Rene Russo | |
|---|---|
 Russo in 1996 | |
| Born | Rene Marie Russo (1954-02-17)February 17, 1954 (age 71) Burbank, California, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Actress, model |
| Years active |
|
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Relatives | Frank D. Gilroy (father-in-law) |
Rene Marie Russo (born February 17, 1954)[1] is an American actress and model. She began her career as a fashion model in the 1970s, appearing on magazine covers such asVogue andCosmopolitan. She made her film debut in the 1989 comedyMajor League, and rose to international prominence in a number of thrillers and action films throughout the 1990s, includingLethal Weapon 3 (1992),In the Line of Fire (1993),Outbreak (1995),Get Shorty (1995),Ransom (1996),Lethal Weapon 4 (1998), andThe Thomas Crown Affair (1999).
After headlining the family comedyYours, Mine & Ours (2005), Russo took a five-year break from acting. She returned to the screen asFrigga, the mother of the titular hero, in the Marvel Cinematic Universe filmThor (2011), a role she reprised inThor: The Dark World (2013) andAvengers: Endgame (2019). In 2014, Russo starred in the acclaimed crime thrillerNightcrawler, for which she won theSaturn Award for Best Supporting Actress and was nominated for theBAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.[2] She has also appeared inThe Intern (2015),Just Getting Started (2017), andVelvet Buzzsaw (2019).
Russo was born in 1954 inBurbank, California,[3] to Shirley (née Balocca) (1926–1998), a factory worker and barmaid, and Nino Russo (1922–1999), a sculptor and car mechanic who left the family when Russo was two.[4][5][6] Russo hasItalian ancestry.[7][8] Russo grew up with her mother and her sister and attendedBurroughs High School.[citation needed] She was afflicted withscoliosis and had to wear a full-torso brace. Her height also earned her the nickname "Jolly Green Giant" from her classmates.[9] In a 2019 interview withFinancial Times, she indeed described herself as a "geek", and admitted that the bullying she endured during high school made her drop out in thetenth grade.[10] Growing up, Russo did not have any "ambitions", remarking that she "was too busy just trying to survive, along with my sister and my mom — money was tight, my mom worked two jobs".[10] She began taking a variety of part-time jobs to help her family, including working in an eyeglass factory and as a movie theater cashier.[10] She eventually got scouted for modelling and went toNew York City, which she described as a "scary place compared to where I grew up".[10]
After allegedly being spotted at a 1972Rolling Stones concert by John Crosby, an agent fromInternational Creative Management,[11] Russo originally began her career as a model. With Crosby's encouragement, Russo applied to, and was signed by,Ford Modeling Agency. She became one of the top models of the 1970s and early 1980s,[12] appearing on magazine covers forVogue,Mademoiselle, andCosmopolitan, as well as advertisements for perfume and cosmetics.[13]Vogue in a 2016 article, wrote: "In the '70s, Russo stood for a sexiness that was both accessible and aspirational: She could vamp it up with the best of them, posing forFrancesco Scavullo in decadent furs, or swathed inVersace forRichard Avedon, but Russo wasn't your average pinup. The poise she brought to her images made her the first choice for editorial shoots that demanded models with tenacity, whether she was bound for the boardroom in a power suit or posing on a beach with Tony Spinelli".[13]
Modeling assignments began to wane for Russo as she entered her 30s. She did a few more commercials and then turned her back on modeling for a period of time. She studied theater and acting, and began appearing in theater roles at small theaters in Los Angeles and elsewhere in California. At one point, she took acting lessons from veteran actorAllan Rich, whom she credits with introducing her to the craft of acting.[14] Russo made her debut in a television series in 1987, with a supporting role in the short-lived ABC productionSable, based on the comic book,Jon Sable: Freelance byMike Grell. She made her feature film debut as the girlfriend of a former baseball star inMajor League, a comedy written and directed byDavid S. Ward. The film was a critical success.[15]
In 1990, Russo appeared in the fantasy comedy filmMr. Destiny, withJim Belushi, playing the wife in what was an alternate reality of an ordinary guy's life. In 1991, she had her first leading film role inOne Good Cop, as the wife of aNew York City Police Department detective (played byMichael Keaton). In 1992, Russo achieved breakout success with her role as internal affairs detective Lorna Cole, oppositeMel Gibson andDanny Glover, in the action filmLethal Weapon 3.[16] The film made US$320 million worldwide, becoming the fifth highest-grossing film of 1992 and the highest-grossing film in theLethal Weapon film series.[17] Her other 1992 film release was the science fiction filmFreejack, which despite an overall negative response, earned Russo a nomination for theSaturn Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Throughout the 1990s, Russo took on major roles in a number of commercially and critically successful films. In 1993, she starred withClint Eastwood in the thriller filmIn the Line of Fire, directed byWolfgang Petersen, playing a federal agent involved with the sole active-duty Secret Service agent remaining from the detail guardingJohn F. Kennedy inDallas,Texas, at the time of hisassassination in 1963. The film made US$176.9 million globally,[18] and received threeAcademy Awards nominations.[19] In 1995, Petersen cast her as a medical doctor, who uncovers a newly discoveredEbola-like virus which came to the United States from Africa in an infected monkey, in the medical disaster filmOutbreak, withDustin Hoffman.[20] The film grossed over US$189 million worldwide.[17] She starred as a B movie actress, oppositeJohn Travolta, in the crime comedyGet Shorty, directed byBarry Sonnenfeld. Upon its release,Get Shorty opened atop at the North American box office and remained number one for three consecutive weeks.[21]
