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Dianne Wiest

One of Hollywood's more well-established and often underrated actresses, Dianne Wiest possesses a versatility that has allowed her to go from playing hookers to flamboyant stage actresses to some of the most memorable matriarchs this side of Barbara Billingsley. Born in Kansas City, Missouri, Wiest decided to forgo a ballet career in favor of the theatre while attending the University of Maryland. She made her off-Broadway debut in 1976's Ashes; three years later she won the coveted Obie and Theatre World awards for her work in The Art of Dining. She made her first film, It's My Turn, in 1980, then returned to the stage, appearing with Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival and on Broadway in 1982's Frankenstein. In the mid-1980s, Wiest returned to films, where (except for the occasionally foray into live performing) she has remained ever since. Often as not, Wiest has been cast in maternal roles, most memorably in Footloose (1984), The Lost Boys (1987), Parenthood (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990) and The Birdcage (1996). Some of her best screen work can be found in her neurotic, self-involved characterizations for director Woody Allen. Beginning with a cameo as a hooker in The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985), she has been generously featured in five Allen films, winning Academy Awards for her dazzling performances as unlucky-in-love Holly in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) and hyperbolic stage actress Helen Sinclair in Bullets Over Broadway (1994). Wiest could be seen playing another motherly figure in Robert Redford's 1998 adaptation of The Horse Whisperer; that same year, she appeared as one of Sandra Bullock and Nicole Kidman's otherworldly aunts (along with Stockard Channing) in Practical Magic. In 1999, she could be seen in the made-for-TV The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn, starring alongside Sidney Poitier. ~ Rovi

Category: Actors
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Performer Information
MOVIES
(L-R) Owen Wilson, Jack Black and Steve Martin in
The Big Year (2011)
Brenda
(L-R) Jack Black and Steve Martin in The Big Year
La grande année (2011)
Brenda
A scene from the movie Rabbit Hole
Rabbit Hole (2010)
Poster Art
Rabbit Hole (2010)
Nat
Synecdoque, New York (f.s.t.)
Synecdoque, New York (f.s.t.) (2008)
Ellen Bascomb / Millicent Weems
Dan in Real Life
Dan in Real Life (2007)
Nana
Dedication
Dedication (2007)
Carol
Robots
Robots (2005)
Voice of Mrs. Copperbottom (voic
Greg Kinnear provides the voice of Ratchet
Robots IMAX (2005)
Voice of Mrs. Copperbottom (voice)
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Merci Docteur Rey (2002)
Elisabeth Beaumont
I Am Sam
I Am Sam (2001)
Annie
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The Birdcage (1996)
Louise Keeley
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The Birdcage (1996)
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Bullets Over Broadway (1994)
Helen Sinclair
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Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Peg Boggs
A scene from the movie Edward Scissorhands
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
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Parenthood (1989)
A scene from the movie The Lost Boys
The Lost Boys (1987)
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The Lost Boys (1987)
Lucy Emerson
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Radio Days (1987)
Bea
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Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
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Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
Holly
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The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
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Footloose (1984)
Vi Moore
A scene from the movie Footloose (1984)
Footloose (1984) (1984)
Synecdoche, New York
Synecdoche, New York
Ellen Bascomb / Millicent Weems
A scene from the film Passengers.
Pasajeros
Toni
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Rage (2009)
Poster Art
Passengers
Toni
Casey as Freeway in Darling Companion.
Darling Companion
Penny Alexander