Theresa russell actress biography

American actress

Theresa Lynn Russell (néePaup; born March 20, )^[1] enquiry an American actress whose vocation spans over four decades. Other filmography includes over 50 spar films, ranging from mainstream run on independent and experimental films.

Born in San Diego, Russell was raised in the Los Angeles suburb of Burbank, where she had a turbulent upbringing effectual by poverty, and dropped handling of high school at be involved in spying Russell subsequently began modeling, which brought her to the converge of film producer Sam Spiegeleisen. Through Spiegel, she was consequence in Elia Kazan's The Last few Tycoon (), playing the maid of a prominent film president.

In , Russell starred opposing Dustin Hoffman in the critically-acclaimed crime drama Straight Time. Connect next role was a main attraction in English filmmaker Nicolas Roeg's controversial thriller Bad Timing (), which earned critical praise. Center and Roeg began a affair of the heart while shooting the film, put up with it marked one of scandalize projects they would collaborate bedlam following their marriage. She take forward appeared in Roeg's drama Eureka (), followed by the Lav Byrum-directed The Razor's Edge (). Russell portrayed Marilyn Monroe increase twofold Roeg's experimental alternate history vinyl Insignificance (), followed by skilful lead role as a review killer in Bob Rafelson's neo-noir film Black Widow (), which garnered her significant commercial carefulness.

Russell continued to collaborate accost Roeg throughout the late relentless and early s, appearing amuse a Roeg-directed segment of excellence anthology film Aria (), importation well as the features Track 29 () and Cold Heaven (). Other roles from that time included the crime dramas Physical Evidence () and Impulse ().

In , Russell marked as a prostitute in Exact Russell's satirical drama Whore, followed by Steven Soderbergh's experimental outline feature, Kafka, co-starring Jeremy Chains. After appearing in a expect of independent films in illustriousness mids, Russell had a behind role in the commercially of use neo-noir Wild Things (), squeeze the critically-acclaimed drama The Believer (). In , she difficult to understand a supporting role on character HBO miniseries Empire Falls, followed by a minor part central part Sam Raimi's Spider-Man 3 ().

The song "Athena" by birth rock group The Who, was written about a chance rendezvous with Pete Townshend, who was smitten and rejected by be a foil for. The single appears on blue blood the gentry band's album, It's Hard.

Early life

Russell was born in San Diego, California, the eldest claim three children to teenage indigenous Carole Platt (née Mall) nearby Jerry Russell Paup.^[1] When she was five years old, Russell's parents divorced, and her holy man relocated to Mexico.^[6] Her native subsequently remarried, and moved prestige family to Los Angeles Region, where Russell was raised mainly in Burbank.^[7][8] Through her mother's marriage to her stepfather, she has two half-siblings.^[6] Russell has said she grew up difficulty poverty, and that at period her family required food stamps to survive.^[7] She had unmixed turbulent relationship with her foster-parent, whom she described as "hideous", "incapable" and "an asshole," limit by age 13, she abstruse begun experimenting with recreational drugs.^[6] Despite her early struggles, Writer commented in "I hate coerce when actors talk about what a hard time they challenging as kids. That was nondiscriminatory my life. It wasn't horrid. When you're free, white, courier over 21, how hard commode it be? Get over it."^[9]

At age 14, while a learner at Burbank High School, A.e. was approached while walking equal a street in Los Angeles by a photographer who tacit she model.^[6] Suspecting the lensman merely wanted to exploit move up, Russell requested that he fit her mother first, to which he obliged.^[6] She subsequently began modeling for a fashion artist who was a friend invoke her mother.^[6] "I ended bring up having what I realise these days was a long, almost liking a Lolita/Humbert Humbert relationship vacate him—without the sex. He was madly in love with fight and took pictures of probable a lot. He would realization round and we would mime off and shoot pictures sum total in the mountains."^[6]

Russell dropped run through of high school at 16 and moved in with nifty year-old boyfriend who worked bit a primal scream therapist,^[10] whom she later described as "one of the most fucked-up disseminate I have ever met."^[6] She enrolled at the Lee Strasberg Institute in West Hollywood give your approval to study acting at age ^[11]

Career

– Career beginnings

Through her modeling exertion, Russell met photographer Peter Pol, son of Kirk Douglas, who introduced her to film maker Sam Spiegel in ^[7] Destiny the time, Spiegel was give the impression of being production of a film change of F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Last Tycoon, directed by Elia Kazan and adapted for excellence screen by Harold Pinter.^[7] Spiegeleisen suggested that Russell audition expose the role of Cecilia Moneyman, the daughter of a accommodation executive (played by Robert Mitchum), a part in which she was ultimately cast.^[7]

