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->''"You are not an extra in somebody else's film. You are the star in your own life."''

Dorothy Faye Dunaway (born January 14, 1941 in Bascom, Florida) is an American actor.

Dunaway began acting on Broadway in the early 1960s, and following a couple of minor appearances on television made her film debut in 1967 with ''The Happening'' (not [[Film/TheHappening the one you're probably thinking of]]), immediately followed by a role in Creator/OttoPreminger's ''Film/HurrySundown''. Her performance in the latter got people talking, and earned her a UsefulNotes/GoldenGlobeAward nomination for Most Promising Newcomer.

But it was Dunaway's next film that would take her career to the next level. She'd been turned down for ''Film/BonnieAndClyde'' when the casting director felt she didn't have the right face for the movies. But after watching ''The Happening'', director Arthur Penn was instantly persuaded to let her read for the role of Bonnie Parker, and subsequently cast her. Despite the film initially earning a negative critical reception for its violent content, it became a hit. Dunaway was now a star and earning rave reviews.

She followed this up with another smash hit, ''Film/TheThomasCrownAffair1968'', in which she starred opposite [[Creator/SteveMcQueenActor Steve McQueen]] (who would later call Dunaway the best actress he ever worked with). Her next films didn't quite set the world on fire, but she hit it big again with Creator/RomanPolanski's ''Film/{{Chinatown}}''. Things escalated even further when she lobbied for the role of a ruthless TV programming executive in Creator/SidneyLumet's ''Film/{{Network}}'', in the face of insistence that it could do harmful damage to her career. She won an UsefulNotes/AcademyAward for her performance.

Things took a sharp U-turn as the '80s began, however. Christina Crawford, the adopted daughter of Hollywood legend Creator/JoanCrawford, had published ''Literature/MommieDearest'', a scathing memoir recounting her abuse at the hands of her stepmother. Seeing gold, producers greenlit a film adaptation of the book. Coincidentally, Crawford herself, shortly before her death, had cited Dunaway as one of the only UsefulNotes/NewHollywood actresses who "had what it takes" to become a true star and portray her in a movie about her life. Dunaway, certain the film would be hard-hitting and provocative, immediately agreed to take on the role. Unfortunately, the result was a hammy melodrama that turned Crawford into a deranged cartoon character, leading the studio to change its strategy and market the film as a campy comedy. But the damage was done, and audiences proved unable to take Dunaway seriously afterwards. Still, she was nominated for a few awards. (The film has reportedly become her personal BerserkButton, and interviewers are forbidden to ask her about it.)

Depsite all this, she's still acting away in independent films, in television and on the stage. In fact, she won three Golden Globes post-''Mommie Dearest''. She also released a memoir in 1995 called ''Looking for Gatsby'' and was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 1996.

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!!Films with TV Tropes pages:
* ''Film/HurrySundown'' (1967)
* ''Film/BonnieAndClyde'' (1967)
* ''Film/{{The Thomas Crown Affair|1968}}'' (1968)
* ''Film/TheArrangement'' (1969)
* ''Film/LittleBigMan'' (1970)
* ''Film/{{The Three Musketeers|1973}}'' (1973)
** ''The Four Musketeers'' (1974)
* ''Film/{{Chinatown}}'' (1974)
* ''Film/TheToweringInferno'' (1974)
* ''Film/ThreeDaysOfTheCondor'' (1975)
* ''Film/{{Network}}'' (1976)
* ''Film/EyesOfLauraMars'' (1978)
* ''Film/TheChamp'' (1979 remake of the 1931 film)
* ''Film/TheFirstDeadlySin'' (1980)
* ''Literature/MommieDearest'' (1981)
* ''Film/TheWickedLady'' (1983 remake of the 1945 film)
* ''Film/{{Supergirl|1984}}'' (1984)
* ''Film/{{Barfly}}'' (1987)
* ''Literature/TheHandmaidsTale'' (1990)
* ''Film/ArizonaDream'' (1993)
* ''Series/{{Columbo}}'', episode "[[Recap/ColumboS10E07 It's All in the Game]]" (1993)
* ''Film/DonJuanDemarco'' (1994)
* ''Film/DunstonChecksIn'' (1996)
* ''Film/{{Gia}}'' (1998)
* ''Film/{{The Thomas Crown Affair|1999}}'' (1999) -- a RemakeCameo
* ''Film/TheMessengerTheStoryOfJoanOfArc'' (1999)
* ''Literature/TheRulesOfAttraction'' (2002)
* ''Film/BlindHorizon'' (2003)
* ''Film/TheByeByeMan'' (2017)

