Jessica Lange facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Jessica Lange
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Lange in 2008
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| Born |
Jessica Phyllis Lange
April 20, 1949 Cloquet, Minnesota, U.S.
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| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1975–present |
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Works
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Full list |
| Spouse(s) |
Paco Grande
(m. 1970; div. 1982) |
| Partner(s) | Mikhail Baryshnikov (1976–1982) Sam Shepard (1982–2009) |
| Children | 3, including Shura Baryshnikov |
| Awards | Full list |
Jessica Lange (born April 20, 1949) is a famous American actress. She has been acting for over 50 years in movies, TV shows, and plays. Jessica Lange has won many important awards, including two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. She also has five Golden Globe Awards.
She first appeared in a big movie in King Kong (1976). She won her first Academy Award for her role in the comedy Tootsie (1982). Her second Academy Award was for the drama Blue Sky (1994). Jessica Lange has also starred in many other popular films like All That Jazz (1979), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), Cape Fear (1991), and Big Fish (2003).
On television, she won an Emmy for playing Big Edie in the movie Grey Gardens (2009). She became even more well-known for her roles in the TV series American Horror Story (2011–2015, 2018), which earned her two more Emmys. She also played Joan Crawford in the miniseries Feud: Bette and Joan (2017).
Jessica Lange has also had a successful career on stage. She won a Tony Award for her role in the play Long Day's Journey into Night (2016). Besides acting, she is also a talented photographer and has published several books of her photos. She has also been a foster parent and works as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF.
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Early Life and Education
Jessica Phyllis Lange was born on April 20, 1949, in Cloquet, Minnesota. Her father, Albert John Lange, was a teacher and salesman. Her mother, Dorothy Florence, was a homemaker. She has two older sisters, Jane and Ann, and a younger brother, George. Her family moved many times around Minnesota before settling in her hometown. She graduated from Cloquet High School.
In 1967, she received a scholarship to study art and photography at the University of Minnesota. There, she met and started dating photographer Paco Grande. They got married in 1970. Lange left college to travel through the United States and Mexico. Later, they moved to Paris, France. In Paris, Lange studied mime theater and joined the Opéra-Comique as a dancer. She later studied acting in New York City.
Acting Career Highlights
Early Success in Film (1976–1989)
While living in Paris, Jessica Lange was discovered by a fashion illustrator and became a model. In 1973, she moved back to the U.S. and worked as a waitress in New York City. A Hollywood producer named Dino De Laurentiis discovered her while she was modeling. He was looking for a new actress for his movie King Kong.
Lange made her film debut in King Kong in 1976. She played the role of the "damsel-in-distress." Even though the movie was very successful, some critics did not like her performance at first. However, film critic Pauline Kael praised her acting style. Lange won the 1976 Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year – Actress.
In 1979, she appeared in the film All That Jazz. In 1981, she starred opposite Jack Nicholson in The Postman Always Rings Twice. Her performance in this film was highly praised.
Double Oscar Nominations (1982)
In 1982, Jessica Lange starred in two important films: Frances and Tootsie. Playing Frances Farmer was a very intense experience for Lange. She then took on a lighter role in Tootsie, starring with Dustin Hoffman.
That year, Lange made history by being the first actress in 40 years to receive two Academy Award nominations in the same year. She was nominated for Best Actress for Frances and Best Supporting Actress for Tootsie. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Tootsie. This film was also a huge success. Her performance in Tootsie also earned her a Golden Globe Award. She also won Best Actress at the Moscow International Film Festival for Frances.
In 1984, she produced and starred in Country, a film about a family during the farm crisis. She received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for this role. She also made her TV debut in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof.
In 1985, she played the famous country singer Patsy Cline in the movie Sweet Dreams. She was nominated for an Oscar for this role. Other actresses, like Meryl Streep, have highly praised Lange's performance as Patsy Cline.
Her films in the late 1980s included Crimes of the Heart (1986) and Music Box (1989). For Music Box, where she played a lawyer defending her father, she earned her fifth Academy Award nomination.
Continued Success and Awards (1990–2008)
Jessica Lange continued to make films in the 1990s, sometimes taking breaks to raise her children. She starred in Men Don't Leave (1990) and then in the remake of Cape Fear (1991) with Robert De Niro. In 1992, she starred in Night and the City and a TV movie called O Pioneers!.
Lange made her Broadway debut in 1992, playing Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire.
Oscar Win for Blue Sky (1994)
In 1994, Lange received great praise for her role in Blue Sky. She played an army wife in the 1960s. In 1995, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for this performance. She also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. She became the second actress to win both a Best Supporting Actress Oscar and a Best Actress Oscar.
In 1995, Lange also starred in Losing Isaiah and Rob Roy. The same year, she played Blanche DuBois again in a CBS television version of A Streetcar Named Desire. She received excellent reviews and earned her first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for this role.
In 1996, Lange performed as Blanche DuBois on stage in London, receiving very positive reviews. The next year, she starred with Michelle Pfeiffer in A Thousand Acres. She received another Golden Globe nomination for this film. In 1998, she starred in Cousin Bette and Hush.
Lange received strong reviews for her role in Titus (1999), a film based on a William Shakespeare play. Critics noted her powerful performance in the movie.
In the early 2000s, Lange appeared in a London stage production of Long Day's Journey into Night. She played a complex family role and was the first American actress to be nominated for an Olivier Award for it. In 2003, Lange starred in HBO's Normal, a film about a family facing big changes. She received Emmy and Golden Globe nominations for this role. She also appeared in Big Fish (2003) and Broken Flowers (2005).
