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Illeana Douglas
Douglas at the Streamy Awards, 2009
Born
Illeana Hesselberg

(1961-07-25) July 25, 1961 (age 63)
New Haven, Connecticut, U.S.
EducationNeighborhood Playhouse
AADA
Occupations
  • Actress
  • filmmaker
Years active1987–present
Known forAction
Notable workGrace of My Heart
Easy to Assemble
Spouse
​
​
(m. 1998; div. 2001)​
Partner(s)Martin Scorsese
(1989–1997)
RelativesMelvyn Douglas (grandfather)
Websiteilleanadouglas.com

Illeana Hesselberg (/ˌɪliˈɑːnə/ IL-ee-AH-nə; born July 25, 1961), known professionally as Illeana Douglas, is an American actress and filmmaker. She appeared in three episodes of Six Feet Under, for which she received a Primetime Emmy Award nomination as Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series and won the Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series award from OFTA, the Online Film & Television Association, and in the TV series Action opposite Jay Mohr, for which she won a Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy. As of 2015, she can be seen on Turner Classic Movies where she hosts specials focused on unheralded women directors from film history.[1][2]

Early life

Douglas was born on July 25, 1961 in New Haven, Connecticut, the daughter of Joan Douglas (née Georgescu), a schoolteacher, and Gregory Hesselberg, a painter.[3][4][5][6][7] Douglas's father was the son of Hollywood actor Melvyn Douglas and his wife, the artist Rosalind Hightower.[8] Douglas had two older brothers, the late Stefan Gregor Hesselberg,[9][10] a technician in the histology laboratory at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who also trained racehorses in Verona, Italy, and Erik Hesselberg, a journalist.[6]

Douglas grew up primarily in Old Saybrook, Connecticut, and has said that she was also raised in many other cities, in Massachusetts where her father lived, Connecticut where her mother lived, and New York, where her extended family lived. During her childhood she spent time going back and forth between relatives during the summer.[11] Douglas said that her parents were heavily influenced by the 1970s hippie culture—her father especially by the movie Easy Rider. They had a loose parenting style and did not pressure her to go to college. Comedy albums were popular in her family. They would put on dramatic interpretations and performances.[12]

Douglas's mother's side is Roman Catholic[12]—Italian and Romanian[13] from Astoria, Queens. Her maternal grandmother worked in the restaurant at Gertz department store in Astoria; her maternal grandfather was a welder.[11] Douglas said that her maternal grandmother, a former Rockette, had wanted to be an actor. She instilled in Douglas a love for the movies, which they attended together frequently when she was a child.[12]

As a child she would visit her paternal grandfather, the actor Melvyn Douglas, in his apartment in Manhattan on the Upper West Side as well as at his home in the Hollywood Hills section of Los Angeles.[8][11] Douglas said that during her summers with her grandfather, he introduced her to his interests, which included theater, elocution, reading, art, and history.[12]

Douglas has said that her grandfather's performance in Being There was influential on her own career.[8][14] In the 1940s, Douglas' grandfather and Peter Sellers both served in the military during WWII and met in Burma. In the 1960s, the two men reconnected in London and talked about their time together in the war.[14] During high school, Douglas visited the set while they were shooting on location in Asheville, North Carolina and met Sellers, whose work she admired greatly. It was the first time she was on a film set.[12] She graduated from Haddam-Killingworth High School in Higganum, Connecticut in 1979.[15]

Douglas notes the contrast between her working-class Italian roots and the glamorous Hollywood world of her paternal side of the family. Famous people including Myrna Loy, Gore Vidal, Gloria Steinem, politicians, writers, and others were often present, in a salon-like environment. Douglas has said it took her a long time to reconcile the different lifestyles she was exposed to in her youth. She identifies more with the Italian side of her family, and has said that she developed more of their "rhythms and ways" due to the amount of time she spent with them in Queens.[11]

