Sigourney Weaver, born Susan Alexandra Weaver, was born on October 8, 1949, in Manhattan, New York City, United States. Her mother, Elizabeth Inglis, was an English actress, and her father, Sylvester Laflin Weaver, was a television executive at NBC. Owing to her family’s close ties to the television and film industry, Weaver was introduced to acting at a young age.

Sigourney Weaver first adopted her stage name at the age of fourteen, when she appeared in a small role in The Great Gatsby. She later made this name her official legal name. After studying at Ethel Walker School and The Chaplin School, she was admitted to Stanford University, where she studied fine arts.

In 1977, Weaver appeared briefly in Woody Allen’s celebrated film Annie Hall, followed by a role in Madman. Although her early career consisted mainly of minor supporting roles, her trajectory changed dramatically in 1979 with her casting in Alien.

Directed by Ridley Scott, Alien featured Weaver as Ellen Ripley, a warrant officer aboard a commercial spacecraft. The film’s unexpected and immense success propelled her to international fame among science fiction and horror audiences. Sigourney Weaver became the only actor to appear in all four films of the original series: Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, and Alien Resurrection. The second installment, Aliens, directed by James Cameron, earned Weaver an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress and won her the Saturn Award for Best Actress.

In 1986, Weaver starred as primatologist Dian Fossey in the biographical drama Gorillas in the Mist, a performance that earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress. Two years later, she won another Golden Globe, this time for Best Supporting Actress, for her role as Katharine Parker in Working Girl.

Sigourney Weaver portrayed criminal psychologist Dana Barrett in the first two films of the Ghostbusters series. She also appeared in notable films such as Copycat, A Map of the World, and Snow Cake, further demonstrating her versatility across genres.

After a period of relative absence from major film productions, Weaver returned prominently to cinema in 2009 with Avatar, directed by James Cameron, with whom she had previously collaborated on Aliens. Produced with an unprecedented budget and groundbreaking 3D technology, the film marked a major turning point in cinematic history. Weaver portrayed the ecologist Grace Augustine, earning widespread critical acclaim.

In addition to her on-screen work, Sigourney Weaver is also an accomplished voice actress. She has contributed her voice to projects such as Planet Earth, WALL·E, The Tale of Despereaux, and Futurama.

Sigourney Weaver has been married to producer Jim Simpson since 1984, and they have one daughter, Charlotte Simpson. After starring in Gorillas in the Mist, she became involved with the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. Weaver identifies herself as an environmentalist and continues to actively support wildlife conservation efforts.

Source: Biyografiler.com