Susan Sarandon | |
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![]() Sarandon at the 2008 Tribeca Film Festival |
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Born | Susan Abigail Tomalin October 4, 1946 , U.S. |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1969–present |
Spouse | Chris Sarandon (1967–1979) (divorced) |
Partner | Tim Robbins (1988–2009) (separated) |
Susan Sarandon (born October 4, 1946) is an American actress. She has worked in films and television, since 1969, and won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in the 1995 film Dead Man Walking. She was nominated for the award for four films, before that, and has received other recognition for her work. She is also noted for her social and political activism for a variety of liberal causes.
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Sarandon, the eldest of nine children in a Roman Catholic family, was born as Susan Abigail Tomalin in New York City, as the daughter of Leonora Marie (née Criscione) and Phillip Leslie Tomalin (26 Sep 1917 – 26 Mar 1999), who worked as an advertising executive, television producer and nightclub singer, during the big band era.[1][2] Sarandon's father was of English, Irish and Welsh ancestry and her Italian American mother's ancestors emigrated from the regions of Tuscany and Sicily.[3][1][4] In 2006, Sarandon and 10 of her relatives, (including her then-partner Tim Robbins and her son Miles), traveled to Wales to trace her family's Welsh genealogy. Their journey was documented by the BBC Wales program, Coming Home: Susan Sarandon. [4] In 2006 she also received the "Ragusani nel mondo" prize, since she had recently discovered her Sicilian roots, in Ragusa, Italy.
Sarandon grew up in Edison, New Jersey,[5][6] where she graduated from Edison High School in 1964. She then attended The Catholic University of America, from 1964 to 1968, and earned a BA in drama and worked with noted drama coach and master teacher, Father Gilbert Hartke.
In 1969, Sarandon went to a casting call for the motion-picture Joe, with her then-husband Chris Sarandon. Although he did not get a part, she was cast in a major role of a disaffected teen, who disappears into the seedy underworld. (The film was released in 1970). Between the years 1970 and 1972, Sarandon played Patrice Kahlman on the short-lived soap opera A World Apart, and on Search for Tomorrow, in the role of Sarah Fairbanks. She also appeared in Lady Liberty (1971), by Mario Monicelli, opposite Sophia Loren.
In 1974, she co-starred in The Front Page, with the comedy duo Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau and Lovin' Molly with Anthony Perkins. She appeared in the cult favorite musical The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975). That same year, she played the female lead in The Great Waldo Pepper, opposite Robert Redford. In 1978, Sarandon played the mother of a child prostitute, who was played by Brooke Shields, in Pretty Baby.
Her most controversial film appearance was in The Hunger in 1983, a modern vampire story in which she had a lesbian sex scene with Catherine Deneuve. The film was a critical and commercial flop but gained a cult following. Sarandon played one of the leads in the 1987 dark comedy/fantasy film The Witches of Eastwick, opposite Jack Nicholson. Sarandon starred in the 1988 film Bull Durham, which became a huge commercial and critical success. In 1989, she co-starred with Marlon Brando in A Dry White Season.
Sarandon received five Academy Award nominations, for best actress, in Atlantic City (1980), Thelma & Louise (1991), Lorenzo's Oil (1992) and The Client (1994). In 1995, she won the award for her performance in Dead Man Walking.
Additional performances in film include Compromising Positions, Stepmom (1998), Anywhere but Here (1999), Cradle Will Rock (1999), The Banger Sisters (2002), Shall We Dance (2004), Alfie (2004), Romance & Cigarettes (2005), Elizabethtown (2005) and Enchanted (2007).
Sarandon has appeared in two episodes of The Simpsons, one as herself ("Bart Has Two Mommies") and another as a ballet teacher, "Homer vs. Patty and Selma". She has made appearances on comedies such as Friends, Malcolm in the Middle, Mad TV, Saturday Night Live, Chappelle's Show, and Rescue Me.
