Aidan Quinn
Aidan Quinn at the premiere of Handsome Harry at the 2009 Tribeca Film Festival.
Born	(1959-03-08) March 8, 1959 (age 53) Chicago, Illinois, US
Occupation	Actor
Years active	1984–present
Spouse	Elizabeth Bracco (September 1, 1987–present; two children

Aidan Quinn (born March 8, 1959) is an Irish-American actor. He made his film debut in 1984 in Reckless. His films include Desperately Seeking Susan, The Mission, Stakeout, Benny and Joon, Legends of the Fall, Mary Shelly's Frankenstein and Michael Collins.

Early life[link]

Quinn was born in Chicago, Illinois to Irish parents.^[1][2] He was brought up as a Roman Catholic^[1] and raised in Chicago and Rockford, Illinois, as well as in Dublin and Birr, County Offaly in Ireland. His mother Teresa, was a homemaker, and his father, Michael Quinn, was a professor of literature.^[3] He has three brothers and a sister. His older brother, Declan Quinn, is a noted cinematographer. Though a roofer by trade, Quinn got his start in the Chicago theater at age 19. He trained at the Piven Theatre Workshop.^[4]

Career[link]

His first significant film role was in Reckless, followed by a breakthrough role in Desperately Seeking Susan as the character "Dez" (the love interest of the character played by Rosanna Arquette). He made a short impressive contribution as Robert De Niros brother in The Mission. He played escaped convict richard stick montgomery in action comedy Stakeout opposite Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez. Quinn next starred in the controversial TV movie An Early Frost, about a young lawyer dying of AIDS (it was broadcast on NBC on November 11, 1985) and co-starred such luminaries as Gena Rowlands, Ben Gazzara and Sylvia Sidney. He received his first Emmy Award nomination for the role which allowed him to gain recognition in Hollywood.

In 1988 Quinn lost the role of Jesus Christ when Paramount Pictures dropped the controversial Martin Scorsese movie The Last Temptation of Christ. When Universal Pictures picked up the film, the role went to Willem Dafoe. In the meantime, Quinn starred as protagonist in the film Crusoe, finished in 1989.

During the 1990s Quinn's career grew immensely. He found work alongside such Hollywood stars as Brad Pitt in Legends of the Fall, Johnny Depp in Benny & Joon, Robert Duvall in The Handmaid's Tale and John Gielgud in Haunted. He continually starred in films that allowed him to return to his Irish roots, such as Michael Collins, Song for a Raggy Boy, This Is My Father, and Evelyn.He played a small cameo as the captain of a doomed arctic vessel the messy Francis Ford Coppola produced adaptation of Mary Shellys Frankenstein.(1994)

In 2000, Quinn portrayed Paul McCartney in the VH1 television drama, Two of Us. He later met McCartney at a hotel, and they became good friends.^{[citation needed]} Quinn was able to gain his first regular television role as the lead in the short lived and controversial NBC drama The Book of Daniel, in 2006. The show was canceled after the first three weeks of its run, and its last five episodes never aired. In 2007, Quinn received his second Emmy nomination for the television movie Bury My Heart at Wounded Knee.

Personal life[link]

Quinn is married to the actress Elizabeth Bracco, sister of actress Lorraine Bracco. They have two daughters, one diagnosed with autism.^[5] The other appeared as a ghost in the supernatural love story film The Eclipse.

Filmography[link]

Film[link]

Television[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Aidan Quinn

• Aidan Quinn at the Internet Movie Database
• Aidan Quinn at the Internet Broadway Database
• Aidan Quinn at the Internet Off-Broadway Database

Daryl Hannah
Hannah in 2009, at TED.com
Born	Daryl Christine Hannah (1960-12-03) December 3, 1960 (age 51) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1978–present

Daryl Christine Hannah (born December 3, 1960) is an American film actress. After making her screen debut in 1978, Hannah starred in a number of Hollywood films throughout the 1980s, notably Blade Runner, Splash, Wall Street, and Roxanne.

