Jennifer Jason Leigh | |
|---|---|
 Leigh in 2015 | |
| Born | Jennifer Leigh Morrow (1962-02-05)February 5, 1962 (age 63)[1] |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Parents | |
Jennifer Jason Leigh (bornJennifer Leigh Morrow; February 5, 1962) is an American actress. She began her career on television during the 1970s before making her film breakthrough in the teen filmFast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). She received critical praise for her performances inLast Exit to Brooklyn (1989),Miami Blues (1990),Backdraft (1991),Single White Female (1992), andThe Hudsucker Proxy (1994), and was nominated for aGolden Globe Award for her portrayal ofDorothy Parker inMrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994).For her role as fugitive Daisy Domergue inThe Hateful Eight (2015), she was nominated for theGolden Globe and anAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Leigh starred in a 1995 film written by her mother, screenwriterBarbara Turner, titledGeorgia. She co-wrote and co-directed a film withAlan Cumming titledThe Anniversary Party (2001). Leigh starred in the crime dramaRoad to Perdition (2002) and the family dramaMargot at the Wedding (2007). She had a recurring role on theShowtime comedy-drama seriesWeeds (2009–2012) and received critical acclaim for her voice work inCharlie Kaufman'sAnomalisa (2015). From 2017 to 2021, she starred in theNetflix comedy-drama seriesAtypical, while featuring in the science fiction filmsAnnihilation (2018) andPossessor (2020). She has since starred in thefifth season of the crime drama seriesFargo (2023).
For her stage work, Leigh was nominated for aDrama Desk award for heroff-Broadway performance as Beverly Moss inMike Leigh'sAbigail's Party. HerBroadway debut occurred in 1998, when she became the replacement for the role ofSally Bowles in the musicalCabaret.
Leigh was born February 5, 1962,[2] inLos Angeles,California.[3] Her father,Vic Morrow (born Victor Morozoff), was an actor, and her mother,Barbara Turner, was a screenwriter.[4][5] Her parents divorced when she was two.[6] 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 actorJason Robards, a family friend. Leigh's parents wereJewish; her father's family was fromRussia and her mother's fromAustria.[7][8][9][10][11][12]
Leigh is the younger of two daughters. Her older sister, Carrie Ann Morrow, who was credited as a "technical advisor" on her 1995 filmGeorgia, died in 2016.[13] Leigh also has a half-sister, actress Mina Badie (born 'Badiyi' – from her mother's second marriage). Badie acted alongside Leigh inThe Anniversary Party. Film directorReza Badiyi became Leigh's stepfather when he married Leigh's mother, Barbara.
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Leigh had a nonspeaking role in her film debutDeath of a Stranger (The Execution) (1973). At the age of 14, she attended acting workshops, taught byLee Strasberg, and theStagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center inLoch Sheldrake, New York. Afterwards, she landed a role in the filmThe Young Runaways (1978). She also appeared in an episode ofBaretta and an episode ofThe Waltons. Several television films followed, including a portrayal of ananorexic teenager inThe Best Little Girl in the World, for which Leigh dropped to 86 pounds (39 kg).[14] She made her film debut, as a blind, deaf and mute rape victim in the 1981slasher filmEyes of a Stranger. She left school to star in the film.[5]
In 1982, Leigh played the role of Stacy Hamilton inAmy Heckerling's high school filmFast Times at Ridgemont High, which served as a launching pad for several of its young stars. While decrying the writing as sexist and exploitative, film criticRoger Ebert was enthusiastic about the acting, singling out Leigh and writing, "Don't they know they have a star on their hands?"[15] With the exception ofRidgemont High and a supporting role in the comedy filmEasy Money (1983) alongsideRodney Dangerfield, Leigh's early film work consisted of playing fragile, damaged orneurotic characters in low-budget horror or thriller films. She played a virginal princess kidnapped and raped by mercenaries inFlesh and Blood (1985), an innocent waitress pursued by the psychopathic title character inThe Hitcher (1986) (both films pitting her alongsideRutger Hauer), a mentally-disturbed, child-like young woman on the threshold of sexual awakening in theSouthern Gothic filmSister, Sister (1987), and a young woman on the verge of anervous breakdown inHeart of Midnight (1989).
She was selected as one of "America's 10 Most Beautiful Women" byHarper's Bazaar in 1989.
