Robin Wright

American actress (born 1966) From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Robin Wright

Robin Gayle Wright (born April 8, 1966[1]) is an American actress. She has received accolades including a Golden Globe Award, and nominations for eight Primetime Emmy Awards.

Quick Facts Born, Other names ...
Robin Wright
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Wright attending the 2017 Cannes Film Festival
Born
Robin Gayle Wright

(1966-04-08) April 8, 1966 (age 59)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Other namesRobin Wright Penn
OccupationActress
Years active1983–present
Spouses
(m. 1986; div. 1988)
(m. 1996; div. 2010)
Clément Giraudet
(m. 2018; div. 2022)
ChildrenDylan Penn
Hopper Penn
RelativesCharlie Wright (nephew)
AwardsFull list
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Wright first gained attention for her role as Kelly Capwell in the NBC Daytime soap opera Santa Barbara from 1984 to 1988. She transitioned to film with a starring role in the fantasy film The Princess Bride (1987), and gained a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the top-grossing drama Forrest Gump (1994). Wright had further starring roles in the romantic drama Message in a Bottle (1999) as well as the thriller Unbreakable (2000), and gained praise for her performances in the independent films Loved (1997), She's So Lovely (1997), Nine Lives (2005) and Sorry, Haters (2006). She has since taken on supporting roles in the sports drama Moneyball (2011), the thriller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), the adventure film Everest (2015), the superhero film Wonder Woman (2017), and the science fiction film Blade Runner 2049 (2017).

On television, Wright starred in the HBO miniseries Empire Falls in 2005. From 2013 to 2018, she starred as Claire Underwood in the Netflix political drama series House of Cards. Her performance earned a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress and six nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress. In 2016, Wright was named one of the highest-paid actresses in the United States, earning US$420,000 per episode for House of Cards.[2] She has also directed ten episodes of the series as well as two episodes of the Netflix crime series Ozark in 2022.

Early life

Robin Wright was born in Dallas, Texas.[1] She has an older brother, and her mother's name is Gayle.[3] Her parents divorced when she was two, which led to her relocating to San Diego, California,[4][5] with her mother.[1] She grew up in Southern California, attending La Jolla High School in La Jolla and William Howard Taft Charter High School in Los Angeles.[1][6]

Career

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Wright began her career as a model, when she was 14.[7][8] At the age of 18, she played Kelly Capwell in the NBC Daytime soap opera Santa Barbara, for which she received several Daytime Emmy Award nominations.[9]

1980s–2000s: Transition into feature films

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Wright attending the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival
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Wright in 2009

Wright transitioned into feature film work with a role in Hollywood Vice Squad in 1986, followed by her breakthrough role as Princess Buttercup in the cult film The Princess Bride in 1987. She gained critical acclaim in her role as Jenny Curran in Forrest Gump (1994), receiving Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild nominations for Best Supporting Actress.

In 1996, she starred in the lead role of the film adaptation of Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders (1996), for which she received a Satellite Award nomination for Best Actress in a Drama. She was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress for her role in She's So Lovely (1997), a film in which she co-starred with her then-husband Sean Penn. Wright received her third Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for her role in the television film Empire Falls (2005).

2013–2018: House of Cards

From 2013 to 2018, Wright appeared in the Netflix political drama streaming television series House of Cards in the role of Claire Underwood, the ruthless wife of political mastermind Frank Underwood. On January 12, 2014, she won a Golden Globe for the role, becoming the first actress to win the award for a streaming television series.[10] She was nominated for the same award in 2015. She received nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award in 2013 and 2014 for the same role.[11]

Following Season 4 in 2016, Wright stated that she felt Claire Underwood was the equal of Frank Underwood and demanded equal pay for her performance as her co-star Kevin Spacey. Netflix acquiesced.[11] In 2017, for her performance in the fifth season, Wright was nominated for her fifth consecutive Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. In 2014, 2016, and 2017, Wright received Best Actress in a Drama Series nominations for the Critics' Choice Television Awards, with her being the only nomination for the show in December 2017.

