Demi Moore

Demi Gene Moore ( ; née Guynes; born November 11, 1962) is an American actress. After making her film debut in 1981, Moore appeared on the soap opera '' General Hospital'' (1982–1984) and subsequently gained recognition as a member of the Brat Pack with roles in '' Blame It on Rio'' (1984), '' St. Elmo's Fire'' (1985), and '' About Last Night...'' (1986). She had her breakthrough for her starring role in ''Ghost'' (1990), the highest-grossing film of that year. Her performance was praised and earned her a Golden Globe nomination.

She had further box-office success in the early 1990s, with the films '' A Few Good Men'' (1992), '' Indecent Proposal'' (1993), and '' Disclosure'' (1994). In 1996, Moore became the highest-paid actress in film history when she received an unprecedented $12.5 million to star in '' Striptease''. She had starring roles in the films '' The Scarlet Letter'' (1995), '' The Juror'' (1996) and '' G.I. Jane'' (1997), all of which were commercially unsuccessful and contributed to a downturn in her career. Her career has since had a resurgence with supporting roles in such films as '' The Hunchback of Notre Dame'' (1996), '' The Hunchback of Notre Dame II'' (2002), '' Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'' (2003), '' Bobby'' (2006), ''Mr. Brooks'' (2007), '' Margin Call'' (2011), and '' Rough Night'' (2017).

In 2019, she released a memoir titled ''Inside Out'', which became a ''New York Times'' Best Seller. Moore has been married three times, to the musician Freddy Moore and the actors Bruce Willis and Ashton Kutcher. She has three daughters with Willis.

Early life

Childhood and family

Moore was born November 11, 1962, in Roswell, New Mexico. Her biological father, Air Force airman Charles Harmon Sr., left her then 18-year-old mother, Virginia (née King), after a two-month marriage before Moore was born. When Moore was three months old, her mother married Dan Guynes, a newspaper advertising salesman who frequently changed jobs; as a result, the family moved many times. Together, they had Moore's half-brother Morgan. Moore said in 1991, "My dad is Dan Guynes. He raised me. There is a man who would be considered my biological father who I don't really have a relationship with." Moore has half-siblings from Charlie Harmon's other marriages, but she doesn't keep in touch with them either.

Moore's stepfather Dan Guynes divorced and remarried her mother twice. On October 20, 1980, a year after their second divorce from each other, Guynes died by suicide. Her biological father Charlie Harmon died in 1997 from liver cancer. Moore's mother had a long arrest record which included drunk driving and arson. Moore broke off contact with her in 1989, when Guynes walked away halfway through a rehab stay Moore had financed at the Hazelden Foundation in Minnesota. Guynes posed nude for the magazine '' High Society'' in 1993, where she spoofed Moore's '' Vanity Fair'' pregnancy and bodypaint covers and parodied her love scene from the film ''Ghost''. Moore and Guynes briefly reconciled shortly before Guynes died of a brain tumor on July 2, 1998.

Moore spent her early childhood in New Mexico, and later, Canonsburg, Pennsylvania. She suffered from strabismus as a child, which was corrected by two operations; Moore also suffered from kidney dysfunction. Moore learned of her biological father, Harmon, at age 13, when she found her mother and stepfather's marriage certificate and inquired about the circumstances since she "saw my parents were married in February 1963. I was born in '62."

Education

At age 14, Moore returned to her hometown of Roswell and lived with her grandmother for six months before relocating to Washington state, where her mother and siblings were residing near Seattle. Several months later, the family moved again to West Hollywood, California, where Moore's mother took a job working for a magazine distribution company. Moore attended Fairfax High School there, and recalled, "I moved out of my family's house when I was 16 and left high school in my junior year." In 2019, she stated she was raped at 15 by landlord Basil Doumas, then 49. Doumas claimed he had paid Moore's mother to get access to Moore to rape her, although Moore said it is unclear if this were true.

Career

1980–1985: Early roles and breakthrough

Moore signed with the Elite Modeling Agency, then enrolled in drama classes after being inspired by her next-door neighbor, 17-year-old German actress Nastassja Kinski.Collins, p. 145 In August 1979, at age 16, Moore met musician Freddy Moore who was married and at the time leader of the band Boy, at the Los Angeles nightclub The Troubadour. They lived in an apartment in West Hollywood. Moore co-wrote three songs with Freddy Moore and appeared in the music video for their selection "It's Not a Rumor," performed by his band, The Nu Kats. She continues to receive royalty checks from her songwriting work (1980–81). Moore also sang in the films ''One Crazy Summer'' and '' Bobby''.

