Actresses who have portrayed Hedda Hopper
List activity
325 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
11 people
- Actress
- Soundtrack
Her father was a butcher. In 1913 she met and married matinée idol DeWolf Hopper Sr. and in 1915 they moved to Hollywood, where both began active film careers. He became a star with Triangle Company, she began in vamp parts and turned to supporting roles. After her divorce she appeared in dozens of films, becoming known as "Queen of the Quickies". In 1936 she started a gossipy radio show and two years later commenced a 28-year stint as a newspaper gossip columnist, rival of Louella Parsons. In her last films she mostly played herself, a tribute to her influence in Hollywood. Her son became famous as investigator Paul Drake in the Perry Mason (1957) series.- A long long career. 140 roles in films ('I Want to Live', 'The Glory Guys', 'The Cat from Outer Space'...) and on television ('Bachelor Father', 'Alfred Hitchcock Presents', 'Lux Video Theatre'...). And many many radio shows ('This Is Your FBI', 'Dangerous Assignment', 'Suspense, 'The Whistler '...). There is no denying Alice Backes was a hard worker. Not to mention the fact that she was a gifted violinist, that she joined the Women's Branch of the Naval Reserve during the War, and that she contributed all her adult life to various charities, including after she retired from acting. Born in 1923, young Alice graduated from high school before attending the University of Utah. After the War, Alice Backes decided to move to Hollywood where she quickly earned small parts in films, TV series and radio programs. From then on - and for nearly five decades - she would work steadily, specializing in character roles. Her rather commonplace physical appearance (though she was tall by Hollywood standards) enabled her to get effortlessly inside everyday life characters such as nurses, doctors, dentists, librarians, waitresses, judges, farmer's wives... Only once in her career did she embody a historical character, and that was Hedda Hopper, in 'Gable and Lombard'. Alice Backes finally retired in 1997 after a last appearance in a 'Columbo' episode, a nice vehicle for a last hurrah. She died ten years later.In "Gable and Lombard" (1976)
- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
Angular in features, reserved in demeanor and more-or-less plaintive in appearance, actress Jane Alexander has played down the glamour card for the most part. Her true brilliance has come from the remarkable range and depth of her talent. Heralded as one of the finest 70s actresses to arrive in films following a towering Broadway success, Jane went on to earn an Oscar nomination for her film debut, an acknowledgment given to very few of her acting peers.
She was born Jane Quigley in Boston, Massachusetts, on October 28, 1939, the daughter of Thomas, an orthopedic surgeon, and Ruth Elizabeth (née Pearson) Quigley, a nurse. Jane attended Beaver Country Day School, an all-girls facility, just outside of Boston. Here is where she first aspired to acting and made her stage debut as an adolescent in a production of "Treasure Island". Urged on by her father to find stability in her life, she first attended college before embarking on an acting career. She studied math as well as theater at Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, New York, where she thought computer programming might be a convenient alternative in case her acting dreams fell through. However, a chance to study at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, wherein she became a member of the Edinburgh University Dramatic Society, dissolved any other career interests but acting.
Following theater roles in "The Inspector General" and "Look Back in Anger", Jane found critical success in 1967 when chosen to play the mistress of black boxer Jack Jefferson in the landmark production of "The Great White Hope" at the Arena Stage in Washington, DC. opposite James Earl Jones. She and Jones both won Tony and Drama Desk Awards for their performances when the play went to Broadway the following year. Both also earned Academy Award nominations after making the transition to film. The Great White Hope (1970) would mark the first of four nominations for Jane. Although singled out for her supporting roles in All the President's Men (1976), Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) and her heartfelt leading role in Testament (1983) as a small town wife whose family is threatened by radioactive fallout, the Oscar trophy has remained elusive.
On stage, she received a plethora of Tony nominations over the years for such sterling work in "6 Rms Riv Vu" (1972), "Find Your Way Home" (1974), "First Monday in October" (1978), "The Visit" (1991), "The Sisters Rosenzweig" (1993), and "Honour" (1998). Other telling parts came as Gertrude in "Hamlet", Hedda in "Hedda Gabler", Cleopatra in "Antony and Cleopatra", Annie Sullivan in "Monday After the Miracle" and Maxine in "The Night of the Iguana".
Jane has triumphed just as notably on TV. She perfectly embodied the non-glamorous role of Eleanor Roosevelt opposite Edward Herrmann's FDR in the TV movies Eleanor and Franklin (1976) and Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years (1977) and was Emmy-nominated both times for her efforts. Decades later she would portray FDR's mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt, in HBO's Warm Springs (2005) starring Kenneth Branagh and Cynthia Nixon and won the coveted award for 'Best Supporting Actress'. Throughout the years she would play a myriad of quality leads in such TV-movies as A Circle Street of Children (1977); Arthur Miller's Playing for Time (1980); which earned her a second Emmy, the title role in Calamity Jane (1984); Malice in Wonderland (1985), in which she portrayed notorious gossip maven Hedda Hopper; Blood & Orchids (1986), and; In Love and War (1987).