In 1990, Leigh made a significant career breakthrough when she was awardedNew York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress[16] and theBoston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress[17] for her portrayals of two very different prostitutes: the tough streetwalker Tralala who is brutally gang-raped inLast Exit to Brooklyn, and Susie, a 23-year-old prostitute who falls in love with ex-conAlec Baldwin inMiami Blues.Roger Ebert includedLast Exit in his list of Best Movies of 1990, calling Leigh's performance brave,[18] though his review ofMiami Blues was much less sympathetic, simultaneously criticizing Leigh's ability to play dumb roles and praising her ability to play smart roles.[19]Entertainment Weekly called her "theMeryl Streep of bimbos".[20]
In his 1991 bookCult Movie Stars,Danny Peary described Leigh as "an interesting, always watchable, and extremely talented young actress," summarizing her appeal "For those who believe that the preacher's angelic-looking daughter is as interested in sex as thefarmer's daughter. This pretty, sweet-looking blonde has played a number of shy and innocent-looking women who are curious about sex; once they learn, they display wicked imaginations." Peary added, "Leigh seems too gentle and looks too young and innocent to play the parts she has taken. Her females are either hungry for sex and/or have been psychologically affected by past sexual incidents... Her characters are vulnerable and almost always victimised, but usually they gave surprising resilience, and try to use their bad experiences to make themselves stronger."[21]
Leigh was cast in her first mainstream Hollywood studio film, the firefighter dramaBackdraft (1991), in which she played a more conventional role, the girlfriend of lead actorWilliam Baldwin. She found more success in the gritty crime dramaRush (1991), portraying an undercover cop who becomes a junkie and falls in love with her partner, played byJason Patric. ReviewingRush, Roger Ebert noted, "Leigh of course is a veteran by now of grubby characters in sleazy films; she has become one of the best young actresses by accepting roles some of her contemporaries would not even consider... After her extraordinary work as a doomed prostitute inLast Exit to Brooklyn, here she is again, looking sweet and wholesome, and descending into a world of people who have forgotten their better natures."[22] Leigh's 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 roommateBridget Fonda.[23]
Leigh was awarded theMTV Movie Award for Best Villain at the1993 MTV Movie Awards[24] and nominated forChicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress.[25] Leigh co-starred withKathy Bates as a tormented, pill-popping woman hiding a history of childhood sexual abuse in the adaptation ofStephen King's novelDolores 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), inGeorgia (1995). For the role, Leigh dropped to 90 pounds (41 kg) and sang all of her songs live, including a rambling8+1⁄2-minute version ofVan 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",[26] andJanet Maslin ofThe New York Times described Leigh's "fierce, risk-taking performance and flashes of overwhelming honesty".[27]
Leigh wonNew York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress[28] and Best Actress from theMontreal World Film Festival,[29] as well as anIndependent Spirit Award nomination and Sensual Knife fight nomination[30] Some expressed surprise that she was not nominated for anAcademy Award,[31][32] while Winningham was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Throughout the 1990s, Leigh worked with manyindependent film directors. She worked withRobert Altman inShort Cuts (1993), playing a phone-sex operator, andKansas City (1996), as a streetwise kidnapper. Leigh has expressed admiration for Altman and called him her mentor.[4] In a change of pace from her "bad girl" roles, Leigh played the fast-talking reporter Amy Archer in theCoen Brothers' comic homage to 1950s comedy,The Hudsucker Proxy (1994). Leigh took her first lead role as the writer and criticDorothy Parker inAlan Rudolph's filmMrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994). She received aGolden Globe Award nomination and aNational Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress,[33] as well asChicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress[34] and Fort Lauderdale Film Critics Best Actress Award.
