Alongside another cavalcade of ill-matched fellow notables, including Baroness
Betty Boothroyd, King Zog I of Albania, Albert Roux, Matt Damon, Paul Hogan,
Juan Perón, Rev. Jesse Jackson, Bruno Mars, Chevy Chase, Bill Maynard, Robert
"Kool" Bell, Frank Herbert, Ardal O'Hanlon, Johnny Ramone, Ray Reardon, Ursula
von der Leyen, Anne-Marie Duff, Sadiq Khan, and - erm - the wonderfully-named
Ralf Minge [ a German football player/manager, apparently]...
... it's the birthday today of the lovely Sigourney (nee Susan) Weaver! Having
taken her stage name from a F. Scott Fitzgerald character in her teens, it was
obvious that she was born to be a dramatic actor. She studied at New York's
Yale drama school alongside Meryl Streep, and progressed onto the stage in a
number of critically acclaimed (albeit uncommercial) productions. It was from
this vantage point that she caught the eye of one Woody Allen, who introduced
her to Hollywood and to later legendary stardom.
It is obviously for the Alien series of movies that she really became
an acting legend. Indeed, "Ripley" became a rare thing in the genre of
horror/sci-fi - a believable and memorable character. Ever the tenacious
actress, Miss Weaver never allowed herself to be typecast, however, and went
on to take leading roles in such differing movie genres as
Ghostbusters, Working Girl, Half Moon Street,
Avatar, Paul and of course Gorillas In The Mist, for
which she was nominated for the Best Actress Oscar. I particularly love her cameo as a
"healer" in Jeffrey:
Sigourney Weaver's dedication to acting, to environmental campaigns and to
human rights, and in particular to gay rights, is legendary. Often
cited as a lesbian icon for her portrayal of strong, not simpering characters,
she is in fact happily married with a child but continually stands up for the
issues of gay marriage and anti-homophobia. Her ground-breaking film
Prayers for Bobby set out to tackle the issues of religion and
homosexuality.
And she sings!
...but, to conclude - this! [Of course.]
Many happy returns,
Sigourney Weaver
(born 8th October 1949)
