Rebecca Pidgeon (born October 10, 1965) is an American actress who has appeared on stage and in feature films, and a singer, songwriter and recording artist. She is married to American playwright
David Mamet
David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, filmmaker, and author. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and '' Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first gained cri ...
.
Early life
Pidgeon was born to English parents in
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge ( ) is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. As part of the Boston metropolitan area, the cities population of the 2020 U.S. census was 118,403, making it the fourth most populous city in the state, behind Boston, ...
, while her father, Carl R. Pidgeon, was a visiting professor at
MIT.
Her mother, Elaine, is a yoga teacher. Her paternal grandmother,
Monica Pidgeon
Monica Pidgeon (29 September 1913 – 17 September 2009) was a British interior designer and architectural writer best known as the editor of ''Architectural Design'' from 1946 to 1975.
Early life
Pidgeon was born Monica Lehmann in 1913 in Catem ...
, the editor of ''
Architectural Design
Building design refers to the broadly based architectural, engineering and technical applications to the design of buildings. All building projects require the services of a building designer, typically a licensed architect. Smaller, less complica ...
'', was the sister of artist
Olga Lehmann and academic
Andrew George Lehmann.
Pidgeon moved to
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
, Scotland in 1970 with her parents. She graduated from the
Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London with classmates
Clive Owen
Clive Owen (born 3 October 1964) is an English actor. He first gained recognition in the United Kingdom for playing the lead role in the ITV series ''Chancer'' from 1990 to 1991. He received critical acclaim for his work in the film '' Close ...
and
Liza Tarbuck
Liza Tarbuck ( ; born 21 November 1964) is an English actress, comedian, and television and radio presenter.
Early life
Liza Tarbuck was born in Liverpool. She is the daughter of comedian Jimmy Tarbuck and his wife Pauline, with an older siste ...
.
Career
From 1986 to 1990, Pidgeon was the lead singer of the British folk/pop band
Ruby Blue. She left the group shortly after they signed to a major record label.
She appeared in her first feature film, ''
The Dawning,'' in 1988; then starred in
David Mamet
David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, filmmaker, and author. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and '' Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first gained cri ...
's plays and films, beginning with the movie ''
Homicide
Homicide occurs when a person kills another person. A homicide requires only a volitional act or omission that causes the death of another, and thus a homicide may result from accidental, reckless, or negligent acts even if there is no inten ...
'' and the play ''
Oleanna'', a part Mamet wrote for her. She composed the music for the film version, which starred Debra Eisenstadt in her role.
She released the album ''The Raven'' in 1994, followed by ''The New York Girls' Club'' (1996), and ''The Four Marys'' (1998), a collection of traditional
Celtic
Celtic, Celtics or Keltic may refer to:
Language and ethnicity
*pertaining to Celts, a collection of Indo-European peoples in Europe and Anatolia
**Celts (modern)
*Celtic languages
**Proto-Celtic language
*Celtic music
*Celtic nations
Sports Foo ...
folk songs. ''Tough on Crime'' (2005) featured
Walter Becker of
Steely Dan
Steely Dan is an American rock band founded in 1971 in New York by Walter Becker (guitars, bass, backing vocals) and Donald Fagen (keyboards, lead vocals). Initially the band had a stable lineup, but in 1974, Becker and Fagen retired from liv ...
on guitar and
Billy Preston
William Everett Preston (September 2, 1946 – June 6, 2006) was an American keyboardist, singer and songwriter whose work encompassed R&B, rock, soul, funk, and gospel. Preston was a top session keyboardist in the 1960s, during which he ba ...
on keyboards. ''
Behind the Velvet Curtain'' (2008) included a cover version of the
Beach Boys song "
Wouldn't It Be Nice
"Wouldn't It Be Nice" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys and the opening track from their 1966 album '' Pet Sounds''. Written by Brian Wilson, Tony Asher, and Mike Love, it is distinguished for its sophisticated Wall of Sound-s ...
". ''Slingshot'' was released in 2012.
Pidgeon has had roles in additional Mamet films, including ''
The Spanish Prisoner'' (1997), ''
The Winslow Boy
''The Winslow Boy'' is an English play from 1946 by Terence Rattigan based on an incident involving George Archer-Shee in the Edwardian era. The incident took place at the Royal Naval College, Osborne.
Background
Set against the strict c ...
