Faye Dunaway
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Bibliography
Notes
On her reputation as a control freak: "That's the hardest thing to change. Not in terms of manipulating other people, just in terms of wanting everything to be as good as it can be. Now if something's not goiong in the direction I think it should, I try to sit back and enjoy the ride . . . I'm always preceived as this urbane, cold, sophisticaed woman, and I'm really none of that." --Faye Dunaway, quoted in USA TODAY, November 7, 1995
"Let's say 'Bonnie and Clyde' was the first big role I connected with in a big way . . . the closest thing to me, a frustrated Southern girl wanting to break out. I knew her backwards." --Faye Dunaway, quoted in ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, October 8, 1993
Biography
An icy, elegant blonde with a knack for playing complex and strong-willed female leads, Academy Award winner Faye Dunaway was an enormously popular actress in films and television during the 1960s and into the 1970s, starring in several films which defined what many would come to call Hollywood's "second Golden Age." During her tenure at the top of the box office, she was a more than capable match for some of the biggest male stars of the period, including Steve McQueen in "The Thomas Crown Affair" (1968), Warren Beatty in "Bonnie and Clyde," (1967), Jack Nicholson in "Chinatown" (1974) and Robert Redford in "Three Days of the Condor" (1975). An overwrought turn as Joan Crawford in the disastrous biopic "Mommie Dearest" (1980) effectively derailed her career - but, at the same time, made her a bit of a camp favorite in the gay community - though she was given infrequent opportunities to display her talents in films and television from the 1980s into the 2010s. In 2017, Dunaway was an unsuspecting culprit in perhaps the greatest shock in Academy Award history when she mistakenly announced that "La La Land" (2016) had won the Oscar for Best Picture instead of the true winner "Moonlight" (2016).
Born prematurely on Jan. 14, 1941 in Bascom, FL, Dorothy Faye Dunaway was the daughter of MacDowell Dunaway, Jr., a career Army officer, and his wife, Grace April Smith. After a stint as a teenaged beauty queen in Florida, she intended to pursue education at the University of Florida, but switched to acting, earning her degree from Boston University in 1962. She was given the enviable task of choosing between a Fulbright Scholarship to the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts or a role in the Broadway production of "A Man For All Seasons" as a member of the American National Theatre and Academy. She picked the latter, enjoying a fruitful stage career for the next two years, which was capped by appearances in "After the Fall" and "Hogan's Goat." The latter - an off-Broadway production in 1967 - required Dunaway to tumble down a flight of steps in every performance, earning her a screen debut in the wan counterculture comedy "The Happening" (1967). Just two months after its release, however, she was wowing audiences across the country as Depression-era bank robber Bonnie Parker in Arthur Penn's controversial "Bonnie and Clyde." Her turn as the naïve but trigger-happy and sexually aggressive Parker earned her Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations, and provided a direct route to the front of the line for Hollywood leading ladies in an unbelievably short amount of time.
Dunaway followed this success with another hit, "The Thomas Crown Affair" (1968), in which her coolly sensual insurance investigator generated considerable sparks with playboy and jewel thief Steve McQueen. She then bounced between arthouse efforts like "Puzzle of a Downfall Child" (1970), directed by her then-boyfriend, photographer Jerry Schatzberg, and the revisionist Western "Doc" (1971), as well as big-budget efforts like "Little Big Man" (1970), which cast her as a predatory preacher's wife with designs on Dustin Hoffman's reluctant Native American hero. Dunaway also balanced these projects with several well-regarded theatrical productions, including a 1972-73 stint as Blanche Du Bois in "A Streetcar Named Desire," and notable TV-movies like "The Woman I Love" (1972), which cast her as the Duchess of Windsor, and TV broadcasts of "Hogan's Goat" (1971) and "After the Fall" (1974). But her turn as the duplicitous Lady De Winter in Richard Lester's splashy, slapstick take on "The Three Musketeers" (1973) and its 1974 sequel "The Four Musketeers" preceded a long period of critical and box office hits, starting with her masterful performance in 1974's "Chinatown."
