Line #7 Creator/JenniferJasonLeigh


1	[[quoteright:305:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/jennifer_jason_leigh_photo.jpg]]
2
3	->''"I like a movie that the audience actively has to participate in, and not just casually observe. Whatever my part in it, just as an audience member, I find that exciting."''
4
5	Jennifer Jason Leigh (born Jennifer Leigh Morrow; February 5, 1962) is an American actor from Los Angeles, California. Leigh was Hollywood royalty from birth, being the second and younger daughter of the late actor Creator/VicMorrow and the late screenwriter Creator/BarbaraTurner. Her younger half-sister Creator/MinaBadie is an actor in her own right. She is not related to Creator/JasonLee, who became famous years after she did.
6
7	She was once married to filmmaker Creator/NoahBaumbach, but they have since divorced. They have one son together.
8
9	----
10	!!TV Tropes filmography:
11	[[folder:Film roles]]
12	* ''Film/EyesOfAStranger'' (1981) as Tracy Harris
13	* ''Film/FastTimesAtRidgemontHigh'' (1982) as Stacy Hamilton
14	* ''Film/EasyMoney'' (1983) as Allison Capuletti
15	* ''[[Film/FleshAndBlood1985 Flesh+Blood]]'' (1985) as Agnes
16	* ''Film/TheHitcher'' (1986) as Nash
17	* ''Film/TheBigPicture'' (1989) as Lydia Johnson
18	* ''Literature/LastExitToBrooklyn'' (1989) as Tralala
19	* ''Film/MiamiBlues'' (1990) as Susie Waggoner
20	* ''Film/{{Backdraft}}'' (1991) as Jennifer Vaitkus
21	* ''Film/SingleWhiteFemale'' (1992) as Hedy Carlson/Ellen Besch
22	* ''Film/ShortCuts'' (1993) as Lois Kaiser
23	* ''Film/TheHudsuckerProxy'' (1994) as Amy Archer
24	* ''Literature/DoloresClaiborne'' (1995) as Selena St. George
25	* ''Film/BastardOutOfCarolina'' (1996) as Anney Boatwright
26	* ''Film/KansasCity'' (1996) as Blondie O'Hara
27	* ''Literature/WashingtonSquare'' (1997) as Catherine Sloper
28	* ''Literature/AThousandAcres'' (1997) as Caroline Cook
29	* ''Film/{{eXistenZ}}'' (1999) as Allegra Geller
30	* ''[[Film/TheManWhoWasntThere2001 The Man Who Wasn't There]]'' (2001) as Female Inmate ({{uncredited\|role}})
31	* ''Film/RoadToPerdition'' (2002) as Annie Sullivan
32	* ''Film/InTheCut'' (2003) as Pauline
33	* ''Film/TheMachinist'' (2004) as Stevie
34	* ''Film/{{Palindromes}}'' (2004) as Mark Aviva
35	* ''Film/TheJacket'' (2005) as Dr. Beth Lorenson
36	* ''Film/SynecdocheNewYork'' (2008) as Maria
37	* ''Film/TheSpectacularNow'' (2013) as Sara
38	* ''Film/KillYourDarlings'' (2013) as Naomi Ginsberg
39	* ''Film/TheHatefulEight'' (2015) as Daisy Domergue
40	* ''Film/{{Morgan}}'' (2016) as Dr. Kathy Grieff
41	* ''Film/{{LBJ}}'' (2016) as Lady Bird Johnson
42	* ''Film/GoodTime'' (2017) as Corey
43	* ''Film/AmityvilleTheAwakening'' (2017) as Joan Walker
44	* ''Film/{{Annihilation\|2018}}'' (2018) as Dr. Ventress
45	* ''Film/WhiteBoyRick'' (2018) as FBI Agent Alex Snyder
46	* ''Film/{{Possessor}}'' (2020) as Girder
47	* ''Literature/{{The Woman in the Window\|2018}}'' (2021) as Jane Russell
48	* ''Film/{{Awake\|2021}}'' (2021) as Murphy
49	[[/folder]]
50
51	[[folder:Television roles]]
52	* ''Series/{{Baretta}}'' (1977) as Marcie (1 episode)
53	* ''Series/{{Family}}'' (1978) as Jenny Blair (1 episode)
54	* ''[[Series/WaltDisneyPresents The Wonderful World of Disney]]'' (1978) as Heather (1 episode)
55	* ''Series/TheWaltons'' (1981) as Kathy Seals (1 episode)
56	* ''Series/TrapperJohnMD'' (1982) as Karen [=McCall=] (1 episode)
57	* ''Series/{{Weeds}}'' (2009–12) as Jill Pice-Gray (16 episodes)
58	* ''Series/{{Revenge}}'' (2012) as Kara Clarke-Murphy (7 episodes)
59	* ''Series/TwinPeaks'' (2017) as Chantal Hutchens (6 episodes)
60	* ''Series/{{Atypical}}'' (2017–21) as Elsa Gardner (38 episodes)
61	* ''Series/PatrickMelrose'' (2018) as Eleanor Melrose (5 episodes)
62	* ''Series/TheAffair'' (2019) as Adeline Taylor (2 episodes)
63	* ''Series/FargoSeasonFive'' (2023) as Lorraine Lyon
64	[[/folder]]
65
66	[[folder:Voice roles]]
67	* ''WesternAnimation/KingOfTheHill'' (1998) as Amy (1 episode)
68	* ''WesternAnimation/AdventuresFromTheBookOfVirtues'' (1998) as Alexandra (1 episode)
69	* ''WesternAnimation/HerculesTheAnimatedSeries'' (1998) as Tempest (4 episodes)
70	* ''WesternAnimation/SupermanTheAnimatedSeries'' (1999) as Cetea (1 episode)
71	* ''WesternAnimation/ToddMcFarlanesSpawn'' (1999) as Lily (2 episodes)
72	* ''WesternAnimation/MissionHill'' (2002) as Eunice Eulmeyer (1 episode)
73	* ''WesternAnimation/HeyArnoldTheMovie'' (2002) as Bridget
74	* ''WesternAnimation/{{Anomalisa}}'' (2015) as Lisa
75	[[/folder]]
76
77	----
78	!!Leigh's works (that don't have pages of their own) contain examples of:
79
80	* AcclaimedFlop: This was her deal in the '90s. She starred in many critically acclaimed independent films that are not typical box office fare.
