On January 22, 1965 (61 years ago) (1965-01-22), Lane was born inNew 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]
In 1965, when she was just 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]
In 1980, 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 the following year in the filmChild Bride of Short Creek (1981). 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.[6]
In 1981, Lane 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 (née Biggs)Farrington Scott,[7] was aPentecostalpreacher of theApostolic denomination, and Lane was influenced theatrically by the demonstrative quality of her grandmother's sermons.[8][9]
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".[13] At the same time, Lane was featured on the cover ofTime, which declared her one of Hollywood's "Whiz Kids".[14][15]
However,Streets of Fire (she turned downSplash andRisky Business for this film)[13][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.[22] 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."[23]
Lane returned to acting to appear inThe Big Town (1987) andLady Beware (1987), but she did not make another big impression on a sizable audience until the popular and critically acclaimedTV miniseriesLonesome Dove (1989),[22] for which she was nominated for anEmmy Award for her role.[24]
In 1989, having taken a decade-long hiatus from the theater to build her film career, Lane returned to the stage to playOlivia inTwelfth Night at theAmerican Repertory Theater in Cambridge, Massachusetts.[25]
Lane came very close to being cast as Vivian Ward in the blockbuster hitPretty Woman (1990), which had a much darker script at the time, but due to scheduling conflicts, she was unable to take the role. Apparently, costume fittings were made for Lane before the role fell toJulia Roberts.[citation needed]
Over the next seven years, Lane would star in ten movies, notablyJudge Dredd (1995) andJack (1996). Lane earned further recognition for her role in the filmA Walk on the Moon (1999), which also starredLiev Schreiber,Viggo Mortensen, andAnna Paquin. One reviewer wrote: "Lane, after years in post-young-career limbo, is meltingly effective."[26] The film's director,Tony Goldwyn, described Lane as having "this potentially volcanic sexuality that is in no way self-conscious or opportunistic".[27] 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.[28]
Lane reunited withRichard Gere for the romantic dramaNights in Rodanthe (2008). It was the third film that Gere and Lane had filmed together, and was based on the novel of the same title byNicholas Sparks.[36]
While promotingNights in Rodanthe, she expressed frustration with being typecast: "I am 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."[37] Lane had even contemplated quitting acting and spending more time with her family if she would be unable to get these kinds of roles. She continued: "I can't do anything official. My agents won't let me. Between you and me, I don't have anything else coming out..."[37]
Lane then appeared inKillshot (2008) with Mickey Rourke, which was given a limited theatrical release in 2008, before being released on DVD in 2009.[37]
Lane then starred inCinema Verite (2011), an HBO movie about the making of the first reality television show,An American Family (1973). Lane earned Emmy, Screen Actors Guild, Satellite, and Golden Globe award nominations for her portrayal ofPat Loud.[39]
The following year, Lane was featured in the PBS documentaryHalf the Sky: Turning Oppression into Opportunity for Women Worldwide (2012), which was produced by Show of Force along with Fugitive Films, showcasing women and girls living under very difficult circumstances and bravely fighting to challenge them.[40]
Following the success ofCinema Verite, Lane starred inZack Snyder'sSuperman filmMan of Steel (2013), 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."[44]
In 2016, nearly four decades after she first appeared onBroadway, Lane starred in a play in which she had previously performed: Chekhov'sThe Cherry Orchard (1977), alongsideJoel Grey andHarold Perrineau. 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][48]
Shortly after the release ofMan of Steel, Lane was tapped to playHillary Clinton in an NBC miniseries,Hillary, which was supposed to "start with the Monica Lewinsky morning-after ... And then continue on until she was embarking on her [2008] presidential bid."[51] Intense media backlash ultimately caused NBC to cancel the series.[52]
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.[57][58] These roles "seemingly "mark[ed] rare TV appearance[s] for Lane, who has primarily worked in film throughout her career."[59]
In October 2025, Lane was awarded an ICON Award at the Newport Beach Film Festival. The filmAnniversary in which she stars was released that month. Lane received excellent reviews and awards buzz for her performance, and won a Best Lead ActressSatellite Award nomination.
In January 2026, it was announced that Diane Lane would be co-starring withScarlett Johansson in theMike Flanagan directedThe Exorcist (2027) movie, slated for release in March 2027.[63]Another movie,Moral Capacity (co-starringDacre Montgomery andTim Robbins) is also in the works.[64]
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.[65] They divorced in March 1994.[66]
Lane became engaged to actorJosh Brolin in July 2003[67] and they were married on August 15, 2004.[68] 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 and the couple's spokesperson described the incident as a "misunderstanding".[69] Lane and Brolin filed for divorce in February 2013.[70] Their divorce was finalized on November 27, 2013.[71]
Lane is also involved in several charities, includingHeifer International, which focuses on world hunger,[72]Artists for Peace and Justice, a Hollywood organization that supportsHaiti relief, and theBrandAID Project.[73] 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."[74]
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.[75]
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.[76]
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,[80] No. 85 in 2006,[81] and No. 98 in 2007.[82]
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