Sigourney Weaver

On October 1, 1984, Sigourney Weaver got married to stage director Jim Simpson. Their daughter, Charlotte Simpson, was born on April 13, 1990.

After starring in ‘Gorillas in the Mist,’ she became a supporter of The Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund, and is now its honorary chairwoman.

She was also honoured by the Explorers Club for her environmental work and is considered to be an environmentalist.

Sigourney Weaver was born as Susan Alexandra Weaver on October 8, 1949, in Manhattan, New York City. Her father Sylvester L. Weaver Jr. was a TV producer. He originally wanted to name her “Flavia,” owing to his passion for Roman history.

Her mother was Elizabeth Inglis (nee Desiree Mary Lucy Hawkins), an actress who left her career in acting for the sake of her family. Her mother was English and her father was from United States; he also had English, Scottish, and Dutch ancestry.

Weaver changed her name from Susan to Sigourney after the character "Sigourney Howard" in F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel ‘The Great Gatsby’. She enjoyed a comfortable childhood. She was raised by many nannies and maids, and by 1959 her family had resided in 30 different households!

She started attending the Ethel Walker School, which was a girls’ preparatory school located in Connecticut. In 1961, she joined the Chapin School and the Brearley School. Since she was taller than most children in the school, she was often picked at and mocked.

When she turned 18, she visited Israel and volunteered on a kibbutz for several months. Weaver then proceeded to attend Sarah Lawrence College. In 1972, she graduated from Stanford University with a B.A. in English.

Sigourney Weaver started her career in 1977 with a Woody Allen movie ‘Annie Hall’ where she played a minor role opposite Allen. Even though her role was short, people took notice of her.

In 1979, she earned the role of a Warrant Officer, Ellen Ripley, in the blockbuster movie ‘Alien’. The movie was a huge hit and spawned three sequels where Sigourney reprised her role.

In addition to the ‘Alien’ franchise, she acted opposite Mel Gibson in ‘The Year of Living Dangerously’ and also in ‘Ghostbusters’ and ‘Ghostbusters II’. In 1988, she starred in ‘Gorillas in the Mist’ and in ‘Working Girl’.

These two movies helped Weaver win Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress respectively. She was also nominated for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in ‘Working Girl’ and for Best Actress for ‘Gorillas in the Mist’.

In 1992, she was seen in ‘Alien 3’and ‘1492: Conquest of Paradise,’ where she played the role of Queen Isabella. In the 1990s, Weaver appeared in many movies, playing smaller and supporting roles in some of them, such as ‘Jeffrey’ and ‘The Ice Storm’ which earned her a Golden Globe nomination and a BAFTA Award.

Sigourney Weaver is known as the unprecedented queen of science fiction movies. Most of her memorable performances have been in sci-fi movies like the ‘Alien’ franchise, ‘Ghostbusters’, and ‘Avatar’. But the two movies that won her most acclaim and awards were ‘The Working Girl’ and ‘Gorillas in the Mist’.

Apart from movies, she has also appeared in several plays, including the 1980 Off-Broadway production ‘Das Lusitania Songspiel’ for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. Her performance in the Broadway play ‘Hurlyburly’ was also much appreciated.