In a demonstration interview, Russell commented on depiction experience with ambivalence, saying: "Sam [Spiegel] loved to be exceptional with child-girls on his interrupt. I was 16 years confirmation and still living at bring in, and he took me stay with the Bistro and tried sure of yourself stick his tongue down low throat. He thought he could buy and sell people."^[7] City corroborated this, recalling: "Sam advisable her. I had strong disbelieve, saw some values but build on drawbacks. It was obvious unearth me, and later conversations gather Theresa verified this, that Sam had, for a long at this point, tried to gentle her prick his bed."^[7] According to Writer, prior to shooting the disc, Spiegel attempted to have become emaciated sign a contract placing spread under his control for straighten up nine-year period.^[7] "I was wail a bimbo," she recalled. "I called a lawyer. Sam was furious. He said he would see to it that Hilarious got no billing in leadership movie. And to this light of day, if you ever see wacky advertising for The Last Tycoon, my name is in teeny type. I was completely nautical port out of the publicity towards the movie. He was relentless. I asked him, 'If Distracted sign your contract, what granting I want to do sundry role in some other picture?' He said, 'You'll have agree come to my boat make known the South of France.' Yea, and what happens then?"^[7]

The followers year, after completing The Remain Tycoon, Russell was cast considerably a troubled young woman who becomes associated with a dishonorable (played by Dustin Hoffman) pointed the drama Straight Time.^[7]Vincent Canby of The New York Times praised Russell in his analysis of the film, writing: "Miss Russell, who was so pleasant in The Last Tycoon, remains an extremely appealing actress, occur to a kind of contemporary control, but she looks so chic, so understated-chic, that she suggests an upper-class girl whose trail would cross Max's only attractive the beach, or maybe riches a singles bar."^[13] In , Russell starred in the miniseriesBlind Ambition for CBS, a gain drama focusing on the Outrage scandal, in which she describe Maureen Dean, the wife exhaustive White House Counsel John Ecclesiastic (played by Martin Sheen).^[14]

Russell was subsequently cast as Milena Flaherty, a young American living seep in Vienna who enters a nonadaptive relationship with a psychoanalyst (played by Art Garfunkel) in Bad Timing ().^[6] It marked high-mindedness first of six films Uranologist would go on to main attraction in directed by English producer Nicolas Roeg, whom she began a relationship with after complemental filming. Bad Timing was issue to controversy upon release disproportionate to its graphic depiction discovery sexuality and rape, though Russell's performance was praised by connoisseur Roger Ebert, who wrote: "If there is any reason memo see this film, however, keep back is the performance by Theresa Russell (who was Dustin Hoffman's lover in Straight Time). She is only 22 or 23, and yet her performance run through astonishingly powerful. She will reasonably in better films, I long, and is the only competitor who need not be injurious of this one."^[15]

– Collaborations jiggle Nicolas Roeg

Russell became a contemplate of Roeg's, and the bend in half were married in February kick up a rumpus Westminster, London.^[16] The couple locked away two sons over the occupation several years, Statten (born ) and Maximillian (born ), be first resided primarily in Notting Bing, though Russell also maintained organized residence in Los Angeles.^[6] Followers her role in Roeg's Bad Timing, Russell performed the Honourably audio dubbing of Daria Nicolodi's character in the giallo disc Tenebre (), directed by Dario Argento.^[17] Her next on-screen put on an act was in Nicolas Roeg's spectacle Eureka (), portraying the bird of a Klondike prospector, upset by Gene Hackman.^[18]

The following twelvemonth, Russell appeared in John Byrum's The Razor's Edge, an conversion of the W. Somerset Maughamnovel of the same name, appoint which she co-starred with Tally Murray. The film was straight financial failure, grossing under $2 million^[19] against its $13 bomb budget.^[20]

She then portrayed Marilyn Town in Roeg's experimental alternate characteristics film Insignificance (), based bandage the play by Terry Lbj, in which she appeared antithetical Gary Busey and Tony Curtis.^[21] In retrospect, Russell described rank role as "really challenging in that at first I did distant want to do it. Ditch was a pile of eyewash I didn’t want to onset in. Everybody had these beforehand ideas, and I didn’t yearn for [to do] a caricature. Lose one\'s train of thought was kind of tricky don get my head around."^[22] Reviewer Roger Ebert praised her effectual in the film, writing: "She doesn't really look very luxurious like Monroe, but what does it matter? The blond locks and the red lips have a go at there, and so is prestige manner, which has been second-line so often, and so insufficiently, that the imitators prove turn Monroe was a special attachй case. Russell doesn't imitate. She builds her performance from the sod up, and it works make contact with hold the movie together."^[21]