Early life[link]

Hannah was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Susan Jeanne (née Metzger), a producer and former schoolteacher, and Donald Christian Hannah, a tugboat and barge company owner.^[1][2][3] Her parents divorced and her mother subsequently married Jerrold Wexler, a businessman and brother of Haskell Wexler, a cinematographer. She grew up with siblings Don and Page Hannah and half-sister Tanya Wexler, in Long Grove, Illinois.

Hannah became interested in movies at a young age, partly due to insomnia. She says she was very shy and may have Asperger Syndrome.^[4] Hannah attended the progressive Francis W. Parker School (where she played on the soccer team) before enrolling at the University of Southern California.

Career[link]

Hannah made her film debut in 1978 with a brief appearance in Brian De Palma's horror film The Fury. She turned down many roles early on in her career, including the role of Emmeline Lestrange for The Blue Lagoon (that ultimately went to Brooke Shields). Her first notable role came as the acrobatic and violent replicant Pris in Ridley Scott's 1982 science fiction classic Blade Runner, in which she performed some of her own gymnastic stunts. That same year she appeared in the summer hit release Summer Lovers. She then was cast as a blonde mermaid in Ron Howard's 1984 fantasy Splash, which starred Tom Hanks and was a major financial success,^[5] establishing Hannah as a high-profile film actress.

Hannah's successes in the remainder of the 1980s ranged from 1986's film version of the best seller The Clan of the Cave Bear and also in 1986 Legal Eagles and the Academy Award-winning Wall Street (for which she received her Razzie Award). She starred in the title role of Fred Schepisi's 1987 film Roxanne (also 1987), a modern retelling of Edmond Rostand's play Cyrano de Bergerac, a performance described as "sweet" and "gentle" by film critic Roger Ebert.^[6] and ended the decade with Crimes and Misdemeanors (alongside Woody Allen) and Steel Magnolias (both 1989).

She also appeared in The Pope of Greenwich Village with co-stars Mickey Rourke and Eric Roberts and played the daughter of Jack Lemmon's character in both of the Grumpy Old Men comedies. In 1995, Hannah was chosen by Empire magazine as #96 of the "100 Stars in Film History." That year she appeared as homicidal sociopath Leann Netherwood in The Tie That Binds.

Of her most recent roles the most memorable may be that of the one-eyed assassin, Elle Driver, in Kill Bill, directed by Quentin Tarantino. Her performance in this film and her appearances in Speedway Junky, Northfork, Michael Radford's Dancing at the Blue Iguana, John Sayles' Casa de los Babys and Silver City, have been described by some as a comeback.^[7]

Hannah wrote, directed and produced a short film, The Last Supper, which won an award at the Berlin Film Festival. She directed, produced and was cinematographer for the documentary Strip Notes. It aired on Channel 4 in the UK and on HBO and was about the research Hannah did for her role as a stripper in Dancing at the Blue Iguana. Hannah currently has several projects in post-production, including Shannon's Rainbow and A Closed Book.^[8]

She appeared in Robbie Williams' video for the song "Feel", portraying Williams' love interest.

Hannah also is an accomplished theatre actress, reprising Marilyn Monroe's starring role in The Seven Year Itch in 2000 at London's West End. Reviews of the play commended Hannah's performance, with Lizzie Loveridge of Curtain Up! saying that the play was the "perfect vehicle" for Hannah to "show her talents as a comedienne."^[9] She was also in films Cord^{[disambiguation needed ]} and First Target in the same year.^[10]

Personal life[link]

Hannah and actress Hilary Shepard Turner created two board games, "Love It Or Hate It" and "LIEbrary", with Hannah previewing the latter on Ellen DeGeneres' talk show in 2005.^{[citation needed]}