Alexander met and married her first husband, Robert Alexander, in the early 1960s in New York City, when both were attempting to jump-start their acting careers. They had one son, Jace Alexander in 1964, an actor/director in his own right who co-founded the avant garde NYC theater company Naked Angels. Her marriage to Alexander, who was also a director, ended in divorce. She later met producer/director Edwin Sherin in Washington, DC, while he was serving as artistic director at the Arena Stage. He has three sons from his previous marriage. They married in 1975 and reside in New York City.
In 1993, Jane took a sabbatical from acting when President Clinton appointed her as the first chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Relocating to Washington, DC, she showed strong leadership and served for four years. Her 2000 book, "Command Performance: an Actress in the Theater of Politics" chronicles the challenges she faced heading up the organization when the Republican Congress unsuccessfully tried to shut it down. The agency survived but with a 45% cut in funding.
In 2004, Alexander, together with her second husband, joined the theater faculty at Florida State University (FSU). She holds honorary doctorates from 11 colleges and universities in the U.S. In addition, Jane has been active on many boards, including the Wildlife Conservation Society, Project Greenhope, the National Stroke Association, and Women's Action for Nuclear Disarmament. She has also received the Israel Cultural Award and the Helen Caldicott Leadership Award.
Returning to acting into the millennium, Jane has appeared, often as professional types (judges, doctors), in such films as The Ring (2002), Feast of Love (2007), Gigantic (2008), The Unborn (2009), Terminator Salvation (2009), Last Love (2013) and Three Christs (2017). She has also graced such TV programs as "Law & Order," "Forgive Me," "The Black List," "The Good Wife," "Elementary," "The Good Fight," "Modern Love," and a steady role on the short-lived series Tell Me You Love Me (2007).In the TV movie "Malice in Wonderland" (1985)- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Cynthia Adler - actress, award-winning socio-political satirist, and one of the top voiceovers in America - is married to actor John Henry Cox. Her credits include Knightriders, Bananas Is My Business, The Actress, Love, American Style, and others. Was most of the female voices in the animated feature "Fantastic Planet," and plays 'Lee's Mother' in the Showtime television series "HAPPYish". Narrations: HBO's "Real Sex" (and numerous documentaries), Discovery Channel, PBS and American Masters. Cynthia's voice was also heard on "The Coneheads" cartoon, "Marilyn in Manhattan" TV doc, "Brain Games" television series, and as series narrator for "America Undercover".
As the voice of numerous national commercials - Revlon, Mercedes Benz, Pampers, McDonalds, Estee Lauder, Delta Airlines, and the voice of Chiquita Banana (just to name a few) - her original poem "My Face," along with her voice, was chosen for a national ad campaign for "Oil of Olay" that ran for nearly two years.
So yes, Cynthia's been behind the "mike" for much of her career. But she's a Gemini... and they fly to many different destinations before the wings explode.
Her cabaret acts (where she performed many crazy parodies about the environment, corporate takeovers, and plastic surgery) were a huge success. These shows paved the way into what eventually evolved into a nine-character, one woman show, "Downloaded...and in Denial," which got rave reviews in New York and the Northeast, was featured as a half-page article in The New York Times, by Chris Hedges, and was voted "Best Show of the Year," at the Big Arts Festival in Sanibel, Florida.
As a teenager, Cynthia contributed to "Mad Magazine (much of it too inflammatory to print) and later, became a writer and Contributing Editor for "Status" "Celebrity," and "Film International" Magazines, all of which went defunct much too soon (no... not her fault!). She was then recruited (because of her comedy writing) by some powerful Ad Agencies in New York to write copy for many of their TV commercials.
She also spent a lot of time hanging out inside someone's mouth, as she dubbed leading roles in numerous foreign films (such as "Swept Away" and "Seven Beauties," for Lina Wertmueller, "1900" for Bernardo Bertolucci, and "Scenes From a Marriage," for Ingmar Bergman). Some of her on-screen credits include "Che Cosa?" for Italian Television, "Hangin' Out With Ceci" for ABC Afterschool Special, George Romero's "Knightriders," and "Bananas Is My Business," on PBS.
Trained by Jim Henson and Frank Oz, she went to London to do the Muppet Shows. Her "Duck" is still being written about by many avid Muppet fans.
As a writer, actress, and socio-political satirist, she has also performed her satirical characters for many prominent national organizations, such as Social Venture Network, The Open Center, "Events of the Heart" at the Geffen theatre in LA, and did a satire of a "One Percenter" being interviewed at Zuccotti Park for "Occupy Wall Street".
