Theresa Russell

Theresa Lynn Russell (born March 20, 1957) is an American actress. Russell made her film debut in The Last Tycoon (1976) directed by Elia Kazan, followed by a lead role opposite Dustin Hoffman in Straight Time(1978). She was then cast in Nicolas Roeg's controversial thriller Bad Timing (1980), which earned her critical praise. After marrying Roeg in 1982, she appeared in multiple films directed by him, mainly arthouse and experimental films, including Eureka (1983), Insignificance (1985), and Cold Heaven (1991).

Following lead roles in the controversial films Whore, and Steven Soderbergh's Kafka (both 1991), Russell was cast in the box-office hit thriller Wild Things (1998), and also starred in the critically acclaimed drama The Believer (2001). In the later 2000s, she appeared in HBO miniseries Empire Falls (2005), and in a supporting role in Spider-Man 3 (2007).



Contents
[hide]  *1 Early life 
 * 2 Career
 * 2.1 1976–2001: Early work; critical acclaim
 * 2.2 2002–present: Indie and mainstream films
 * 3 Personal life
 * 4 Filmography
 * 4.1 Film
 * 4.2 Television
 * 5 References
 * 6 Bibliography
 * 7 External links

Early life
Russell was born Theresa Lynn Paup in San Diego, California,[1]  the daughter of Carole Platt (née Mall) and Jerry Russell Paup.[2]  Her parents divorced when she was five years old, and she relocated with her mother and stepfather to Burbank, where she was raised.[3]  Russell is the oldest of five siblings.[3]  According to Russell, she grew up in poverty, and her family was on food stamps to help support herself and her siblings.[3]  She attended Burbank High School, but did not graduate.[4]  At sixteen, she dropped out of high school and moved in with a 28-year-old boyfriend who was a primal scream therapist.[5]  At age seventeen, Russell enrolled at theLee Strasberg Institute in West Hollywood to study acting.[6]

1976–2001: Early work; critical acclaim
Russell in a headshot forThe Last Tycoon (1976)Russell had begun modeling at the age of 12, and became acquainted with photographer Peter Douglas (son of Kirk Douglas) as a teenager.[3]  Through Douglas, she was introduced to film producer Sam Spiegel, who suggested her for the part of Cecilia Brady in Elia Kazan's The Last Tycoon (1976), starring Robert De Niro.[7]  After meeting with Kazan, Russell was cast in the part, playing the daughter of Robert Mitchum.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-int_3-4" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:isolate;white-space:nowrap;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[3]  Russell's next notable appearance was in the crime drama Straight Time (1978), opposite Dustin Hoffman and Kathy Bates in an early role.

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.4px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:normal;">In 1979, she was cast as Milena Flaherty in the thriller Bad Timing (1980), the first of six films starring Russell directed by Nicolas Roeg, whom she married in 1982. Though Bad Timing was controversial upon release, Russell's performance was praised by critic Roger Ebert, who wrote: "If there is any reason to see this film, however, it is the performance by Theresa Russell (who was Dustin Hoffman's lover in Straight Time). She is only 22 or 23, and yet her performance is astonishingly powerful. She will be in better films, I hope, and is the only participant who need not be ashamed of this one."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-8" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:isolate;white-space:nowrap;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[8]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.4px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:normal;">Other Roeg/Russell collaborations include Insignificance, Eureka, Track 29, Cold Heaven, and Aria. In 1987, she played a psychotic killer on the loose in Seattle in the film noir thriller Black Widow, which earned her critical acclaim; Vincent Canby of The New York Times said Russell's "clear-eyed sweetness...adds unexpected dimension to the homicidal Catharine."<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-9" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:isolate;white-space:nowrap;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[9]  She has also been widely praised for her roles in The Razor's Edge (1984) and Impulse (1990). Russell and Roeg's film collaborations were overall box office failures and critically divisive.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-int_3-5" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:isolate;white-space:nowrap;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[3] <sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-10" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:isolate;white-space:nowrap;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[10]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.4px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:normal;">She was then cast in Ken Russell's Whore (1991), based on the play by David Hines, playing a Los Angeles prostitute.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-yes_11-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:isolate;white-space:nowrap;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[11]  Though the film received mixed reception from critics, Russell's performance was praised by The New York Times<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-12" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:isolate;white-space:nowrap;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[12]  and Roger Ebert.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-13" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:isolate;white-space:nowrap;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[13]  The same year, she was cast in a lead role opposite Jeremy Irons in Steven Soderbergh's Kafka (1991), a black-and-white surrealist adaptation of Franz Kafka stories.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-14" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:isolate;white-space:nowrap;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[14]

