Sigourney Weaver

Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (; born October 8, 1949) is an American actress. A figure in science fiction and popular culture, she has received various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. In 2003 she was voted Number 20 in Channel 4's countdown of the 100 Greatest Movie Stars of All Time.

Weaver rose to fame when she was cast as Ellen Ripley in the Ridley Scott directed science fiction film ''Alien'' (1979), which earned her a nomination for the BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer. She reprised the role with a critically acclaimed performance in James Cameron's ''Aliens'' (1986), for which she received her first Academy Award nomination. She returned to the role in two more sequels: ''Alien 3'' (1992) and ''Alien Resurrection'' (1997). The character is regarded as a significant female protagonist in cinema history. Her other franchise roles include Dana Barrett in ''Ghostbusters'' (1984), '' Ghostbusters II'' (1989) and '' Ghostbusters: Afterlife'' (2021). She reunited with Cameron portraying Dr. Grace Augustine in ''Avatar'' (2009)—which remains the highest-grossing film of all time, and returned in '' Avatar: The Way of Water'' (2022), portraying Kiri te Suli Kìreysì'ite.

Known for her work on the Broadway stage she received a Tony Award nomination for her role in the play ''Hurlyburly'' (1984). Further acclaim came with playing primatologist Dian Fossey in ''Gorillas in the Mist'' (1988), for which she won a Golden Globe Award, and in the same year, winning another Golden Globe Award for her performance in ''Working Girl''. Weaver was the first actor to have two acting wins at the Golden Globes in the same year; she also received an Academy Award nomination for both films. She received the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ''The Ice Storm series ''Planet Earth'' (2006) and '' The Beatles: Eight Days a Week'' (2016).

Early life

Susan Alexandra Weaver was born in New York City on October 8, 1949. Her mother, Elizabeth Inglis (born Desiree Mary Lucy Hawkins), was an English actress and a native of Colchester, England. Weaver's father, Sylvester "Pat" Weaver Jr., was an American television executive born in Los Angeles, who served as president of NBC between 1953 and 1955 and created NBC's ''Today Show'' in 1952. Pat's brother, Winstead "Doodles" Weaver, was a comedian and contributor to '' Mad''. Her father's American family was of Dutch, English, Scots-Irish, and Scottish ancestry.

At the age of 14, Weaver began using the name "Sigourney", taking it from a minor character in ''The Great Gatsby''. She briefly attended the Brearley School and Chapin School in New York before arriving at the Ethel Walker School (Walker's) in Simsbury, Connecticut, where she developed an early interest in performance art. One of her early roles was in a school adaptation of the poem " The Highwayman", and on another occasion she played a Rudolph Valentino character in an adaptation of '' The Sheik''. She was also involved in theatrical productions of ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' and '' You Can't Take It with You'' during one summer at Southbury, Connecticut. Weaver reportedly reached the height of by the age of 11, which had a negative impact on her self-esteem. She recalled feeling like "a giant spider" and never having "the confidence to ever think I could act."

In 1967, shortly before turning 18, Weaver visited Israel and volunteered on a kibbutz for several months. On her return to the United States, she attended Sarah Lawrence College. After her freshman year, she transferred to Stanford University as an English major. At Stanford, Weaver was extensively involved in theater. She performed in a group named the "Palo Alto Company", doing Shakespeare plays and "commedia dell'arte in a covered wagon" around the Bay Area, the nature of which she considered "outrageous". She avoided Stanford's drama department, as she believed their productions were too "stuffy" and "safe". Weaver had planned to enter Stanford's Ph.D. English program and eventually pursue a career as a writer or a journalist, but changed her mind after getting frustrated by the "deadly dry" honors courses. She eventually graduated in 1972 with a B.A. in English. Weaver subsequently applied to Yale University's School of Drama, performing Bertolt Brecht's ''Saint Joan of the Stockyards'' at her audition, and was accepted.