Sarandon has contributed the narration to some two dozen documentary film, many of which dealt with social and political issues; in addition, she has served as the presenter on many installments of the PBS documentary series, Independent Lens. In 2007, she hosted and presented Mythos, a series of lectures by the late American mythology professor Joseph Campbell.[7]
Sarandon joined the cast of the adaptation of The Lovely Bones, opposite Rachel Weisz, and appeared with her daughter, Eva Amurri, in Middle of Nowhere; both of the movies were filmed in 2007.[8][9]
In June 2010, Sarandon joined the cast of new HBO pilot The Miraculous Year. She will play the role of Patty Atwood, a Broadway director/choreographer.[10]
Sarandon began a relationship with fellow college student Chris Sarandon, in 1964, and they married on September 16, 1967.[11] After their separation, Sarandon discussed their relationship in an interview with Cosmopolitan magazine in 1978, in which she stated "I no longer believe in marriage."[12] They divorced in 1979 and she retained Sarandon as her stage name.[13]
In the late 1970s, Sarandon had a two-year relationship with director Louis Malle, who directed her in Pretty Baby and Atlantic City.[11]
In the mid-1980s, Sarandon dated director Franco Amurri, with whom she had a daughter in 1985, actress Eva Amurri.[13]
From 1986 to 2009,[14] Sarandon was in a relationship with actor Tim Robbins, whom she met while she filmed Bull Durham. They had two sons — Jack Henry (born 1989) and Miles Guthrie (born 1992).[13]
Sarandon and Robbins often worked together on the same social and political causes. In 2006, Sarandon received the Action Against Hunger Humanitarian Award.[15] She was honored for her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, an advocate for victims of hunger and HIV/AIDS and a spokesperson for Heifer International. Sarandon also participates as a member of the Jury for the NYICFF, a local New York City Film Festival that is dedicated to screening films for children between the ages of 3 and 18.[16]
One of her favorite hobbies is playing table tennis. She is involved in a New York Table Tennis Club, Spin; a club that she frequents when she doesn't film.[17]
Sarandon is noted for her active support of progressive and left-liberal political causes, ranging from donations made to organizations such as EMILY's List,[18] to participating in a 1983 delegation to Nicaragua sponsored by MADRE, an organization that promotes "social, environmental and economic justice."[19] Sarandon has also expressed support for various human rights causes that are similar philosophically to ideas found among the Christian left.[20]
In 1995, Sarandon was one of many Hollywood actors, directors and writers who were interviewed for the documentary The Celluloid Closet, which looked at how Hollywood films have depicted homosexuality. In 1999, she was appointed UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador. In that capacity, she has actively supported the organization's global advocacy, as well as the work of the Canadian UNICEF Committee.
During the 2000 election, Sarandon supported Ralph Nader's run for President, serving as a co-chair of the National Steering Committee of Nader 2000.[21]
During the 2004 election campaign, she withheld support for Nader's bid, being among several "Nader 2000 Leaders" who signed a petition that urged voters to vote for Democratic Party candidate John Kerry.[22] After the 2004 election, Sarandon called for US elections to be monitored by international entities.[23]
Sarandon and Robbins both took an early stance against the 2003 invasion of Iraq, with Sarandon stating that she was firmly against the concept of the war as a pre-emptive strike.[24] Prior to a 2003 protest sponsored by the United for Peace and Justice coalition, she said that many Americans "do not want to risk their children or the children of Iraq".[25] Sarandon was one of the first to appear in a series of political ads sponsored by TrueMajority, an organization established by Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream founder Ben Cohen.[26][27] Also in 2003, Sarandon appeared in a "Love is Love is Love" commercial, which promoted the acceptance of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender individuals.
In 2004, she served on the advisory committee for the group 2004 Racism Watch.[28] She hosted a section of the Live 8 concert in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 2005. In 2006, she was one of eight women who were selected to carry in the Olympic flag at the Opening Ceremony of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games, in Turin, Italy.
