Jessica Lange

Jessica Lange
Lange in 2008
Born
Jessica Phyllis Lange

(1949-04-20) April 20, 1949 (age 75)
Cloquet, Minnesota, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1976–present
WorksFull list
Spouse
Paco Grande
​
​
(m. 1970; div. 1982)​
PartnerSam Shepard (1982–2009)
Children3, including Shura Baryshnikov
AwardsFull list

Jessica Phyllis Lange (/læŋ/; born April 20, 1949)[1] is an American actress. Known for her roles on stage and screen she has received numerous accolades and is one of the few performers to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting. Lange has received two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award as well as nominations for a BAFTA Award and a Olivier Award.[2]

Lange made her professional film debut in the remake King Kong (1976) which, despite receiving mixed reviews,[3] earned her the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year. Lange went on to receive two Academy Awards, her first for Best Supporting Actress as a soap opera star in the comedy Tootsie (1982) and her second for Best Actress playing a bipolar housewife in Blue Sky (1994).[4] Her other Oscar-nominated roles were for Frances (1982), Country (1984), Sweet Dreams (1985), and Music Box (1989). She also acted in films such as All That Jazz (1979), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), Crimes of the Heart (1986), Cape Fear (1991), Rob Roy (1995), and Big Fish (2003).

For her roles on television she received her first Primetime Emmy Award for her portrayal of Big Edie in the HBO movie Grey Gardens (2009). Lange gained new recognition by starring in FX's horror anthology, American Horror Story (2011–2015, 2018), which earned her two additional Primetime Emmys for its first and third seasons. She was Emmy-nominated for her roles as Blanche DuBois in the CBS film A Streetcar Named Desire (1995), a wife in the HBO television movie Normal (2003), and Joan Crawford in FX the miniseries Feud: Bette and Joan (2017).[5] Lange has also acted in the television films O Pioneers! (1992), and The Great Lillian Hall (2024) as well as the Netflix series The Politician (2019).

On stage, Lange made her Broadway debut as Blanche DuBois in the revival of the Tennessee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire (1992). Lange won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her role as Mary Cavan Tyrone in the Broadway revival of the Eugene O'Neill play Long Day's Journey into Night (2016).[6] Lange returned to Broadway playing the hardheaded matriarch in the Paula Vogel play Mother Play (2024).[7]

Lange is also a photographer with five published books of photography.[8][9][10] She has been a foster parent[11] and holds a Goodwill Ambassador position for UNICEF, specializing in HIV/AIDS in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Russia.[12][13]

  1. ^ "Today's famous birthdays list for April 20, 2021 includes celebrities George Takei, Andy Serkis". Cleveland.com. April 20, 2021. Archived from the original on February 4, 2022. Retrieved February 3, 2022.
  2. ^ Multiple sources:
  3. ^ "King Kong (1976)". Rotten Tomatoes. Fandango. December 17, 1976. Archived from the original on April 9, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  4. ^ Aquilina, Tyler (January 23, 2020). "Scarlett Johansson joins an exclusive club with these Oscar-nominated actors and actresses". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  5. ^ Shaw, Gabbi (March 11, 2023). "Then and Now: 25 best actress Oscar winners". Insider. Archived from the original on August 1, 2023. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  6. ^ Gerard, Jeremy (May 26, 2015). "Jessica Lange, Gabriel Byrne Will Take Long Day's Journey To Broadway". Deadline Hollywood. Archived from the original on September 30, 2018. Retrieved April 29, 2023.
  7. ^ "Jessica Lange Leads Starry Cast of New Paula Vogel Play on Broadway". The New York Times. September 6, 2023.
  8. ^ Loos, Ted (September 26, 2019). "Highway 61 Revisited, With Jessica Lange". The New York Times. nytimes.com. Archived from the original on November 16, 2020. Retrieved October 7, 2020.
  9. ^ Multiple sources
  10. ^ Lange, Jessica (November 8, 2022). Dérive: Photographs by Jessica Lange. powerHouse Books. www.simonandschuster.com. ISBN 9781648230226. Archived from the original on September 13, 2022. Retrieved September 13, 2022. {{cite book}}: |work= ignored (help)
  11. ^ Jennifer Rodger (June 11, 1998). "Film: In Focus: Jessica Lange – Arts & Entertainment". The Independent. London. Archived from the original on September 10, 2018. Retrieved August 9, 2013.
  12. ^ "Jessica Lange". UNICEF. November 16, 2008. unicef.org. Archived from the original on March 10, 2016. Retrieved May 11, 2011.
  13. ^ "Jessica Lange Visits Russia". UNICEF. November 16, 2008. unicef.org. Archived from the original on September 11, 2018. Retrieved May 11, 2011.