Biography
" She learned the ropes as a cast member of the soap opera "Search for Tomorrow" before making her feature debut as the unappreciated wife who misfiles her husband's records in Barry Levinson's ensemble film "Diner" (1982). Roles as Robert Duvall's headstrong daughter in "Tender Mercies" (1983) and Timothy Hutton's wife in "Daniel" (1983) followed. But it would not be until "Desert Bloom" (1986) that she opened Hollywood's eyes to her sultry …
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Career Milestones
1969 | Accepted into NY's High School of the Performing Arts at age 15 |
1980 | First stage role was "Irish Coffee" at the Ensemble Studio Theatre |
1981 | Made her TV-movie debut in "We're Fighting Back" (CBS) |
1982 | Appeared off-Broadway with Susan Sarandon in the original production of "Extremities" |
1982 | Landed breakout role in Barry Levinson's "Diner" |
1985 | Acted off-Broadway in "Eden Court" |
1986 | First leading role in a feature, starring opposite Dennis Quaid in "The Big Easy" |
1987 | First role with future husband Gabriel Byrne, "Siesta" |
1989 | Acted in Walter Hill's "Johnny Handsome" |
1989 | Starred as a femme fatale opposite with Al Pacino in "Sea of Love" |
1991 | Cast as a man reincarnated in a woman's body in "Switch" |
1992 | Re-teamed with Byrne for Mike Newell's "Into the West" |
1993 | Co-starred with Leonardo DiCaprio and Robert De Niro in "This Boy's Life" |
1995 | Portrayed Calamity Jane to Jeff Bridges' "Wild Bill" |
1996 | Appeared in third film with Byrne, Larry Bishop's "Mad Dog Time" |
1996 | Second collaboration with De Niro, "The Fan" |
1997 | Won an Emmy for her work in the ABC TV-movie "Before Women Had Wings" |
1999 | Portrayed the often-drunk mother of beauty pageant hopeful Kirsten Dunst, in "Drop Dead Gorgeous" |
2000 | Appeared as Monica Keena's mother in "Crime + Punishment in Suburbia" |
2004 | Appeared in the Spike Lee comedy "She Hate Me" |
2005 | Played the mother of a teenaged girl forced by her parents to have an abortion in "Palindromes" |
2006 | Cast as a book publisher in Bart Freundlich's "Trust the Man" |
2007 | Joined the cast of Soderbergh's "Ocean's 13" as Pacino's right-hand woman |
2009 | Appeared in the crime drama "Brooklyn's Finest," which starred Richard Gere, Don Cheadle, and Ethan Hawke |
2010 | Co-starred in the ensemble drama thriller "Twelve," directed by Joel Schumacher |
2011 | Co-starred in the ensemble family drama "Another Happy Day"; also produced |
2011 | Won a Tony for her role in the Broadway revival of Larry Kramer's "The Normal Heart" |
2012 | Cast as the homophobic and racist grandmother on comedy series "The New Normal" (Fox) |
Awards
1991 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Comedy Or Musical in Switch |
1997 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television in Before Women Had Wings |
1998 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie in Before Women Had Wings |
2011 | Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play |