0

Carrie Fisher Biography

Posted by Vogt
at May 9, 2008

Carrie Fisher.jpg

A true child of Hollywood, Carrie Frances Fisher grew up in the shadow of scandal as the daughter of famous parents run amok. But it was her work as the gun-toting heroine in a then little anticipated science fiction film that cemented her in the public’s mind as Princess Leia Organa in “Star Wars” (1977). The role put the then 19-year old actress on the map and endeared her to generations of fans for decades, and although the actress made other notable appearances in film and earned acclaim and respect for her well-written novels, acerbic wit, and highly sought-after script doctoring skills, she will always be Princess Leia to the faithful of writer-director George Lucas’ sweeping film saga.

Born Oct. 21, 1956 in Beverly Hills to the “America’s Sweethearts” of the era, actress Debbie Reynolds and crooner Eddie Fisher, the future star was Hollywood royalty long before she donned the infamous pastry-bun hairstyle years later. When Fisher was two years old, her father left her mother for a recently widowed Elizabeth Taylor – culminating in the biggest Hollywood love triangle scandal of the 1950s.

Raised by her single mother under intense public scrutiny, Fisher decided to join the family business. At age 12, she joined her mother’s Vegas nightclub act. She appeared in the chorus of Reynolds’s award winning Broadway revival of “Irene” at age 15. A year later, she dropped out of Beverly Hills High School to focus on her career, enrolling in London’s Central School of Speech and Drama. She made her film debut in “Shampoo,” (1975) as a teenage nymphet, uttering a memorably enticing and profane line of dialogue to star and real-life family friend, Warren Beatty.

Two years later, Fisher auditioned opposite a young carpenter/actor named Harrison Ford for a part in an intergalactic fantasy film, written and directed by up-and-coming director Lucas. Despite her teen chubbiness at the time, Fisher nailed the part of the “staggeringly beautiful” rebel leader. Lucas would later say that despite her diminutive height (5’ 1”), she had all the poise and feistiness the part required. “Star Wars” became the hit of the year and the highest grossing film of all time until “E.T.” knocked it off its perch five years later. Fisher, Ford and Mark Hamill became overnight superstars, with their likenesses plastered on everything from bed sheets to bubble bath. The film and its merchandising goldmine made untold millions of dollars for everyone involved in the epic trilogy. Fisher revisited Princess Leia twice in the sequels “The Empire Strikes Back” (1980) and “Return of the Jedi” (1983) — both huge box office successes. The latter film provided “Star Wars” fans with the iconic image and many a young boy’s fantasy: Leia in the famously sparse metal bikini.

At the height of her stardom, Fisher hosted an episode of “Saturday Night Live” (Nov. 1978), and hit it off with several of the “Not Ready for Prime Time Players” – most notably, John Belushi and Dan Aykroyd (to whom she was briefly engaged in 1980). So began Fisher’s descent into drug addiction, which would later inform her writings and overall survivor persona. In between her galactic exploits on screen, Fisher tried to forge an independent screen identity, appearing on the big screen as Belushi’s jilted fiancée in “The Blues Brothers” (1980) and Chevy Chase’ love interest in the misbegotten comedy “Under the Rainbow” (1981). Neither role did much to advance her career. After dating singer Paul Simon on and off for several years, she married the music legend on Aug. 16, 1983. Fisher’s growing drug dependency was later cited as a reason the marriage lasted only 8 months.

After performing on Broadway in “Agnes of God” (1983), Fisher returned to the big screen. Unlike her former co-star Harrison Ford, Fisher never escaped her Leia legacy, taking supporting parts in such films as “Garbo Talks” (1984), “The Man w/ One Red Shoe” (1985), “Hannah and her Sisters” (1986), “Amazon Women on the Moon” (1987), “The Burbs” (1989) and “Soapdish” (1991).

Despite losing close friend Belushi to a heroin/cocaine overdose in 1982, Fisher continued to abuse a medicine cabinet of drugs – including alcohol, Percodan, cocaine and others. By the mid 1980s, she overdosed and was rushed to the hospital. Using her life-altering experience, she penned her first novel, Postcards from the Edge(1987) – a sardonic roman a’ clef detailing fictional actress Suzanne Vale’s battles with drugs, Hollywood high life and mom. A new career was born as Fisher became an overnight literary star, shooting up The New York Times bestseller list and winning the Los Angeles Pen Award for Best First Novel. Two years later, Fisher adapted the screenplay for the 1990 Mike Nichols film of the same name, starring Meryl Streep as the Fisher-esque Vale and Shirley MacLaine and her domineering movie star mother. For her freshman effort, she garnered a BAFTA nomination for best screenplay adaptation in 1991.

In 1990, Fisher began dating Hollywood uber-agent Bryan Lourd. The two had a daughter, Billie, in 1993. Fisher returned to the tabloid headlines when, after several years of dating, Lourd confessed his homosexuality to Fisher. The press had a field day, but the two shared custody and remained close for their daughter’s benefit.