Weaver admitted that she had a difficult time at Yale. She was not fond of the shows at Yale Repertory Theatre, and had little luck getting lead roles in school productions. Some acting teachers referred to her as "talentless" and advised her to stick to comedy. Weaver credited her friends such as Christopher Durang, who kept hiring her for his plays, as well as her time at the Yale Cabaret, as crucial in helping her pull through. She graduated from Yale with a Master of Fine Arts in 1974.

Career

Weaver performed in the first production of the Stephen Sondheim musical ''The Frogs'' while at Yale, alongside Larry Blyden and fellow students Meryl Streep and Durang. She was briefly an understudy in a John Gielgud production of ''Captain Brassbound's Conversion'' thereafter. She also acted in original plays by Durang. She appeared in an off-Broadway production of Durang's comedy '' Beyond Therapy'' in 1981, which was directed by then-fledgling director Jerry Zaks. Before her on-screen breakthrough, she had appeared only in commercials, a few television roles (including an appearance in the soap opera ''Somerset''), and had a small part in the 1977 Woody Allen comedy ''Annie Hall''. Her originally more substantial ''Annie Hall'' role was scaled back due to her commitment to the Durang play ''Titanic''. Weaver appeared two years later as Warrant Officer / Lieutenant Ripley in Ridley Scott's blockbuster film ''Alien'' (1979), in a role initially designated to co-star British-born actress Veronica Cartwright until a late change in casting. Cartwright stated to World Entertainment News Network (WENN) that she was in England ready to start work on ''Alien'' when she discovered that she would be playing the navigator Lambert in the project, and Weaver had been given the lead role of Ellen Ripley. Weaver reprised the role seven years later in the sequel to ''Alien'', similarly titled ''Aliens''. Directed by James Cameron, critic Roger Ebert wrote, "Weaver, who is onscreen almost all the time, comes through with a very strong, sympathetic performance: She's the thread that holds everything together." For ''Aliens'', she won the Saturn Award for Best Actress and earned nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress.

She next appeared opposite Mel Gibson as British Embassy officer Jill Bryant in '' The Year of Living Dangerously'' (1982) released to critical acclaim, and as Dana Barrett in ''Ghostbusters'' and '' Ghostbusters II''. In 1988, Weaver starred as primatologist Dian Fossey in ''Gorillas in the Mist''. The same year, she appeared opposite Harrison Ford in a supporting role as Katharine Parker in the film ''Working Girl''. Weaver won Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress for her two roles that year. Weaver received two Academy Award nominations in 1988, for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ''Working Girl'' and Best Actress for ''Gorillas in the Mist''.

Weaver returned to the big screen with ''Alien 3'' (1992) and Ridley Scott's '' 1492: Conquest of Paradise'' (1992) in which she played the role of Queen Isabella. In the early 1990s, Weaver appeared in several films including ''Dave'' opposite Kevin Kline and Frank Langella. In 1994, she starred in Roman Polanski's drama '' Death and the Maiden'' as Paulina Escobar. She played the role of agoraphobic criminal psychologist Helen Hudson in the movie ''Copycat'' (1995). Weaver also concentrated on smaller and supporting roles such as '' Jeffrey'' (1994) with Nathan Lane and Patrick Stewart. In 1997, she appeared in Ang Lee's ''The Ice Storm for Actress in a Supporting Role. In 1999, she co-starred in the science fiction comedy ''Galaxy Quest'' and the drama ''A Map of the World'', earning her another Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress, for the latter film.

In 2001, Weaver appeared in the comedy '' Heartbreakers'' playing the lead role of a con-artist alongside Jennifer Love Hewitt, Ray Liotta, Gene Hackman and Anne Bancroft. She appeared in several films throughout the decade including ''Holes'' (2003), the M. Night Shyamalan horror film '' The Village'' (2004), '' Vantage Point'' (2008), and ''Baby Mama'' (2008). In 2007, Weaver returned to Rwanda for the BBC
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