Mariel Hemingway (born November 22, 1961) is an American actress. She began acting at age 14 with a
Golden Globe
The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...
-nominated breakout role in ''
Lipstick
Lipstick is a cosmetics, cosmetic product used to apply coloration and texture to lips, often made of wax and oil. Different pigments are used to produce color, and minerals such as silica may be used to provide texture. The use of lipstick ...
'' (1976), and she received
Academy
An academy (Attic Greek: Ἀκαδήμεια; Koine Greek Ἀκαδημία) is an institution of tertiary education. The name traces back to Plato's school of philosophy, founded approximately 386 BC at Akademia, a sanctuary of Athena, the go ...
and
BAFTA Award
The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTAs or BAFTA Awards, is an annual film award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to f ...
nominations for her performance in
Woody Allen
Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...
's ''
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
'' (1979).
She had leading roles in ''
Personal Best'' (1982), ''
Star 80'' (1983), and the TV series ''
Civil Wars
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.James Fearon"Iraq' ...
'' for which she received a Golden Globe nomination. Hemingway's acting career slowed in the late 1990s, and she focused on advocating for
mental health
Mental health is often mistakenly equated with the absence of mental illness. However, mental health refers to a person's overall emotional, psychological, and social well-being. It influences how individuals think, feel, and behave, and how t ...
awareness. She contributed to the acclaimed documentary ''
Running from Crazy'' regarding her family's struggles with mental illness.
Early life
She is the daughter of
Jack Hemingway and Byra Louise "Puck" Whittlesey. Her paternal grandparents were
Ernest Hemingway
Ernest Miller Hemingway ( ; July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer and journalist. Known for an economical, understated style that influenced later 20th-century writers, he has been romanticized fo ...
and
Hadley Richardson while
Grace Hall Hemingway was her paternal great-grandmother.
Hemingway's sisters were Joan "Muffet" and
Margot "Margaux"; the latter was a model and actress.
Career in film
Hemingway's first role was with her real-life sister Margaux (also in her debut role) in the film ''
Lipstick
Lipstick is a cosmetics, cosmetic product used to apply coloration and texture to lips, often made of wax and oil. Different pigments are used to produce color, and minerals such as silica may be used to provide texture. The use of lipstick ...
'' (1976), in which they played sisters. She received notice for her acting and was nominated as "Best Newcomer" for the
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Janua ...
that year. Her highest-profile role was in
Woody Allen
Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...
's ''
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
'' (1979), a
romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a sub-genre of comedy and Romance novel, romance fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount all obstacles. Ro ...
in which she plays Tracy, a high school student and Allen's lover. She was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
The Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 9th Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performanc ...
.
In ''
Personal Best'' (1982), she played a
bisexual
Bisexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior toward both males and females. It may also be defined as the attraction to more than one gender, to people of both the same and different gender, or the attraction t ...
track-and-field athlete in a film noted for its
same-sex love scenes. In connection with ''Personal Best'', she appeared in a nude pictorial in the April 1982 issue of ''
Playboy
''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...
'' and was on the cover.

She starred as
Dorothy Stratten in ''
Star 80'' (1983), a film about the ''Playboy'' model's life and murder. Reports circulated for years that Hemingway had her breasts enlarged to play the role of Stratten, but during a 2007 appearance on the late-night
talk and
variety show
Variety show, also known as variety arts or variety entertainment, is entertainment made up of a variety of acts including musical performances, sketch comedy, magic, acrobatics, juggling, and ventriloquism. It is normally introduced by a comp� ...
, ''
Fashionably Late with Stacy London'', she said she had had the surgery before ''Star 80''. Her
breast implants were removed years later after they had ruptured.
She was featured in ''
Superman IV: The Quest for Peace'' (1987) as Lacy Warfield. Subsequently released additional footage showed an expansion of her role. She starred in the 1991–93 legal drama ''
Civil Wars
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.James Fearon"Iraq' ...
'' for
ABC, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe, and co-starred with musician, artist, and film director
John Mellencamp
John J. Mellencamp (born October 7, 1951), previously known as Johnny Cougar, John Cougar, and John Cougar Mellencamp, is an American singer-songwriter. He is known for his brand of heartland rock, which emphasizes traditional instrumentation ...
in the critically acclaimed 1991 film ''
Falling from Grace''. She was cast as the female lead in
Darren Star's CBS drama ''
Central Park West
Eighth Avenue is a major north–south avenue on the west side of Manhattan in New York City, carrying northbound traffic below 59th Street. It is one of the original avenues of the Commissioners' Plan of 1811 to run the length of Manhattan, ...
'' for the 1995–96 season; however, the show fared poorly with both critics and viewers, and after 13 episodes Hemingway was told that the show wanted her to accept a deep pay cut and demotion to recurring character status. She quit the series, which only lasted eight more episodes before being cancelled. In 1996, she had a leading role in the British TV movie ''September'', playing the wife of
Michael York
Michael York (born Michael Hugh Johnson; 27 March 1942) is an English film, television, and stage actor. After performing on stage with the Royal National Theatre, he had a breakthrough in films by playing Tybalt in Franco Zeffirelli's ''Romeo ...
.
She has played a lesbian or bisexual woman in several films and television shows, including ''Personal Best'', ''
The Sex Monster'', ''
In Her Line of Fire'', and episodes of the TV series ''
Roseanne
''Roseanne'' is an American television sitcom created by Matt Williams (producer), Matt Williams that originally aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from October 18, 1988, to May 20, 1997, and briefly revived from March 27, 2018, to May ...
