Geena Davis

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Virginia Elizabeth "Geena" Davis is a Golden Globe and Academy Award-winning American actress.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Davis was born on January 21, 1956, in Wareham, Massachusetts to William and Lucille Davis (a civil engineer and a teacher's assistant, respectively). One of the first signs of her interest and great skill in the performing arts was her budding talent in music; learning piano, flute, and drums, she also played organ well enough even as a teenager to serve as an organist at her church in Wareham. Enrolling at New England College, Davis eventually graduated with a bachelor's degree in drama from Boston University in 1979. While an exchange student in Sweden, Davis became fluent in Swedish.

Career

Image:President-allen.jpg After graduating, Davis signed with New York's Zoli modelling agency and served as a window mannequin for Ann Taylor. With a height of six feet and a shoe size of 9(US)/40(EUR), Davis was a striking model cast from a different mould. She was working as a model when director Sydney Pollack spotted her, and cast her in Tootsie (1982) as a soap opera actress. She followed this up with roles in the short-lived television series Buffalo Bill (1983-1984) and Sara (1985). Davis made a breakthrough with The Fly and Beetlejuice. She received an Oscar as Best Supporting Actress for her role in The Accidental Tourist (1988) and a Best Actress nomination for her role in Thelma and Louise (1991). Davis replaced Debra Winger for the lead in A League of Their Own but her first vehicle Hero was a box office flop. Following this Davis teamed up with then husband Renny Harlin for the box office disasters Cutthroat Island and The Long Kiss Goodnight.

Davis starred in the short-lived sitcom The Geena Davis Show (2000-2001). In early 2004, she guest-starred as Grace Adler's sister Janet on the NBC sitcom Will & Grace. She is currently starring in the ABC television series, Commander-in-Chief as the President of the United States, who ascends to the office after the sitting president dies. This role garnered her a Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Drama Series in 2006.

Personal life

Davis has been married four times, including her current marriage. Her ex-husbands include Jeff Goldblum (with whom she co-starred in three films, including The Fly and Earth Girls Are Easy) from 1987 to 1990, and Renny Harlin (who directed her in Cutthroat Island) from 1993 to 1998. She is currently married to Iranian-American Dr. Reza Jarrahy since September 1, 2001, with whom she has three children; daughter, Alizeh (born April 10, 2002) and twins, Kian William Jarrahy and Kaiis Steven Jarrahy (delivered by Caesarean section on May 9, 2004).

Davis is also the founder of SeeJane, a program to dramatically increase the percentages of female characters — and to reduce gender stereotyping — in media made for children 0-11. SeeJane is a program of the national nonprofit Dads and Daughters, where Davis serves as an honorary Board member. Dads and Daughters aims to provide men with tools to be better fathers and advocates for daughters.

Trivia

  • In 1999, she placed 24th out of 28 semi-finalists in tryouts for the United States Olympic Archery team.
  • Born at 12:06 am-EST.
  • Geena Davis is a member of Mensa International with an IQ of 140[1].
  • In the late 1990s, Geena Davis was cast as Queen Beryl in a never-produced American live-action movie adaptation of Sailor Moon.
  • Is well known for her great height for an actress as she stands well over 6'0" feet tall barefeet.

Filmography

Television Work

External links

es:Geena Davis fr:Geena Davis it:Geena Davis nl:Geena Davis ja:ジーナ・デイヴィス pl:Geena Davis pt:Geena Davis fi:Geena Davis sv:Geena Davis