Sigourney Weaver

Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver is an American actress. An influential figure in science fiction and popular culture, Weaver has received several accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards and nominations for three Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and three Tony Awards. She was voted Number 20 in Channel 4's countdown of the 100 Greatest Movie Stars of All Time, being one of only two women in the Top 20. Weaver rose to fame for playing Ellen Ripley in Ridley Scott's science fiction film Alien (1979), which earned her a nomination for the British Academy Film Award for Most Promising Newcomer. She reprised the role with a critically-acclaimed performance in Aliens (1986), directed by James Cameron, for which she received nominations for the Academy Award and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. She returned to the role in two more sequels: Alien 3 (1992) and Alien Resurrection (1997). The character is regarded as a significant female protagonist in cinema history. Her other franchise roles include Dana Barrett in Ghostbusters (1984), Ghostbusters II (1989), Ghostbusters (2016), and Ghostbusters: Afterlife (2021), and Dr. Grace Augustine in Avatar (2009)—which remained the highest-grossing film of all time for a decade—and its multiple sequels scheduled to be released throughout the 2020s. Her work in the Broadway play Hurlyburly (1984) earned her a Tony Award nomination. Further acclaim came with playing primatologist Dian Fossey in Gorillas in the Mist (1988), for which she won a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama, and in the same year, winning the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for her performance in Working Girl. Weaver was the first actor to have two acting wins at the Golden Globes in the same year; she also received an Academy Award nomination for both films. Weaver collaborated with Ridley Scott again, appearing as Queen Isabella in 1492: Conquest of Paradise (1992) and appeared in the Roman Polanski–directed Death and the Maiden, in a major role opposite Ben Kingsley. She went on to win the British Academy Film Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for her role in The Ice Storm (1997). Although best known for her role in the Alien franchise, Weaver has fostered a prolific filmography, appearing in more than 60 films. She has done extensive voiceover work and has had multiple roles in animated films, including The Tale of Despereaux (2008) and Pixar films WALL-E (2008) and Finding Dory (2016). She has worked in several documentaries, such as the BBC series Planet Earth (2006) and The Beatles: Eight Days a Week (2016). She has also lent her voice to three audiobooks, four film soundtracks, and two video games – James Cameron's Avatar: The Game (2009) and Alien: Isolation (2014) – and voice acted on the television shows Futurama, Penn Zero: Part-Time Hero, and SpongeBob SquarePants, among others.