In October 2017, she was the show's new lead for the final season, following the firing of Kevin Spacey due to sexual misconduct allegations. For her last appearance as Underwood, her performance was acclaimed - described as a "commanding performance [that] is more than enough to keep [the final season] standing strong"[12] - earning her her final nominations for the role at the Screen Actors Guild and Primetime Emmy Awards in 2019. For the latter, she became one of seven women to be nominated for the category six or more times for the same show, the first in 10 years since Mariska Hargitay for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.[13]

Further film and directorial work

In 2017, Wright directed a short film, The Dark of Night, which starred Sam Rockwell and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.[14] Wright played General Antiope in Wonder Woman in 2017, and its 2020 sequel alongside Gal Gadot and Chris Pine. The film earned positive reviews and emerged as a financial success, grossing $822.8 million at the box office.[15][16] She appears in the Blade Runner sequel Blade Runner 2049 alongside Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, and Jared Leto, directed by Denis Villeneuve.

Her feature film directorial debut in the film Land was announced in April 2019.[17] Wright starred as its lead, Edee Mathis, a lawyer who retreats in grief to the Shoshone National Forest in Wyoming. Sales for the film start at Cannes in May 2019.[17] Filming began in October 2019 and the movie was picked up by distributor Focus Features.[18]

Land premiered in January 2021 at the Sundance Film Festival to generally positive reviews, with specific praise towards the direction and the performances. Peter Debruge in a review for Variety wrote: "So bless Wright for paring “Land” down to a beautiful haiku, and for delivering a performance that's ambiguous and understated in all the right ways," and "in a directorial debut so pure and simple it speaks to enormous self-confidence, has better instincts than to reveal outright."[19]

In 2022, Wright directed the final two episodes of the first part of season 4 of the Netflix show, Ozark. The episodes were titled: "Sangre Sobre Todo" and "Sanctified".[20] Kayla Cobb for Decider praised Wright's direction in the latter episode as "powerful" with the pairing of her direction, the script and actress Julia Garner's performance as a "masterful collaboration."[21]

Wright will next star in and produce Ben Young's thriller Where All Light Tends to Go, an adaptation of the book of the same name by David Joy.[22] In April 2022, Wright joined the cast of Netflix's fantasy film Damsel directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo.[23] Wright also starred in a Sony Pictures Classics and Miramax adaptation of Richard McGuire's Here in a Forrest Gump reteam with director Robert Zemeckis, actor Tom Hanks and writer Eric Roth coming on November 1, 2024.[24]

Personal life

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Wright with then-husband Sean Penn in September 2006

From 1986 to 1988, Wright was married to actor Dane Witherspoon, whom she met in 1984 on the set of the soap opera Santa Barbara.[25]

In 1989, Wright became involved with actor Sean Penn following his divorce from Madonna. Wright was offered the role of Maid Marian in the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, but turned it down because she was pregnant.[26] Their daughter, Dylan Penn, was born in April 1991.[27] She backed out of the role of Abby McDeere in The Firm (1993) due to her pregnancy with her second child.[1] Their son, Hopper Jack, was born in August 1993.[28]

After breaking up and getting back together,[29] Wright and Penn married in 1996. Their on-and-off relationship seemingly ended in divorce plans, announced in December 2007.[30] The divorce petition was withdrawn four months later at the couple's request.[31] In February 2009, Wright and Penn attended the 81st Academy Awards together, at which Penn won the Best Actor award. Penn filed for legal separation in April 2009,[32] but withdrew the petition in May.[33] In August 2009, Wright filed for divorce, declaring she had no plans to reconcile.[34][35][36] The divorce was finalized in July 2010.[37]

In February 2012, Wright began dating actor Ben Foster.[38] Their engagement was announced in January 2014.[39] The couple called off their engagement in November 2014,[40] but reunited in January 2015.[41] In August 2015, they announced they were ending their second engagement.[42]

In 2017, Wright began dating Clément Giraudet, a Saint Laurent executive. They secretly wed in August 2018 in La Roche-sur-le-Buis, France. Wright filed for divorce from Giraudet in September 2022.[43]

Philanthropy and activism

Wright is the honorary spokesperson for the Dallas, Texas-based non-profit The Gordie Foundation.[44]

In 2014, she co-partnered with two California-based companies: Pour Les Femmes[45] and The SunnyLion.[46] The SunnyLion donates a portion of its profits to the Raise Hope For Congo movement.