In another change of pace, she starred inAgnieszka Holland's version of theHenry James novelWashington Square (1997), as a mousy 19th-century heiress courted by a gold digger. In 1997, she was featured inFaith No More's music video for "Last Cup of Sorrow".[35] In 1998, she appeared alongsideCampbell Scott in theHallmark Hall of Fame television filmThe Love Letter. InDavid Cronenberg'seXistenZ (1999), she played a virtual-reality game designer who becomes lost in her own creation.[36] Leigh filmed a role inStanley Kubrick's final filmEyes 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 witheXistenZ; instead, her scenes were cut, and the role was recast withMarie Richardson.[37]
She served as a jury member at the57th Venice International Film Festival in 2000. Leigh had a brief role as a gangster's doomed wife inSam Mendes'sRoad to Perdition (2002) and co-starred asMeg Ryan's brutally murdered sister inJane Campion's erotic thrillerIn the Cut (2003). She went on to play Stevie, the prostitute girlfriend ofChristian Bale's character in the dark thrillerThe Machinist (2004).Mick LaSalle of theSan Francisco Chronicle commented that "As the downtrodden, sexy, trusting, and quietly funny prostitute, Leigh is, of course, in her element".[38] Her performance as a manipulative stage mother inDon McKellar's filmChildstar won her aGenie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in 2005.[39]
After many years of wanting to be in aTodd Solondz film,[5] she appeared inPalindromes (2004). Leigh was originally cast asVincent Gallo's girlfriend in his self-directed filmThe Brown Bunny, and was apparently prepared to performoral sex on Gallo as the script required. Leigh subsequently commented that "it just didn't work out" and the role was eventually played byChloë Sevigny.[40] She also appeared in thepsychological thrillerThe Jacket (2005), alongsideAdrien Brody andKeira Knightley.[41] Leigh appeared in the 2008 ensemble filmSynecdoche, New York and has acted in two films written and directed by her then-partnerNoah Baumbach:Margot at the Wedding, co-starringNicole Kidman, andGreenberg. Leigh has said that the roles were not specifically written for her, as Baumbach does not write roles with actors in mind.[4] In 2009, Leigh was cast in theShowtime comedy-drama seriesWeeds,[42] becoming a regular guest in the eighth season.
Leigh has received three separate career tributes: at theTelluride Film Festival in 1993,[43] a special award for her contribution to independent cinema from theFilm Society of Lincoln Center in 2002,[44] and a week-long retrospective of her film work held by theAmerican Cinematheque at Los Angeles'sGrauman's Egyptian Theatre in 2001.[45]
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Leigh joined the drama seriesRevenge onABC in 2012.[46] In 2015, Leigh starred inQuentin Tarantino'swestern filmThe Hateful Eight. It is set inWyoming after theCivil War, and was released on December 25. Leigh, along with the rest of the cast, appeared atSan Diego Comic-Con to promote the film in July 2015.[47] Leigh's performance has received multiple award nominations at various award ceremonies, including her thirdGolden Globe nomination forBest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture,[48][49] her firstBAFTA Award nomination forBest Actress in a Supporting Role[50] and her firstAcademy Award nomination forBest Supporting Actress.[51] In 2017, Leigh was reunited with herHateful Eight co-starTim Roth when the pair played a husband-and-wife team ofcontract killers in six episodes ofShowtime's revival ofDavid Lynch andMark Frost'sTwin Peaks.
Leigh played psychiatrist Dr. Ventress in the 2018 science fiction filmAnnihilation, alongside Natalie Portman, directed byAlex Garland and based on the novel byJeff VanDerMeer.
In 2019, Leigh appeared in two episodes of Showtime's last season ofThe Affair and narrated the audiobook for Quentin Tarantino's novelization ofOnce Upon a Time in Hollywood. She appeared inBrandon Cronenberg's science fiction thrillerPossessor in 2020. In 2022, Leigh was cast in a lead role as Lorraine Lyon in the fifth season of theFXblack comedycrime dramaanthology seriesFargo.
In 1998, Leigh took on the lead role ofSally Bowles inSam Mendes's Broadway revival of the musicalCabaret, succeedingNatasha Richardson, who originated the role in Mendes's production.[52] She succeededMary-Louise Parker in the lead role inProof on Broadway in 2001.[53] Her other theatrical appearances includeThe Glass Menagerie,Man of Destiny,The Shadow Box,Picnic,Sunshine andAbigail's Party. In 2011, she played Bunny in the Broadway revival ofThe House of Blue Leaves in New York City alongsideBen Stiller andEdie Falco.[54]
In 2001, Leigh co-wrote and co-directedThe 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 façade of their happy marriage crumbles. Leigh was inspired by her recent experience filming the low-budgetDogme 95 filmThe King Is Alive.[55] Leigh and co-writerAlan Cumming drew freely from their personal experiences in the writing of the film.[55] 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,[4] and costarred the pair's real-life Hollywood friends,[55] includingKevin 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 theNational Board of Review,[56] and were nominated for theIndependent Spirit Award for Best First Feature andIndependent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. The film received generally positive reviews.[57]