Along with anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, Sarandon took part in a 2006 Mother's Day protest, which was sponsored by Code Pink;[29] she has expressed interest in portraying Sheehan in a movie.[30] In January 2007, she appeared with Robbins and Jane Fonda at an anti-war rally in Washington, D.C. in support of a Congressional measure to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq.[31]
In the 2008 U.S. presidential election, Sarandon and Tim Robbins campaigned[32] for John Edwards in the New Hampshire communities of Hampton,[33] Bedford and Dover.[34] When asked at We Vote '08 Kickoff Party "What would Jesus do this primary season", Sarandon said, "I think Jesus would be very supportive of John Edwards."[35]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1970 | Joe | Melissa Compton | |
1971 | Lady Liberty | Sally | |
1971 | The Apprentice | Elizabeth Hawkins | |
1974 | Lovin' Molly | Sarah | |
1974 | The Front Page | Peggy Grant | |
1975 | The Great Waldo Pepper | Mary Beth | |
1975 | The Rocky Horror Picture Show | Janet Weiss | |
1976 | Dragonfly | Chloe | aka "One Summer Love" (USA: reissue title) |
1977 | Checkered Flag or Crash | C.C. Wainwright | |
1977 | The Other Side of Midnight | Catherine Alexander Douglas | |
1977 | The Last of the Cowboys | Ginny | |
1978 | Pretty Baby | Hattie | |
1978 | King of the Gypsies | Rose | |
1979 | Something Short of Paradise | Madeline Ross | |
1980 | Atlantic City | Sally Matthews | Genie Award for Best Performance by a Foreign Actress Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress |
1980 | Loving Couples | Stephanie | |
1982 | Tempest | Aretha Tomalin | |
1983 | The Hunger | Dr. Sarah Roberts | |
1983 | Who Am I This Time? | Helene Shaw | |
1984 | The Buddy System | Emily | |
1985 | Compromising Positions | Judith Singer | |
1986 | Women of Valor | Col. Margaret Ann Jessup | |
1987 | The Witches of Eastwick | Jane Spofford | Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress |
1988 | Bull Durham | Annie Savoy | Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Actress Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy |
1988 | Sweet Hearts Dance | Sandra Boon | |
1989 | The January Man | Christine Starkey | |
1989 | A Dry White Season | Melanie Bruwer | |
1990 | White Palace | Nora Baker | London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress (also for Thelma & Louise) Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama |
1991 | Thelma & Louise | Louise Elizabeth Sawyer | David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actress (shared with Geena Davis) London Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress (also for White Palace) National Board of Review Award for Best Actress (shared with Geena Davis) Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama |
1992 | The Player | Herself | |
1992 | Light Sleeper | Ann | |
1992 | Bob Roberts | Tawna Titan | |
1992 | Lorenzo's Oil | Michaela Odone | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama |
1994 | The Client | Regina 'Reggie' Love | BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role |
1994 | Little Women | Abigail 'Marmee' March | |
1994 | Safe Passage | Margaret 'Mag' Singer | |
1995 | Dead Man Walking | Sister Helen Prejean | Academy Award for Best Actress Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress David di Donatello Award for Best Foreign Actress Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama |
1996 | James and the Giant Peach | Miss Spider | voice |
1998 | Twilight | Catherine Ames | |
1998 | Illuminata | Calimene | |
1998 | Stepmom | Jackie Harrison | San Diego Film Critics Society Award for Best Actress Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama |
1999 | Our Friend, Martin | Mrs. Clark | voice (direct-to-video) |
1999 | Cradle Will Rock | Margherita Sarfatti | |
1999 | Anywhere but Here | Adele August | |
2000 | Joe Gould's Secret | Alice Neel | |
2000 | Rugrats in Paris: The Movie | Coco LaBouche | voice |
2001 | Cats & Dogs | Ivy | voice |
2001 | Goodnight Moon | Narrator | voice (short subject) |
2002 | Igby Goes Down | Mimi Slocumb | Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for | Moonlight Mile) Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture |
2002 | The Banger Sisters | Lavinia Kingsley | |
2002 | Moonlight Mile | Jojo Floss | Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress (also for Igby Goes Down) |
2002 | Little Miss Spider | Narrator | short subject |
2003 | Ice Bound | Dr. Jerri Nielsen | |
2004 | Noel | Rose Collins | |
2004 | Jiminy Glick in Lalawood | Herself | Cameo |
2004 | Shall We Dance | Beverly Clark | |