Although Fisher found herself a critical favorite with her performance as Meg Ryan’s best friend in the romantic comedy hit “When Harry Met Sally” (1989), writing became her real bread and butter. Other best selling novels followed, including Surrender the Pink (1991)–with many allusions to her relationship with Simon–Delusions of Grandma (1994)–drawing on her experiences with Lourd–and The Best Awful (2004). Fisher began an impressive career as a top comedy-script doctor, polishing such scripts as “The Wedding Singer” and “Sister Act.” Although she received no on-screen credit, her reputation grew and directors sought out the much-beloved actress-turned-writer to add punch to their dialogue. Even old friend George Lucas tapped Fisher to spruce up scripts for his television series, “The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles” (1992).

At the peak of her success as script doctor du jour, Fisher suffered a “psychotic break” in 1997 when she was prescribed new drugs to curb her long-diagnosed mental depression. The allergic reaction landed her in a mental ward in Cedars-Sinai where she remained for six days. She spent a half a year in outpatient care. After surviving the harrowing experience, Fisher grew determined to de-stigmatize mental illness. On talk show after talk show, she made jokes at her own expense. She became a much sought-after speaker on the mental health lecture circuit – from urging State legislators to increase government spending for mental health issues, to serving as key note speaker for Community Alliance benefits and other mental health organizations.

Fisher returned to acting intermittently in recent years, appearing in cameo roles in “Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery” (1997), “Scream 3” (2000), “Jay and Silent Bob Strike Back” (2001), “Charlie’s Angels: Full Throttle” (2003), “Wonderland” (2004) and “Undiscovered” (2005). She joined the Oxygen network in 2002 for her first venture into serial television – “Conversations From the Edge with Carrie Fisher.” The one-hour talk show allowed fans to view Fisher’s quick-wit up-close as she interviewed the entertainment industry’s biggest stars. As one of the most beloved women in town, it was not difficult to land interviews w/ George Lucas, Lisa Kudrow, Whoopie Goldberg, Susan Sarandon, Alec Baldwin and other Hollywood A-listers. Fisher also orchestrated the seemingly impossible – bringing together Debbie Reynolds and “the other woman” Elizabeth Taylor, by co-penning a campy TV movie, “These Old Broads” (2001) specifically for them and co-star Shirley MacLlaine. The screen legends’ much heralded appearance together was a hit with viewers, but not with critics.

With the re-release of the Special Edition “Star Wars” films, a new legion of fans joined the old timers and all lined up to see their favorite characters on the big screen during the winter of 1997 and Fisher was no exception. Having made peace with her timeless character years before, she happily joined the commemoration in television retrospectives and on the red carpet at the Hollywood premieres of both Special Edition films and the recent prequels. In June, 2005, she and fellow co-stars Ford and Hamill appeared onstage together for the first time in decades to help Lucas celebrate his American Film Institute Lifetime Achievement Award nearly thirty years after he turned them into unforgettable icons.

Celebrity Biography
0

Judy Dench Biography

Posted by Vogt
at May 9, 2008

Judy Dench.jpg

A distinguished and much-heralded actress — widely recognized as one of Great Britain’s greatest living performers — Dame Judi Dench spent much of her career concentrating on stage and television in her native England rather pursuing big screen roles. It was when she hit her fifties that she began to find rich and rewarding movie roles that allowed international audiences the chance to marvel at her gifts. Petite, blonde and husky-voiced, she has proven equally adept at everything from Shakespeare and the classics to musical comedy to contemporary drama. Devotees of British sitcoms will recognize her from her starring turns in “A Fine Romance” (1981-84), opposite her late husband Michael Williams, and “As Time Goes By” (1992-98, 2000- ) with Geoffrey Palmer.

The daughter of a doctor, Dench was born and raised in York and made her acting debut in the city’s cycle of mystery plays, in which both her father and older brother Jeffrey also appeared. After graduating from London’s Central School of Speech and Drama, she made an auspicious debut with the Old Vic Theatre Company as Ophelia in “Hamlet” in 1957. The following year, Dench made her only (to date) Broadway appearance with the Old Vic and remained with the troupe until 1961, excelling in such roles as Hermia in “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (1960) and Isabella in “Measure for Measure” (1962). Throughout the 1960s, she continued to add one strong characterization after another. As Sally Bowles in the 1968 London staging of “Cabaret”, Dench delivered what many feel is the definitive interpretation of the role. Joining the Royal Shakespeare Company (RSC) in 1969, she spent much of the next two decades amassing an impressive body of work and earning numerous accolades. Among her most notable roles were Lady Macbeth (opposite Ian McKellen) in “Macbeth” (1977-78), Lady Bracknell in “The Importance of Being Earnest” (1982), Cleopatra in “Antony and Cleopatra” (1987-88) and Ranyevskaya in “The Cherry Orchard” (1989-90). In 1996, Dench became the first actress to win two Olivier Awards in the same year, for the play “Absolute Hell” and for her musical turn as Desiree in “A Little Night Music”. In 1997, she earned raves as an aging actress in David Hare’s acclaimed “Amy’s View” (adding a Tony Award to her collection when she reprised the role in a 1999 Broadway outing), in the title role of “Filumena” (1998) and as the matriarch of a theatrical clan in the Peter Hall-directed revival of “The Royal Family” (2001).

