Rebecca De Mornay | |
|---|---|
 De Mornay in 2006 | |
| Born | Rebecca Jane Pearch (1959-08-29)August 29, 1959 (age 65)[a] Santa Rosa, California, U.S. |
| Other names | Rebecca George |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1975, 1981–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent | Wally George (father) |
| Relatives | Eugenia Clinchard (grandmother) |
Rebecca De Mornay (born August 29, 1959[1][2][3][a]) is an American actress. Her breakthrough film role came in 1983, when she starred inRisky Business. De Mornay is also known for her roles inThe Slugger's Wife (1985),Runaway Train (1985),The Trip to Bountiful (1985),Backdraft (1991), andThe Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992).
Her other film credits includeThe Three Musketeers (1993),Never Talk to Strangers (1995),Identity (2003),Lords of Dogtown,Wedding Crashers (both 2005), andMother's Day (2010). On television, she starred asWendy Torrance in theminiseries adaptation ofThe Shining (1997), and asDorothy Walker onMarvel'sJessica Jones (2015–19).
De Mornay was born Rebecca Jane Pearch inSanta Rosa, California, the daughter of Julie[9] andWally George (né George Walter Pearch), adisc jockey and later television host.[10] Her paternal grandmother wasvaudeville performer and child film actressEugenia Clinchard.[11]
Her parents divorced in 1960, and she took the surname of her stepfather, Richard De Mornay, after her mother married him in 1961. She spent her early years inPasadena, California, until her stepfather died of a stroke on March 2, 1962, aged 48.[12] After his death, De Mornay and her half-brother Peter were raised by her mother, who relocated the family to Europe, where they lived in several different locations.[13] She attended theindependentSummerhill School inLeiston,Suffolk,England[14] before completing her studies at a private high school inGermany.[13]
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By the time she was 16, De Mornay had an agent who was selling her songs to German rock & roll musicians, and she had written the theme song for a kung fu movie calledGoodbye Bruce Lee: His Last Game of Death (1975).[15][16] In 1980,[13] De Mornay returned to the United States and enrolled at theLee Strasberg Institute to study acting.[17] She made her film debut with a small part inFrancis Ford Coppola's 1981 filmOne from the Heart, which starred her real-life partner at the time,Harry Dean Stanton.[18][19] Her star-making role came two years later inRisky Business (1983), as acall girl who seduces a high-school student played byTom Cruise. In 1985, she played the title role inThe Slugger's Wife oppositeMichael O'Keefe, and co-starred inThe Trip to Bountiful andRunaway Train, both of which were nominated for severalAcademy Awards. That same year, she appeared withStarship'sMickey Thomas in the music video for the song "Sara". The song reached No. 1 on theBillboard Hot 100 chart on March 15, 1986.
She also appeared inRoger Vadim's provocative 1988 remake ofAnd God Created Woman, and as the wife ofKurt Russell's character inRon Howard'sBackdraft (1991). In 1990 she enacted the role of a USAF Captain pilot in HBO's successful Cold War filmBy the Dawn's Early Light. One of De Mornay's most commercially successful films was the thrillerThe Hand That Rocks the Cradle, released in 1992. She starred as a defense lawyer inSidney Lumet's murder dramaGuilty as Sin (1993) withDon Johnson. Then she appeared in the 1995 drama filmNever Talk to Strangers oppositeAntonio Banderas, for which she was also the executive producer.
In 2003, she guest-starred as primary antagonist in the first two episodes of season 2 ofBoomtown. In 2004, she guest-starred as attorney Hannah Rose for the last few episodes ofThe Practice and the following year, had a brief role alongsideOwen Wilson andVince Vaughn inWedding Crashers. De Mornay also starred in the 2007 dramaAmerican Venus.[4]
In June 2007, she appeared in theHBO seriesJohn from Cincinnati with a starring role as matriarch of a troubledImperial Beach, California, surfing family and the grandmother/guardian of a teen surfer on the brink of greatness. She appeared inDarren Lynn Bousman'sMother's Day (2010).
In 2012, De Mornay played the role of Finch's mom in the movieAmerican Reunion where she portrayed an attractive older woman and a love interest of Stifler. From 2015 to 2019, she appeared inJessica Jones as Trish Walker's abusive mother.[20]
De Mornay dated actorHarry Dean Stanton in the early 1980s. They met in 1981 on the set ofOne from the Heart[21] and dated until De Mornay andTom Cruise began an affair while filmingRisky Business in 1982.[22] De Mornay and Cruise parted in 1985.
