and moved in with a friend's family, paying them rent. In 1981, she enrolled in high school after taking correspondence courses. However, Lane's mother kidnapped her and took her back to Georgia. Lane and her father challenged her mother in court, and six weeks later, she was back in New York. Lane did not speak to her mother for the next three years, but they eventually reconciled.[6]
Lane's grandmother, Eleanor Scott, was aPentecostalpreacher of theApostolic denomination, and Lane was influenced theatrically by the demonstrative quality of her grandmother's sermons.[7][8] Lane began acting professionally at the age of six at theLa MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in New York, where she appeared in a production ofMedea. When Lane was 12 years old, she had a role inJoseph Papp's production ofThe Cherry Orchard withMeryl Streep andIrene Worth.[5] At this time, Lane was enrolled in an accelerated program atHunter College High School; however, her grades suffered from her busy schedule.[5] When Lane was 13, she turned down a role inRunaways onBroadway to make her feature-film debut oppositeLaurence Olivier inA Little Romance.[6] Lane won high praise from Olivier, who declared her "the newGrace Kelly".[9] At the same time, Lane was featured on the cover ofTime, which declared her one of Hollywood's "Whiz Kids".[10][11]
However,Streets of Fire (she turned downSplash andRisky Business for this film)[9][3] andThe Cotton Club, were both commercial and critical failures, and her career languished as a result.[5] AfterThe Cotton Club, Lane dropped out of the movie business and lived with her mother in Georgia.[18] According to the actress, "I hadn't been close to my mom for a long time, so we had a lot of homework to do. We had to repair our relationship because I wanted my mother back."[19]
Lane returned to acting to appear inThe Big Town andLady Beware, but didn't make another big impression on a sizable audience until 1989's popular and critically acclaimedTV miniseriesLonesome Dove,[18] and was nominated for anEmmy Award[20] for her role. She came very close to being cast as Vivian Ward in 1990's blockbuster hitPretty Woman (which had a much darker script at the time), but due to scheduling conflicts, was unable to take the role. Apparently, costume fittings were made for Lane before the role fell toJulia Roberts. She was given positive reviews for her performance in the independent filmMy New Gun, which was well received at theCannes Film Festival. She went on to appear as actressPaulette Goddard in SirRichard Attenborough's big-budget biopic ofCharles Chaplin, 1992'sChaplin.[17] Over the next seven years Lane would star in ten movies, includingJack andJudge Dredd. It wasn't until 1999 that Lane earned further recognition for her role inA Walk on the Moon. The film also starsLiev Schreiber,Viggo Mortensen, andAnna Paquin. One reviewer wrote, "Lane, after years in post-young-career limbo, is meltingly effective."[21] The film's director,Tony Goldwyn, described Lane as having "this potentially volcanic sexuality that is in no way self-conscious or opportunistic."[22] Lane earned anIndependent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead. At this time, she was interested in making a film about actressJean Seberg in which she would play Seberg.[23]
In 2008, Lane reunited withRichard Gere for the romantic dramaNights in Rodanthe. It is the third film Gere and Lane filmed together, and is based on the novel of the same title byNicholas Sparks. Lane also co-starred inJumper andUntraceable in the same year.[31] She then appeared inKillshot with Mickey Rourke, which was given a limited theatrical release before being released on DVD in 2009. While promotingNights in Rodanthe, she expressed frustration with being typecast and stated that she was "gunning for something that's not so sympathetic. I need to be a bitch, and I need to be in a comedy. I've decided. No more Miss Nice Guy."[32] Lane had even contemplated quitting acting and spending more time with her family if she is unable to get these kinds of roles. She said in an interview, "I can't do anything official. My agents won't let me. Between you and me, I don't have anything else coming out."[32] Despite her concerns with being typecast, Lane signed on toSecretariat (2010), aDisney film about the relationship between the 1973Triple Crown-winningracehorse and his owner,Penny Chenery, whom Lane portrayed.[33]
