Amy Irving
Encyclopedia
Amy Davis Irving is an American actress, known for her roles in the films Crossing Delancey
, The Fury, Carrie, and Yentl
as well as acclaimed roles on Broadway
and Off-Broadway
. She has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, and has won an Obie award
. She is also known for marrying director Steven Spielberg
; they divorced in 1989 after four years of marriage, with Irving receiving a settlement of 100 million dollars.
, the daughter of film and stage director Jules Irving (né
Jules Israel) and actress Priscilla Pointer
. Irving's brother is writer/director David Irving (not the British author of the same name
) and her sister is singer/teacher of deaf children Katie Irving. Her father was Jewish and her mother is of Cherokee and Welsh background. She was raised in the Christian Science
faith.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Irving attended the American Conservatory Theater
in San Francisco, where she appeared in several of its productions. She also trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and made her off-Broadway
debut when she was 17, in a production titled And Chocolate on Her Chin. She is a graduate of the Professional Children's School
, in Manhattan
, New York
.
at age 12, selling Stacy Keach
a hamster in a crowd scene. The play was directed by family friend Robert Symonds
, who became her stepfather after the death of Jules Irving, the owner/operator of Lincoln Center. Within six months of returning to Los Angeles
from London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in the mid-1970s, Irving was cast in a major motion picture and was working on various TV projects such as guest spots in Police Woman
, Happy Days
, and a lead role in the mini-series epic Once an Eagle
opposite veterans at the time Sam Elliott
, Glenn Ford
and a young Melanie Griffith
. She also played Juliet in Romeo and Juliet
at the Los Angeles Free Shakespeare Theatre in 1975, and returned to the role at the Seattle Repertory Theatre
from 1982 to 1983.
After auditioning and losing the role of Princess Leia in Star Wars
, Irving starred in the Brian DePalma-directed films The Fury as Gillian Bellaver, and Carrie as Sue Snell (in which she co-starred with her mother). Then, in 1999, she went on to do her role as Sue Snell "The Rage: Carrie 2", and was the school counselor, mainly for Rachel, the main character. She also starred with Richard Dreyfuss
in 1980's The Competition
; the same year also saw the release of Honeysuckle Rose
; the 1983 film Yentl
(for which she was nominated for an Oscar), in Susan Sandler's 1988 film Crossing Delancey
(for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe) as Isabelle, and Woody Allen's 1997 film Deconstructing Harry
. Micki + Maude
, directed by Blake Edwards
and starring Dudley Moore
was a hit for her in 1984. She supplied the singing voice for Jessica Rabbit
in the animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit
. Irving also appeared in the TV show Alias
as Emily Sloane
, portrayed Princess Anjuli in the big-budget miniseries epic The Far Pavilions
and headlined the lavish TV production Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna
. More recently Irving appeared in the films Traffic
(2000), Tuck Everlasting
(2002), Thirteen Conversations About One Thing
(2002) and an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
in 2001.
Irving's stage work includes on-Broadway shows such as Amadeus
(replacing Jane Seymour
due to pregnancy) at the Broadhurst Theatre
for nine months, Heartbreak House
with Rex Harrison
at the Circle in the Square Theatre
, Broken Glass
at the Booth Theatre
and Three Sisters
with Jeanne Tripplehorn
and Lili Taylor
at the Roundabout Theatre. Additional off-Broadway credits include: The Heidi Chronicles
, The Road to Mecca, The Vagina Monologues in both London and New York, The Glass Menagerie with her mother
, Celadine, a world premiere at George Street Playhouse
in New Brunswick, NJ and the 2006 one-woman play A Safe Harbor for Elizabeth Bishop, by Marta Góes, which was a Primary Stages production at the 59E59 Theaters. In 1994, Irving and Anthony Hopkins
hosted the 48th Tony Awards
at the Gershwin Theatre, New York.
Along with various other shows, Irving's last Broadway appearance was in the American premiere of Tom Stoppard
's The Coast of Utopia
at New York's Lincoln Center during its 2006–07 season. In 2009, she played the title role in Saint Joan
, in an audio version by the Hollywood Theater of the Ear
.
In May 2010, Irving made her Opera Theatre of Saint Louis debut in the role of Desiree Armfeldt in Isaac Mizrahi's highly anticipated directorial debut of Stephen Sondheim
's A Little Night Music
.
In early October 2010, Irving guest-starred in the third episode
of Fox's returning series, House M.D.
.
She lives in New York City
.
nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film Yentl
, Golden Globe nominations for her performances in the films Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna
and Crossing Delancey
, and an Obie Award
for her stage performance in The Road to Mecca.
