Jessica Lange

'Jessica Lange' (qv) was born in 1949, in Cloquet, Minnesota, USA, where her father worked as a traveling salesman. She obtained a scholarship to study art at the University of Minnesota, but instead went to Paris to study drama. She moved to New York, working as a model, until producer 'Dino De Laurentiis' (qv) cast her as the female lead in _King Kong (1976)_ (qv). The film attracted much unfavorable comment and, as a result, Lange was off the screen for three years. She was given a small but showy part in 'Bob Fosse' (qv)'s _All That Jazz (1979)_ (qv), before giving a memorable performance in 'Bob Rafelson' (qv)'s _The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981)_ (qv), as an adulterous waitress. The following year, she won rave reviews for her exceptional portrayal of actress 'Frances Farmer' (qv) in _Frances (1982)_ (qv) and a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her work in 'Sydney Pollack' (qv)'s _Tootsie (1982)_ (qv) (as a beautiful soap-opera actress). She was also outstanding as country singer 'Patsy Cline' (qv) in 'Karel Reisz' (qv)'s _Sweet Dreams (1985)_ (qv) and as a lawyer who defends her father and discovers his past in _Music Box (1989)_ (qv). Other important films include 'Martin Scorsese' (qv)'s _Cape Fear (1991)_ (qv) (as a frightened housewife) and 'Tony Richardson' (qv)'s _Blue Sky (1994)_ (qv), for which she won a Best Actress Academy Award as the mentally unbalanced wife of a military officer. She made her Broadway debut in 1992, playing "Blanche" in 'Tennessee Williams' (qv) "A Streetcar Named Desire".::Thanassis Agathos<[email protected]