Cynthia is a strong environmental activist, having been the Co-Chair of the Environment Committee for "The Creative Coalition" for seven years. Working closely with Christopher Reeve and Robert Kennedy Jr., she was very instrumental in saving the quality of the drinking water in New York City. She has served on the Board of Directors of "Inform," and is currently on the Board of "Energy Vision", an environmental and alternative fuel research organization committed to ending our addiction to oil.
She is a member of the theatrical acting Adler family.In " Carmen Miranda: Bananas Is My Business" (1995)- Actress
- Director
Katherine Marie Helmond was born on July 5, 1929, in Galveston, Texas. After her parents divorced, she was raised by her mother, Thelma (nee Malone) Helmond, and her maternal grandmother, both of Irish Catholic descent. She attended Catholic school, and appeared in numerous school plays and pageants. She took a job at a local theater while still in high school, hammering and sawing the scenery, cleaning the bathrooms and pulling the curtain.
After her stage debut in "As You Like It", she worked in New York theatres during the 1950s and 1960s. She operated a summer theatre in the Catskills for three seasons and also taught acting in university theatre programs. She made her TV debut in 1962 but had to wait another 10 years until her breakthrough came in the 1970s. She stayed busy on TV as well as on stage and earned a Tony nomination for "The Great God Brown" (1973) on Broadway. She honed her acting abilities with Alfred Hitchcock in Family Plot (1976) and in numerous TV series, notably in ABC's cult sitcom Soap (1977), for which she had four Emmy nominations and a Golden Globe. On the big screen she starred in Brazil (1985) as Jonathan Pryce's mother who is addicted to plastic surgery and snooping in her son's messed-up life.
In 1983 she studied at the Directing Workshop of the American Film Institute and then directed four episodes of the series Benson (1979) as well as episodes of Who's the Boss? (1984). She also picked up Emmy nominations for her role as Mona Robinson, a liberated grandmother in "Who's the Boss?", and as Lois in Everybody Loves Raymond (1996). Although Helmond was a bona-fide TV star since her "Soap" days, she continued working on stage in the 2000s and was acclaimed for her performances in "The Vagina Monologues".
Katherine Helmond was married twice. She had no children. She turned to Buddhism in later years. She shared her time between her home in Los Angeles and homes in New York and London.In the TV movie "Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story" (1995)- Actress
- Additional Crew
- Soundtrack
Shaw was already an accomplished theater actress when director Jim Sheridan awarded her a role in his film, My Left Foot (1989). The film is a telling of Christy Brown (Daniel Day-Lewis), an Irishman disgruntled with his confinement to a body horribly crippled by cerebral palsy but who found incredible success as an artist and writer. Shaw portrayed Eileen Cole, the doctor largely responsible for Christy's education and physical rehabilitation. Since, Shaw has received several accolades for her film and television performances.In the TV movie "RKO 281" (1999)- Joanne Linville made her mark on television from the 1950s-1980s, appearing in such respected anthology series as Studio One (1948), Kraft Theatre (1947) and Alfred Hitchcock Presents (1955), among others. While her film work consisted mainly of smaller character roles and she never had regular roles on television, she guest-starred on numerous series over her career, often in Westerns but, especially in the 1970s, in a variety of drama and detective series. Star Trek (1966) fans will remember her in the episode "The Enterprise Incident", in which she played a Romulan commander--the first female Romulan ever portrayed on the series--who goes up against Captain James T. Kirk and is romanced by Mr. Spock.
The ex-wife of director Mark Rydell, she has two children by that marriage who are also actors, Amy Rydell and Christopher Rydell. She was a master teacher at Stella Adler's Academy and later started her own acting school.In the TV movie "James Dean" (2001) - Actress
- Second Unit Director or Assistant Director
- Production Manager
Voice-over talent in the documentary "The Woman with the Hungry Eyes" (2006)- Jackie Prucha is known for The Mule (2018), Trouble with the Curve (2012) and The Last of Robin Hood (2013).In " The Last of Robin Hood" (2013)
- Actress
- Producer
- Director
Dame Helen Mirren was born in Queen Charlotte's Hospital in West London. Her mother, Kathleen Alexandrina Eva Matilda (Rogers), was from a working-class English family, and her father, Vasiliy Petrovich Mironov, was a Russian-born civil servant, from Kuryanovo, whose own father was a diplomat. Mirren attended St. Bernards High School for girls, where she would act in school productions. After high school, she began her acting career in theatre working in many productions including in the West End and Broadway.In "Trumbo" (2015)- Actress
- Producer
- Director
The iconoclastic gifts of the highly striking and ferociously talented actress Tilda Swinton have been appreciated by art house crowds and international audiences alike. After her stunning Oscar-winning turn as a high-powered corporate attorney in the George Clooney starring and critically-lauded legal thriller Michael Clayton (2007), however, her androgynous looks and often bizarre appeal have been embraced by more mainstream crowds as well.
