Sigourney Weaver

Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver is an American actress born on October 8, 1949, in New York City. Prolific in film since the late 1970s, she is recognized for pioneering action heroines in blockbusters as well as for her versatile performances in independent films. Over her career, she has received a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Grammy Award, alongside nominations for three Academy Awards, four Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award.

Weaver is the daughter of English actress Elizabeth Inglis and American television executive Pat Weaver. At age 14, she began using the name "Sigourney" after encountering it in The Great Gatsby. She developed an interest in performing while attending secondary school and went on to study English at Sarah Lawrence College and Stanford University, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in 1972. She subsequently earned a Master of Fine Arts degree from the Yale School of Drama in 1974, where she actively performed in student plays and cabaret productions.

Weaver made her Broadway debut in 1974 in The Constant Wife. Following minor television appearances and a small role in the romantic comedy Annie Hall (1977), she achieved her film breakthrough playing Ellen Ripley in the science fiction horror film Alien (1979). Her performance brought her critical acclaim and a nomination for Most Promising Newcomer at the 33rd British Academy Film Awards. Ripley went on to become one of cinema's most significant female protagonists, and Weaver reprised the character across three sequels.

During the 1980s, Weaver gained widespread acclaim in diverse roles. She starred as Dana Barrett in Ghostbusters (1984) and Ghostbusters II (1989), and earned a Tony Award nomination for her performance in the 1984 Broadway production of Hurlyburly. For reprising her role in Aliens (1986), she earned her first Academy Award nomination. In 1988, she starred as primatologist Dian Fossey in Gorillas in the Mist and as an executive in Working Girl, winning two Golden Globe Awards in the same year and earning simultaneous Oscar nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress.

In the 1990s, Weaver appeared in films such as 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992), Death and the Maiden (1994), Copycat (1995), and Galaxy Quest (1999). Her role in Ang Lee's drama The Ice Storm (1997) earned her the BAFTA Award for Best Supporting Actress. In December 1999, she was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Weaver's career continued into the 2000s and beyond with roles in Heartbreakers (2001), The Village (2004), Vantage Point (2008), and James Cameron's Avatar series starting in 2009. She has also provided voice work for animated features such as WALL-E (2008) and Finding Dory (2016), and narrated documentary projects including Planet Earth. On television, she earned Emmy Award nominations for roles in Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1998), Prayers for Bobby (2009), Political Animals (2013), and the documentary Secrets of the Whales (2021).