Hannah, an active environmentalist, has her own weekly video blog called DHLoveLife^[11] on sustainable solutions. She is often the sound recordist, camera person and on-screen host for the blog.^[12] Her home runs on solar power and is built with green materials. She drives a car that runs on biodiesel.^[13] In late 2006, she volunteered to act as a judge for Treehugger.com's^[14] "Convenient Truths" contest.^[15] On December 4, 2008, Hannah joined Sea Shepherd's crew aboard the MV Steve Irwin, as part of Operation Musashi.^[16]

Hannah with Jackson Browne at the Academy Awards 1988

Hannah has never married, although she had long-term relationships with singer Jackson Browne and John F. Kennedy, Jr. She is the sister-in-law of music producer Lou Adler, who is married to Hannah's sister, Page.

Hannah is a strict vegan.

On June 13, 2006, Hannah was arrested, along with actor Taran Noah Smith, for her involvement with over 350 farmers, their families and supporters, confronting authorities trying to bulldoze the nation's largest urban farm in South Central Los Angeles. She chained herself to a walnut tree at the South Central Farm for three weeks to protest the farmers' eviction by the property's new owner, Ralph Horowitz. The farm had been established in the wake of the 1992 LA riots to allow people in the city to grow food for themselves. However, Horowitz, who had paid $5 million for it, sought to evict the farmers to build a warehouse. He had asked for $16 million to sell it but turned down the offer when the activists raised that amount. Hannah was interviewed via cell phone shortly before she was arrested, along with 44 other protesters, and said that she and the others are doing the "morally right thing".^[17] She spent some time in jail.^[18]

Hannah has also worked to help end sexual slavery and has been traveling around the world to make a documentary.^[19]

Hannah was among 31 people arrested on June 23, 2009, in a protest against mountaintop removal in southern West Virginia, part of a wider campaign to stop the practice in the region. The protesters, who also included NASA climate scientist James E. Hansen, were charged with obstructing officers and impeding traffic after they sat in the middle of State Route 3 outside Massey Energy's Goals Coal preparation plant on Tuesday, the The Charleston Gazette reported.^[20] In a Democracy Now! phone interview on June 24, 2009, Hannah spoke briefly on why she went to West Virginia and risked arrest.^[21]

In 2010 and in 2011, Hannah supported environmental activist Tom Weis' project Ride for Renewables to promote renewable energy.^[22]

On May 14, 2011, Hannah and actress Sheryl Lee attended the iMatter March in Denver, Colorado to raise awareness about climate change.^[23]

She was arrested on August 30, 2011 in front of The White House as part of a sit-in to protest the proposed Keystone oil pipeline from Canada to the U.S. Gulf Coast.^[24] In October 2011, Hannah and other pipeline opponents rode horses and bicycles and walked from the Pine Ridge Indian Reservation to the Rosebud Reservation to protest the project.^[25]

She is a member of the World Future Council.

Filmography[link]

As Director[link]

In the theatre[link]

Awards[link]

• Best Short—The Berlin Film Festival "The Last Supper", 1994
• Best Fight—MTV Movie Awards Kill Bill Vol. 2, 2005
• Best Supporting Actress—Saturn Award Kill Bill Vol. 2, 2004
• Best Actress—Saturn Award Splash, 1984
• Influencer Of The Year Award—National Biodiesel Board, 2004
• Ongoing Commitment Award—Environmental Media Award, 2004
• Environmental Activism—Water Quality Awards, 2006
• Environmental Preservation—Artivist Awards, 2006

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Daryl Hannah

• Daryl Hannah at the Internet Movie Database
• Daryl Hannah's Weekly Environmental Video Blog - DHLoveLife.com
• 10/03/03, IGN Films
• "SWINDLE Magazine Interview"^{[dead link]} with Daryl Hannah
• Liebrary, Daryl Hannah's Board Game
• Daryl Hannah interview from Democracy Now!, August 27, 2008

Madeleine Stowe
Madeleine Stowe in 2002
Born	Madeline M. Stowe (1958-08-18) August 18, 1958 (age 53) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1978–present
Spouse	Brian Benben (1982–present); 1 child

Madeleine Stowe (born Madeline M. Stowe;^[1] August 18, 1958) is an American actress. She rose to prominence appearing in such films as Revenge, Stakeout, Unlawful Entry, The Last of the Mohicans, Blink, China Moon, 12 Monkeys, General's Daughter, TheThe General's Daughter and We Were Soldiers. She currently stars as Victoria Grayson in the ABC drama series Revenge, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama in 2011.

