| Dianne Wiest  Born: 28-Mar-1948
Birthplace: Kansas City, MO
Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor Nationality: United States
Executive summary: Footloose Wiest's father was in the Army, which necessitated frequent moves for Wiest's family. As a young girl, she wanted to be a ballerina, but in adolescence her body bloomed a little too large for that petite line of work, and Wiest's interest was instead drawn to theater. She majored in drama at the University of Maryland, but dropped out when she was hired by the American Shakespeare Company. After several years on stage in many plays and several TV productions, she made her film debut with a small role in 1980's It's My Turn. Wiest first came to most moviegoers' attention as repressive preacher John Lithgow's longsuffering wife in Footloose.
In Woody Allen's Hannah and Her Sisters, Wiest played the sister adrift, who saw herself as inferior to Mia Farrow and Barbara Hershey. In Edward Scissorhands, she played the Avon saleslady who first discovered the freakish Johnny Depp. In Bullets Over Broadway, she played the overdramatic actress who kept telling John Cusack, "Don't speak!" In I Am Sam, she was the reclusive neighbor who spoke up on Sean Penn's behalf. In Parenthood, she was Steve Martin's divorced and harried sister, struggling with her teenaged daughter, Martha Plimpton. In The Lost Boys, she moved with her sons to a quiet town infested by vampires. She also played the Evil Queen in The Tenth Kingdom. She has won Oscars for Hannah and Her Sisters and Bullets Over Broadway, and was nominated for Parenthood.
Wiest has never married, and has rarely been romantically linked with anyone, though having adopted two daughters. In 2005, her 17-year-old daughter Emily was arrested for beating up a classmate at the tony private Beekman School and stealing his iPod.
Brother: Greg
Brother: Don
Daughter: Emily (adopted, b. 1987)
Daughter: Lily (adopted, b. 1991)
Boyfriend: Sam Cohn (Hollywood agent)
University: University of Maryland (dropped out)
Oscar for Best Supporting Actress 1987 for Hannah and Her Sisters
Oscar for Best Supporting Actress 1995 for Bullets Over Broadway
Golden Globe 1995 for Bullets Over Broadway
Emmy 1997 for Road to Avonlea (outstanding guest)
TELEVISION
Law & Order DA Nora Lewin (2000-02)
FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
Dan in Real Life (26-Oct-2007)
Dedication (22-Jan-2007)
A Guide to Recognizing Your Saints (3-Sep-2006)
Robots (10-Mar-2005) [VOICE]
Category 6: Day of Destruction (14-Nov-2004)
Merci Docteur Rey (13-Oct-2002)
I Am Sam (3-Dec-2001)
The 10th Kingdom (27-Feb-2000)
The Simple Life of Noah Dearborn (9-May-1999)
Practical Magic (16-Oct-1998)
The Horse Whisperer (15-May-1998)
The Associate (25-Oct-1996)
The Birdcage (8-Mar-1996)
Drunks (23-Aug-1995)
The Scout (30-Sep-1994)
Bullets Over Broadway (16-Sep-1994)
Cops and Robbersons (15-Apr-1994)
Little Man Tate (6-Sep-1991)
Edward Scissorhands (7-Dec-1990)
Cookie (2-Aug-1989)
Parenthood (2-Aug-1989)
Bright Lights, Big City (1-Apr-1988)
September (18-Dec-1987)
The Lost Boys (31-Jul-1987)
Radio Days (30-Jan-1987)
Hannah and Her Sisters (7-Feb-1986)
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1-Mar-1985)
Falling in Love (21-Nov-1984)
Footloose (17-Feb-1984)
Independence Day (21-Jan-1983)
I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can (5-Mar-1982)
It's My Turn (24-Oct-1980)
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