De Mornay married writerBruce Wagner on December 16, 1986; they divorced in 1990.[23]
De Mornay subsequently dated and was briefly engaged to singerLeonard Cohen.[24][25] She co-produced Cohen's 1992 albumThe Future, which is also dedicated to her.
De Mornay was in a relationship with actor turned sportscasterPatrick O'Neal. They have two daughters together.[3][26]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | One from the Heart | Understudy | Credited as Rebecca de Mornay |
| 1983 | Risky Business | Lana | |
| Testament | Cathy Pitkin | ||
| 1985 | The Slugger's Wife | Debby Palmer | |
| Runaway Train | Sara | ||
| The Trip to Bountiful | Thelma | ||
| 1987 | Beauty and the Beast | Beauty | |
| 1988 | Feds | Elizabeth "Ellie" DeWitt | |
| And God Created Woman | Robin Shea Moran | ||
| 1989 | Dealers | Anna Schuman | |
| 1990 | By Dawn's Early Light | Captain Moreau, USAF | |
| 1991 | Backdraft | Helen McCaffrey | |
| 1992 | The Hand That Rocks the Cradle | Mrs. Mott / Peyton Flanders | MTV Movie Award for Best Villain |
| 1993 | Guilty as Sin | Jennifer Haines | |
| The Three Musketeers | Milady de Winter | ||
| 1995 | Never Talk to Strangers | Dr. Sarah Taylor | Executive producer |
| 1996 | The Winner | Louise | Credited as Rebecca DeMornay |
| 1999 | Thick as Thieves | Det. Louise Petrone | |
| 1999 | A Table for One | Ruth Draper | |
| 2000 | The Right Temptation | Derian McCall | |
| 2003 | Identity | Caroline Suzanne | Credited as Rebecca DeMornay |
| 2004 | Raise Your Voice | Aunt Nina | |
| 2005 | Lords of Dogtown | Philaine | |
| Wedding Crashers | Mrs. Kroeger | ||
| 2007 | American Venus | Celia Lane | |
| Music Within | Mrs. Pimental | ||
| 2010 | Flipped | Patsy Loski | |
| Mother's Day | Natalie "Mother" Koffin | ||
| 2011 | A Fonder Heart | Dr. Bach | |
| Apartment 1303 3D | Maddie Slate | ||
| 2012 | American Reunion | Rachel Finch | |
| 2015 | Collar | Mayor Ramona 'Nomi' Billingsley | |
| 2016 | I Am Wrath | Vivian Hill | |
| 2018 | Periphery | Vi Warner | |
| 2020 | She Ball | Aggie | |
| 2024 | Peter Five Eight | Brenda |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | Tall Tales & Legends | Slew Foot Sue | Episode: "Pecos Bill" |
| The Murders in the Rue Morgue | Claire Dupin | Television film | |
| 1990 | By Dawn's Early Light | Captain Moreau | Television film |
| 1991 | An Inconvenient Woman | Flo March | Television film |
| 1993 | Blind Side | Linda Kaines | Television film |
| 1994 | Getting Out | Arlene Holsclaw | Television film |
| 1995 | The Outer Limits | Woman | Episode: "The Conversion". Also directed the episode. |
| 1997 | The Shining | Wendy Torrance | Miniseries |
| 1998 | The Con | Barbara Beaton / Nancy Thoroughgood | Television film |
| 1999 | Night Ride Home | Nora Mahler | Television film |
| ER | Elaine Nichols | 5 episodes | |
| 2000 | Range of Motion | Lainey Berman | Television film |
| 2001 | A Girl Thing | Kim McCormack | Television film |
| 2002 | Salem Witch Trials | Elizabeth Parris | Television film |
| 2003 | No Place Like Home | Liz | Television pilot |
| Boomtown | Sabrina Fithian / Jill Foster | 2 episodes | |
| 2004 | The Practice | Hannah Rose | 4 episodes |
| 2006 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Tessa McKellen | Episode: "Manipulated" |
| 2007 | John from Cincinnati | Cissy Yost | 5 episodes |
| 2013 | Hatfields & McCoys | Mary Hatfield | Unaired pilot |
| Hawaii Five-0 | Barbara Cotchin | Episode: "A ia la aku" | |
| 2015–2019 | Jessica Jones | Dorothy Walker | 13 episodes |
| 2016, 2021 | Lucifer | Penelope Decker | 3 episodes |
| Year | Artist | Song | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | Starship | "Sara" | Sara |
-- Actor Rebecca De Mornay in 1959 (age 60)
Aug. 29...Actor Rebecca DeMornay is 62.
Associated Press records indicate De Mornay's age is 45, while some other sources give it as 48.