Dunaway's turn as Evelyn Mulwray, the mysterious woman who draws detective Jake Gittes (Jack Nicholson) into a dark and complicated web of murder, incest and catastrophic business deals, seemed the epitome of every femme fatale to ever stride across a chiaroscuro-lit scene in classic noir. But Dunaway also found the horribly wounded core of her character as well, and turned Evelyn from a pastiche to a full-blown and emotionally resonant human being. Critics and award groups rushed to nominate Dunaway for the role, and she netted her second Academy Award nod, as well as Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations. Dunaway had fought hard for her performance - her battles with director Roman Polanski were no secret - but sadly, she lost the Oscar to Ellen Burstyn for "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" (1975). However, it would be Dunaway's performance which stood the test of time.
High-gloss turns in Sidney Lumet's political thriller "Three Days of the Condor" (1975) and "The Towering Inferno" (1976) preceded one of her best television performances; that of Depression-era radio preacher Aimee Semple MacPherson in "The Disappearance of Aimee" (1976). Even more startling was her sterling role in "Network" (1976), Paddy Chayefsky's blistering take on the television industry. Dunaway pulled out all the stops as an executive on the rise who stops at nothing to advance her career - even bedding veteran producer William Holden. Critics again rose in unison to praise Dunaway, and she finally netted an Oscar for the role, as well as a Golden Globe.
Surprisingly, Dunaway's career began to fall away after her Oscar win. She was effective as a fashion photographer who experiences disturbing visions in "The Eyes of Laura Mars" (1978), but was wasted in thankless roles as girlfriend to washed-up boxer Jon Voight in "The Champ" (1979) and the ailing wife of Frank Sinatra's detective in "The First Deadly Sin" (1980). And then came "Mommie Dearest" (1980), director Frank Perry's biopic of actress Joan Crawford based on the tell-all book by her daughter Christina. Crawford herself had praised Dunaway in the early stages of her career, and while some critics gave positive reviews to her performance - in particular, the extent to which she physically transformed herself into Crawford - most fixated on the hysterical dialogue and garish scenes of child abuse. Clips of Dunaway as Crawford bellowing "No more wire hangers!" became immediate laugh-getters on late-night television, and a substantial gay following rose up in response to the film's high camp value. Dunaway, however, found none of the response amusing, and later admitted her regret in taking the role. Whether laughable or pure genius, no one could deny that Dunaway threw her everything into the role of the screen legend. The film's continued cult success proved she had succeeded in becoming Crawford.
The fallout from "Mommie Dearest" obscured Dunaway's follow-up projects, which included the title role in the 1981 TV-movie "Evita Peron" and a return to Broadway in 1982's "The Curse of an Aching Heart." Discouraged, she moved to London with her second husband, photographer Terry O'Neill, who had also served as a producer on "Mommie Dearest." For the next few year, Dunaway appeared sporadically in films, most of which underscored her newly minted status as a camp icon. "The Wicked Lady" (1983) was an absurd, near-softcore period drama by Michael Winner, with Dunaway as an 18th-century highway robber. Fans of her early dramatic work were similarly aghast by her turn as a shrieking witch battling Helen Slater's Girl of Steel in "Supergirl" (1984). Only a Golden Globe-winning appearance in the cumbersome miniseries "Ellis Island" (1985) offered any respite from the negative press which now continued to follow her.
