- published: 17 Apr 2012
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Amy Davis Irving (born September 10, 1953) is an American actress, known for her roles in the films Crossing Delancey, The Fury, Carrie, and Yentl as well as roles on Broadway and Off-Broadway. She has been nominated for an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, and has won an Obie award. She is also known for marrying director Steven Spielberg; they divorced in 1989 after four years of marriage, with Irving receiving a settlement of 100 million dollars.
Irving was born in Palo Alto, California, the daughter of film and stage director Jules Irving (birth name: Jules Israel) and actress Priscilla Pointer. Irving's brother is writer/director David Irving (not the British author of the same name) and her sister is singer/teacher of deaf children Katie Irving. Her father was Jewish and her mother is of Cherokee and Welsh background. She was raised in the Christian Science faith.
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, Irving attended the American Conservatory Theater in San Francisco, where she appeared in several productions. She also trained at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, and made her off-Broadway debut at age 17 in And Chocolate on Her Chin. She is a graduate of the Professional Children's School, in Manhattan, New York.