'' ("
Don't Ask, Don't Tell
"Don't ask, don't tell" (DADT) was the official United States policy on Sexual orientation in the United States military, military service of homosexual people. Instituted during the Presidency of Bill Clinton, Clinton administration, the pol ...
" and "
December Bride") and ''
Crossing Jordan
''Crossing Jordan'' is an American crime drama television series created by Tim Kring, that aired on NBC from September 24, 2001, to May 16, 2007. It stars Jill Hennessy as Dr. Jordan Cavanaugh, a crime-solving forensic pathologist employed ...
''. Hemingway is heterosexual, but has said she formed a "big connection with the
LGBT
LGBTQ people are individuals who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, or questioning. Many variants of the initialism are used; LGBTQIA+ people incorporates intersex, asexual, aromantic, agender, and other individuals. The gro ...
community" after ''Personal Best'' and enjoys taking roles in "cutting-edge" productions.
Hemingway has starred in and co-produced videos about
yoga
Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...
and holistic living. In 2002, she published a yoga memoir, ''
Finding My Balance''. She is currently the host of ''Spiritual Cinema'', a monthly television show dedicated to spiritual films. She has begun hosting a series of
yoga
Yoga (UK: , US: ; 'yoga' ; ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines that originated with its own philosophy in ancient India, aimed at controlling body and mind to attain various salvation goals, as pra ...
practice videos known as ''Yoga Now'', with
guru
Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...
Rodney Yee.
Hemingway worked on the documentary film ''
Running from Crazy'', directed by
Barbara Kopple and produced by the
Oprah Winfrey Network
The Oprah Winfrey Network (OWN, also known as the OWN Network) is an American multinational basic cable television network which launched on January 1, 2011, effectively replacing the Discovery Health Channel, which one month later merged with ...
chronicling the Hemingway family's history of suicide, substance abuse and mental illness, shown at the
Sundance Film Festival
The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023.
The festival has acted ...
in 2013. In October that year, Hemingway received a humanitarian award from the
San Diego Film Festival
The San Diego International Film Festival is an independent film festival held in San Diego, California, produced by the nonprofit San Diego Film Foundation. The main event has traditionally been held annually in autumn at venues in the Gaslamp Q ...
for her role in the documentary. Her memoir, ''Out Came the Sun'', was released in 2015.
Personal life
Hemingway married Stephen Crisman in 1984. They have two daughters:
Dree Hemingway and
Langley Fox. They separated in 2008 and divorced the following year.
In 1996, her sister Margaux died of a
barbiturate
Barbiturates are a class of depressant, depressant drugs that are chemically derived from barbituric acid. They are effective when used medication, medically as anxiolytics, hypnotics, and anticonvulsants, but have physical and psychological a ...
overdose at age 42. She was the fifth to commit suicide in four generations of Hemingways and her family had difficulty accepting the fact of her suicide.
In 2010, Hemingway wrote the foreword to yoga teacher Mark Stephens' book ''Teaching Yoga'', describing Stephens as a significant inspiration and teacher's teacher.
In early 2011, Hemingway began a relationship with former stuntman Bobby Williams with whom she has co-authored a self-help book.
She practices
Transcendental Meditation.
In the 2013 television documentary ''
Running from Crazy'',
Hemingway talked of her bouts of
mental illness
A mental disorder, also referred to as a mental illness, a mental health condition, or a psychiatric disability, is a behavioral or mental pattern that causes significant distress or impairment of personal functioning. A mental disorder is ...
and her still lingering issues with her siblings.
She spoke of her family's struggles with alcoholism, mental illnesses, and suicide. In particular, she mentioned how her sister Margaux's suicide continued to haunt her.
She also claimed that her parents' marriage was abusive and unhappy and discussed abusive incidents in her childhood.
In her memoir, ''Out Came the Sun'' (2015), Hemingway discussed being hit on by older men in Hollywood, including
Bob Fosse
Robert Louis Fosse (; June 23, 1927 – September 23, 1987) was an American choreographer, dancer, filmmaker, and stage director. Known for his work on stage and screen, he is arguably the most influential figure in the field of jazz dance in th ...
,
Robert De Niro
Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...
, and
Robert Towne
Robert Towne (born Robert Bertram Schwartz; November 23, 1934 – July 1, 2024) was an American screenwriter and director. He started writing films for Roger Corman, including '' The Tomb of Ligeia'' in 1964, and was later part of the New Hollyw ...
. Woody Allen invited her on a trip to Paris, but she realized that he did not intend them to have separate rooms. Though she declined his advances, she states she continued to "love him as a friend" and was grateful that they stayed in touch in later years.
[Helen Niania]
"Woody Allen: Mariel Hemingway, granddaughter of writer Ernest, claims director had 'crush' on her when she was 17"
''The Independent'', March 26, 2015.
Filmography
Film
Television
Works
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Explanatory notes
References
External links
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Mariel Hemingway.com– official website for Mariel's book ''Healthy Living''
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hemingway, Mariel
1961 births
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Actresses from California
Actresses from Idaho
American child actresses
American film actresses
21st-century American memoirists
American television actresses
Boston University alumni
Hemingway family
Living people
Mental health activists
Nautilus Book Award winners
People from Ketchum, Idaho
People from Mill Valley, California
American women memoirists
Memoirists from California