Irving holds the distinction of being one of only two people to be nominated for both an Oscar and a Razzie Award for the same performance. Irving was nominated for both Best and Worst Supporting Actress for her work in Yentl. Only James Coco
achieved the same feat for his work in Only When I Laugh
. She was the winner of the category Worst Supporting Actress
at the first annual Razzie Awards in 1981 for her film Honeysuckle Rose
, beating actresses including Betsy Palmer
for Friday the 13th and Elizabeth Ashley
for Windows
.
from 1976 to 1979. She then had a relationship with Willie Nelson
, her co-star in the film Honeysuckle Rose
, which soon fizzled out. The breakup with Spielberg cost her the role of Marion Ravenwood
in Raiders of the Lost Ark
, which he was offering to her at the time but they soon got back together and finally married from 1985 to 1989; upon their divorce she received an estimated $100 million settlement after a judge controversially vacated a prenuptial agreement
written on a napkin. In 1990 she became romantically and professionally involved with the Brazilian film director Bruno Barreto
; they were married in 1996 and divorced in 2005. She has two sons, Max Samuel (with Spielberg) (born June 13, 1985), and Gabriel Davis (with Barreto) (born May 4, 1990). She is married to Kenneth Bowser, Jr., a documentary film maker, most notable for making Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood, an adaptation of a book by Peter Biskind
.
Crossing Delancey
Crossing Delancey is a romantic comedy film starring Amy Irving and Peter Riegert released in 1988. It is directed by Joan Micklin Silver and based on a play by Susan Sandler, who also wrote the screenplay...
, The Fury, Carrie, and Yentl
Yentl (film)
Yentl is a 1983 romantic musical drama film from United Artists, and directed, co-written, co-produced, and starring Barbra Streisand based on the play of the same name by Leah Napolin and Isaac Bashevis Singer, itself based on Singer's short story, "Yentl the Yeshiva Boy".The dramatic story...
as well as acclaimed roles on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
and Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
. She has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, and has won an Obie award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
. She is also known for marrying director Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
; they divorced in 1989 after four years of marriage, with Irving receiving a settlement of 100 million dollars.
Early life
Irving was born in Palo Alto, CaliforniaPalo Alto, California
Palo Alto is a California charter city located in the northwest corner of Santa Clara County, in the San Francisco Bay Area of California, United States. The city shares its borders with East Palo Alto, Mountain View, Los Altos, Los Altos Hills, Stanford, Portola Valley, and Menlo Park. It is...
, the daughter of film and stage director Jules Irving (né
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Jules Israel) and actress Priscilla Pointer
Priscilla Pointer
Priscilla Pointer is an American stage, film and television character actress. She began her career in the theater, including productions on Broadway. Later, Pointer moved to Hollywood to act in films and on television...
. Irving's brother is writer/director David Irving (not the British author of the same name
David Irving
David John Cawdell Irving is an English writer,best known for his denial of the Holocaust, who specialises in the military and political history of World War II, with a focus on Nazi Germany...
) and her sister is singer/teacher of deaf children Katie Irving. Her father was Jewish and her mother is of Cherokee and Welsh background. She was raised in the Christian Science
Christian Science
Christian Science is a system of thought and practice derived from the writings of Mary Baker Eddy and the Bible. It is practiced by members of The First Church of Christ, Scientist as well as some others who are nonmembers. Its central texts are the Bible and the Christian Science textbook,...
faith.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Irving attended the American Conservatory Theater
American Conservatory Theater
American Conservatory Theater is a large non-profit theater company in San Francisco, California, that offers both classical and contemporary theater productions. A.C.T. was founded in 1965 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in conjunction with the Pittsburgh Playhouse and Carnegie Tech by theatre and...
in San Francisco, where she appeared in several of its productions. She also trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and made her off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
debut when she was 17, in a production titled And Chocolate on Her Chin. She is a graduate of the Professional Children's School
Professional Children's School
Professional Children's School is a not for profit, college preparatory school that was founded in New York City in 1914 to provide an education to young people working on the New York stage, in Vaudeville, or "on the road."-History:...
, in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
Career
Irving made her stage debut aged two-and-a-half portraying a bit part character named Princess Primrose in a play her father directed. She also had a walk-on role in the 1965-66 Broadway show The Country WifeThe Country Wife
The Country Wife is a Restoration comedy written in 1675 by William Wycherley. A product of the tolerant early Restoration period, the play reflects an aristocratic and anti-Puritan ideology, and was controversial for its sexual explicitness even in its own time. The title itself contains a lewd pun...
at age 12, selling Stacy Keach
Stacy Keach
Stacy Keach is an American actor and narrator. He is most famous for his dramatic roles; however, he has done narration work in educational programming on PBS and the Discovery Channel, as well as some comedy and musical...
a hamster in a crowd scene. The play was directed by family friend Robert Symonds
Robert Symonds
Robert Symonds was an American actor. He was the associate director of the Repertory Theatre of Lincoln Center from 1965 through 1972.-Career:...
, who became her stepfather after the death of Jules Irving, the owner/operator of Lincoln Center. Within six months of returning to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
from London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in the mid-1970s, Irving was cast in a major motion picture and was working on various TV projects such as guest spots in Police Woman
Police Woman (TV series)
Police Woman is an American television police drama starring Angie Dickinson that ran on NBC for four seasons, from September 13, 1974, to March 29, 1978.-Synopsis:...
, Happy Days
Happy Days
Happy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
, and a lead role in the mini-series epic Once an Eagle
Once an Eagle
Once An Eagle is a nine hour American television mini-series directed by Richard Michaels and E.W. Swackhamer. The picture was written by Peter S...
opposite veterans at the time Sam Elliott
Sam Elliott
Samuel Pack "Sam" Elliott is an American actor. His rangy physique, thick horseshoe moustache, and deep, resonant voice match the iconic image of a cowboy or rancher, and he has often been cast in such roles.-Early life:Sam Elliott was born in Sacramento, California, to a physical training...
