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Jessica Lange

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Jessica Phyllis Lange is a celebrated American actress and photographer.

Jessica Lange 2012
Jessica Lange 2012

Her career has spanned more than five decades of work on stage and screen. She is one of a very small group of performers to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting. This status is earned by winning top awards in film, television, and theater. Lange has received two Academy Awards and five Golden Globe Awards. Her television work has earned her three Primetime Emmy Awards. She also won a Tony Award for her excellence in Broadway theater.

Lange's path to stardom involved many different artistic disciplines. She began by studying art and photography at the University of Minnesota. In 1970, she moved to Paris to pursue a bohemian lifestyle. While in France, she studied mime theater under the teacher Étienne Decroux. She also joined the Opéra-Comique as a professional dancer. Later, she moved to New York City to study acting with Mira Rostova and at HB Studio. Before her acting career took off, she worked as a waitress in Greenwich Village.

Her professional film career began with a major breakthrough in 1976. She made her debut in the remake of King Kong.

Jessica Lange on the red carpet at the 62nd Annual Academy Awards cropped
Jessica Lange on the red carpet at the 62nd Annual Academy Awards cropped

For this role, she won the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year. Although some critics were mixed about the film, the performance helped launch her career. Later, director Bob Rafelson chose her for the lead in the 1981 film The Postman Always Rings Twice. He reportedly decided she was the right choice after watching her converse on the telephone for thirty minutes.

Lange reached a high level of critical acclaim during the 1980s. In 1982, she became the first performer in 40 years to receive two Academy Award nominations in a single year. These nominations were for the films Frances and Tootsie. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Tootsie. The film was a massive success and was the second-highest-grossing movie of 1982. She also received nominations for her roles in Country in 1984 and Sweet Dreams in 1985. In Sweet Dreams, she played the country singer Patsy Cline.

Her work on television has been just as significant as her film roles.

Taormina film festival 2009, jessica lange 02
Taormina film festival 2009, jessica lange 02

She won her first Primetime Emmy Award for playing Big Edie in the HBO movie Grey Gardens in 2009. She gained even more recognition for her work in the horror anthology series American Horror Story. She earned two additional Emmy Awards for her roles in the first and third seasons of that show. She has also been nominated for Emmys for her roles in A Streetcar Named Desire and the miniseries Feud: Bette and Joan.

Beyond the screen, Lange is a respected figure in the theater world. She made her Broadway debut in 1992 playing Blanche DuBois in a revival of A Streetcar Named Desire. In 2016, she won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. This honor was for her performance as Mary Cavan Tyrone in the revival of Long Day's Journey into Night. She returned to the Broadway stage in 2024 to play a matriarch in the play Mother Play. Her ability to move between film, television, and stage defines her professional legacy.

Lange also maintains a life of artistic and humanitarian pursuits. She is a talented photographer with five published books of her work.

Additionally, she serves as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF. In this role, she focuses on issues regarding HIV/AIDS in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Russia. She has also served as a foster parent. Her life reflects a deep commitment to both the arts and global service.

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File:Jessica Lange on the red carpet at the 62nd Annual Academy Awards cropped.jpg
Jessica Lange on the red carpet at the...
File:Taormina film festival 2009, jessica lange 02.JPG
Taormina film festival 2009, jessica lange 02.JPG
File:Jessica Lange 2012.jpg
Jessica Lange 2012.jpg
Jessica Lange Mexico.tif
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