81	* CreatorBacklash: She called ''Film/{{Backdraft}}'' the least favorite of her roles.
82	--> "In mainstream movies, the woman’s role is mostly just to prove that the leading man is heterosexual. I’m not good at that, and I’m not interested in that."
83	* DyeingForYourArt:
84	** She went down to 86 pounds to play an anorexic girl in the MadeForTVMovie ''The Best Little Girl In The World''. Less dangerous than it sounds, as she weighed less than 100 pounds to begin with at that point
85	** She also went down to 90 pounds for ''Georgia''.
86	* EnforcedMethodActing:
87	** For ''Margot at Wedding'' she, Creator/JackBlack and Creator/NicoleKidman all moved in together to properly create a dysfunctional family dynamic.
88	** Also an inadvertent one when she was playing a real antique guitar in ''Film/TheHatefulEight'' and an unknowing Creator/KurtRussell smashed it before it could be swapped out for a stunt copy. Her character's horrified reaction was real.
89	* MsFanservice: Most of her roles involve her being naked at least once. YMMV, as the nature of some of her roles (anorexic, drug addict, etc.) can be decidedly FanDisservice.
90	* TheOtherMarty: She had a small role in ''Film/EyesWideShut''. But when re-shoots needed to be done, she wasn't available. So they recast her with Marie Richardson.
91	* PlayingAgainstType:
92	** The 90s featured her either playing neurotic or fragile characters, often prostitutes as well. In ''Film/TheJacket'' Creator/KeiraKnightley plays such a character, while Jennifer plays the lone good psychologist in a BedlamHouse.
93	** She's also a concerned mother in ''Film/TheSpectacularNow'' and it's her ex-husband who's the troubled one.
94	* ProductionPosse: She worked with the Coen Brothers on ''Film/TheHudsuckerProxy'' and ''Film/TheManWhoWasntThere2001'', also having auditioned for several of their other films.
95	* RealLifeRelative: Her mother wrote and co-produced the movie ''Georgia''.
96	** Her stepfather was Reza S. Badiyi, a prolific TV director. He's probably best-known for designing the title sequences for Series/HawaiiFiveO and Series/TheMaryTylerMooreShow.
97	* RomanceOnTheSet: She dated Jason Patric for two years after they worked together on ''Rush''.
98	* StarMakingRole: ''Film/FastTimesAtRidgemontHigh'' got her noticed, but ''Film/MiamiBlues'' and ''Literature/LastExitToBrooklyn'' put her on the map.
99	* TypeCasting: The '90s typecast her as troubled prostitutes and she had to take special care to avoid those roles until ''Film/TheMachinist''.
100	* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
101	** She very nearly played Sarah Connor in ''Film/TheTerminator''. But James Cameron felt she was too young, at only twenty-two, and the role went to Creator/LindaHamilton instead[[note]]Ironically, at twenty-two Jennifer Jason Leigh was closer agewise to the character of Sarah Connor, who is 19 in the original script, than Linda Hamilton, who was 28 at the time.[[/note]]. She also auditioned for Catwoman in ''Film/BatmanReturns'', which went to Michelle Pfeiffer.
102	** She was infamous for turning down many roles such as Libby on ''{{Series/Lost}}'' and Bree on ''Series/DesperateHousewives''. Earlier in her career she also turned down the lead in ''Film/TheStendhalSyndrome''.
103	* WrittenByCastMember: She co-wrote the film ''The Anniversary Party'', which she also co-produced and starred in.

Context Creator / JenniferJasonLeigh