Sigourney Weaver turns 77 today, and she spent this year adding one more galaxy to her résumé. She was born Susan Alexandra Weaver in New York City on Oct. 8, 1949, and later chose the name Sigourney for herself. In 1979 she walked onto the Nostromo as Ellen Ripley in Alien and gave the movies a new kind of hero.
This spring she joined a science fiction universe she had never visited before. Weaver plays Colonel Ward, a New Republic leader and X-wing pilot, in The Mandalorian and Grogu, which opened on May 22. “I never expected to be in a Star Wars movie, but I’m delighted,” she told StarWars.com. Her favorite co-star was the smallest one on the set. “Of course, I would have liked to take Grogu home,” she said. “But I don’t know that he would have liked our home because we have a dog!”
Sigourney Weaver Broke Hollywood’s Rules For Leading Ladies
Weaver’s portrayal of Ellen Ripley helped change the way Hollywood approached female action heroes, but the character wasn’t originally written as a woman. The first screenplay for Alien featured an all-male crew before producers decided to make Ripley female, creating an unexpected twist for audiences. Weaver returned for the 1986 sequel Aliens, which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, a rare achievement for a science fiction action film at the time. Her fearless performance helped establish Ripley as one of cinema’s most enduring heroines.
Her talents extended far beyond battling extraterrestrials. She played the memorable Dana Barrett opposite Bill Murray in Ghostbusters and portrayed real-life conservationist Dian Fossey in Gorillas in the Mist. In 1989, Weaver made Golden Globes history by winning Best Actress in a Drama for Gorillas in the Mist and Best Supporting Actress for Working Girl on the same night. She also earned Academy Award nominations for both performances, becoming one of the few actors to receive two acting nominations in a single year.
Sigourney Weaver Has Not Closed The Door On Ripley
The role her fans ask about most may not be finished either. Weaver last played Ripley on film in 1997’s Alien: Resurrection, and for years she felt the character had earned her peace. “I was always like, let her rest, let her recover,” she told a New York Comic Con crowd last October, according to TheWrap.
Then a script gave her reason to think again. “Walter Hill is a very good friend of mine, and he wrote 50 pages where Ripley would be now, and they are quite extraordinary,” she said. “I think it’s a very strong first 50 pages, and I’m thinking about working with Walter to see what the rest of the story would be.” Her honors include three Academy Award nominations and a pair of Golden Globes won on the same night in 1989. She and director Jim Simpson have been married since 1984. Whatever comes next, she will meet it the way Ripley would.