Wright is an activist for human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She is the narrator and executive producer of the documentary When Elephants Fight[47] which highlights how multinational mining corporations and politicians in the Democratic Republic of Congo threaten human rights, and perpetuate conflict in the region.[48]

She is a supporter of Stand with Congo, the human rights campaign behind the film.[49] In 2016, Wright spoke publicly in support of the campaign at a film-screening at the Tribeca Film Institute in New York City,[50] in media interviews,[51][52][53][54] with journalists,[55][56][57] and across her social media accounts.[58][59][60]

Filmography

Film

More information Year, Title ...
Year Title Role Notes
1986Hollywood Vice SquadLori Stanton
1987The Princess BrideButtercup
1990DenialSara / Loon
State of GraceKathleen Flannery
1992The PlayboysTara Maguire
ToysGwen Tyler
1994Forrest GumpJenny Curran
1995The Crossing GuardJojo
1996Moll FlandersMoll Flanders
1997LovedHedda Amersonstarts being credited as Robin Wright Penn
She's So LovelyMaureen Murphy Quinn
1998HurlyburlyDarlene
1999Message in a BottleTheresa Osborne
2000How to Kill Your Neighbor's DogMelanie McGowan
UnbreakableAudrey Dunn
2001The PledgeLori
The Last CastleRosalie IrwinUncredited
2002Searching for Debra WingerHerselfDocumentary
White OleanderStarr Thomas
2003The Singing DetectiveNicola / Nina / Blonde
VirginMrs. ReynoldsAlso executive producer
2004A Home at the End of the WorldClare
2005Nine LivesDiana
Sorry, HatersPhoebe Torrence
MaxMotherShort film
2006Breaking and EnteringLiv
Room 10Frannie JonesShort film
2007HounddogStranger LadyAlso executive producer
BeowulfQueen WealtheowMotion-capture role (credited as Robin Wright-Penn)
2008What Just HappenedKelly
New York, I Love YouAnna
2009State of PlayAnne Collins
The Private Lives of Pippa LeePippa Lee
A Christmas CarolFan Scrooge / BelleMotion-capture role, last credit as Robin Wright Penn
2010The ConspiratorMary Surratt
2011MoneyballSharon Beane
RampartLinda Fentress
The Girl with the Dragon TattooErika Berger
2013The CongressRobin WrightAlso producer
AdorationRoz
2014A Most Wanted ManMartha Sullivan
2015EverestPeach Weathers
2017Wonder WomanGeneral Antiope
Blade Runner 2049Lieutenant Joshi
Justice LeagueGeneral AntiopeUncredited cameo
2018André the GiantHerselfDocumentary
2020Wonder Woman 1984General Antiope
2021LandEdee HolzerAlso director and executive producer
Zack Snyder's Justice LeagueGeneral Antiope
2023Devil's PeakVirgieAlso producer
2024DamselQueen Isabelle
HereMargaret
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Television

More information Year, Title ...
Year Title Role Notes
1983–1984The Yellow RoseBarbara Anderson2 episodes
1984–1988Santa BarbaraKelly Capwell538 episodes
2005Empire FallsGrace RobyMiniseries, only television credit as Robin Wright Penn
2011EnlightenedSandy2 episodes
2013–2018House of CardsClaire UnderwoodMain role; executive producer (seasons 4–6) and director (10 episodes)
2020First LadiesNarrator6 episodes; voice
2022OzarkDirector only; episodes: "Sangre Sobre Todo" and "Sanctified"
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Awards and nominations

See also

References

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