Russell at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival.<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.4px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:normal;">In 1994, she appeared as the narrator of the British drama Being Human, starring Robin Williams,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-15" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:isolate;white-space:nowrap;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[15]  followed by the British comedy The Grotesque (1995), opposite Alan Bates and Sting. Russell was then cast in the 1998 cult thrillerWild Things, playing the mother of Denise Richards,<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-yes_11-1" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:isolate;white-space:nowrap;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[11]  which was a major box office success.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-16" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:isolate;white-space:nowrap;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[16]  After appearing in the crime drama Luckytown (2000) opposite James Caan and Kirsten Dunst, Russell was then cast in The Believer(2001), a drama written and directed by Henry Bean, and starring Ryan Gosling as a Jewish man who becomes a KKK member. The film was critically acclaimed and received the Special Jury Prize—Drama at the 2001 Sundance Film Festival.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-17" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:isolate;white-space:nowrap;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[17]

2002–present: Indie and mainstream films
<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.4px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:normal;">In the early 2000s, Russell mainly appeared in low-budget and independent films, such as The House Next Door (2002), Now & Forever (2002), and The Box (2003). In 2005, she was cast in the role of Charlene in the HBO mini-series Empire Falls, opposite Ed Harris. She also appeared in the supporting role of Emma Marko in Spider-Man 3 as the wife of Flint Marko (Thomas Haden Church).<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-18" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:isolate;white-space:nowrap;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[18]  Spider-Man 3 was a major box office success, grossing nearly $900 million worldwide.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-19" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:isolate;white-space:nowrap;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[19]  The following year, she appeared in the independent drama Jolene, starring Jessica Chastain, and also had a minor role playing the mother of Scarlett Johansson's character in the romantic comedy He's Just Not That Into You (2009), though her scenes were eventually cut from the film.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-20" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:isolate;white-space:nowrap;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[20]

<p style="margin-top:0.5em;margin-bottom:0.5em;line-height:22.4px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:normal;">In 2012, she appeared in the Lifetime television film Liz & Dick, playing Sara Taylor, the mother of Elizabeth Taylor (portrayed by Lindsay Lohan).

Personal life
<p style="margin-top:0.5em;line-height:22.4px;color:rgb(37,37,37);font-family:sans-serif;font-size:14px;font-weight:normal;">She married English film director Nicolas Roeg in February 1982 in Westminster, London.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-21" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:isolate;white-space:nowrap;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[21]  The couple had two sons, Statten (born 1983) and Maximillian (born 1985); Roeg and Russell divorced at an unspecified date.<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-22" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:isolate;white-space:nowrap;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[22]  Pete Townshend of The Who says that Russell was the inspiration for his song, "Athena", which was first called "Theresa".<sup class="reference" id="cite_ref-FOOTNOTESnow2015182_23-0" style="line-height:1;unicode-bidi:isolate;white-space:nowrap;font-size:11.2px;font-weight:normal;">[23]

