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Ellen Rona Barkin (born April 16, 1954) is an American actress and a producer. Her breakthrough role was in the 1982 film '' Diner'', and in the following years, she had starring roles in films such as '' Tender Mercies'' (1983), '' Eddie and the Cruisers'' (1983), '' The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension'' (1984), '' The Big Easy'' (1986), '' Johnny Handsome'', and ''
Sea of Love Sea of Love may refer to * ''Sea of Love'' (film), a 1989 American thriller film * "Sea of Love" (Phil Phillips song), a 1959 song by Phil Phillips and The Twilights, covered by many performers * "Sea of Love" (The National song), 2013 * ''The S ...
'' (both 1989). In 1991, for her leading role in the film '' Switch'', Barkin received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress. Her subsequent film credits include: '' Man Trouble'', '' Into the West'' (both 1992), '' This Boy's Life'' (1993), '' Bad Company'', '' Wild Bill'' (both 1995), '' The Fan'' (1996), '' Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas'' (1998), '' Drop Dead Gorgeous'' (1999), '' Crime and Punishment in Suburbia'' (2000), '' Palindromes'' (2004), '' Trust the Man'' (2005), '' Ocean's Thirteen'' (2007), '' Brooklyn's Finest'' (2009), and ''
The Cobbler The Cobbler ( gd, Beinn Artair) is an mountain located near the head of Loch Long in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is a Corbett, and is an important site for rock climbing in the Southern Highlands. Many maps include the name Ben Arthur (an a ...
'' (2014). In 1998, Barkin received a Primetime Emmy Award for her performance in the television film '' Before Women Had Wings''. In 2011, she received the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her
Broadway theatre Broadway theatre,Although ''theater'' is generally the spelling for this common noun in the United States (see American and British English spelling differences), 130 of the 144 extant and extinct Broadway venues use (used) the spelling ''T ...
debut in '' The Normal Heart''. From 2016 until 2019, she played the leading role of Janine "Smurf" Cody on the TNT drama series '' Animal Kingdom''. From 2012 until 2013, she played the leading role of Jane Forrest on the NBC sitcom '' The New Normal''. Her producing credits include the films '' Letters to Juliet'', '' Shit Year'' (both 2010), and ''
Another Happy Day ''Another Happy Day'' is a 2011 American drama film written and directed by Sam Levinson, in his feature directorial debut. The film stars an ensemble cast including Ellen Barkin, Kate Bosworth, Ellen Burstyn, Thomas Haden Church, Jeffrey DeM ...
'' (2011).


Early life

Barkin was born in
The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New ...
, New York, the daughter of Evelyn (née Rozin), a hospital administrator who worked at Jamaica Hospital, and Sol Barkin, a chemical salesman. Her family was
Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...
; they had emigrated from Siberia and the Russian-Polish border. Barkin lived in Flushing, New York, and attended Parsons Junior High School. She received her high-school diploma at
Manhattan Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
's
High School of Performing Arts The High School of Performing Arts (informally known as "PA") was a public alternative high school established in 1947 and located at 120 West 46th Street in the borough of Manhattan, New York City, from 1948 to 1984. In 1961, the school was ...
. She then attended
Hunter College Hunter College is a public university in New York City. It is one of the constituent colleges of the City University of New York and offers studies in more than one hundred undergraduate and postgraduate fields across five schools. It also admin ...
and double majored in history and drama. At one point, Barkin wanted to teach ancient history. She continued her acting education at New York City's Actors Studio. According to ''
Time Time is the continued sequence of existence and event (philosophy), events that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various me ...
'', she studied acting for 10 years before landing her first audition.