2004 | Alfie | Liz | |
2005 | Elizabethtown | Hollie Baylor | |
2005 | Romance & Cigarettes | Kitty | |
2006 | Irresistible | Sophie | |
2007 | Mr. Woodcock | Beverly Farley | |
2007 | In the Valley of Elah | Joan Deerfield | |
2007 | Enchanted | Queen Narissa | |
2007 | Emotional Arithmetic | Melanie Lansing Winters | Nominated—Genie Award for Best Performance by a Foreign Actress Nominated—Jutra Award for Best Actress |
2007 | Bernard and Doris | Doris Duke | Nominated—Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Miniseries or Television Movie |
2008 | Speed Racer | Mom Racer | |
2008 | Middle of Nowhere | Rhonda Berry | |
2009 | The Greatest | Grace Brewer | |
2009 | Peacock | Fanny Crill | Direct-to-video |
2009 | Leaves of Grass | Daisy Kincaid | |
2009 | Solitary Man | Nancy | |
2009 | The Lovely Bones | Grandma Lynn | Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress |
2010 | Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps | Sylvia Moore | post-production |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1970– 1971 |
A World Apart | Patrice Kahlman | |
1971 | Owen Marshall: Counselor at Law | Joyce | 1 episode |
1972 | Search for Tomorrow | Sarah Fairbanks | unknown episodes |
1973 | Wide World Mystery | episode The Haunting of Rosalind | |
1974 | F. Scott Fitzgerald and 'The Last of the Belles' | Ailie Calhoun | |
1974 | The Satan Murders | Kate | TV movie |
1974 | June Moon | Eileen | TV movie |
1974 | The Rimers of Eldritch | Pasty Johnson | TV movie |
1982 | Who Am I This Time? | Helene Shaw | TV movie |
1984 | Oxbridge Blues | Natalie | TV mini-series |
1984 | Faerie Tale Theatre | Beauty | 1 episode |
1985 | A.D | Livilla | TV mini-series |
1985 | Mussolini and I | Edda Mussolini Ciano | TV movie |
1986 | Women of Valor | Col. Margaret Ann Jessup | TV movie |
1994 | All Star 25th Birthday: Stars and Street Forever! | Bitsy | |
1995 | The Simpsons | voice of The Ballet Teacher | 1 episode |
1999 | Earthly Possessions | Charlotte Emory | TV movie |
2001 | Friends | Cecilia Monroe/Jessica Lockhart | Nominated—Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Special Class Series |
2001 | Cool Women In History | The Host | Season 1 Nominated—Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress – Comedy Series |
2002 | Malcolm in the Middle | Meg | Nominated—Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress – Comedy Series |
2003 | Frank Herbert's Children of Dune | Princess Wensicia | TV miniseries |
2004 | Chappelle's Show | herself | Season 3 |
2004 | Troy: The Passion of Helen | The Host | |
2005 | The Exonerated | Sunny Jacobs | TV movie |
2005 | Mad TV | 2 episodes | |
2006– 2007 |
Rescue Me | Alicia | |
2009 | ER | Nora | 1 episode |
2010 | Who Do You Think You Are?[36] | herself | 1 episode |
2010 | You Don't Know Jack | Janet Good | TV movie |
2010 | Chelsea Lately | Herself | Appeared 7/20/2010 |
Year | Title | Role |
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1983 | When the Mountains Tremble | |
1990 | Through the Wire | narrator |
1993 | Wildnerness: The Last Stand | narrator |
1994 | School of the Americas Assassins | narrator |
1995 | The Celluloid Closet | |
1996 | Tell the Truth and Run: George Seldes and the American Press | narrator |
1997 | The Need to Know | narrator |
1997 | Father Roy: Inside the School of Assassins | narrator |
1997 | 187: Documented | narrator |
1999 | For Love of Julian | narrator |
2000 | Light Keeps Me Company | |
2000 | Iditarod: A Far Distant Place | narrator |
2000 | This Is What Democracy Looks Like | narrator |
2000 | Dying to be Thin | narrator |
2001 | Uphill All the Way | narrator |
2001 | 900 Women | narrator |
2001 | The Shaman's Apprentice | narrator |
2001 | Rudyland | narrator |
2001 | Islamabad: Rock City | narrator |
2001 | Ghosts of Attica | narrator |
2001 | Last Party 2000 | |
2002 | The Next Industrial Revolution | narrator |
2002 | Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion | narrator |
2003 | XXI Century | |
2003 | The Nazi Officer's Wife | narrator |
2003 | Burma: Anatomy of Terror | narrator |
2003 | Journey of the Heart: The Life of Henri Nouwen | narrator |
2004 | Fragile Hopes from the Killing Fields | narrator |
2005 | A Whale in Montana | narrator |
2005 | On the Line: Dissent in an Age of Terrorism | |
2006 | Secrets of the Code | narrator |
2006 | Christa McAuliffe: Reach for the Stars | narrator |
2007 | This Child of Mine | narrator |
2007 | World Beyond Wiseguys: Italian Americans & the Movies | |
2009 | PoliWood | Herself |
2010 | Who Do You Think You Are? | Herself |
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