In 1996, Russo played a clinical psychologist and the love interest of a former golf prodigy with little ambition in the romantic comedyTin Cup, withKevin Costner, and reunited with Mel Gibson to play his wife in the crime thrillerRansom, directed byRon Howard. WhileTin Cup was a moderate commercial success,Ransom was the 6th highest-grossing film of 1996, with a worldwide gross of US$309.5 million.[22] In 1997, Russo portrayed exotic animal ownerGertrude Lintz in the little-seen comedyBuddy,[17][23] and in 1998, reprised her role inLethal Weapon 4, the final film in the series, which made US$285.4 million.[24] In 1999, she starred as an insurance investigator and the lover of a billionaire, alongsidePierce Brosnan, in the heist filmThe Thomas Crown Affair directed byJohn McTiernan. CriticKenneth Turan, in his review for the film, wrote: "[Her] smart, gritty performance is the best thing about this remake of the stylish caper movieThomas Crown."[25] The production grossed US$124.3 million worldwide.[17]
In 2000, Russo obtained the role of villainNatasha Fatale, oppositeRobert De Niro andPiper Perabo, in the adventure comedyThe Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle, directed byDes McAnuff and based on thetelevisioncartoonof the same name byJay Ward. The film received mixed reviews from critics and went largely unnoticed at the box office.[26] For her portrayal, she received aSaturn Award nomination forBest Supporting Actress,[27] and conversely, aRazzie Award nomination for Worst Supporting Actress.[28] She reunited with De Niro to play the producer of a reality police show in the comedyShowtime (2002), also starringEddie Murphy. Budgeted at US$85 million, the film grossed US$77.7 million.[29]
The comedyBig Trouble, which was based on the novel byDave Barry and featured her as a devoted mother, was originally scheduled for release on September 21, 2001, and had a strong advertising push. The events ofSeptember 11 of that year cast a pall over the movie's comedic smuggling of a nuclear device onto an airplane. Consequently, the film was pushed back until 2002, and the promotion campaign was toned down almost to the point of abandonment. The film came to theaters and left quickly afterwards, without generating much of an impact.[30]
Russo starred in and produced the filmTwo for the Money (2005), withAl Pacino andMatthew McConaughey, playing the wife of a sports gambling agent. InYours, Mine & Ours (also 2005), Russo starred withDennis Quaid, as a widowed handbag designer with ten kids.Film Journal International felt that the "secret to the film's modest success can be summed up" in Russo and Quaid's performances,[31] andDaily Radar wrote that "the able-bodied actors fulfill the slapstick demands of this run-of-the-mill family comedy".[32] Despite receiving overwhelmingly negative reviews from critics,[33] the film made over US$72 million worldwide and marked her only commercial success in the decade.[17] Following its release, Russo took a five-year hiatus from acting, opting to focus on her health and personal life.[34]
In 2010, Russo returned to the screen in the superhero filmThor, released in 2011, after being persuaded by directorKenneth Branagh in December 2009, who asked her to portrayFrigga, the mother of the titular hero.[35] However, most of her scenes were removed in editing. She received more screen time inThor: The Dark World (2013). She credited those films, which made more than US$1 billion combined,[36] with introducing her to a new generation of filmgoers. "The funny thing is now I have kids coming up to me, and I'm thinking, 'how do you know my movies?' And they say, 'That'sThor's mummy'."[37]
In 2014, Russo appeared as a morning news director, alongsideJake Gyllenhaal, in the crime thrillerNightcrawler, written and directed by her husbandDan Gilroy.[38] The film was met with widespread praise and several critics listed it as one of the best films of 2014.[39]Indiewire asserted: "Russo is an integral part of the narrative and she gives as good as she gets. The role is easily her finest in several years and the rich material uncorks a wealth of inventiveness from the actress. There's not a lot of imaginatively drawn roles for aging women, but Russo sinks her teeth into the role of a coldblooded vampiress protective of her own uncertain hold in the newsroom."[40] Budgeted at US$8.5 million, the film grossed US$50.3 million.[41]
Russo portrayed a groupie and the mother of director G.J. Echternkamp in his independent comedyFrank and Cindy (2015), based on the 2007 documentary of the same name.[42] In 2015, she reunited once again with Robert De Niro, playing an in-house massage therapist and his love interest, in the comedyThe Intern, directed byNancy Meyers.[43] BothThe Washington Post andNew York Post found her to be a highlight in her role,[44] and the film grossed US$194.6 million globally.[45] Russo starred withMorgan Freeman andTommy Lee Jones in another comedy,Just Getting Started (2017), as the regional director of the luxury resort Villa Capri inPalm Springs, California.[46]Variety felt that the three actors "do little more than embarrass themselves here",[47] as part of an overall negative response.[48]
InVelvet Buzzsaw (2019), Russo worked again with Jake Gyllenhaal and Dan Gilroy, playing a tough art gallery owner haunted by the mysterious nature of a series of paintings by an unknown artist. The film was released byNetflix, to positive reviews.[49] She briefly reprised her role ofFrigga inAvengers: Endgame.
