Jessica Lange(I)

Jessica Lange 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 producerDino De Laurentiiscast her as the female lead inKing Kong (1976).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 inBob Fosse'sAll That Jazz (1979),before giving a memorable performance inBob Rafelson'sThe Postman Always Rings Twice (1981),as an adulterous waitress. The following year, she won rave reviews for her exceptional portrayal of actressFrances FarmerinFrances (1982)and a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for her work inSydney Pollack'sTootsie (1982)(as a beautiful soap-opera actress). She was also outstanding as country singerPatsy ClineinKarel Reisz'sSweet Dreams (1985)and as a lawyer who defends her father and discovers his past inMusic Box (1989).Other important films includeMartin Scorsese'sCape Fear (1991)(as a frightened housewife) andTony Richardson'sBlue Sky (1994),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" inTennessee Williams"A Streetcar Named Desire".