Jennifer Jason Leigh
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Jennifer Jason Leigh (born February 5, 1962) is an American actress. Born Jennifer Lee Morrow, she is the daughter of actor Vic Morrow and screenwriter Barbara Turner. The name “Jason” is in honor of family friend Jason Robards.
Leigh took acting classes with Lee Strasberg before she began acting professionally as a teenager. In 1977, she had her first credited role in an episode of the TV show Baretta. Several TV movies—including a portrayal of an anorexic in The Best Little Girl in the World, for which Leigh lost weight to 86 lbs—followed. In 1982, Leigh played a central character in director Amy Heckerling's Fast Times at Ridgemont High.
As an adult, Leigh has gravitated towards portraying fragile, damaged or even psychotic characters. One prominent recent role in this vein was that of an angry punk singer in Georgia (1995).
Her performance as a manipulative stage mother in Childstar won her a Genie Award in 2005. As she was not in attendance at the ceremony, director Don McKellar accepted the award on her behalf.
Selected filmography
- The Jacket (2005)
- The Machinist (2004)
- Childstar (2004)
- Road to Perdition (2002)
- The Anniversary Party (2001)
- eXistenZ (1999)
- Dolores Claiborne (1995)
- Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994)
- The Hudsucker Proxy (1994)
- Single White Female (1992)
- Rush (1991)
- Backdraft (1991)
- Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989)
- Heart of Midnight (1988)
- The Hitcher (1986)
- Flesh & Blood (1985)
- Grandview, U.S.A. (1984)
- Easy Money (1983)
- Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
Awards
Genie Awards
- 2005 Genie Award Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for Childstar
Golden Globe Awards
- 1994 Special Award Best Ensemble Cast for Short Cuts (shared with the rest of the cast)
MTV Movie Awards
- 1993 MTV Movie Award Best Villain for Single White Female