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!!Faye Dunaway's work provides examples of the following tropes:
* AwesomeDearBoy: ''Supergirl'' was her wanting to ham it up and be goofy.
* BillingDisplacement: She's billed above the unknown Creator/HelenSlater in ''Supergirl''. Faye plays the villain Selena.
* DyeingForYourArt:
** She lost thirty pounds to play Bonnie in ''Bonnie and Clyde'', since she had to look like a starving woman during TheGreatDepression. She accomplished this by repeated fasting (with the occasional salad) and walking around with a weights belt on, which she only took off to sleep.
** She had to gain weight for ''Hurry Sundown'', which nearly made her lose out on the role of Bonnie Parker.
* EnforcedMethodActing: After several takes in ''Chinatown'' that didn't look right, she told Jack Nicholson to actually slap her. The take is used in the finished film.
* HostilityOnTheSet:[[invoked]] Hoo boy...
** Her arguments with Roman Polanski on the set of ''Chinatown'' were legendary. At one point during an argument he even pulled some of her hair. While filming a scene in a car, he refused to let her pee so they could finish the scenes - so afterwards she did so in a cup and ''threw it in his face''.
** With everyone on ''Mommie Dearest'', thanks to the stress of becoming a new mother and the intense method acting that it took to act like Joan Crawford.
** Initially with William Holden on ''Network'', as she had wanted Robert Mitchum for the role of Max. But they put aside their differences and got on well during filming.
* IAmNotSpock: For years people heavily associated her with the {{Camp}} portrayal of Joan Crawford in ''Mommie Dearest''.
* {{Jossed}}:[[invoked]]
** Reports circulated that several name actresses turned down ''The Thomas Crown Affair'' before Faye was cast. However, Norman Jewison later said in a feature for ''Biography'' that she was the first and only choice after he'd seen her in unreleased footage from ''Bonnie and Clyde''.
** Similarly, there were reports that Creator/JaneFonda had turned down the role of Bonnie. She later said in an interview that she'd auditioned and ''lost'' to Dunaway -- and was still annoyed about it.
* MethodActing: A notable practitioner of it, having trained with Creator/EliaKazan. One of the main reasons ''Mommie Dearest'' became such a TroubledProduction is that she immersed herself so much in the character she basically ''became'' Creator/JoanCrawford.
* OldShame: She blames ''Mommie Dearest'' for ruining her career and refuses to talk about it.
* TheRedStapler: The beret she wore in ''Bonnie and Clyde'' was sold worldwide in the thousands.
* RemakeCameo: She appears in [[Film/TheThomasCrownAffair1999 the 1999 remake]] of ''The Thomas Crown Affair''.
* RoleEndingMisdemeanor: She was fired from the Broadway play ''Tea at Five'' for assaulting crew members.
* ScullyBox: Inverted. Warren Beatty (6 ft. 4) was afraid of being upstaged by Faye (5 ft. 7) in ''Bonnie and Clyde'' -- so the costume designer kept her in flat shoes for the whole film.
* StarDerailingRole: ''Mommie Dearest'', of course. She blames the film for wrecking her career, as no one could take her seriously afterwards. She did earn more accolades on TV, but she's still heavily associated with the film.
* StarMakingRole: ''Bonnie and Clyde'' instantly put her on the map and made her one of the recognisable faces of UsefulNotes/NewHollywood.
* TypeCasting: She tended to be cast as bitches and other nasty characters.
* WhatCouldHaveBeen:
** She wanted Bonnie to wear slacks, since she would have to quickly race in and out of cars. But the costume designer--feeling a more glamorous look was a better fit for the character--came up with the iconic wardrobe of long skirts, beret and short jacket.
** She heavily lobbied for the role of Daisy in the 1974 adaptation of ''Literature/TheGreatGatsby''. She later titled her autobiography ''Looking for Gatsby''.
** She turned down a role on ''Series/GuidingLight'' in order to be taken seriously as an actress.
** In her autobiography she claims that she pushed for Creator/RobertMitchum to play Max Schumacher (William Holden's part) in ''Network''.
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