Jessica Lange facts for kids

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Quick facts for kids Jessica Lange
Lange in 2008
Born	Jessica Phyllis Lange (1949-04-20) April 20, 1949 (age 76) Cloquet, Minnesota, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1976–present
Works	Full list
Spouse(s)	Paco Grande (m. 1970; div. 1982)
Partner(s)	Sam Shepard (1982–2009)
Children	3, including Shura Baryshnikov
Awards	Full list

Jessica Lange (born April 20, 1949) is a famous American actress. She is known for her many roles in movies and on stage. Jessica Lange has won lots of awards, including two Academy Awards (Oscars), three Primetime Emmy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, and a Tony Award. She is one of the few actors to win the "Triple Crown of Acting" for winning an Oscar, an Emmy, and a Tony.

Lange's first big movie was King Kong in 1976. Even though the movie got mixed reviews, she won a Golden Globe Award for her role. She later won her first Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in the comedy Tootsie (1982). Her second Oscar was for Best Actress in Blue Sky (1994), where she played a housewife with a challenging mental health condition. She was also nominated for Oscars for her roles in Frances (1982), Country (1984), Sweet Dreams (1985), and Music Box (1989). Some of her other well-known films include All That Jazz (1979), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), Cape Fear (1991), and Big Fish (2003).

On television, Lange won her first Emmy for playing Big Edie in the HBO movie Grey Gardens (2009). She became very popular again by starring in the horror series American Horror Story (2011–2015, 2018) on FX. This show earned her two more Emmys. She also received Emmy nominations for her roles in A Streetcar Named Desire (1995), Normal (2003), and as Joan Crawford in Feud: Bette and Joan (2017).

Jessica Lange also has a successful career on stage. She made her Broadway debut in A Streetcar Named Desire (1992). She won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her role in Long Day's Journey into Night (2016). In 2024, she returned to Broadway in the play Mother Play.

Besides acting, Lange is a talented photographer. She has published five books of her photographs. She has also been a foster parent and works as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. She helps raise awareness about HIV/AIDS in places like the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Russia.

Early Life and Education
Career Highlights
Personal Life
Awards and Recognition
See also

Early Life and Education

Jessica Lange was born in Cloquet, Minnesota, on April 20, 1949. Her father, Albert John Lange, was a teacher and salesman. Her mother, Dorothy Florence, was a housewife. She has two older sisters and a younger brother. Her family moved many times in Minnesota before settling in her hometown, where she finished high school.

In 1967, she received a scholarship to study art and photography at the University of Minnesota. There, she met and married Spanish photographer Paco Grande in 1970. After marrying, Lange left college to travel around the United States and Mexico with Grande. Later, they moved to Paris, France. In Paris, Lange studied mime theatre and joined the Opéra-Comique as a dancer. She later studied acting in New York City.

Career Highlights

1976–1989: First Big Roles and Awards

While living in Paris, Jessica Lange was discovered by a fashion illustrator and became a model. In 1973, she returned 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 young actress for his remake of King Kong. Lange made her film debut in the 1976 King Kong. She won the 1976 Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year for her performance.

In 1979, director Bob Fosse cast Lange in his film All That Jazz. She played Angelique, the Angel of Death. A year later, she starred with Jack Nicholson in The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981). Critics highly praised her acting in this movie.

Lange then filmed Frances (1982), a movie about actress Frances Farmer. This role was very demanding for Lange. After that, she took a lighter role in the comedy Tootsie (1982) with Dustin Hoffman. In 1982, Lange made history by being nominated for two Academy Awards in the same year. She won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for Tootsie. She also won Best Actress at the Moscow International Film Festival for Frances.

In 1984, Lange produced and starred in Country, a film about a family facing challenges during the farm crisis. She received Oscar and Golden Globe nominations for this role. She also made her television debut in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. The next year, she spoke to the United States Congress about agriculture.

In 1985, she played famous country singer Patsy Cline in the movie Sweet Dreams. She was nominated for another Oscar for this role. Many people, including actress Meryl Streep, have praised Lange's performance as Patsy Cline. Streep has often said that Lange's acting in the film was "divine."

Lange's films in the late 1980s included Crimes of the Heart (1986) and Music Box (1989). In Music Box, she played a lawyer defending her father against serious accusations from World War II. This role earned her a fifth Academy Award nomination.

1990–2008: Becoming an Established Star

Lange at the 62nd Academy Awards in 1990

Jessica Lange continued making films in the 1990s. She sometimes took breaks to spend time with her children and work on theater or television projects. In 1990, she starred in Men Don't Leave. She then appeared in the remake of Cape Fear (1991) with Robert De Niro. In 1992, she starred with De Niro again in Night and the City. She also appeared in a TV movie called O Pioneers!.

Lange made her Broadway debut in A Streetcar Named Desire (1992). Critics noted that she was still learning theater acting, but she continued to grow in her craft.

In 1994, Lange received great praise for her role in Blue Sky, where she played an army wife facing personal challenges. In 1995, she won the Academy Award for Best Actress for this performance. She also won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. She was the second actress, after Meryl Streep, to win both a Best Supporting Actress Oscar and a Best Actress Oscar.