Career Resurgence (2009–2015)
In 2009, Lange co-starred with Drew Barrymore in HBO's Grey Gardens. The film was very successful and won many awards. Lange won her first Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for her performance.
In 2011, Lange joined the cast of the TV series American Horror Story. The show's creators wanted to introduce her work to a new generation of viewers. The show became very popular, and Lange received excellent reviews and many awards for her roles. She won a second Primetime Emmy Award, a fifth Golden Globe Award, and her first Screen Actors Guild Award for her work on the show.
She continued to star in American Horror Story for its second season, American Horror Story: Asylum, in 2012. She again received praise for her performance. In 2013, she starred in the third season, American Horror Story: Coven, which had the highest ratings for the series at that time. For this, she earned a third Primetime Emmy Award.
In 2014, Lange was honored with a nomination for a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame. She also received the L'Oreal de Paris Legend Award from Elle Magazine. Later that year, she was chosen as the new face of Marc Jacobs Beauty. She also starred in The Gambler with Mark Wahlberg. She led the fourth season of American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Freak Show, which broke ratings records. Her song covers for the show were also very popular. In 2015, Lange announced she would not return for the fifth season of American Horror Story.
Return to Broadway and Recent Work (2016–Present)
In 2016, Lange had a supporting role in the web series Horace and Pete. She then returned to Broadway in a revival of Long Day's Journey into Night. For her role in this play, Lange won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. She also won the Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award.
In 2017, Lange starred in the FX series Feud: Bette and Joan. She played Joan Crawford, alongside Susan Sarandon as Bette Davis. The series focused on the famous rivalry between these two Hollywood legends. Lange received many nominations for her performance, including an Emmy and a Golden Globe.
In 2018, Lange was honored with the Jason Robards Award for Excellence in Theater. She also starred in the Netflix series The Politician and returned to American Horror Story: Apocalypse.
Her first film of the 2020s was Marlowe (2022), co-starring Liam Neeson. In 2023, a biography about her, Jessica Lange: An Adventurer's Heart, was released.
In April 2024, Lange returned to Broadway to star in the new play Mother Play. She played the lead role of Phyllis, a mother overseeing her children's move. Her performance was highly praised, and she received a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play nomination.
Also in 2024, she starred in The Great Lillian Hall, a film that premiered on HBO. She played Lillian Hall, a famous Broadway actress facing challenges while rehearsing for a new production. She also appeared in the miniseries Feud: Capote vs. The Swans (2024).
Jessica Lange is set to star in a film adaptation of Long Day's Journey into Night with Ed Harris. She is also working on other film projects, including a movie about Marlene Dietrich and an adaptation of The Year of Magical Thinking. She will also return to the West End stage in London for Mother Play in 2026.
Personal Life
Family and Relationships
Jessica Lange was married to photographer Francisco "Paco" Grande from 1970 to 1982. They remained close friends after their divorce.
From 1976 to 1982, she was in a relationship with the famous ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov. They had one child together, Aleksandra Lange "Shura" Baryshnikov, born in 1981.
In 1982, she met playwright Sam Shepard. They had two children: daughter Hannah Jane Shepard (born 1986) and son Samuel Walker Shepard (born 1987). They lived together in different places before separating in 2009.
Lange often visits Duluth, Minnesota, and considers it a constant and important place in her life.
Activism and Beliefs
Jessica Lange is a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. She focuses on raising awareness about health issues in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Russia. In the early 1990s, she was also a foster parent to a child with disabilities from Romania.
She does not follow one specific religion but sometimes practices Buddhism. She has said that she finds spiritual meaning in it. She is also a vegetarian. Lange has spoken out against wolf hunting in Minnesota.
Photography
Jessica Lange is also a talented photographer. In 2008, she published a book of her black-and-white photographs called 50 Photographs. In 2009, her photography work was shown at the George Eastman House, a famous museum of photography and film. She received the first George Eastman Honors Award.
In 2010, she published another collection of photographs called In Mexico. In 2013, she released a children's book of photography, It's About a Little Bird. Her work was also exhibited in Moscow in 2014. In 2019, she published her fourth photography book, Highway 61. Her fifth book, Dérive, was published in 2022.
Awards and Achievements
Jessica Lange has won many important awards throughout her career. She has earned two Academy Awards, three Emmys, and a Tony Award. She also has five Golden Globe Awards from sixteen nominations. She holds the record for most nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film, tied with Helen Mirren.
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) has recognized her for these films:
- 55th Academy Awards, Best Actress in a Leading Role, nominated, for Frances (1982)
- 55th Academy Awards, Best Actress in a Supporting Role, won, for Tootsie (1982)
- 57th Academy Awards, Best Actress in a Leading Role, nominated, for Country (1984)
- 58th Academy Awards, Best Actress in a Leading Role, nominated, for Sweet Dreams (1985)
- 62nd Academy Awards, Best Actress in a Leading Role, nominated, for Music Box (1989)
- 67th Academy Awards, Best Actress in a Leading Role, won, for Blue Sky (1994)
See also
In Spanish: Jessica Lange para niños
- Jessica Lange bibliography
- List of actors with Academy Award nominations
- List of actors with two or more Academy Awards in acting categories
- List of actors with two or more Academy Award nominations in acting categories
- List of stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
- List of actors with Hollywood Walk of Fame motion picture stars