, Glenn Ford
Glenn Ford
Glenn Ford was a Canadian-born American actor from Hollywood's Golden Era with a career that spanned seven decades...
and a young Melanie Griffith
Melanie Griffith
Melanie Richards Griffith is an American actress. She is an Academy Award nominee and Golden Globe winner for her performance in the 1988 film Working Girl...
. She also played Juliet in Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet
Romeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
at the Los Angeles Free Shakespeare Theatre in 1975, and returned to the role at the Seattle Repertory Theatre
Seattle Repertory Theatre
Seattle Repertory Theatre is a major regional theatre located in Seattle, Washington, at the Seattle Center. It is a member of Theatre Puget Sound and Theatre Communications Group. Founded in 1963, it is led by Artistic Director Jerry Manning and Managing Director Benjamin Moore...
from 1982 to 1983.
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, originally released as Star Wars, is a 1977 American epic space opera film, written and directed by George Lucas. It is the first of six films released in the Star Wars saga: two subsequent films complete the original trilogy, while a prequel trilogy completes the...
, Irving starred in the Brian DePalma-directed films The Fury as Gillian Bellaver, and Carrie as Sue Snell (in which she co-starred with her mother). Then, in 1999, she went on to do her role as Sue Snell "The Rage: Carrie 2", and was the school counselor, mainly for Rachel, the main character. She also starred with Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Stephen Dreyfuss is an American actor best known for starring in a number of film, television, and theater roles since the late 1960s, including the films American Graffiti, Jaws, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Goodbye Girl, Whose Life Is It Anyway?, Stakeout, Always, What About...
in 1980's The Competition
The Competition (film)
The Competition is a 1980 American drama film starring Richard Dreyfuss and Amy Irving, directed by Joel Oliansky.-Plot:Paul Dietrich is an extremely gifted but disillusioned classical pianist, running out of time to prove himself...
; the same year also saw the release of Honeysuckle Rose
Honeysuckle Rose (film)
Honeysuckle Rose is a 1980 romantic drama film directed by Jerry Schatzberg and starring Willie Nelson, Dyan Cannon and Amy Irving.-Plot:...
; the 1983 film Yentl
Yentl (film)
Yentl is a 1983 romantic musical drama film from United Artists, and directed, co-written, co-produced, and starring Barbra Streisand based on the play of the same name by Leah Napolin and Isaac Bashevis Singer, itself based on Singer's short story, "Yentl the Yeshiva Boy".The dramatic story...
(for which she was nominated for an Oscar), in Susan Sandler's 1988 film Crossing Delancey
Crossing Delancey
Crossing Delancey is a romantic comedy film starring Amy Irving and Peter Riegert released in 1988. It is directed by Joan Micklin Silver and based on a play by Susan Sandler, who also wrote the screenplay...
(for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe) as Isabelle, and Woody Allen's 1997 film Deconstructing Harry
Deconstructing Harry
Deconstructing Harry is a black comedy film by Woody Allen released in 1997. This film tells the story of a successful writer called Harry Block, played by Allen himself, who draws inspiration from people he knows in real-life, and from events that happened to him, sometimes causing these people to...
. Micki + Maude
Micki + Maude
Micki + Maude is a 1984 comedy film directed by Blake Edwards and starring Dudley Moore. It co-stars Tony-award winning actress and dancer Ann Reinking as Micki and Amy Irving as Maude....
, directed by Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards
Blake Edwards was an American film director, screenwriter and producer.Edwards' career began in the 1940s as an actor, but he soon turned to writing radio scripts at Columbia Pictures...
and starring Dudley Moore
Dudley Moore
Dudley Stuart John Moore, CBE was an English actor, comedian, composer and musician.Moore first came to prominence as one of the four writer-performers in the ground-breaking comedy revue Beyond the Fringe in the early 1960s, and then became famous as half of the highly popular television...
was a hit for her in 1984. She supplied the singing voice for Jessica Rabbit
Jessica Rabbit
Jessica Rabbit is a fictional character from the Roger Rabbit film-and-novel franchise.Jessica Rabbit may also refer to:* Jessica Rabbit vibrator, a sex toy* Melyssa Ford , Canadian model-See also:...
in the animated film Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
Who Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy-comedy-noir film directed by Robert Zemeckis and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film combines live action and animation, and is based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, which depicts a world in which cartoon characters...
. Irving also appeared in the TV show Alias
Alias (TV series)
Alias is an American action television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006...
as Emily Sloane
Emily Sloane
Emily Sloane is a fictional character from the American television series Alias. She was portrayed by Amy Irving.-Biography:Emily Sloane was married to SD-6 head Arvin Sloane for more than 30 years. Little is known of her life outside of her marriage to Arvin. She had worked for the State...
, portrayed Princess Anjuli in the big-budget miniseries epic The Far Pavilions
The Far Pavilions
The Far Pavilions is an epic novel of British-Indian history by M. M. Kaye, first published in 1978, which tells the story of an English officer during the Great Game. The novel, rooted deeply in the romantic epics of the 19th century, has been hailed as a masterpiece of storytelling...
and headlined the lavish TV production Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna
Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna
Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna is a 1986 TV movie, starring Amy Irving, Olivia de Havilland and Jan Niklas. The film was loosely based on the story of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia and the novel The Riddle of Anna Anderson by Peter Kurth. It was Christian Bale's first film and Rex...