Moore appeared on the cover of the January 1981 issue of the adult magazine '' Oui,'' taken from a photo session in which she had posed nude. In a 1988 interview, Moore claimed she "only posed for the cover of ''Oui''—I was 16; I told them I was 18". Interviewer Alan Carter said, "However, some peekaboo shots did appear inside. And later, nude shots of her turned up in ''Celebrity Sleuth''—photos that she once said 'were for a European fashion magazine'." In 1990, she told another interviewer, "I was 17 years old. I was underage. It was just the cover." Moore made her film debut with a brief role in the 1981 teen drama ''Choices'', directed by Silvio Narizzano. Her second film feature was the 3-D sci-fi horror film ''Parasite'' (1982), for which director Charles Band had instructed casting director Johanna Ray to "find me the next Karen Allen." Moore then joined the cast of the ABC soap opera '' General Hospital'', playing the role of an investigative reporter until 1983. During her tenure on the series, she made an uncredited cameo appearance in the 1982 spoof film '' Young Doctors in Love''. Moore's film career took off in 1984 following her appearance in the sex comedy '' Blame It on Rio''. She also portrayed Laura Victor in the comedy film '' No Small Affair'' (1984), opposite Jon Cryer.

Moore's commercial breakthrough came in Joel Schumacher's yuppie drama '' St. Elmo's Fire'' (1985), which received negative reviews, but was a box office success and brought Moore recognition. Because of her association with that film, Moore was often listed as part of the Brat Pack, a label she felt was "demeaning". Moore progressed to more serious material with '' About Last Night...'' (1986), co-starring Rob Lowe, which marked a positive turning point in her career, as Moore noted that, following its release, she began seeing better scripts. Film critic Roger Ebert gave the film four out of four stars and praised her performance, writing, "There isn't a romantic note she isn't required to play in this movie, and she plays them all flawlessly."

1986–1996: Breakthrough and critical success

The success of ''About Last Night...'' was unrivaled by Moore's other two 1986 releases, ''One Crazy Summer'' and ''Wisdom'', the last youth-oriented films in which she would star. Moore was listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1986" in John Willis's Screen World, Vol. 38. Moore made her professional stage debut in an off-Broadway production of ''The Early Girl'', which ran at the Circle Repertory Company in fall 1986. In 1988, Moore starred as a prophecy-bearing mother in the apocalyptic drama '' The Seventh Sign''—her first outing as a solo film star— and in 1989, she played the quick-witted local laundress and prostitute in Neil Jordan's Depression-era allegory '' We're No Angels'', opposite Robert De Niro.

Moore's most successful film to date is the supernatural romantic melodrama ''Ghost'' (1990), which grossed over US$505 million at the box office and was the highest-grossing film of the year. She played a young woman in jeopardy to be protected by the ghost of her murdered lover. The love scene between Moore and Patrick Swayze that starts in front of a potter's wheel to the sound of " Unchained Melody" has become an iconic moment in cinema history. ''Ghost'' was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, and Moore's performance earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination. In 1991 Moore starred in the horror comedy '' Nothing but Trouble'', co-produced and appeared in the mystery thriller '' Mortal Thoughts'', and played a blonde for the first time in the romantic comedy '' The Butcher's Wife'', with Roger Ebert's review describing her as "warm and cuddly". Moore sustained her A-list status with her starring roles in Rob Reiner's '' A Few Good Men'' (1992), Adrian Lyne's '' Indecent Proposal'' (1993), and Barry Levinson's '' Disclosure'' (1994)—all of which opened at No. 1 at the box office and were blockbuster hits.

By 1995 Moore was the highest paid actress in Hollywood. Her portrayal of Hester Prynne in '' The Scarlet Letter'' (1995), a "freely adapted" version of the historical romance novel by Nathaniel Hawthorne, was met with harsh criticism. The coming-of-age drama '' Now and Then'' (1995) found moderate box office success. Moore was paid a record-breaking salary of US$12.5 million in 1996 to star in '' Striptease''. Much hype was made about Moore's willingness to dance topless for the part, though this was the sixth time she had shown her breasts on film. The film opened to overwhelmingly negative reviews with Moore's performance being criticised. It was a moderate financial success, grossing US$113 million worldwide, and Moore received the Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Actress. Moore starred in the thriller '' The Juror'' (1996). It was a box office bomb and was heavily panned by critics.