In those rare instances when she did act in films as a young woman, Dench often delivered remarkable performances. She was memorable as a young wife in the little-seen “Four in the Morning” (1965) and was majestic as Titania in Peter Hall’s filming of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” (1968). From the mid-80s on, Dench’s screen presence increased. In David Hare’s provocative “Wetherby” (1985), she and Ian Holm were a married couple who become caught up in the personal turmoil of their friend (Vanessa Redgrave). She demonstrated her range with diverse portrayals including a flighty romance novelist in “A Room With a View” (1986), Anthony Hopkins’ jealous wife in “84 Charing Cross Road” (1987), Rupert Graves’ materialistic mother in “A Handful of Dust” (1988) and the lusty Mistress Quickly in Kenneth Branagh’s “Henry V” (1989).

Her casting as M, the superior of James Bond (Pierce Brosnan), in “GoldenEye” (1995) vividly demonstrated the producers’ efforts to update the franchise for the 90s and she reprised the role in “Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997), “The World Is Not Enough” (1999) and “Die Another Day” (2002), and she was back for “Casino Royale” (lensed 2006), the first film with Daniel Craig as 007. Remarkably, in a career that spanned some 40 years, Dench had never played the lead in a film until she was cast as the widowed Queen Victoria who embarks on a questionable relationship with her Scottish manservant (Billy Connolly) in the John Madden-directed “(Her Majesty) Mrs. Brown” (1997). The film was originally intended as a made-for-British-TV-movie with the role of the monarch earmarked for Elizabeth Taylor. When Taylor fell ill, Dench was cast and it was released theatrically. Her performance earned the actress some of the best reviews of her career to that date. Additionally, she received many accolades for the role, including a richly deserved Best Actress Academy Award nomination. As a follow-up, director Madden cast her as another venerable British monarch, this time Queen Elizabeth I, in “Shakespeare in Love” (1998). Although Dench only appeared in a handful of scenes totaling approximately eight minutes, she made such a strong impression as the Virgin Queen that she was awarded that year’s Best Supporting Actress Oscar.

Now recognized internationally, Dench returned to the New York stage for the first time in close to 40 years, reprising her triumphant portrayal of a famous actress clashing ideologically with her daughter in “Amy’s View”, for which she earned the Tony Award. Her run was briefly interrupted when she returned to England to care for her husband, Michael Williams, who had been diagnosed with cancer. By that time, she could be seen on the big screen as an eccentric artist living as an expatriate in 1930s Italy in “Tea With Mussolini” (1999). The following year, Dench headlined the HBO original “The Last of the Blonde Bombshells”, playing a feisty widow who looks back on her life as a saxophone player in a WWII-era swing band. The actress agreed to provide the narration for the affecting documentary “Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport” before gracing screens again in the pivotal role of a crusty villager who is welcoming to the free-spirited Juliette Binoche in the Lasse Hallstrom-directed “Chocolat” (both 2000). The latter netted Dench yet another Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress.

Following her husband’s death in January 2001, she continued to work, turning in two rich, very different performances. Hallstrom cast her as another crusty oldster, this time a Canadian woman assisting her nephew on his journey of self-discovery in “The Shipping News” (2001). Dench then undertook the demanding role of British novelist Iris Murdoch in the biopic “Iris”, based on the memoirs of Murdoch’s husband John Bayley. The actress had the challenge of playing a vibrant, intelligent woman who gradually succumbed to the ravages of Alzheimer’s disease. As with everything she has done, Dench offered an impeccable and deeply moving performance which the members of the Academy recognized with a Best Actress nomination. She was back in period clothing for her follow-up, portraying the indomitable Lady Bracknell in a remake of Oscar Wilde’s classic play “The Importance of Being Earnest” (2002). Also in 2002, Dench returned as M in the James Bond action feature “Die Another Day,” which starred Pierce Brosnan and Halle Berry.

After a brief sabbatical from screen roles in she lent her voice to the animated feature “Home on the Range” (2004) and James Bond video games, Dench made a welcome return to the big screen in 2004, albeit in the unlikely vehicle “The Chronicles of Riddick,” director David Twohy’s sci-fi/action sequel to his cult hit “Pitch Black” which helped launch Vin Diesel’s career. Dench played Aereon, an ethereal Elemental who helps Riddick (Diesel) learn the secrets of his origin. She made for an appropriately imperious Lady Catherine de Bourg in 2005’s “Pride and Prejudice,” director Joe Wright’s lively adaptation of the Jane Austen classic starring Keira Knightly, and that same year she headlined director Stephen Frears’ “Mrs. Henderson Presents” as Laura Henderson, a widow who becomes a partner in Britain’s Windmill Theater during World War II and, in attempt to provide a spark for her downtrodden nation, hopes to allow her actresses to perform in the nude.

Family
Significant Others
Education
Milestones
Celebrity Biography