. More recently Irving appeared in the films Traffic
Traffic (2000 film)
Traffic is a 2000 American crime drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Stephen Gaghan. It explores the illegal drug trade from a number of perspectives: a user, an enforcer, a politician and a trafficker. Their stories are edited together throughout the film, although some of the...
(2000), Tuck Everlasting
Tuck Everlasting (2002 film)
Tuck Everlasting is a 2002 film based on the children's book of the same title by Natalie Babbitt published in 1975. This Disney version was directed by Jay Russell.- Plot summary :...
(2002), Thirteen Conversations About One Thing
Thirteen Conversations About One Thing
Thirteen Conversations About One Thing is a 2001 American drama film directed by Jill Sprecher. The screenplay by Sprecher and her sister Karen focuses on five seemingly disparate individuals in search of happiness whose paths intersect in ways that unexpectedly impact their lives.-Plot:The film is...
(2002) and an episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced...
in 2001.
Irving's stage work includes on-Broadway shows such as Amadeus
Amadeus
Amadeus is a play by Peter Shaffer.It is based on the lives of the composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, highly fictionalized.Amadeus was first performed in 1979...
(replacing Jane Seymour
Jane Seymour (actress)
Jane Seymour, OBE is an English actress best known for her performances in the James Bond film Live and Let Die , East of Eden , Onassis: The Richest Man in the World , and the American television series Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman...
due to pregnancy) at the Broadhurst Theatre
Broadhurst Theatre
The Broadhurst Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre located at 235 West 44th Street in midtown Manhattan.It was designed by architect Herbert J. Krapp, a well-known theatre designer who had been working directly with the Shubert brothers; the Broadhurst opened 27 September 1917...
for nine months, Heartbreak House
Heartbreak House
Heartbreak House is a play written by George Bernard Shaw, first published in 1919 and first played at the Garrick Theatre in 1920. According to A. C. Ward, the work argues that "cultured, leisured Europe" was drifting toward destruction, and that "Those in a position to guide Europe to safety...
with Rex Harrison
Rex Harrison
Sir Reginald Carey “Rex” Harrison was an English actor of stage and screen. Harrison won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards.-Youth and stage career:...
at the Circle in the Square Theatre
Circle in the Square Theatre
The Circle in the Square Theatre is a legitimate Broadway theatre in midtown Manhattan on 50th Street in the Paramount Plaza building.The original Circle in the Square was founded by Paul Libin, Theodore Mann and Jose Quintero in 1951 and was located at 5 Sheridan Square in Greenwich Village...
, Broken Glass
Broken Glass (play)
Broken Glass is a 1994 play by Arthur Miller, focusing on a couple in New York City in 1938, the same time of Kristallnacht, in Nazi Germany. The play's title is derived from Kristallnacht, which is also known as the Night of Broken Glass.-Characters:...
at the Booth Theatre
Booth Theatre
The Booth Theatre is a Broadway theatre located at 222 West 45th Street in midtown-Manhattan, New York City.Architect Henry B. Herts designed the Booth and its companion Shubert Theatre as a back-to-back pair sharing a Venetian Renaissance-style façade...
and Three Sisters
Three Sisters (play)
Three Sisters is a play by Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov, perhaps partially inspired by the situation of the three Brontë sisters, but most probably by the three Zimmermann sisters in Perm...
with Jeanne Tripplehorn
Jeanne Tripplehorn
Jeanne Marie Tripplehorn is an American film and television actress. She was brought to the public's attention through her supporting role in the 1992 film Basic Instinct, and since 2006 has starred opposite Bill Paxton in the HBO drama Big Love.-Early life:Tripplehorn was born in Tulsa,...
and Lili Taylor
Lili Taylor
Lili Anne Taylor is an American actress notable for her appearances in such award-winning indie films as Mystic Pizza, Say Anything..., Short Cuts and I Shot Andy Warhol, and the acclaimed TV show Six Feet Under....
at the Roundabout Theatre. Additional off-Broadway credits include: The Heidi Chronicles
The Heidi Chronicles
The Heidi Chronicles is a 1988 play by Wendy Wasserstein. The play won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.-Production history:A workshop production at Seattle Repertory Theatre was held in April 1988, directed by Daniel J. Sullivan....
, The Road to Mecca, The Vagina Monologues in both London and New York, The Glass Menagerie with her mother
Priscilla Pointer
Priscilla Pointer is an American stage, film and television character actress. She began her career in the theater, including productions on Broadway. Later, Pointer moved to Hollywood to act in films and on television...
, Celadine, a world premiere at George Street Playhouse
George Street Playhouse
George Street Playhouse is a theatre in New Brunswick, New Jersey, one of the state's preeminent professional theatres committed to the production of new and established plays....
in New Brunswick, NJ and the 2006 one-woman play A Safe Harbor for Elizabeth Bishop, by Marta Góes, which was a Primary Stages production at the 59E59 Theaters. In 1994, Irving and Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
hosted the 48th Tony Awards
48th Tony Awards
The 48th Annual Tony Awards was broadcast by CBS from the Gershwin Theatre on June 12, 1994. The hosts were Sir Anthony Hopkins and Amy Irving.-Presenters:*George Abbott*Alan Alda*Jane Alexander*Carol Burnett*Nell Carter*Glenn Close*Tony Danza...
at the Gershwin Theatre, New York.