Film
===Television<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:isolate;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right:0.25em;color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left:0.25em;color:rgb(85,85,85);">] === ==References<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right:0.25em;color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left:0.25em;color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ==Bibliography<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right:0.25em;color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left:0.25em;color:rgb(85,85,85);">] == ==External links<span class="mw-editsection" style="-webkit-user-select:none;font-size:small;font-weight:normal;margin-left:1em;line-height:1em;display:inline-block;white-space:nowrap;unicode-bidi:isolate;font-family:sans-serif;"><span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-right:0.25em;color:rgb(85,85,85);">[ edit<span class="mw-editsection-bracket" style="margin-left:0.25em;color:rgb(85,85,85);">] ==
 * 1) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ^  "Theresa L Paup was born on March 20, 1957 in San Diego County, California". California Birth Index. Retrieved  July 7,  2016.
 * 2) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ^  http://www.filmreference.com/film/41/Theresa-Russell.html
 * 3) ^ <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up to: <sup style="line-height:1;font-size:10.08px;">a <sup style="line-height:1;font-size:10.08px;">b <sup style="line-height:1;font-size:10.08px;">c <sup style="line-height:1;font-size:10.08px;">d <sup style="line-height:1;font-size:10.08px;">e <sup style="line-height:1;font-size:10.08px;">f  Ebert, Roger (September 21, 1988). "Interview with Theresa Russell". Roger Ebert.com. Retrieved  July 4,  2016.
 * 4) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ^  Theresa Russell Biography – Yahoo! Movies
 * 5) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ^  "Theresa Russell Biography and Filmography". Hollywood.com. Retrieved  June 30,  2016.
 * 6) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ^  Rea, Steven (February 8, 1987). "Valley Girl, Mother And Film Star On Screen And Off, Theresa Russell's Roles Run The Gamut".Philadelphia Inquirer. Retrieved  June 28,  2016.
 * 7) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ^  Kazan 2010, p. 312.
 * 8) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ^  Ebert, Roger (October 25, 1980). "Bad Timing Movie Review". The Chicago-Sun Times. Retrieved  July 5,  2016.
 * 9) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ^  Canby, Vincent (February 6, 1987). "Movie Review: Black Widow (1987)". The New York Times. Retrieved  July 4,  2016.
 * 10) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ^  Wasson, Sam (June 22, 2011). "A Conversation with Theresa Russell". Criterion. Retrieved  July 3,  2016.
 * 11) ^ <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up to: <sup style="line-height:1;font-size:10.08px;">a <sup style="line-height:1;font-size:10.08px;">b  Burger, Mark (March 7, 2012). "Actress Theresa Russell recalls the wild ride that was Track 29". Yes Weekly. Retrieved  July 7,  2016.
 * 12) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ^  Canby, Vincent (October 4, 1991). "Review/Film; Ken Russell On a Day In 'the Life ' ". The New York Times. Retrieved  July 7,  2016.
 * 13) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ^  Ebert, Roger (October 18, 1991). "Whore Movie Review". The Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved  July 6,  2016.
 * 14) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ^  Jagernauth, Keith (May 29, 2013). "Steven Soderbergh Says His New Cut Of 'Kafka' Will Be "A Hardcore Art Movie " ". Indiewire. Retrieved  July 6,  2016.
 * 15) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ^  Maslin, Janet (May 6, 1994). "Reviews/ Film; Annals of Everybody, by Bill Forsyth". The New York Times. Retrieved  July 7,  2016.
 * 16) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ^  "Wild Things (1998)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved  July 4,  2016.
 * 17) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ^  "The Believer (2002)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved  July 6,  2016.
 * 18) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ^  "Theresa Russell Joins Spider-Man 3". ComingSoon.net. January 24, 2006. Retrieved  November 2,  2006.
 * 19) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ^  "Spider-Man 3 (2007)". Box Office Mojo. Retrieved  July 5,  2016.
 * 20) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ^  McGranaghan, Mike. "He's Just Not That Into You". Aisle Seat. Retrieved  July 2,  2016.
 * 21) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ^  "England and Wales Marriage Registration Index, 1837-2005," database, FamilySearch (https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:QVXQ-DB2M : 8 October 2014), Theresa L Paup and null, Feb 1986; from “England & Wales Marriages, 1837-2005,” database, findmypast (http://www.findmypast.com : 2012); citing 1986, quarter 1, vol. 15, p. 815, Westminster, London, England, General Register Office, Southport, England.
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 * 23) <span class="cite-accessibility-label" style="-webkit-user-select:none;top:-99999px;clip:rect(1px1px1px1px);overflow:hidden;position:absolute!important;height:1px!important;width:1px!important;">Jump up ^  Snow 2015, p. 182.
 * Kazan, Elia (2010). Kazan on Directing. Vintage. ISBN 978-0-30727-704-6.
 * Snow, Mat (2015). The Who: Fifty Years of My Generation. Race Point Publishing. ISBN 978-1-63106-161-5.
 * Theresa Russell at the Internet Movie Database