In 1995, Lange also gave strong performances in Losing Isaiah and Rob Roy. That same year, she played Blanche DuBois again in a CBS television version of A Streetcar Named Desire. She received excellent reviews and her first Primetime Emmy Award nomination for this role.

In 1996, Lange performed as Blanche DuBois on stage in London, receiving rave reviews. The next year, she starred 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 William Shakespeare's play Titus Andronicus. Critics praised her daring performance.

Lange (2009)

In the early 2000s, Lange performed in a London stage production of Long Day's Journey into Night. She was the first American actress to be nominated for an Olivier Award for this role. She also appeared in supporting roles in films like Prozac Nation (2001) and Big Fish (2003). In 2003, Lange starred in HBO's Normal, earning Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. She continued to act in films like Broken Flowers (2005) and Don't Come Knocking (2005). She also starred in a Broadway revival of The Glass Menagerie.

2009–2015: Popularity Grows Again

In 2009, Lange starred as Big Edie in the HBO movie Grey Gardens. The film was a big success, and Lange won her first Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. She also received Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild Award nominations.

In 2011, Lange joined the cast of FX's horror series American Horror Story. The show's creators expanded her role because they admired her work. This show brought Lange new popularity. She received excellent reviews and won many awards for her role, including a second Primetime Emmy Award, a fifth Golden Globe Award, and her first Screen Actors Guild Award.

Lange in 2012

In 2012, she had a supporting role in the movie The Vow. She also returned to star in the second season of American Horror Story, called American Horror Story: Asylum. She continued to receive praise and nominations for her performance.

In 2013, the third season of American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Coven, became the show's most-watched season. Lange starred alongside Kathy Bates and Angela Bassett. For her work, Lange won a third Primetime Emmy Award and her first Critics' Choice Television Award. She also received more Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations. That year, she also starred in the film In Secret.

In 2014, Lange was nominated for a star on The Hollywood Walk of Fame. She also received the L'Oreal de Paris Legend Award from Elle Magazine. She was also the first woman to receive the Kirk Douglas Award for Excellence in Film.

Later in 2014, fashion designer Marc Jacobs chose Lange to be the new face of Marc Jacobs Beauty. She appeared in print ads and a short film for the brand. She also starred with Mark Wahlberg in the movie The Gambler. She led the fourth season of American Horror Story, American Horror Story: Freak Show, which broke ratings records. Lange sang songs by David Bowie and Lana Del Rey for the show, and her covers became very popular online. In 2015, Lange announced she would not return for the show's fifth season.

2016–Present: Back to Broadway

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. She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for this role. She also won the Drama Desk Award and Outer Critics Circle Award.

In 2016, Lange received the Krzysztof Kieślowski Award for Acting at the Camerimage Film Festival. She then starred in the FX series Feud: Bette and Joan (2017) with Susan Sarandon. The series was about the famous rivalry between Hollywood stars Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. Lange received many nominations for her role as Joan Crawford, including another Emmy and Golden Globe nomination.

In 2018, Lange received the Jason Robards Award for Excellence in Theater. She also starred in the Netflix series The Politician. She returned to American Horror Story: Apocalypse and earned another Emmy nomination. In 2022, she starred in the film Marlowe with Liam Neeson.

In April 2024, Lange returned to Broadway in the new play Mother Play. She received a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play nomination for this role. Also in 2024, she starred in The Great Lillian Hall, an HBO film. She also appeared in the miniseries Feud: Capote vs. The Swans (2024).

Lange is set to star in a film version of Long Day's Journey into Night with Ed Harris. She also has other film projects in development, including a movie about Marlene Dietrich and an adaptation of The Year of Magical Thinking.

Personal Life

Family and Relationships

Jessica Lange was married to photographer Francisco "Paco" Grande from 1970 to 1982. They remained good friends after their divorce.

From 1976 to 1982, she was in a relationship with ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov. They had a daughter named Aleksandra Lange "Shura" Baryshnikov, born in 1981.

In 1982, she began a relationship with playwright Sam Shepard. They had two children: a daughter named Hannah Jane Shepard (born 1986) and a son named Samuel Walker Shepard (born 1987). They lived together in several states before separating in 2009.

Lange often visits Duluth, Minnesota, her hometown. She has said it is the one place that has always felt like home to her.

Activism and Beliefs

Lange is a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. She focuses on the HIV/AIDS epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and helps spread awareness in Russia. In the early 1990s, she was 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 Buddhism makes sense to her like a science. She is also a vegetarian. Lange has spoken out against wolf hunting in Minnesota.

Health and Well-being

Lange has shared that she experiences periods of sadness. She has said that these feelings help her be creative. She believes that these deeper emotions are a source for her acting.

Photography Work

Mexico (1992–2008) by Jessica Lange

In 2008, Jessica Lange 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 for her contributions to film and photography.

In 2010, she published another photo collection called In Mexico. In 2013, she released a children's book with her photographs, It's About a Little Bird. Her work was also exhibited in Moscow in 2014. In 2019, she published her fourth book of photography, Highway 61, featuring photos of U.S. Route 61. Her fifth book, Dérive, was published in 2022.

Awards and Recognition

Jessica Lange has won two Academy Awards, three Emmys, and a Tony Award. She has also won five Golden Globe Awards from sixteen nominations. She holds the record for the most nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Miniseries or Television Film.

Here are some of her Academy Award nominations and wins:

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)