Along with various other shows, Irving's last Broadway appearance was in the American premiere of Tom Stoppard
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard OM, CBE, FRSL is a British playwright, knighted in 1997. He has written prolifically for TV, radio, film and stage, finding prominence with plays such as Arcadia, The Coast of Utopia, Every Good Boy Deserves Favour, Professional Foul, The Real Thing, and Rosencrantz and...
's The Coast of Utopia
The Coast of Utopia
The Coast of Utopia is a 2002 trilogy of plays: Voyage, Shipwreck, and Salvage, written by Tom Stoppard with focus on the philosophical debates in pre-revolution Russia between 1833 and 1866...
at New York's Lincoln Center during its 2006–07 season. In 2009, she played the title role in Saint Joan
Saint Joan (play)
Saint Joan is a play by George Bernard Shaw, based on the life and trial of Joan of Arc. Published not long after the canonization of Joan of Arc by the Roman Catholic Church, the play dramatises what is known of her life based on the substantial records of her trial. Shaw studied the transcripts...
, in an audio version by the Hollywood Theater of the Ear
Hollywood Theater of the Ear
Hollywood Theater of the Ear is a non-profit production company specializing in audio theater, founded in 1993 by Yuri Rasovsky, which releases productions through Blackstone Audiobooks.-External links:*...
.
In May 2010, Irving made her Opera Theatre of Saint Louis debut in the role of Desiree Armfeldt in Isaac Mizrahi's highly anticipated directorial debut of Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Sondheim
Stephen Joshua Sondheim is an American composer and lyricist for stage and film. He is the winner of an Academy Award, multiple Tony Awards including the Special Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre, multiple Grammy Awards, a Pulitzer Prize and the Laurence Olivier Award...
's A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music
A Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade...
.
In early October 2010, Irving guest-starred in the third episode
Unwritten (House)
"Unwritten" is the third episode of the seventh season of the American medical drama House. It originally aired on October 4, 2010.-Plot:...
of Fox's returning series, House M.D.
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
.
She lives in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
.
Awards and honors
Irving received an Academy AwardAcademy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the film Yentl
Yentl
Yentl is a play by Leah Napolin and Isaac Bashevis Singer.Based on Singer's short story "Yentl the Yeshiva Boy," it centers on a young girl who defies tradition by discussing and debating Jewish law and theology with her rabbi father...
, Golden Globe nominations for her performances in the films Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna
Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna
Anastasia: The Mystery of Anna is a 1986 TV movie, starring Amy Irving, Olivia de Havilland and Jan Niklas. The film was loosely based on the story of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia and the novel The Riddle of Anna Anderson by Peter Kurth. It was Christian Bale's first film and Rex...
and Crossing Delancey
Crossing Delancey
Crossing Delancey is a romantic comedy film starring Amy Irving and Peter Riegert released in 1988. It is directed by Joan Micklin Silver and based on a play by Susan Sandler, who also wrote the screenplay...
, and an Obie Award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
for her stage performance in The Road to Mecca.
Irving holds the distinction of being one of only two people to be nominated for both an Oscar and a Razzie Award for the same performance. Irving was nominated for both Best and Worst Supporting Actress for her work in Yentl. Only James Coco
James Coco
James Coco was an American character actor.- Early life and career :Born James Emil Coco in New York City, son of Feliche Coco, a shoemaker and Ida Detestes Coco, James began acting straight out of high school. As an overweight and prematurely balding adult, he found himself relegated to character...
achieved the same feat for his work in Only When I Laugh
Only When I Laugh (film)
Only When I Laugh is a 1981 film based on Neil Simon's play The Gingerbread Lady.The story is about an alcoholic Broadway actress who tries to stay sober while dealing with the problems of her teenaged daughter and her friends: an overly vain woman who fears the loss of her looks and a gay actor...
. She was the winner of the category Worst Supporting Actress
Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress
The Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress is an award presented at the annual Golden Raspberry Awards to the worst supporting actress of the previous year...
at the first annual Razzie Awards in 1981 for her film Honeysuckle Rose
Honeysuckle Rose (film)
Honeysuckle Rose is a 1980 romantic drama film directed by Jerry Schatzberg and starring Willie Nelson, Dyan Cannon and Amy Irving.-Plot:...
, beating actresses including Betsy Palmer
Betsy Palmer
Betsy Palmer is an American actress, best known as a regular panelist on the game show I've Got a Secret, and later for playing Pamela Voorhees in the notorious slasher film Friday the 13th.-Life and career:...
for Friday the 13th and Elizabeth Ashley
Elizabeth Ashley
Elizabeth Ashley is an American actress who first came to prominence as the ingenue in the Broadway play Take Her, She's Mine, which earned her a Tony Award as Best Featured Actress in a Play.-Early life:...
for Windows
Windows (film)
Windows is a 1980 thriller starring Talia Shire, Joseph Cortese and Elizabeth Ashley, directed by Gordon Willis.-Plot:Emily Hollander is the subject of a lesbian obsession at the hands of Andrea Glassen , her next-door neighbor...