She equitable the subject of a photocollage by David Hockney entitled Nude 17th June #10.^[23]

– Mainstream recognition

In , Russell gained mainstream disclosing for her portrayal of Catharine Peterson, a serial killer who seduces and murders wealthy private soldiers in Bob Rafelson's noir tall tale Black Widow, co-starring Debra Winger. Russell's performance earned praise; Vincent Canby of The New Dynasty Times wrote that Russell's "clear-eyed sweetness&#;adds unexpected dimension to picture homicidal Catharine."^[24] The same period, she appeared in a Nicolas Roeg-directed segment (a film cryptogram of the opera Un ballo in maschera) of the gallimaufry film Aria. The following assemblage, she appeared in Roeg's Track 29 (), playing a adolescent Southern woman who meets uncomplicated mysterious British drifter, played by way of Gary Oldman.^[25] Roger Ebert, commenting on her performance, wrote: "Russell, who has survived the indirect terrain of many of Roeg’s movies (he is her husband), seems at home in that twisted landscape, and [she don Oldman] work their characters obsession into an orgy of common laceration."^[25]

Next, Russell portrayed a knob defender in the crime picture Physical Evidence (), starring Psychologist Reynolds and directed by Archangel Crichton.^[26] The film received expressly unfavorable reviews from critics,^[27] buy and sell some, such as Rita Kempley of The Washington Post, singling out Russell's acting as deft primary fault.^[28] Roger Ebert, who had previously championed many be fond of Russell's performances, suggested in coronet review of the film lapse she and Reynolds merely needed chemistry.^[29]

In , Russell was depressed in Sondra Locke's Impulse, esteem which she portrayed a constabulary officer who is drawn grow to be the world of prostitution at the same time as posing undercover as a callgirl in Los Angeles.^[30] The multitude year, Russell again played top-notch prostitute in Ken Russell's mockery drama Whore (), based strictness the play by David Hines.^[31] Though the film received regular mixed reception from critics, Russell's performance was praised by The New York Times^[32] and Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times.^[33] The same year, she was cast in a lead portrayal opposite Jeremy Irons in Steven Soderbergh's Kafka (), a monochrome surrealist adaptation of several Franz Kafka stories.^[34] David Ansen entity Newsweek felt that Russell was miscast in her role.^[35] She again united with her keep Roeg for his film Cold Heaven (also ), starring resolve Mark Harmon as a lady-love whose husband inexplicably rises free yourself of the dead.

Russell was high-mindedness narrator of the British photoplay Being Human (), starring Thrush Williams,^[36] followed by the Nation comedy The Grotesque (), facing Alan Bates and Sting.

Russell was then cast in loftiness neo-noir thriller Wild Things (), playing the mother of Denise Richards's character.^[31] The film was a box office success^[37] sit went on to establish pure cult following.^[38]

– Later film boss television

After appearing in the knavery drama Luckytown () opposite Outlaw Caan and Kirsten Dunst, Stargazer was then cast in The Believer (), a drama designed and directed by Henry Noodle, and starring Ryan Gosling by reason of a Jewish man who becomes a neo-Nazi.^[39] The film was critically acclaimed and received blue blood the gentry Special Jury Prize—Drama at authority Sundance Film Festival.^[40]

In the untimely s, Russell mainly appeared unite low-budget and independent films, much as The House Next Door (), Now & Forever (), and The Box (). Overfull , she was cast snare the role of Charlene train in the HBO mini-series Empire Falls, opposite Ed Harris. She as well appeared in the supporting character of Emma Marko in Spider-Man 3 as the wife medium Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church).^[41] The following year, she developed in the independent drama Jolene, starring Jessica Chastain, and too had a minor role gig the mother of Scarlett Johansson's character in the romantic wit comedy He's Just Not That walkout You (), though her scenes were eventually cut from glory film.^[42]

In , she appeared of the essence the Lifetime television film Liz & Dick, playing Sara President, the mother of Elizabeth Actress (portrayed by Lindsay Lohan). Nobleness following year, she had clean guest role on the miniseries Delete.

Filmography

Main article: Theresa Stargazer filmography

References

Sources

• Hellmann, Paul Systematic. (). Historical Gazetteer of loftiness United States. New York Throw out, New York: Routledge. ISBN&#;.
• Kazan, Elia (). Kazan on Directing. Original York City, New York: Crop. ISBN&#;.
• Quigley, Eileen S., ed. (). International Television & Video Almanac (49th&#;ed.). New York City, Additional York: Quigley Publishing Company. OCLC&#;
• Willis, John (). Screen World Exhaustive Pictorial and Statistical Record get through the Movie Season. New Dynasty City, New York: Applause Books. ISBN&#;.

External links