Daryl Hannah - Film & Theater Personalities, Life Achievements and Childhood

Daryl Hannah was born on December 3, 1960, in Chicago, Illinois. While her mother Susan Jeanne Metzger is a producer and former schoolteacher, her father Donald Christian Hannah is a tugboat and barge company owner. After her parents divorced, her mother remarried a businessman Jerrold Wexler. Daryl has two siblings, Don and Page Hannah, and a half-sister Tanya Wexler.

She became interested in movies at a young age, as she used to watch movies at night due to insomnia. She was a shy kid, and was diagnosed as “borderline autistic”. As a child, she lost the tip of her left index finger in an accident.

She went to Francis W. Parker School, where she played soccer, and graduated from the University of Southern California’s School of Theatre. She got training in ballet from Maria Tallchief, and studied drama at Chicago's Goodman Theatre. She also played the keyboard and sang for American singerJackson Browne.

In 1978, Daryl Hannah debuted in Brian De Palma's horror film ‘The Fury’. As her role in the film was soon forgotten, she became more cautious in selecting her future roles and turned down many of them early in her career. She then did another horror film ‘The Final Terror’, which was filmed in 1981 and released in 1983.

In 1982, her role as the acrobatic Pris in Ridley Scott's science fiction ‘Blade Runner’ gave her the much-needed recognition in the industry. She performed her own gymnastic stunts in the film. In the same year, she was featured in ‘Summer Lovers’.

In 1984, her breakthrough role came as the blonde mermaid in Ron Howard's fantasy ‘Splash’. In the same year, she appeared in ‘The Pope of Greenwich Village’. In 1985, she was seen in the ‘You're a Friend of Mine’ music video performed by Clarence Clemons and Jackson.

She was also seen in ‘The Clan of the Cave Bear’ and ‘Legal Eagles’ in 1986; ‘Wall Street’ and ‘Roxanne’ in 1987; ‘High Spirits’in 1988; ‘Crimes and Misdemeanors’ and ‘Steel Magnolias’in 1989.

In 1993, she appeared in two comedy films—‘Grumpy Old Men’, and the remake of ‘Attack of the Fifty-Foot Woman’, where she played Nancy Archer.

In 1995, she was featured as Leann Netherwood in ‘The Tie That Binds’. She also appeared in the direct-to-video film ‘Addams Family Reunion’in 1998, where she portrayed Morticia Addams.

She loved performing in plays, and reprised Marilyn Monroe's role in ‘The Seven Year Itch’ in 2000 at London's West End. In 2002, she appeared in Robbie Williams' video for the song ‘Feel’.

Her portrayal of the one-eyed assassin, Elle Driver, in ‘Kill Bill’, a two-part martial arts film series in 2003-04, is still appreciated.

In 2010, she appeared in ‘A Closed Book’, a British film based on the novel of the same name. In 2011, she starred in the drama film ‘A Fonder Heart’, and appeared in the 2012 British horror-comedy film ‘Eldorado’.

In 2013, she did two indie films—the zombie horror film ‘Zombie Night’, and ‘Mother’, a thriller.In 2015, she appeared in ‘Sense8’, a science fiction drama web television series made for Netflix.

Besides acting, she has written, directed and produced a short film ‘The Last Supper’. She has also directed, and produced the documentary ‘Strip Notes’.The documentary is based on the research she did for her role as a stripper in the 2000 film ‘Dancing at the Blue Iguana’.

Daryl Hannah played the role of “The Girl” in the stage production of the comedy play ‘The Seven Year Itch’ in 2000. Her role in the play was praised as "perfect,” and her talent as a comedienne was recognized.

Daryl Hannah won the Saturn Award for Best Actress for her role in ‘Splash’ in 1984.

In 2004, she bagged the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for ‘Kill Bill: Volume 2’. That year, she also received the Influencer of the Year Award, Ongoing Commitment Award and Environmental Media Award.

In 2006, she won Water Quality Award for Environmental Activism and Environmental Preservation Activist Award.

Daryl Hannah is an activist for environmental issues and airs her views through her weekly video blog called ‘DHLoveLife’. She also discusses sustainable solutions for different issues.

Being an advocate of the ‘green’ campaign, her home runs on solar energy, and is built with green materials. Her car also runs on biodiesel. She has been a vegan since she was 11.

In June 2006, she was arrested for making efforts to confront authorities who were trying to bulldoze the largest urban farm in the US, located in South Central Los Angeles. Over 350 farmers and their families are involved in this farm.She chained herself to a tree at the farm for three weeks to protest against the demolition of the farm and eviction of the farmers by the property's new owner, Ralph Horowitz. The farm had been created in 1992 to allow people to grow food after the 1992 L.A. riots.

She also works to end sexual slavery in the US, and has been traveling around the world to make a documentary on human trafficking. She was arrested again in June 2009, while she was protesting against mountaintop removal in southern West Virginia.

In 2010-11, she promoted renewable energy while supporting environmental activist Tom Weis' project ‘Ride for Renewables’. In 2011, she participated in the iMatter March in Denver, Colorado, to raise awareness about climate change.

She was again arrested in August 2011 while she was on a sit-in in front of the White House to protest against the Keystone oil pipeline from Canada to the US Gulf Coast.In October 2012, she was arrested and jailed for criminal trespassing while protesting against the TransCanada Keystone XL oil sands pipeline. In February 2013, she was again arrested at the White House during a climate change protest.

She was the executive producer of ‘Greedy Lying Bastards’, a documentary against climate change denial, in 2012.

She has produced and hosted several environmental awareness and health documentaries. She has delivered keynote speeches at the UN Climate Change Summit and the UN Global Business Conference on the Environment.

Daryl Hannah had been in relationships with John F. Kennedy Jr. and singer Jackson Browne at different points of time.