Dunaway returned to the United States in 1987 following her divorce from O'Neill, and attempted to rebuild her career and reputation by appearing in several independent dramas. She was widely praised for her performance as a once-glamorous woman felled by alcohol in Barbet Schroeder's "Barfly" (1987), and served as executive producer and star of "Cold Sassy Tree" (1989), a TV adaptation of the popular novel by Olive Ann Burns about an independent-minded woman who romances a recently widowed store owner (Richard Widmark). Dunaway was exceptionally busy for the remainder of the decade in both major Hollywood features and independent fare, though her strong women now occasionally sported an unfortunate shrill side. She was Robert Duvall's frosty wife in the dystopian thriller "The Handmaid's Tale" (1990) and contributed a vocal cameo as Evelyn Mulwray in "The Two Jakes" (1990), the ill-fated sequel to "Chinatown." Other notable performances came as the unhappy wife of psychiatrist Marlon Brando in "Don Juan DeMarco" (1995), as the daughter of imprisoned Klansman Gene Hackman in "The Chamber" (1996) and as a bartender caught in the middle of a hostage standoff in Kevin Spacey's "Albino Alligator" (1996). She later received Screen Actors Guild and Golden Globe nominations as the matron of a wealthy Jewish family in turmoil in "The Twilight of the Golds" (1998). Perhaps her best turn of the decade was as a seductive murderess who attempts to sway the unflappable Lt. Columbo (Peter Falk) in "Columbo: It's All in the Game" (1993), which earned her a 1994 Emmy. In 1998, she won her third Golden Globe as modeling agency head Wilhemina Cooper in the biopic "Gia," starring Angelina Jolie as doomed model Gia Carangi.
The 1990s were also not without incident for Dunaway. She was embroiled in an ugly lawsuit against Andrew Lloyd Webber after he closed a Los Angeles production of his musical version of "Sunset Blvd." with claims that she was unable to sing to his standards. The suit was later settled out of court for an undisclosed sum. A national tour of Terrence McNally's "Master Class," about the legendary opera diva Maria Callas, ended with her involvement in a suit over legal rights to the play. The project was expected to become her next great film role, but remained uncompleted more than a decade after the 1996 tour. Her attempt at sitcom stardom in "It Had To Be You" (CBS, 1993), co-starring Robert Urich, was met with universal disinterest, and the project was announced as being retooled without Dunaway prior to its cancellation.
Dunaway's schedule remained busy from 2000 onward, mostly in television and small independent features. She co-starred with Mark Walhberg and Joaquin Phoenix as the wife of career criminal James Caan in "The Yards" (2000), then made her directorial debut with the short "The Yellow Bird" (2001), based on the play by Tennessee Williams. Younger audiences had their first taste of Dunaway's particular star power as Ian Somerhalder's mother in "The Rules of Attraction" (2002), Roger Avary's amped-up adaptation of the Bret Easton Ellis novel, before Dunaway turned up the heat as a merciless celebrity judge on the reality series "The Starlet" (The WB, 2005). A series of occasional roles in little-seen films followed, but Dunaway was unexpectedly thrust back into the public eye at the 2017 Academy Awards. Reunited with Beatty on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of "Bonnie and Clyde," the pair were tapped to present the Best Picture award to close the night. Before proceeding onsage, Beatty was mistakenly handed a backup envelope for Best Actress in a Leading Role, which had already been won by Emma Stone for "La La Land" (2016). Unsure what to do when he opened the envelope and discovered the error, Beatty stalled for time and showed the card to Dunaway; misunderstanding his intent, the actress announced that the Best Picture Oscar went to "La La Land." During producer Jordan Horowitz's acceptance speech, he was informed that the actual Best Picture winner was "Moonlight" (2016). During the onstage chaos that ensued, Beatty delivered a heartfelt explanation and apology for the snafu while undergoing good-natured ribbing from host Jimmy Kimmel.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Special Thanks (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1962
Joined American National Theatre and Academy (ANTA), made Broadway debut in "A Man for All Seasons"
1964
Was understudy in ANTA production of Arthur Miller's "After the Fall"
1965
First New York stage success in "Hogan's Goat" at the American Place Theater
1966
Made TV acting debut in episode of "The Trials of O'Brien" (CBS)
1967
First screen role in "The Happening"; film, however, was released after "Hurry Sundown"
1967
Breakthrough screen role, as Bonnie Parker in "Bonnie and Clyde"; earned first Oscar nomination as Best Actress
1971
Starred in the Los Angeles stage version of Harold Pinter's "Old Times"
1971
Reprised stage role in PBS production of "Hogan's Goat"
1972
Starred as Blanche du Bois in the 25th anniversary production of "A Streetcar Named Desire" in L.A.
