In my humble opinion, a much underrated actress and probably the only woman who can claim to have had the shit kicked out of her by notorious do-gooder Jackson Browne and then go on to be romantically involved with John F. Kennedy Jr..
From androids to mermaids to mental patients to giant woman to stripper to porn star to you name it, along the way Daryl Hannah has had a pretty interesting career and collaborated with some pretty interesting, creative people.
Daryl Hannah (yes, she kept her real name) was born in Chicago, Illinois on December 3rd 1960. Painstakingly shy as a child, she was almost diagnosed as suffering from autism and battled with bouts of insomnia. The combination of these two factors led her to appreciate the value of movies as child.
After graduating from high school she made a short-lived attempt at becoming a ballet dancer but finally decided to pursue acting and took up drama studies at Chicago’s Goodman Theater.
What follows is a general description of just some of her more memorable roles. A complete filmography is provided at the end of this w/u.
Her first movie role came in Brian De Palma’s The Fury when she was only 17. The movie was considered a flop by critics but the experience encouraged her to pursue her acting career. She moved to Los Angeles and graduated from USC.
After a couple of mediocre films, she got her break when she was cast as the sexy android in Ridley Scott’s 1982 Blade Runner. It was also at this time that she began a relationship with Jackson Browne that lasted on a “on again, off again” basis for about 10 years or so. But it was her next effort that really bought her a ticket to stardom.
Director Ron Howard had the good sense to cast her as the mermaid in Splash opposite another rising star by the name of Tom Hanks. After her successful portrayal as Madison the mermaid, the roles came pouring in .She played Mickey Rourke’s girlfriend in The Pope of Greenwich Village and was selected as on of the up and coming actresses in 1984. She was only 24 years old.
As with most careers’ a bump in the road was inevitable. She was cast as Ayla in the truly awful 1986 adaptation of Jean M. Auel’s Clan of the Cave Bear (Do not see this movie!). She rebounded by co-starring next to Robert Redford in Legal Eagles and then went on to make a memorable appearance in Oliver Stone’s Wall Street.
I think her next role was her best. She was Steve Martin’s love interest in Roxanne, the modern day re-telling of Cyrano de Bergerac. If you haven't seen it, you should. Both She and Steve Martin give outstanding performances.
In 1989 (besides beginning a five year relationship with JFK Jr.) she made appearances in Steel Magnolias and Woody Allen’s Crime and Misdemeanors. She followed that up with role as a mental patient in 1990 in Crazy People (see this movie!) and then as a missionary’s wife in At Play in the Fields of the Lord.
Next came a return to comedy as Chevy Chase’s object of desire in Memoirs of an Invisible Man and following that the ill advised remake (made for television) of Attack of the 50 –Foot Woman which she starred in and co-produced. After that it was time for a return to comedy and she played along side Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in Grumpy Old Men,a role she revised in 1995 Grumpier Old Men.
Making the transition from comedy to drama, she next played opposite
Dennis Hopper and
Kiefer Sutherland as a porn star in the (in my opinion, the very underrated) The Last Days of Frankie the Fly. After that it was on to playing a mentally disturbed housewife in director
Robert Altman’s
The Gingerbread Man.
As we hit the year 2000, Daryl Hannah again showed her versatility when she played the role of a stripper in Dancing at the Blue Iguana. She also made the transition from films to stage actress when she appeared in London in The Seven Year Itch. The general consensus was that she should stick to movies.
Lately she’s been sticking to making smaller so-called indie films such as Jackpot, Ring of Fire and Run for the Money. She’s slated to appear in Quentin Tarantino’s next effort called Kill Bill sometime in the near future.
Still relatively young (42) by Hollywood standards, Daryl Hannah’s best work might still lie ahead.
Filmography
The
Fury -(1978)
Hard Country (1981)
Blade Runner (1982)
Summer Lovers (1982)
Paper Dolls (1982)
The Final Terror (1983)
Splash (1984)
Reckless (1984)
The Pope of Greenwich Village (1984)
The
Clan of the Cave Bear (1986)
Legal Eagles (1986)
Roxanne (1987)
Wall Street (1987)
High Spirits (1988)
Crimes and Misdemeanors(1989)
Steel Magnolias (1989)
Crazy People (1990)
At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1991)
Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992)
Grumpy Old Men (1993)
Attack of the 50-foot Woman (1993)
The Little Rascals (1994)
Grumpier Old Men (1995)
The Tie That Binds (1995)
Les Cent et Une Nuits (1995)
Two Much (1996)
The Stupids (1996)
The Last Days of Frankie the Fly (1996)
The Last Don (1997)
The Real Blonde (1997)
The Gingerbread Man (1997)
The Addams Family Reunion (1998, TV)
Hi Life (1998)
Wildflowers (1999)
My Favorite Martian (1999)
Hide and Seek(1999)
Diplomatic Siege (1999)
Speedway Junky (2001)
Jackpot (2001)
Dancing at the Blue Iguana (2001)
Cowboy Up (2001)
A Walk to Remember (2002)
Hard Cash (2002)
The majority of this is from www.askmen.com/women/actress_150/ 164c_daryl_hannah.html