'' (1999), ''
State and Main'' (2000), ''
Heist'' (2001) and ''
Redbelt
''Redbelt'' is a 2008 American martial arts film written and directed by David Mamet and starring Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tim Allen, Alice Braga, Randy Couture, Ricky Jay, Joe Mantegna, Emily Mortimer, David Paymer, Rebecca Pidgeon, and Rodri ...
'' (2008). She had a supporting role in ''
Red'' (2010). In the 2013 television movie ''
Phil Spector
Harvey Phillip Spector (born Harvey Philip Spector; December 26, 1939January 16, 2021) was an American record producer and songwriter, best known for his innovative recording practices and entrepreneurship in the 1960s, followed decades later by ...
'', she played a supporting role and also sang "
Spanish Harlem
East Harlem, also known as Spanish Harlem or and historically known as Italian Harlem, is a neighborhood of Upper Manhattan, New York City, roughly encompassing the area north of the Upper East Side and bounded by 96th Street to the south, Fi ...
" over the closing credits. She appeared in the U.S. television series ''
The Unit as''
Charlotte Ryan, and in the 2007 television film ''
Jesse Stone: Sea Change'' as Leeann Lewis, a murder/bank robbery suspect.
Personal life
Pidgeon is married to American writer and director
David Mamet
David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, filmmaker, and author. He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and '' Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first gained cri ...
, whom she met while appearing in his play ''
Speed-the-Plow'' at the
National Theatre, London
The Royal National Theatre in London, commonly known as the National Theatre (NT), is one of the United Kingdom's three most prominent publicly funded performing arts venues, alongside the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Opera House. ...
. Mamet was married to actress
Lindsay Crouse at the time. After beginning a relationship with Pidgeon, Mamet divorced Crouse in 1990 and married Pidgeon in 1991.
Pidgeon and Mamet have two children, actress
Clara and Noah, in addition to Mamet's two older children, Willa and
Zosia. Pidgeon, who was born to a non-practising Christian family, has
converted
Conversion or convert may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* "Conversion" (''Doctor Who'' audio), an episode of the audio drama ''Cyberman''
* "Conversion" (''Stargate Atlantis''), an episode of the television series
* "The Conversion" ...
to Mamet's Jewish faith.
She holds dual American/British
citizenship
Citizenship is a "relationship between an individual and a state to which the individual owes allegiance and in turn is entitled to its protection".
Each state determines the conditions under which it will recognize persons as its citizens, and ...
.
Discography
* ''The Raven'' (
Chesky, 1994)
* ''The New York Girls' Club'' (Chesky, 1996)
* ''The Four Marys'' (Chesky, 1998)
* ''Tough on Crime'' (
Fuel 2000, 2005)
* ''
Behind the Velvet Curtain'' (Great American Music, 2008)
* ''Slingshot'' (Toy Canteen, 2011)
* ''Blue Dress On'' (Toy Canteen, 2013)
* ''Bad Poetry'' (Toy Canteen, 2014)
* ''Sudden Exposure to Light'' (Toy Canteen, 2019)
* ''Parts Of Speech Pieces Of Sound'' (Toy Canteen, 2022)
With
Ruby Blue
* ''Glances Askances'' (Red Flame, 1987)
* ''Down From Above'' (Fontana, 1990)
* ''Broken Water'' (Red Flame 1992)
As guest
*
Luciana Souza, ''Tide'' (Verve, 2009)
*
Madeleine Peyroux
Madeleine Peyroux (born April 18, 1974) is an American jazz singer and songwriter who began her career as a teenager on the streets of Paris. She sang vintage jazz and blues songs before finding mainstream success in 2004 when her album ''Carele ...
, ''Bare Bones'' (Rounder, 2009)
*
Chris Connelly, ''Decibels from Heart'' (Cleopatra, 2015)
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pidgeon, Rebecca
1965 births
Actresses from Cambridge, Massachusetts
Musicians from Cambridge, Massachusetts
Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art
American emigrants to Scotland
American people of English descent
American people of French descent
American people of Scottish descent
Converts to Judaism from Christianity
Jewish American actresses
Scottish film actresses
Scottish television actresses
Scottish stage actresses
20th-century Scottish women singers
Scottish folk singers
Scottish singer-songwriters
Living people
21st-century American Jews
21st-century Scottish women singers
21st-century American women