Early life[link]

Stowe, the first of three children, was born in Los Angeles, California^[1][2] and raised in Eagle Rock, a suburb of Los Angeles. Her mother, Mireya (née Mora), had come from a prominent family in Costa Rica, and her father, Robert Stowe, a native of Oregon, was a civil engineer.^[2][3][4] Stowe's father suffered from multiple sclerosis, and she accompanied him to medical treatments.^[5]

Mireya Mora's parents were Federico Mora Carranza and Rosita Steinvorth Marín. Federico Mora, an accountant, was the son of Federico Mora Gutiérrez and Micaela Carranza Montealegre. Mr. Mora Gutiérrez was the son of General José Joaquín Mora Porras and María Dolores Gutiérrez de la Peña. General Mora was a younger brother of President Juan Rafael Mora Porras, President of Costa Rica between 1849-1859.^[6]

Another important link is that of Micaela Carranza Montealegre. Her father was Bruno Carranza, President of Costa Rica in 1870, albeit briefly, as he resigned three months after taking power. His wife, Gerónima Montealegre Fernández was also the sister of President José María Montealegre Fernández, who governed from 1859-1863. He was behind the overthrow of President Juan Rafael Mora Porras and his eventual execution in 1860. José María Montealegre Fernández was firstly married to a sister of Juan Rafael Mora Porras, hence they had been brothers-in-law before José María Montealegre Fernández decided to overthrow and exile Juan Rafael Mora Porras, whose unlawful execution by firing squad led to the eventual abolition of the death penalty in Costa Rica.^[7]

She originally aspired to become a concert pianist, taking piano lessons between the ages of 10 and 18. Stowe would later explain that playing the piano was a means of escape from having to socialize with other children her age. Her Russian-born music teacher, Sergei Tarnowsky, had faith in Stowe, even teaching her from his deathbed. Following his death at the age of 96, she quit, later commenting: "I just felt it was time to not be by myself anymore." Stowe went on her first date at the age of 18.^[8]

Career[link]

Stowe studied cinema and journalism at the University of Southern California. Not overly interested in her classes, she volunteered to do performances at the Solaris, a Beverly Hills theater, where a movie agent saw her in a play and got her several offers of appearances in TV and films. In 1978 she made her debut in an episode in the police drama series Baretta, followed by a string of TV work such as guest appearances on the The Amazing Spider-Man, Barnaby Jones and Little House on the Prairie in which she played Annie Crane - a blind painter. In 1978, she played a leading role as Mary in the television movie Nativity, TheThe Nativity.^[9] She starred in the NBC miniseries The Gangster Chronicles, which starred Brian Benben, her future husband. She also starred on several television films, such as Deerslayer, TheThe Deerslayer (1978), Amazons (1984) and Blood & Orchids (1986).^[10]

In 1987, Stowe appeared in her first breakthrough role in feature film, the comedy Stakeout opposite Richard Dreyfuss and Emilio Estevez.^[9]The film debuted at No.1 at the box office.^{[11] [12]} After Stakeout she co-starred with Mark Harmon in comedy Worth Winning in 1989, thriller Revenge, which Kevin Costner in 1990 and The Two Jakes opposite Jack Nicholson. She played a leading role in the 1991 independent film Closet Land written and directed by Radha Bharadwaj. Stowe played a young author of children's books and her co-star Alan Rickman as a ruthless interrogator.^[13]

