Born in Cloquet, Minnesota on April 20, 1949, Jessica Lange grew up constantly traveling with her family since her father frequently changed jobs. This contributed to her desire to travel far and wide into the world as soon as she left Minnesota.
During her early college years, she met Paco Grande, a photography professor, who helped her in the initial stages of her creative self-discovery. As Grande worked on his experimental film projects, Jessica, who also had an interest in dance and painting, was fascinated by the art of mime and studied under
… More href="http://www.tv.com/etienne-decroux/person/478071/summary.html">Etienne Decroux in Paris for two years. Armed with the skills for her mime s, she then moved to New York to pursue acting -- working on independent films and enrolling in acting lessons.
Even as her debut on
King Kong garnered mixed reviews and didn't immediately put her on the Hollywood map, Jessica continued with her acting career, appearing in plays in New York. Her big break came when she was cast opposite
Jack Nicholson in
The Postman Always Rings Twice which received critical acclaim. This was soon followed by the supporting role opposite
Dustin Hoffman in
Tootsie which earned her an Academy Award nomination.
Though Jessica could have easily stayed on Hollywood's A-list actresses, she chose to live a low-profile lifestyle and only picked roles which held a special interest to her. All in all, Jessica's more than twenty-five year career as an actress, highlighted by brilliant and intelligent performances in over 20 films, is an act well played.