.
Personal life
Irving dated American film director Steven SpielbergSteven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
from 1976 to 1979. She then had a relationship with Willie Nelson
Willie Nelson
Willie Hugh Nelson is an American country music singer-songwriter, as well as an author, poet, actor, and activist. The critical success of the album Shotgun Willie , combined with the critical and commercial success of Red Headed Stranger and Stardust , made Nelson one of the most recognized...
, her co-star in the film Honeysuckle Rose
Honeysuckle Rose (film)
Honeysuckle Rose is a 1980 romantic drama film directed by Jerry Schatzberg and starring Willie Nelson, Dyan Cannon and Amy Irving.-Plot:...
, which soon fizzled out. The breakup with Spielberg cost her the role of Marion Ravenwood
Marion Ravenwood
Marion Ravenwood Jones is a fictional character that first appeared in the 1981 film Raiders of the Lost Ark. Played by Karen Allen, she enters the story when Indiana Jones visits her in Nepal, needing her help — specifically, he needs an artifact in her possession, originally obtained by her...
in Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Raiders of the Lost Ark is a 1981 American action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, produced by George Lucas, and starring Harrison Ford. It is the first film in the Indiana Jones franchise...
, which he was offering to her at the time but they soon got back together and finally married from 1985 to 1989; upon their divorce she received an estimated $100 million settlement after a judge controversially vacated a prenuptial agreement
Prenuptial agreement
A prenuptial agreement, antenuptial agreement, or premarital agreement, commonly abbreviated to prenup or prenupt, is a contract entered into prior to marriage, civil union or any other agreement prior to the main agreement by the people intending to marry or contract with each other...
written on a napkin. In 1990 she became romantically and professionally involved with the Brazilian film director Bruno Barreto
Bruno Barreto
Bruno Barreto is a Brazilian film director born in Rio de Janeiro. He has been making feature-length films ever since he was seventeen years old and remains one of Brazil’s most accomplished and popular directors to this day...
; they were married in 1996 and divorced in 2005. She has two sons, Max Samuel (with Spielberg) (born June 13, 1985), and Gabriel Davis (with Barreto) (born May 4, 1990). She is married to Kenneth Bowser, Jr., a documentary film maker, most notable for making Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex, Drugs and Rock 'N' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood, an adaptation of a book by Peter Biskind
Peter Biskind
Peter Biskind is a journalist, former executive editor of Premiere magazine, and the author of numerous books depicting life in Hollywood, including Seeing Is Believing, Easy Riders, Raging Bulls, Down and Dirty Pictures, and Gods and Monsters...
.
Filmography
- Carrie (1976)
- I'm a FoolI'm a FoolI'm a Fool is the title of a short story written by Sherwood Anderson the American short story writer and novelist. The story is narrated in first person point of view and the setting is Ohio where Sherwood Anderson was born.- GE Theater adaption :...
(1976) - The Fury (1978)
- VoicesVoices (1979 film)Voices is a 1979 film directed by Robert Markowitz. It stars Michael Ontkean and Amy Irving.-Cast:*Michael Ontkean as Drew Rothman*Amy Irving as Rosemarie Lemon*Alex Rocco as Frank Rothman*Barry Miller as Raymond Rothman*Allan Rich as Montrose Meier...
(1979) - Honeysuckle RoseHoneysuckle Rose (film)Honeysuckle Rose is a 1980 romantic drama film directed by Jerry Schatzberg and starring Willie Nelson, Dyan Cannon and Amy Irving.-Plot:...
(1980) - The CompetitionThe Competition (film)The Competition is a 1980 American drama film starring Richard Dreyfuss and Amy Irving, directed by Joel Oliansky.-Plot:Paul Dietrich is an extremely gifted but disillusioned classical pianist, running out of time to prove himself...
(1980) - Never Say Never AgainNever Say Never AgainNever Say Never Again is a 1983 spy film based on the James Bond novel Thunderball, which was previously filmed in 1965 as Thunderball...
(1983) (voice) As Female Computer Eye Scan Voice - YentlYentl (film)Yentl is a 1983 romantic musical drama film from United Artists, and directed, co-written, co-produced, and starring Barbra Streisand based on the play of the same name by Leah Napolin and Isaac Bashevis Singer, itself based on Singer's short story, "Yentl the Yeshiva Boy".The dramatic story...
(1983) - The Far PavilionsThe Far PavilionsThe Far Pavilions is an epic novel of British-Indian history by M. M. Kaye, first published in 1978, which tells the story of an English officer during the Great Game. The novel, rooted deeply in the romantic epics of the 19th century, has been hailed as a masterpiece of storytelling...
(1984) - Micki and Maude (1984)
- Terror in the AislesTerror in the AislesTerror in the Aisles is a 1984 documentary film about horror films featuring clips from Friday the 13th I and/or II, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, Halloween I and II, Jaws 1 and 2, Alien, John Carpenter's The Thing, The Shining and Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and The Birds. The film is hosted by...