In 1992, she appeared opposite Kurt Russell in the financially successful gritty crime drama Unlawful Entry.^[14] Also that year, Stowe played Cora Munro in The Last of the Mohicans, which also starred Daniel Day-Lewis. Her critically acclaimed performance in the film, which grossed more than $75 million worldwide, elevated Stowe from supporting player to an A-list movie star.^[9][15] The next year, director Robert Altman cast Stowe in award-winning ensemble cast movie Short Cuts, in which she gave one of her most acclaimed screen performances as the wife of a compulsively lying and adulterous police officer played by Tim Robbins. She won National Society of Film Critics Awards for Best Supporting Actress, Golden Globe Award and Volpi Cup for Best Ensemble Cast for her performance in the movie.^[16] She also made a cameo appearance in the Stakeout's sequel Another Stakeout^[9]. The following year, Stowe played leading role a blind musician in the thriller Blink, co-starring Aidan Quinn, neo-noir thriller China Moon opposite Ed Harris, and western film Bad Girls about four former prostitutes on the run following a justifiable homicide and a prison escape, who later encounter difficulties involving bank robbery and Pinkerton detectives, with Mary Stuart Masterson, Andie MacDowell and Drew Barrymore.^[15] The year after that, she was a sympathetic psychiatrist in the financially successful and critically lauded science-fiction movie Twelve Monkeys. Stowe received Saturn Awards nomination for her performance.^[16]

Madeleine Stowe in 2008

In 1994 Stowe named one of People magazine's "The 50 Most Beautiful People in the World".^[9][17] In 1995, Stowe was chosen by Empire as one of the "100 Sexiest Stars in film history".^[18]

Stowe postponed her acting career in 1996 to concentrate on motherhood. In 1998, she came back with The Proposition and Playing by Heart, then The General's Daughter, opposite John Travolta in 1999.^[15] In 2001, she starred in the science-fiction box office bomb Impostor.^[19] In 2002 she played a Julia Moore in war film We Were Soldiers with Mel Gibson, and box office flop action-comedy Avenging Angelo opposite Sylvester Stallone.^[15] In 2003, she starred in the thriller Octane about single mother Senga Wilson (Stowe), a recently divorced woman, trying to save her 15-year-old daughter Natasha (Mischa Barton) from a bizarre cult obsessed with blood and cars.

Stowe had left the screen in 2003 and settled on a Texas ranch outside Fredericksburg, with her daughter May and husband Brian Benben. Stowe returned to television in 2005 with the role in the drama television film Saving Milly, adaptation of Morton Kondracke's book of the same name, of a woman, a patient Parkinson's disease.^[20] Stowe starred in the not picking up Fox pilot Southern Comfort about a woman who takes over her mobster husband's biz when he gets sent to prison.^[21] In 2007 she appeared in a recurring role as Dr. Samantha Kohl on the Jeff Goldblum's supernatural detective drama Raines on NBC, a 2007 mid-season replacement. The series was canceled after two months. In 2009 she starred in the Lifetime movie The Christmas Hope.^[15]

In 2011, Stowe returned to the screen as Victoria Grayson, the glamorous and powerful matriarch of the Grayson family, on ABC's television drama series Revenge.^[22][23] It debuted on September 21, 2011, and airs on Wednesday nights at 10:00 pm. The show has been met with positive reviews, was picked up for a full season by ABC on October 13, 2011.^[24] Stowe's portrayal of the character has received critical praise.^[25][25] She has been nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama.^[26]

In April 2012 Stowe came 5th in People magazine's annual Most Beautiful Woman list.^[27][28]

Personal life[link]

In 1982, Stowe married Brian Benben, whom she met on the set of a NBC miniseries The Gangster Chronicles the previous year. They live west of Austin, near Johnson City, Texas, and have a daughter named May.^[29]

In 2008, Stowe travelled to Haiti and helped found Artists For Peace And Justice. She is on the advisory board of this foundation.^[30]

Filmography[link]

Awards and nominations[link]