1972
Played the Duchess of Windsor in the TV-movie "The Woman I Love" (ABC)
1974
Starred in the TV adaptation of "After the Fall" (NBC)
1974
Co-starred with Jack Nicholson in Roman Polanski's noir drama "Chinatown"; earned second Best Actress Oscar nomination
1976
Played 1920s evangelist Aimee Semple MacPherson in the NBC TV-movie "The Disappearance of Aimee"
1976
Won Best Actress Oscar for her turn as a ruthless TV executive in Sidney Lumet's "Network"
1981
Played Joan Crawford in the camp classic "Mommie Dearest"
1982
Made last Broadway appearance to date in the short-lived "The Curse of an Aching Heart"
1986
London stage debut, "Circe and Bravo"
1987
Won praise for her performance opposite Mickey Rourke in "Barfly"
1989
Starred in and produced well-received TV-movie "Cold Sassy Tree" (TNT)
1993
Made TV series debut in the sitcom, "It Had to Be You" (CBS), opposite Robert Urich
1996
Cast alongside Gene Hackman and Chris O'Donnell in the film adaptation of author John Grisham's "The Chamber"
1996
Received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
1997
Appeared in Kevin Spacey's directorial debut "Albino Alligator"
1999
Cameoed in the remake of her 1968 film "The Thomas Crown Affair"
1999
Appeared as Yolanda of Aragon in director Luc Besson's Joan of Arc epic "The Messenger"
2000
Co-starred alongside Mark Wahlberg and Charlize Theron on "The Yards"
2002
Appeared in writer-director Roger Avary's adaptation of Brett Easton Ellis' novel "The Rules of Attraction" starring James Van Der Beek and Shannyn Sossamon
2002
Cameoed as herself in director Henry Jaglom's "Festival in Cannes"
2002
Appeared as Mae West on "The Calling"
2005
Was a celebrity judge on WB's "The Starlet"
2007
Played Edith in "Cougar Club"
2009
Appeared as Detective Rowland in "The Seduction of Dr. Fugazzi"
2016
Appeared in an episode of "Documentary Now!"
2017
Cast as the widow Redmon in "The Bye Bye Man"
Photo Collections
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
On her reputation as a control freak: "That's the hardest thing to change. Not in terms of manipulating other people, just in terms of wanting everything to be as good as it can be. Now if something's not goiong in the direction I think it should, I try to sit back and enjoy the ride . . . I'm always preceived as this urbane, cold, sophisticaed woman, and I'm really none of that." --Faye Dunaway, quoted in USA TODAY, November 7, 1995
"Let's say 'Bonnie and Clyde' was the first big role I connected with in a big way . . . the closest thing to me, a frustrated Southern girl wanting to break out. I knew her backwards." --Faye Dunaway, quoted in ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY, October 8, 1993
"I think I'm a product of the American Dream. My mother came from a very poor farming family, and she wanted my brother and me to achieve. In fact, we're the only two people in our family who are professional people now. My brother's a lawyer in Washington and I'm an actress. I think it's because of my mother, because she kept encouraging us to do our best and to fight, not just to take things as they come. I got straight As. But sometimes overachievers and people who get straight As miss the trip, miss the process." --Faye Dunaway, quoted in FAME, April 1990
"I longed to do great work, and since you must be famous to get those opportunities, I wanted to be famous. You do, of course get caught up in the whole star thing . . . but I've had that time in my life and I'm glad it's behind me. It's hard to be young because you don't know who you are and must constantly search for to find yourself. Time has helped me there, and I feel more clear and calm now." --Dunaway quoted in LOS ANGELES TIMES, June 18, 1997
"The whole era when I was busy being a big movie star was terribly disconcerting. I was cared for and cosseted, and yet I was totally dependent. I didn't know where the cornflakes were kept. I didn't know how to turn on the washing machine. That might sound very chic, but I'm telling you: When you don't know how your own life works, you get disconnected." --Faye Dunaway quoted in ESQUIRE, August 1999
"I guess it's that I'm really vulberable. I had hoped the Crawford film would be the window into a tortured soul, but it was made it camp, and I think, for better or for worse, people do think that you're like your roles. So I'd like people to know that I have a really strong vulnerability and a great passion and, I would hope , a generosity in like."-Dunaway on what she would like people to know about her. Interview November 2002