Russo married screenwriterDan Gilroy on March 14, 1992.[50] They met while working on the filmFreejack (1992). They have one daughter,[51] and live inBrentwood, Los Angeles.
Russo revealed during a 2014 taping ofThe Queen Latifah Show that she hasbipolar disorder.[52] While the condition has plagued her since childhood, an emotionally turbulent time prompted her to start taking medication, despite initial apprehension.[53][54]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1989 | Major League | Lynn Wells | |
| 1990 | Mr. Destiny | Cindy Jo Bumpers/Burrows | |
| 1991 | One Good Cop | Rita Lewis | |
| 1992 | Freejack | Julie Redlund | |
| Lethal Weapon 3 | Lorna Cole | ||
| 1993 | In the Line of Fire | Lilly Raines | |
| 1994 | Major League II | Lynn Wells | Cameo |
| 1995 | Outbreak | Robby Keough | |
| Get Shorty | Karen Flores | ||
| 1996 | Tin Cup | Molly Griswold | |
| Ransom | Kate Mullen | ||
| 1997 | Buddy | Gertrude Lintz | |
| 1998 | Lethal Weapon 4 | Lorna Cole | |
| 1999 | The Thomas Crown Affair | Catherine Banning | |
| 2000 | The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle | Natasha Fatale | |
| 2002 | Showtime | Chase Renzi | |
| Big Trouble | Anna Herk | ||
| 2005 | Two for the Money | Toni Morrow | Also executive producer |
| Yours, Mine & Ours | Helen North | ||
| 2011 | Thor | Frigga | |
| 2013 | Thor: The Dark World | ||
| 2014 | Nightcrawler | Nina Romina | |
| 2015 | Frank and Cindy | Cindy | |
| The Intern | Fiona | ||
| 2017 | Just Getting Started | Suzie Quinces | |
| 2019 | Velvet Buzzsaw | Rhodora Haze | |
| Avengers: Endgame | Frigga |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987–1988 | Sable | Eden Kendell | 7 episodes |
| Year | Work | Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | Freejack | Saturn Award | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated |
| Lethal Weapon 3 | MTV Movie Award | Best Kiss(shared with Mel Gibson) | Nominated | |
| 1996 | Get Shorty | Screen Actors Guild Award | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | Nominated |
| 1999 | Lethal Weapon 4 | Broadcast Entertainment Award | Favorite Supporting Actress–Action | Nominated |
| 2000 | The Thomas Crown Affair | Broadcast Entertainment Award | Favorite Actress–Drama | Nominated |
| 2001 | The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle | Saturn Award | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated |
| Razzie Award | Worst Supporting Actress | Nominated | ||
| Stinkers Bad Movie Awards | Worst Supporting Actress | Nominated | ||
| 2014 | Nightcrawler | AARP Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won |
| San Diego Film Critics Society Awards | San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress | Won | ||
| Saturn Award | Best Supporting Actress | Won | ||
| BAFTA Film Award | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Nominated | ||
| Denver Film Critics Society Award | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated | ||
| Detroit Film Critics Society Award | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated | ||
| Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award | Best Supporting Actress(2nd place)[55] | Nominated | ||
| National Society of Film Critics Award | Best Supporting Actress(3rd place)[56] | Nominated | ||
| Village Voice Film Poll | Best Supporting Actress | Nominated |