Lane then starred inCinema Verite (2011), an HBO movie about the making of the first reality television show,An American Family. Lane earned Emmy, Screen Actors Guild, Satellite, and Golden Globe award nominations for her portrayal ofPat Loud.[34] In 2012, Lane was featured in the PBS documentaryHalf the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide (produced by Show of Force along with Fugitive Films), which showcased women and girls living under very difficult circumstances and bravely fighting to challenge them.[35]
Following the success ofCinema Verite, Lane starred inZack Snyder'sSuperman filmMan of Steel, playingMartha Kent. Snyder said of her casting, "We are thrilled to have Diane in the role because she can convey the wisdom and the wonder of a woman whose son has powers beyond her imagination."[36] Lane reprised her role as Martha Kent inBatman v Superman: Dawn of Justice (2016)[37] andJustice League (2017).[38]
In the end of 2012, and before her divorce from Josh Brolin in early 2013, Lane returned to her theater roots and headlined a production of the David Cromer directedSweet Bird of Youth (byTennessee Williams) at theGoodman Theatre in Chicago. Lane played Princess Kosmonopolis, a fading Hollywood movie star, oppositeFinn Wittrock, who portrayed Chance, her attractive gigolo. This was the first time she had done a stage play since 1989, when she played Olivia inWilliam Shakespeare'sTwelfth Night at theAmerican Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[45] Lane returned to theatre in the winter of 2015, starring withTony Shalhoub in theoff-Broadway original production of Bathsheba Doran'sThe Mystery of Love and Sex.[46] In 2016, nearly four decades after she first appeared on Broadway, Lane starred in a play in which she previously performed: Chekhov'sThe Cherry Orchard (1977). While Lane played a child peasant (with no lines) in Broadway's 1977 run of the play, this time she played the lead role of Madame Lyubov Andreyevna Ranevskaya.[47]
In 2018, Lane starred in the Amazon original miniseriesThe Romanoffs, which premiered in October, and as Annette Shepherd in the final season ofNetflix's hit seriesHouse of Cards, which was released on the streaming service on November 2.[48][49] These roles "seemingly "mark[ed] rare TV appearance[s] for Lane, who has primarily worked in film throughout her career."[50]
Lane with then-husbandJosh Brolin in December 2009
Lane met actorChristopher Lambert in Paris while promotingThe Cotton Club in 1984.[6] They had a brief affair and split up. They met again two years later in Rome to make a film together, entitledPriceless Beauty, and in two weeks they were a couple again. Lane and Lambert married in October 1988 inSanta Fe, New Mexico.[6] They have a daughter.[54] They divorced in March 1994.[55]
Lane became engaged to actorJosh Brolin in July 2003[56] and they were married on August 15, 2004.[57] On December 20 of that year, she called police after an altercation with him, and he was arrested on amisdemeanor charge ofdomestic battery. Lane declined to press charges, however, and the couple's spokesperson described the incident as a "misunderstanding".[58] Lane and Brolin filed for divorce in February 2013.[59] Their divorce was finalized on November 27, 2013.[60]
Lane is also involved in several charities, includingHeifer International, which focuses on world hunger,[61]Artists for Peace and Justice, a Hollywood organization that supportsHaiti relief, and theBrandAID Project.[62] However, she tries not to draw attention to her humanitarian efforts: "Sometimes I give with my heart. Sometimes I give financially, but there's something about [helping others] that I think ought to be anonymous. I don't want it to be a boastful thing."[63]
Lane was featured heavily in the documentaryHalf the Sky, based on the bookHalf the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide. The documentary had Lane and several other A-list actresses/celebrities visit Africa and other areas where women are oppressed. Lane has become an ambassador for this kind of work and charity work in general.[64]
On August 22, 2014, Lane was honored for her work with Heifer International at its third annual Beyond Hunger: A Place at the Table gala at theMontage Beverly Hills. Lane says working with Heifer International has affected her life and nurtured the relationship she has with her daughter.[65]
Lane ranked at No. 79 onVH1's 100 Greatest Kid Stars. She was ranked No. 45 on AskMen.com's Top 99 Most Desirable Women in 2005,[77] No. 85 in 2006,[78] and No. 98 in 2007.[79]
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