Career

Her break-out role was in the comedy-drama film ''Diner'' (1982), written and directed by Barry Levinson, for which she received favorable reviews. Barkin was cast in the
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super- ...
''Tender Mercies'' (1983) after impressing its director Bruce Beresford during an audition in New York City, despite her inexperience and his lack of familiarity with her work. Robert Duvall, who played the lead role in ''Tender Mercies'', said of Barkin, "She brings a real credibility to that part, plus she was young and attractive and had a certain sense of edge, a danger to her that was good for that part." She also appeared in the 1983 rock and roll drama film '' Eddie and the Cruisers''. Barkin later appeared in several successful films, including the thrillers ''The Big Easy'' (1987), opposite Dennis Quaid and ''Sea of Love'' (1989), opposite
Al Pacino Alfredo James Pacino (; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Considered one of the most influential actors of the 20th century, he has received numerous accolades: including an Academy Award, two Tony Awards, and two Primetime Emmy ...
. Barkin also appeared in off-Broadway plays, including a role as one of the roommates in '' Extremities'', about an intended rape victim played by Susan Sarandon who turns the tables on her attacker. About her performance in the play ''Eden Court'', ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' critic Frank Rich summarized: "If it were really possible to give the kiss of life to a corpse, the actress Ellen Barkin would be the one to do it. In ''Eden Court'', the moribund play that has brought her to the Promenade Theater, Miss Barkin is tantalizingly alive from her bouncing blond ponytail to the long legs that gyrate wildly and involuntarily every time an
Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the " King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. His ener ...
record plays on stage". Barkin has also done work in made-for-television films such as '' Before Women Had Wings'' (1997), for which she won an Emmy as Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie and ''The White River Kid'' (1999). She voiced the start of each '' Theme Time Radio Hour ''with host
Bob Dylan Bob Dylan (legally Robert Dylan, born Robert Allen Zimmerman, May 24, 1941) is an American singer-songwriter. Often regarded as one of the greatest songwriters of all time, Dylan has been a major figure in popular culture during a career sp ...
on XM's ''Deep Tracks''. In 2005, Barkin set up a film production company with her brother, George, along with her husband at the time and billionaire investor,
Ronald Perelman Ronald Owen Perelman (; born January 1, 1943) is an American banker, businessman and investor. MacAndrews & Forbes Incorporated, his company, has invested in companies with interests in groceries, cigars, licorice, makeup, cars, photography, t ...
. Barkin appeared in her Broadway debut as Dr. Brookner in '' The Normal Heart'', for which she won the 2011 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. Barkin has received acclaim for her performance in ''
Another Happy Day ''Another Happy Day'' is a 2011 American drama film written and directed by Sam Levinson, in his feature directorial debut. The film stars an ensemble cast including Ellen Barkin, Kate Bosworth, Ellen Burstyn, Thomas Haden Church, Jeffrey DeM ...
''.
IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Holl ...
cited her turn as one of the best female performances of the year. In 2015, she starred as Dani Kirschenbloom, in the Showtime comedy-drama series ''
Happyish ''Happyish'' (stylized as ''HAPPYish'') is an American dark satirical comedy-drama television show created and written by Shalom Auslander and starring Steve Coogan, Kathryn Hahn, Bradley Whitford, Ellen Barkin and Hannah Hodson. Ken Kwapis he ...
''. From 2016 through 2019, Barkin starred as Janine "Smurf" Cody, the crime family's matriarch, in the TNT drama series '' Animal Kingdom''. The series is based on the 2010 Australian film where Smurf was played by Jacki Weaver.


Personal life

Barkin is the mother of two children, Jack Daniel (born 1989) and Romy Marion (born 1992), from her first marriage, to actor Gabriel Byrne. The two separated in 1993 and divorced in 1999, but are still close. Byrne even attended Barkin's 2000 wedding to multibillionaire and businessman Ronald Perelman. According to '' New York'' magazine, that marriage ended in divorce in 2006. In 1998, Barkin had a relationship with actor Johnny Depp who she worked with on ''Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas''. From 2008 to 2011, Barkin dated filmmaker Sam Levinson. In October 2006, "Magnificent Jewels from the Collection of Ellen Barkin" were sold for $20,369,200 at
Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is owned by Groupe Artémi ...
, New York. In 2007, Barkin sued Perelman for $3.4 million in investment funds he allegedly promised to invest in their film production company.Richard Johnson; Paula Froelich; Bill Hoffmann; Debra Rosen; Corynne Steindle
"Ellen Wants More From Ron"
''
New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...
'', August 3, 2007
He was ordered to pay her $4.3 million. Barkin has a brother, George, who was formerly the editor-in-chief of '' National Lampoon'' and ''
High Times ''High Times'' is an American monthly magazine (and cannabis brand) that advocates the legalization of cannabis as well as other counterculture ideas. The magazine was founded in 1974 by Tom Forcade.Danko, Danny"Norml Founder Retires – Exhal ...
''.


Filmography


Film


Television


References


External links

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Barkin, Ellen 1954 births Living people Actresses from New York City American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Actors Studio alumni Hunter College alumni American people of Russian-Jewish descent Jewish American actresses Jewellery collectors People from the Bronx Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners Tony Award winners Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School alumni Theatre World Award winners 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses