# Jessica Lange
**Jessica Lange** (full name Jessica Phyllis Lange) is an American actress and photographer, born in 1949 in Cloquet, Minnesota, and a two-time Academy Award winner known for *Tootsie*, *Blue Sky*, *Grey Gardens*, and *American Horror Story*.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/jessica-lange) • [2](https://www.biography.com/actors/jessica-lange) • [3](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/jessica-lange/credits/3000054837/) Over a career running from her 1976 screen debut to stage, film, and television work, she has won two Oscars, a Tony Award, Emmy and Golden Globe awards, and has published several books of photography.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/jessica-lange) • [2](https://www.biography.com/actors/jessica-lange) • [4](https://time.com/5695854/jessica-lange-highway-61-interview/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1949, Cloquet, Minnesota[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/jessica-lange) |
| Screen debut | Female lead in Dino De Laurentiis's *King Kong* (1976), directed by John Guillermin; won a Golden Globe for Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/jessica-lange) |
| 1982 double nomination | Best Actress for *Frances* and Best Supporting Actress for *Tootsie* in the same year; won the supporting Oscar[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/jessica-lange) • [5](https://www.walkerart.org/reader/jessica-lange-1997/) |
| Second Oscar | Best Actress for *Blue Sky* (1994)[5](https://www.walkerart.org/reader/jessica-lange-1997/) |
| Tony Award | First Tony in 2016 for the Broadway revival of Eugene O'Neill's *Long Day's Journey Into Night*[2](https://www.biography.com/actors/jessica-lange) |
| Television | Lead roles in Ryan Murphy's *American Horror Story* (FX, from 2011) and *The Politician*; Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie at the 66th Primetime Emmys[4](https://time.com/5695854/jessica-lange-highway-61-interview/) • [1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/jessica-lange) |
| Photography | Third book, *Highway 61* (2019), more than 80 tritone photographs made along the 1,400-mile route[4](https://time.com/5695854/jessica-lange-highway-61-interview/) |
## Early life and training
Lange was born in Cloquet, Minnesota, the daughter of a salesman, and was raised in a series of small towns in the state.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/jessica-lange) • [6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-lange/) She has described a profound sense of loneliness in her early years, something she says only began to ease with the arrival of her own children.[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jun-19-ca-61351-story.html)
**Paris and New York.** After one semester studying art at the [University of Minnesota](https://www.edgepedia.org/university-of-minnesota), she left with a Spanish photographer, Paco Grande, the only man she has legally married, and traveled through the United States and South America.[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jun-19-ca-61351-story.html) She then settled in Paris for two years, where she studied mime under the performer Etienne Decroux.[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-lange/) In New York she painted, danced, and joined a small theater company while modeling for the Wilhelmina agency.[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-lange/)
## Film career
Producer [Dino De Laurentiis](https://www.edgepedia.org/dino-de-laurentiis) cast her as the female lead in his 1976 remake of *King Kong*, and the box-office success did little at first to establish her as a dramatic talent; the film received a critical drubbing that fell heavily on its star.[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-lange/) • [8](https://www.encyclopedia.com/movies/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/lange-jessica) Lange has said she took the part at 25, broke and living in a condemned [West Village](https://www.edgepedia.org/west-village) apartment, without treating it seriously, and did not understand at the time how seriously everyone else took it.[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jun-19-ca-61351-story.html) [Bob Fosse](https://www.edgepedia.org/bob-fosse), who had seen the film, befriended her and cast her as the Angel of Death in *All That Jazz*.[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jun-19-ca-61351-story.html)
**Breakthrough.** Her second major role was as Angelique in Fosse's *All That Jazz*, and she became a movie star with her portrayal opposite [Jack Nicholson](https://www.edgepedia.org/jack-nicholson) in Bob Rafelson's *The Postman Always Rings Twice* (1981).[9](https://www.sonyclassics.com/dontcomeknocking/externalLoads/dck.pdf) In 1982 she received dual Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for *Frances*, in which she played the actress [Frances Farmer](https://www.edgepedia.org/frances-farmer), and won the Oscar for Best Supporting Actress for Sydney Pollack's *Tootsie* opposite [Dustin Hoffman](https://www.edgepedia.org/dustin-hoffman).[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/jessica-lange) • [5](https://www.walkerart.org/reader/jessica-lange-1997/)
Through the 1980s and 1990s she took dramatic leads in *Country* (1984), opposite [Sam Shepard](https://www.edgepedia.org/sam-shepard) in a story of a struggling farmer and his wife; *Sweet Dreams* (1985), in which she played country singer [Patsy Cline](https://www.edgepedia.org/patsy-cline) with Cline's own voice used for the songs; *Music Box* (1989); and *Blue Sky* (1994), for which she won the Best Actress Oscar.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/jessica-lange) • [5](https://www.walkerart.org/reader/jessica-lange-1997/) • [10](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/10/28/jessicas-country-song/ccd08126-98a7-4190-89d7-fb6d9cf96d0e/) Later film work included Martin Scorsese's *Cape Fear* (1991) opposite [Robert De Niro](https://www.edgepedia.org/robert-de-niro), Irwin Winkler's *Night and the City* (1992), *Rob Roy* (1995), Tim Burton's *Big Fish*, Jim Jarmusch's *Broken Flowers*, and the independent film *Don't Come Knocking* (2005), written by and co-starring Shepard, their first collaboration in more than 15 years.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/jessica-lange) • [6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-lange/)
## Stage career
Lange split her career between stage and screen.[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-lange/) She played [Blanche DuBois](https://www.edgepedia.org/blanche-dubois) in [Tennessee Williams](https://www.edgepedia.org/tennessee-williams)'s *A Streetcar Named Desire* on Broadway in 1992, in a CBS television version in 1995 opposite [Alec Baldwin](https://www.edgepedia.org/alec-baldwin), for which she won a Golden Globe, and in Peter Hall's West End production, which she regarded as the most triumphant of the three.[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jun-19-ca-61351-story.html) • [6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-lange/) Her 1992 Broadway run had drawn criticism of her stage technique, and a later London production of *A Streetcar* produced by Bill Kenwright restored her stage reputation.[11](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/nov/04/features.weekend) She also played Mary Tyrone in *Long Day's Journey Into Night* in London and Amanda Wingfield in *The Glass Menagerie* on Broadway, and won her first Tony Award in 2016 for the Broadway revival of *Long Day's Journey Into Night*.[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jun-19-ca-61351-story.html) • [12](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/jessica-lange-i-believe-we-re-on-the-precipice-433620.html) • [2](https://www.biography.com/actors/jessica-lange)
A film adaptation of *Long Day's Journey Into Night*, directed by Jonathan Kent and co-starring [Ed Harris](https://www.edgepedia.org/ed-harris), with Lange reprising her Tony-winning role as Mary Tyrone, was acquired by Quiver Distribution and released in 2026 after roughly three years of delays; the Virginia Film Festival announced that Lange would receive its 2026 Visionary Award following the release.[13](https://virginiafilmfestival.org/2026/09/22/two-time-academy-award-winner-jessica-lange-to-receive-2026-virginia-film-festival-visionary-award-following-the-release-of-her-latest-film-long-days-journey-into-night/)
## Television and Ryan Murphy
Lange's later television work centered on her collaboration with writer-director Ryan Murphy. She led seasons of the FX anthology *American Horror Story* (from 2011), appeared in the miniseries *Feud: Bette and Joan* opposite [Susan Sarandon](https://www.edgepedia.org/susan-sarandon) as Joan Crawford, and starred in *The Politician*.[6](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-lange/) • [14](https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.859465) • [4](https://time.com/5695854/jessica-lange-highway-61-interview/) She received a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie at the 66th Emmy Awards, and her HBO film *Grey Gardens* (2009), co-starring Drew Barrymore as the eccentric Beale cousins, also brought Emmy-winning recognition.[1](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/jessica-lange) • [2](https://www.biography.com/actors/jessica-lange) • [14](https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.859465) She has called the six projects she made with Murphy some of the most fun and the best parts she played in decades.[4](https://time.com/5695854/jessica-lange-highway-61-interview/) In 2026 she returned to *American Horror Story* for its thirteenth season.[15](https://documentos.intelicast.net/pdfs/15042026Metro.pdf)