In 1982, Leigh's father, Vic Morrow, was accidentally killed along with child actors Myca Dinh Le and Renée Shin-Yi Chen whena helicopter stunt went wrong during the filming ofTwilight Zone: The Movie. Leigh and her sister filed a wrongful death lawsuit againstWarner Bros.,John Landis, andSteven Spielberg. Theysettled out of court a year later.[58]
Leigh has described herself as shy, introverted, and averse to Hollywood publicity and scandal.[6][59] 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."[5]
She met independent film writer-directorNoah Baumbach in 2001 while starring on Broadway inProof. The couple married on September 2, 2005. Their son was born on March 17, 2010. Leigh filed for divorce on November 15, 2010, inLos Angeles, citing irreconcilable differences.[60] She sought spousal support as well as primary custody of the couple's son, with visitation for Baumbach.[61] The divorce was finalized in September 2013.[62]
Following the2023 Hamas-led attack on Israel and thesubsequent war, Leigh has heavily voiced support forIsrael onInstagram. On February 14, 2024, Leigh signed an open letter written by pro-Israel organizationCreative Community for Peace criticizing attempts to remove Israel fromEurovision 2024.[63] FollowingJonathan Glazer's acceptance speech at the96th Academy Awards forBest International Feature Film, in which he denounced his "Jewishness and theHolocaust being hijacked by anoccupation...", Leigh was one of 1,000 Jewish members of the film industry who denounced Glazer's speech and defended the Israeli government's actions in another open letter.[64]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Baretta | Marcie | Episode: "Open Season" |
| 1978 | Family | Jenny Blair | Episode: "And Baby Makes Three" |
| The Wonderful World of Disney | Heather | Episode: "The Young Runaways" | |
| 1980 | Angel City | Kristy Teeter | Television film |
| 1981 | The Waltons | Kathy Seals | Episode: "The Pursuit" |
| CBS Schoolbreak Special | Laurie Mcintyre | Episode: "I Think I'm Having a Baby" | |
| The Killing of Randy Webster | Amy Wheeler | Television film | |
| The Best Little Girl in the World | Casey Powell | ||
| 1982 | Trapper John, M.D. | Karen McCall | Episode: "The One and Only" |
| The First Time | Bonnie Dillon | Television film | |
| 1983 | ABC Afterschool Special | Andrea Fairchild | Episode: "Have You Ever Been Ashamed of Your Parents?" |
| Girls of the White Orchid | Carol Heath | Television film; alternative titleDeath Ride to Osaka | |
| 1990 | Buried Alive | Joanna Goodman | Television film |
| 1998 | The Love Letter | Elizabeth Whitcomb | |
| King of the Hill | Amy | Voice, episode: "I Remember Mono" | |
| Tracey Takes On... | Paige Garland | Episode: "Sports" | |
| Adventures from the Book of Virtues | Alexandra | Voice, episode: "Gratitude"[65] | |
| Thanks of a Grateful Nation | Teri Small | Television film | |
| Hercules | Tempest | Voice, 4 episodes | |
| 1999 | Superman: The Animated Series | Cetea | Voice, episode: "Absolute Power"[65] |
| Todd McFarlane's Spawn | Lily | Voice, 2 episodes[65] | |
| 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 | Chantal Hutchens | 6 episodes |
| 2017–2021 | Atypical | Elsa Gardner | 38 episodes; also producer |
| 2018 | Patrick Melrose | Eleanor Melrose | 5 episodes |
| 2019 | The Affair | Adeline Taylor | 2 episodes |
| 2021 | Lisey's Story | Darla Debusher | 8 episodes |
| 2023 | Hunters | Chava Apfelbaum | 7 episodes |
| 2023–2024 | Fargo | Lorraine Lyon | Season 5; main role |
| Year | Title | Role | Theater | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Picnic | Madge Owens | Ahmanson Theatre | April 8, 1986 – May 24, 1986[67][68] |
| 1989 | Sunshine | Sunshine | Circle Repertory Theatre | December 9, 1989 – January 14, 1990[69] |
| 1998 | Cabaret | Sally Bowles | Stephen Sondheim Theatre Studio 54 | August 4, 1998 – February 28, 1999[70] |
| 2001 | Proof | Catherine | Walter Kerr Theatre | September 13, 2001 – June 30, 2002[71] |
| 2005 | Theater of the New Ear:Anomalisa | Lisa | Royce Hall | September 14, 2005 – September 16, 2005[72][73] |
| 2005 | Abigail's Party | Beverly | Acorn Theater | December 1, 2005 – March 11, 2006[74][75] |
| 2011 | The House of Blue Leaves | Bunny Flingus | Walter Kerr Theatre | April 25, 2011 – June 25, 2011[76] |
Short Cuts
Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle
Anomalisa
The Hateful Eight
Thanks from a Grateful Nation
Abigail's Party
Her father was of Russian Jewish descent and her mother was of Austrian Jewish ancestry.
Her first important TV role was as the anorexic heroine ofThe Best Little Girl in the World (1981), for which she voluntarily went down to 86 pounds before the cameras turned.