She was born Katherine Mathilda Swinton into a patrician Scottish military family on November 5, 1960, in London, England. Her mother, Judith Balfour, Lady Swinton (née Killen), was Australian, and her father, Major-General Sir John Swinton, an army officer, was English-born. Her ancestry is Scottish, Northern Irish, and English, including a long tapestry of prominent Scottish ancestors. Educated at an English and a Scottish boarding school, Tilda subsequently studied Social and Political Science at Cambridge University and graduated in 1983 with a degree in English Literature.
During her tenure as a student, she performed countless stage productions and proceeded to work for a season with the Royal Shakespeare Company where she appeared in such productions as "Measure for Measure." The rebel insider her, however, was strong and she left the company after a year as her approach and interests began to shift dramatically. With a pungent taste for the unique and seldom tried, Tilda found some gender-bending stage roles come her way. She portrayed Mozart in Pushkin's "Mozart and Salieri", and as a working class woman impersonating her dead husband during World War II, in Manfred Karge's "Man to Man," a role she later committed to film (Man to Man (1992)).
In 1985, the tall, slender performer with alabaster skin and carrot-topped hair began a professional association with gay experimental director Derek Jarman. She continued to live and work with the groundbreaking writer/director/cinematographer for the next nine years, involving herself in seven of his often notorious films. This quirky, highly fascinating alliance would produce such stark and radical turns as the Berlin International Film Festival winners Caravaggio (1986), The Last of England (1987), The Garden (1990) and Edward II (1991) (playing Isabella, in which she won "Best Actress" at the Venice Film Festival) and Wittgenstein (1993), as well as the films Soursweet (1988) (a movie with no spoken dialogue) and the Stockholm Film Festival Award winner Blue (1993).
Jarman succumbed to complications from AIDS in 1994. His untimely demise left a devastating void in Tilda's life for quite some time. Her most notable performance of her Jarman period, however, came from a non-Jarman film. For the vivid title role in Orlando (1992), her nobleman character lives for 400 years while changing sex from man to woman. The film, which Swinton spent years helping writer/director Sally Potter develop and finance, continues to this day to have a worldwide devoted fan following.
Over the years, Tilda has preferred art to celebrity, opening herself to experimental projects with new and untried directors and mediums, delving into the worlds of installation art and cutting-edge fashion. Consistently off-centered roles in Female Perversions (1996), Love Is the Devil: Study for a Portrait of Francis Bacon (1998), Teknolust (2002), Young Adam (2003), Broken Flowers (2005) and Béla Tarr's The Man from London (2007) have added to her mystique. Back in 1995, she delved into a performance art piece in the Serpentine Gallery, London, where she was put on display to the public for a week, asleep (or apparently so), in a glass case.
Following the birth of her twins in 1997, Tilda would leave lean for a time towards Hollywood mainstream filming. The thriller The Deep End (2001), earned her a number of critic's awards and her first Golden Globe nomination. Other visible U.S. pictures included The Beach (2000) with Leonardo DiCaprio, fantasy epic Constantine (2005) with Keanu Reeves, her Oscar-decorated performance in Michael Clayton (2007) and, of course, her iconic White Witch in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005).
Into the millennium, Tilda continued to amaze starring in the crime drama Julia (2008) and in David Fincher's The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008). She learned Italian and Russian for Luca Guadagnino's I Am Love (2009), starred in the psychological thriller We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011), Wes Anderson's Moonrise Kingdom (2012) and Bong Joon Ho's Snowpiercer (2013), and earned fine notice in Terry Gilliam's The Zero Theorem (2013). She also starred in the dark romantic fantasy drama Only Lovers Left Alive (2013) directed by Jim Jarmusch, had a small role in Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), starred in Judd Apatow's comedy Trainwreck (2015), and played a rock star in Luca Guadagnino's A Bigger Splash (2015).
Showing no signs of slowing up, Tilda continues to make creative, visual impressions in such films as the Coen Brothers' Hail, Caesar! (2016) where she reunited with Clooney and had a dual role playing twin journalists, and as the wise Asian teacher of Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) in the Marvel Comics action film Doctor Strange (2016), while repeating the part of The Ancient One in Avengers: Endgame (2019). She gave another eccentric, unhinged performance in the action adventure message movie Okja (2017), played Betsy Trotwood in a contemporary telling of The Personal History of David Copperfield (2019) and teamed up again with writer/director Jim Jarmusch in the thoroughly offbeat fantasy horror comedy The Dead Don't Die (2019).In " Hail, Caesar!" (2016)