## Photography
Lange is also an established photographer who has published several books.[4](https://time.com/5695854/jessica-lange-highway-61-interview/) Her 2019 book *Highway 61*, her third, collected more than 80 tritone photographs made along US Highway 61 from its beginning to its end, a 1,400-mile route through the Midwest and South that runs from her home state toward the Mississippi Delta; the images range from families at carnivals in Wisconsin to boys playing basketball in Mississippi.[4](https://time.com/5695854/jessica-lange-highway-61-interview/) • [16](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/arts/jessica-lange-photography-highway-61-midwest-us-a9128271.html) She has said she never crops her photographs, calling cropping a conceit, and describes photography as a solitary discipline that has taught her patience and complements acting: the two practices, she says, inform each other.[16](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/arts/jessica-lange-photography-highway-61-midwest-us-a9128271.html) • [4](https://time.com/5695854/jessica-lange-highway-61-interview/) Among the photographers whose work she cites as influences are Josef Koudelka, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Walker Evans, and Manuel Alvarez Bravo.[4](https://time.com/5695854/jessica-lange-highway-61-interview/)
## Personal life
Lange has a daughter with the Russian-born ballet dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov, her partner after Grande, and a daughter and son with the playwright and actor Sam Shepard, whom she met while making *Frances*; she and Shepard kept homes on horse farms in Virginia and Minnesota.[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jun-19-ca-61351-story.html) She has said she deliberately raised her children outside the film industry.[12](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/jessica-lange-i-believe-we-re-on-the-precipice-433620.html) Beyond acting she has pursued art, cello music, an unrealized screen adaptation of Jayne Anne Phillips's novel *Machine Dreams*, and political advocacy, speaking before Congress on the plight of the American farmer.[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jun-19-ca-61351-story.html) In a 2015 interview she described the film industry as run from a "male point of view," responding to reports that a studio had called a 37-year-old actress too old for a part.[17](https://time.com/3894945/jessica-lange-hollywood-sexism-ageism/)
## References
1. [Jessica Lange, Emmy Awards and Nominations, Television Academy](https://www.televisionacademy.com/bios/jessica-lange)
2. [Jessica Lange: Biography, Actor, Movies, TV Shows & Age, Biography.com](https://www.biography.com/actors/jessica-lange)
3. [Jessica Lange List of Movies and TV Shows, TV Guide](https://www.tvguide.com/celebrities/jessica-lange/credits/3000054837/)
4. [Jessica Lange on Her Photographic Tribute to Her Midwestern Roots in Highway 61, TIME](https://time.com/5695854/jessica-lange-highway-61-interview/)
5. [Jessica Lange, 1997, Walker Art Center Regis Dialogue](https://www.walkerart.org/reader/jessica-lange-1997/)
6. [Jessica Lange, Actress, TV Insider](https://www.tvinsider.com/people/jessica-lange/)
7. [Wandering Spirit of Jessica Lange, Los Angeles Times (1998)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1998-jun-19-ca-61351-story.html)
8. [Lange, Jessica, Encyclopedia.com](https://www.encyclopedia.com/movies/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/lange-jessica)
9. [Don't Come Knocking filmography, Sony Pictures Classics](https://www.sonyclassics.com/dontcomeknocking/externalLoads/dck.pdf)
10. [Jessica's Country Song, The Washington Post (1985)](https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/lifestyle/1985/10/28/jessicas-country-song/ccd08126-98a7-4190-89d7-fb6d9cf96d0e/)
11. [Dark Victory, The Guardian (2000)](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2000/nov/04/features.weekend)
12. [Jessica Lange: 'I believe we're on the precipice', The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/jessica-lange-i-believe-we-re-on-the-precipice-433620.html)
13. [Two-Time Academy Award Winner Jessica Lange to Receive 2026 Virginia Film Festival Visionary Award, Virginia Film Festival](https://virginiafilmfestival.org/2026/09/22/two-time-academy-award-winner-jessica-lange-to-receive-2026-virginia-film-festival-visionary-award-following-the-release-of-her-latest-film-long-days-journey-into-night/)
14. [Jessica Lange: An Adventurer's Heart, JSTOR](https://www.jstor.org/stable/jj.859465)
15. [Metro newspaper front page, April 15, 2026](https://documentos.intelicast.net/pdfs/15042026Metro.pdf)
16. ['Highway 61': Jessica Lange's new photography book explores her midwestern roots, The Independent](https://www.independent.co.uk/news/long_reads/arts/jessica-lange-photography-highway-61-midwest-us-a9128271.html)
17. [Jessica Lange Says Hollywood Is Run From a 'Male Point of View', TIME](https://time.com/3894945/jessica-lange-hollywood-sexism-ageism/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames Ki to La*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 17, 2026; Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license