Background:

Sigourney Weaver is considered by many to be one of the best actresses of present day. From her character Ripley in the brilliant sci-fi Alien movies to Dian Fossey in the amazing drama, Gorillas in the Mist, Weaver shows remarkable talent and versatility not often seen on the big screen.

Standing at 6 feet tall, the admired actress is also a writer, producer, wife of director Jim Simpson and mother to daughter Charlotte. She holds a Bachelors Degree from Stanford University and a Master's Degree in Fine Arts from Yale. Face it, Weaver has an impressive background, impressive talent and is an impressive woman.

Nominated for an Oscar three times and now in her 50's, Weaver continues to please fans with her outstanding adaptations of character roles. From Alice Hunt in M. Night Shyamalan's eerie tale The Village (2004) to her upcoming character Babe Paley in Douglas McGrath's drama Every Word Is True (2005), which is slammed with an amazing cast: Sandra Bullock, Anjelica Huston, Ashley Judd, Kevin Kline and Gwyneth Paltrow (to name a few), fans who pay the high price of tickets to watch a movie released in theatres, most likely will get their full dollar's worth if Sigourney Weaver is in the film.

"I'd rather have a small part in a movie I love than a bigger part in one I don't care about." Sigourney Weaver

"Well, I've always admired Margaret Rutherford. Like her I'd like to play Miss Marple when I'm eighty." Sigourney Weaver

Susan to Sigourney

Childhood and Family:

Actor, Writer and Producer Susan Alexandra Weaver was born in New York, NY, on October 8, 1949. Her father, Sylvester, was a former NBC president and creator of The Today Show and The Tonight Show. Her mother, Elizabeth Inglis, was an actress. At the age of 14 Susan changed her name to Sigourney, which she took F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel, The Great Gatsby.

Sigourney Weaver attended The Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, CT, earned a B.A., in 1991 for English from the Stanford University in Stanford, California, and also attended Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut where she received a M.F.A., in Drama in 1974.

In 1984 Sigourney married director Jim Simpson. The couple gave birth to daughter Charlotte Simpson in 1990.

Sigourney Stands Tall

Career:

Sigourney Weaver's film bio is one to be envied. Trained as a dramatic actress, she melts into different genres with ease. From a very young Ripley in Alien (1979) fighting a horrific parasitic
creature aboard the mining ship Nostromo to Jill Bryant in the Indonesian political drama The Year of Living Dangerously (1982), Weaver leaves an impression.

Sigourney stands tall amid superstar casting. Cast with such leading men as: Tom Skerritt (Alien), William Hurt (Eyewitness), Mel Gibson (The Year of Living Dangerously), Kevin Kline (Dave) and Ben Kingsley in the shocking drama Death and the Maiden, Weaver proves that actresses can indeed hold their own on the big screen.

We only take a taste of Sigourney's credits. Roles in such films as The Ice Storm (1997), Copycat (1995), Snow White: A Tale of Terror (1997) and A Map of the World (1999) may take a back seat to her heart stopping performance in 1986 Aliens, for which Weaver returned to the role of Ellen Ripley in order to battle those vicious Aliens once again, this time on a colonized planet with the help of actors Michael Biehn, Lance Henriksen and Bill Paxton. The character Ripley, along with her rendition of naturalist Dian Fossey in Gorillas in the Mist, perhaps made Sigourney Weaver a star, but her continuous work as an esteemed actress keeps her there. 

"If you come back from the dead, you don't have the same value system, I think." Sigourney Weaver speaks about her role in Alien: Resurrection

Awards:

• BAFTA: Best Supporting Actress, The Ice Storm, 1997
• Golden Globe: Best Actress in a Motion Picture (Drama), Gorillas in the Mist; 3-way tie with Shirley MacLaine in Madame Sousatzkaand and Jodie Foster in The Accused, 1988
• Golden Globe: Best Supporting Actress, Working Girl, 1988
• IFP Gotham Actor Award, 1994
• NATO: Star of the Year Award, 1986