(1984) - Anastasia: The Mystery of AnnaAnastasia: The Mystery of AnnaAnastasia: The Mystery of Anna is a 1986 TV movie, starring Amy Irving, Olivia de Havilland and Jan Niklas. The film was loosely based on the story of Grand Duchess Anastasia Nikolaevna of Russia and the novel The Riddle of Anna Anderson by Peter Kurth. It was Christian Bale's first film and Rex...
(1986 TV) - Rumpelstiltskin (1987)
- Who Framed Roger RabbitWho Framed Roger RabbitWho Framed Roger Rabbit is a 1988 American fantasy-comedy-noir film directed by Robert Zemeckis and released by Touchstone Pictures. The film combines live action and animation, and is based on Gary K. Wolf's novel Who Censored Roger Rabbit?, which depicts a world in which cartoon characters...
(1988) (voice) As Jessica Rabbit singing “Why Don’t You Do Right”. - Crossing DelanceyCrossing DelanceyCrossing Delancey is a romantic comedy film starring Amy Irving and Peter Riegert released in 1988. It is directed by Joan Micklin Silver and based on a play by Susan Sandler, who also wrote the screenplay...
(1988) - Casualties of WarCasualties of WarCasualties of War is a 1989 war drama directed by Brian De Palma, with a screenplay by David Rabe, based on the actual events of the incident on Hill 192 in 1966 during the Vietnam War. It starred Michael J. Fox and Sean Penn....
(1989) (voice) As girl on the train - A Show of ForceA Show of ForceA Show of Force is a 1990 thriller, directed by Bruno Barreto. The film is based on events and theories surrounding the Maravilla Hill case in Puerto Rico adapted from Anne Nelson's book, "Murder Under Two Flags."-Plot:...
(1990) - An American Tail: Fievel Goes WestAn American Tail: Fievel Goes WestAn American Tail: Fievel Goes West is a 1991 American animated film produced by Steven Spielberg's Amblimation animation studio and released by Universal Pictures. It is the sequel to An American Tail, and the fourth installment in terms of the series' fictional chronology...
(1991) (voice) - Benefit of the DoubtBenefit of the DoubtBenefit of the Doubt is a 1967 documentary on Peter Brook's anti-Vietnam protest play, with the Royal Shakespeare Company, known under the title US. It was filmed at London's Aldwych Theatre and features Peter Brook, Michael Kustow, Michael Williams and Glenda Jackson. It was directed by Peter...
(1993) as Karen Braswell - Kleptomania (1995)
- Carried Away (1996)
- I'm Not RappaportI'm Not Rappaport (film)I'm Not Rappaport is 1996 film adaptation by Herb Gardner of his play by the same name. Also directed by Gardner, the film starred Walter Matthau, Ossie Davis, Amy Irving, Craig T...
(1996) - Deconstructing HarryDeconstructing HarryDeconstructing Harry is a black comedy film by Woody Allen released in 1997. This film tells the story of a successful writer called Harry Block, played by Allen himself, who draws inspiration from people he knows in real-life, and from events that happened to him, sometimes causing these people to...
(1997) - One Tough CopOne Tough CopOne Tough Cop is a 1998 crime film written by Jeremy Iacone and directed by Bruno Barreto. The movie stars Stephen Baldwin as the protagonist and first-person narrator Bo Dietl, a New York City detective who wrote the book that the film is based on. Chris Penn costars as Dietl's partner...
(1998) as FBI Agent Jean Devlin - The ConfessionThe Confession (1999 film)The Confession is a 1999 drama film directed by David Jones, starring Ben Kingsley and Alec Baldwin. It is based on the novel by Sol Yurick.-Plot:...
(1999) - The Rage: Carrie 2The Rage: Carrie 2The Rage: Carrie 2 is the 1999 sequel to the 1976 horror film classic Carrie. Directed by Katt Shea, the film starred Emily Bergl, Mena Suvari, Jason London and Amy Irving.-Plot:...
(1999) - Blue Ridge Fall (1999)
- Bossa NovaBossa Nova (film)Bossa Nova is a 2000 romantic comedy film directed by Bruno Barreto dealing with several interwoven stories about people finding and losing love in Rio de Janeiro. The film stars Amy Irving as an English language teacher named Mary Ann.- External links :*...
(2000) - TrafficTraffic (2000 film)Traffic is a 2000 American crime drama film directed by Steven Soderbergh and written by Stephen Gaghan. It explores the illegal drug trade from a number of perspectives: a user, an enforcer, a politician and a trafficker. Their stories are edited together throughout the film, although some of the...
(2000) - AliasAlias (TV series)Alias is an American action television series created by J. J. Abrams which was broadcast on ABC for five seasons, from September 30, 2001 to May 22, 2006...
(2001) - Thirteen Conversations About One ThingThirteen Conversations About One ThingThirteen Conversations About One Thing is a 2001 American drama film directed by Jill Sprecher. The screenplay by Sprecher and her sister Karen focuses on five seemingly disparate individuals in search of happiness whose paths intersect in ways that unexpectedly impact their lives.-Plot:The film is...
(2001) - Tuck EverlastingTuck Everlasting (2002 film)Tuck Everlasting is a 2002 film based on the children's book of the same title by Natalie Babbitt published in 1975. This Disney version was directed by Jay Russell.- Plot summary :...