Moore produced and starred in a controversial miniseries for HBO called '' If These Walls Could Talk'' (1996), a three-part anthology about abortion alongside Sissy Spacek and Cher. Its screenwriter, Nancy Savoca, directed two segments, including one in which Moore played a widowed nurse in the early 1950s seeking a back-alley abortion. For that role, Moore received a second Golden Globe nomination as Best Actress. Also in 1996, she provided the speaking voice of the beautiful Esmeralda in Disney's animated adaptation of '' The Hunchback of Notre Dame'', and starred in Mike Judge's comedy '' Beavis and Butt-head Do America'', alongside her then husband Bruce Willis. Moore shaved her head to play the first woman to undergo training in the Navy SEALs in Ridley Scott's '' G.I. Jane'' (1997). Budgeted at US$50 million, the film was a moderate commercial success, with a worldwide gross of US$97.1 million.

1997–2003: Career downturn and other ventures

During the production of ''G.I. Jane'', it was reported that Moore had ordered studio chiefs to charter two planes for her entourage and her, which reinforced her negative reputation for being a diva—she had previously turned down the Sandra Bullock role in '' While You Were Sleeping'' because the studio refused to meet her salary demands, and was dubbed "Gimme Moore" by the media. Moore took on the role of an ultrapious psychiatrist in Woody Allen's '' Deconstructing Harry'', also in 1997.

After ''G.I. Jane'', Moore retreated from the spotlight and moved to Hailey, Idaho, on a full-time basis to devote herself to raising her three daughters. Moore was off screen for three years before re-emerging in the arthouse psychological drama '' Passion of Mind'' (2000), the first English-language film from Belgian director Alain Berliner. Her performance as a woman with dissociative identity disorder was well received, but the film itself garnered mixed reviews and was deemed "naggingly slow" by some critics. Moore then resumed her self-imposed career hiatus and continued to turn down film offers. Producer Irwin Winkler said in 2001, "I had a project about a year and a half ago, and we made an inquiry about her—a real good commercial picture. She wasn't interested."

Moore returned to the screen playing a villain in the 2003 film '' Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'', opposite Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore and Lucy Liu. A commercial success, the film made US$259.1 million worldwide, and ''Rolling Stone'', on Moore's role, remarked: "It's a relief when Demi Moore shows up as fallen angel .. Moore, 40, looks great in a bikini and doesn't even try to act. Her unsmiling sexiness cuts through the gigglefest as the angels fight, kick, dance and motocross like Indiana Jones clones on estrogen". ''Charlie's Angels: Full Throttle'' was followed by yet another three-year absence. In the interim, Moore signed on as the face of the Versace fashion brand and the Helena Rubinstein brand of cosmetics.

2006–2011: Comeback and resurgence

In Emilio Estevez's drama '' Bobby'' (2006), Moore portrayed an alcoholic singer whose career is on the downswing, as part of an ensemble cast, about the hours leading up to the Robert F. Kennedy assassination. As a member of the cast, she was nominated for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Cast in a Motion Picture. The film won the Hollywood Film Festival Award for Best Ensemble Cast. Moore had a lead role as grieving and tormented novelist in the mystery thriller '' Half Light'' (2006) alongside Hans Matheson, then took on the role of a driven police officer investigating a serial killer in the psychological thriller ''Mr. Brooks'' (2007), with Kevin Costner. The film received mixed reviews and grossed $48.1 million worldwide. ''Rolling Stone'' wrote that "the cop on the case, played by Demi Moore with a striking directness that deserved better than being saddled with an absurd back story as an heiress with a fortune-hunting husband."

Moore reunited with ''Blame It on Rio'' co-star Michael Caine for the British crime drama film '' Flawless'' (2008), which saw her portray an American executive helping to steal a handful of diamonds from the London Diamond Corporation during the 1960s. Moore received positive reviews from critics; '' Miami Herald'' wrote: "The inspired pairing of Demi Moore and Michael Caine as a pair of thieves in the diamond-heist semi-caper movie ''Flawless'' goes a long way toward overcoming the film's slack, leisurely pacing".

In 2010, Moore took on the role of a daughter helping her father deal with age-related health problems in the dramedy ''Happy Tears,'' opposite Parker Posey and Rip Torn, and starred as the matriarch of a family moving into a suburban neighborhood in the comedy '' The Joneses,'' with