SIGOURNEY WEAVER (Max Conners) made her motion picture debut in 1979 in Ridley Scott's hugely successful Alien. She reprised the role of Warrant Officer Ripley in James Cameron's Aliens in 1986, for which she earned a Best Actress Academy Award® nomination, and in David Fincher's Alien 3 in 1992, for which she also served as co producer. In 1997, Weaver brought Ripley back to life in Alien Resurrection for director Jean-Pierre Jeunet. She has created a host of memorable characters both dramatic and comic in other films as well, from Ghost busters to The Year of Living Dangerously to Gorillas in the Mist to Working Girl to Dave.
Last winter Weaver starred in two strikingly different films. A galvanizing performance in A Map of the World, Scott Elliott's powerful drama based on the novel by Jane Hamilton, earned her universal critical praise and a Best Actress Golden Globe nomination. Her comic turn, along with crewmates Tim Allen and Alan Rickman, in the science fiction comedy Galaxy Quest for director Dean Parisot proved to be one of the delights of the holiday season.
Weaver starred as the sorceress stepmother in Showtime's live-action film Snow White: A Tale of Terror, based on the original Grimm's fairytale. She received both Screen Actors Guild and Emmy nominations for her performance. In the fall of 1997, Weaver starred in Ang Lee's critically acclaimed The Ice Storm alongside Kevin Kline. Joan Allen, Elijah Wood and Christina Ricci. Her performance garnered her a BAFTA Award, a Golden Globe nomination and a Screen Actors Guild nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
In 1995, Weaver appeared in two features. In the thriller Copycat, she starred opposite Holly Hunter under the direction of Jon Amiel, and in the film adaptation of Paul Rudnick's stage comedy Jeffrey she made a memorable cameo appearance. Prior to that she starred in Roman Polanski's gripping film adaptation of Ariel Dorfman's political drama Death and the Maiden opposite Ben Kingsley. In a single year (1988), Weaver had starring roles in three hit movies back to back: Gorillas in the Mist, in which she portrayed primatologist Dian Fossey; the Mike Nichols comedy Working Girl; and Ghostbusters II. Weaver received her second and third Academy Award® nominations for Gorillas in the Mist and Working Girl, and received Golden Globe Awards for her performances in each of these films.
Born and educated in New York City, Weaver graduated with a Bachelor's degree in English from Stanford University and went on to receive a Master's degree from the Yale School of Drama. Her first professional job was as an understudy in Sir John Gielgud's production of "The Constant Wife" starring Ingrid Bergman, which toured before being presented on Broadway.
Weaver made her first stage appearance in an off-off Broadway production of Christopher Durang's "The Nature and Purpose of the Universe," following it with another off-Broadway double bill, "Titanic" and "Das Lusitania Songspiel," the latter of which she co-authored with Durang. "Das Lusitania" won Drama Desk nominations for both Weaver and Durang.
Weaver subsequently appeared in a number of off-Broadway productions in New York. working with such writers as John Guare, Albert Innaurato. Richard Nelson, Len Jenkin and Christopher Durang. In regional repertory, she performed in plays written by Pinter, Williams, Feydeau and Shakespeare. She also appeared in the PBS series The Best of Families.
Weaver received a Tony Award nomination for her starring role in "Hurlyburly" on Broadway. After completing filming on Aliens she collaborated for the first time with her husband, theatre director Jim Simpson, playing Portia in the Classic Stage Company of New York's production of "The Merchant of Venice." In 1996. Weaver appeared on Broadway again in Lincoln Center Theatre's production of "Sex and Longing." written by Christopher Durang.
Other film credits include starring roles in Half Moon Street with Michael Caine, One Woman or Two with Gerard Depardieu, Eyewitness with William Hurt, and Ridley Scott's 1492: The Conquest of Paradise. Upcoming films include the political comedy Company Man.
Weaver's production company, Goat Cay Productions, based in New York, is working to introduce new voices from the theatre into the film industry. She and her family live in New York.
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