(2002) - Hide and SeekHide and Seek (2005 film)Hide and Seek is a 2005 American horror film starring Robert De Niro, Famke Janssen and Dakota Fanning. It was directed by John Polson. The film opened in the United States in January 2005 and was top of the box office. It did not reach the same level of critical success; it garnered mainly...
(2005) - Adam (2009) as Rebecca Buchwald
Broadway
- The Country WifeThe Country WifeThe Country Wife is a Restoration comedy written in 1675 by William Wycherley. A product of the tolerant early Restoration period, the play reflects an aristocratic and anti-Puritan ideology, and was controversial for its sexual explicitness even in its own time. The title itself contains a lewd pun...
(1965–1966) (Ensemble) - AmadeusAmadeusAmadeus is a play by Peter Shaffer.It is based on the lives of the composers Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, highly fictionalized.Amadeus was first performed in 1979...
(1981–1982) - Heartbreak HouseHeartbreak HouseHeartbreak House is a play written by George Bernard Shaw, first published in 1919 and first played at the Garrick Theatre in 1920. According to A. C. Ward, the work argues that "cultured, leisured Europe" was drifting toward destruction, and that "Those in a position to guide Europe to safety...
(1983–1984) - Broken GlassBroken Glass (play)Broken Glass is a 1994 play by Arthur Miller, focusing on a couple in New York City in 1938, the same time of Kristallnacht, in Nazi Germany. The play's title is derived from Kristallnacht, which is also known as the Night of Broken Glass.-Characters:...
(1994) - Three SistersThree Sisters (play)Three Sisters is a play by Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov, perhaps partially inspired by the situation of the three Brontë sisters, but most probably by the three Zimmermann sisters in Perm...
(1997) - The Coast of UtopiaThe Coast of UtopiaThe Coast of Utopia is a 2002 trilogy of plays: Voyage, Shipwreck, and Salvage, written by Tom Stoppard with focus on the philosophical debates in pre-revolution Russia between 1833 and 1866...
(2006–2007) (Parts 1 & 2)
Off Broadway
- The Road to MeccaThe Road to MeccaThe Road to Mecca is a play by South Africa's Athol Fugard.It was inspired by the story of Helen Martins who lived in Nieu-Bethesda, Eastern Cape, South Africa and created The Owl House, now a national monument....
(1988) - Ghosts (2002)
- The GuysThe GuysThe Guys is a play by Anne Nelson about the aftereffects of the collapse of the World Trade Center. In the play, Joan, an editor, helps Nick, an FDNY captain, prepare the eulogies for an unprecedented number of firefighters who died under his command that day...
(2002) - The ExoneratedThe ExoneratedThe Exonerated is a made-for-cable television film which dramatizes the true stories of six people who had been wrongfully convicted of murder and other offenses, placed on death row, and later exonerated and freed after serving varying years in prison...
(2004) - Celadine (2004)
- A Safe Harbor for Elizabeth Bishop (2006)
- The Waters of March (2008)
- We Live HereWe Live HereWe Live Here is an album by the Pat Metheny Group, released in 1995 by Geffen Records. This album shows a high level of collaboration between Lyle Mays and Pat Metheny having composed almost all the songs together except "Episode D'Azur"....
(2011)
Additional
- Happy DaysHappy DaysHappy Days is an American television sitcom that originally aired from January 15, 1974, to September 24, 1984, on ABC. Created by Garry Marshall, the series presents an idealized vision of life in mid-1950s to mid-1960s America....
TV series, Original Air Date: December 16, 1975, "Tell It to the Marines" "Olivia Hunsaker" - Romeo and JulietRomeo and JulietRomeo and Juliet is a tragedy written early in the career of playwright William Shakespeare about two young star-crossed lovers whose deaths ultimately unite their feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular archetypal stories of young, teenage lovers.Romeo and Juliet belongs to a...
(1975), Los Angeles, CA. and (1982) Seattle, WA. - Blithe SpiritBlithe Spirit (play)Blithe Spirit is a comic play written by Noël Coward which takes its title from Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "To a Skylark" . The play concerns socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites the eccentric medium and clairvoyant, Madame Arcati, to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to...
(1983), Santa Fe, NM. - The Glass MenagerieThe Glass MenagerieThe Glass Menagerie is a four-character memory play by Tennessee Williams. Williams worked on various drafts of the play prior to writing a version of it as a screenplay for MGM, to whom Williams was contracted...
(1984), (With her mother) - Three SistersThree Sisters (play)Three Sisters is a play by Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov, perhaps partially inspired by the situation of the three Brontë sisters, but most probably by the three Zimmermann sisters in Perm...
(1987), Williamstown, MA. - The Heidi ChroniclesThe Heidi ChroniclesThe Heidi Chronicles is a 1988 play by Wendy Wasserstein. The play won the 1989 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.-Production history:A workshop production at Seattle Repertory Theatre was held in April 1988, directed by Daniel J. Sullivan....
(1990), Los Angeles, CA. - A Little Night MusicA Little Night MusicA Little Night Music is a musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Hugh Wheeler. Inspired by the Ingmar Bergman film Smiles of a Summer Night, it involves the romantic lives of several couples. Its title is a literal English translation of the German name for Mozart's Serenade...
(2010), Opera Theatre of Saint Louis, Saint Louis, MO.