Career

Early career

Douglas, June 24, 2007

After graduating from high school, Douglas moved to New York City.[11] Having been interested in movies from her childhood, Douglas wanted to be in show business.[12] She stayed with relatives in various temporary arrangements. Douglas attended American Academy of Dramatic Arts, where she was a contemporary of Elias Koteas and Lou Mustillo. Following their first year, Mustillo and Douglas were not invited back to the school.[11]

When she was 18 years old, Douglas went to work for Steve Rubell at the Morgans Hotel. While there, Douglas decided to reinvent herself, and began attending Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, where she studied with the acting teacher Richard Pinter.[11] While she was working in a sketch comedy group called Manhattan Punchline, one of the troupe members suggested she try stand-up comedy.[12] Douglas worked briefly at Stand Up New York, and found the writing and acting easy, but found the performing difficult. She did not like the raw comedy style then in vogue, and did not enjoy the lifestyle of a standup comic.[11][12]

Douglas began working for a well-known publicist, Peggy Siegal. Through this position, she tried to send her headshot to Martin Scorsese's casting director, but was not successful. At that time, Scorsese was editing his film Last Temptation of Christ in an office down the hall from Siegal's offices. The editors needed a sound effect to convey Mary Magdalene screaming, and asked her to help out. In this way, Douglas met Scorsese, his editor, Thelma Schoonmaker, as well as filmmaker Michael Powell, and provided many ADR of crowd sounds. The group bonded over discussion of old films, which was a long-standing interest. Scorsese and Douglas eventually began a long-term relationship.[16]

Soon afterwards, she got her first movie role: a small part in Scorsese's segment of New York Stories.[17] Douglas said that Lorraine Bracco took Douglas under her wing during the shooting of Scorsese's Goodfellas, helping her to find an agent. It was then that Douglas became Scorsese's girlfriend.[16]

Douglas appeared in Scorsese's Cape Fear (1991) – one of four Scorsese films in which she has appeared. After Cape Fear, she had several film roles where her character was eventually cut, including in Household Saints, Jungle Fever, and Quiz Show. "It was kind of depressing," she commented.[16]

Douglas acted in a low-budget movie called Grief that was accepted into Sundance, which led to her meeting director Allison Anders.[16]

Feature work

Douglas had a supporting role in 1995's To Die For, a film that boosted her career in which the director Gus Van Sant taught her about the technical aspects of filmmaking, such as camera blocking, film lenses, and modulating a performance for film.[16] It was also a movie where she felt that the Meisner technique she learned at the Neighborhood Playhouse started to connect for her.[11]

Douglas and Allison Anders wanted to collaborate on a film, and began work on a biography of Anne Sexton, which never came to fruition. As they were both interested in music, Douglas suggested a movie about the personalities of the Brill Building, where she had worked. This led to her first starring role as singer-songwriter Denise Waverly in Anders' 1996 film, Grace of My Heart.[18][16]

She had another supporting role in Ghost World (2001).[19]

In 2016, Douglas appeared opposite Sean Astin in the independent feature film, Unleashed.[20]

Television work

On television, Douglas appeared in a memorable role as one of Garry Shandling's love interests towards the end of the series, The Larry Sanders Show, in 1998.[21] In 1999, she had a starring role opposite Jay Mohr in the series Action. She played a television executive who started out as a prostitute who had Mohr as a regular customer.[22]

She guest starred on Seinfeld, Frasier and The Drew Carey Show, and has played a public defender on several episodes of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in 2002 and 2003. She appeared in two episodes of the HBO TV series Six Feet Under, both of which earned Emmy nominations for Guest Actress in a Drama. She appeared as Mrs. Ari's sister Marci in the Season 7 finale of Entourage.

In 2006, she starred in the Lifetime TV film Not Like Everyone Else and played herself in Pittsburgh opposite Jeff Goldblum. In 2007, Douglas was added to the cast of Ugly Betty, playing Sheila, an editor for MODE magazine.[23]

Douglas spent time in Sweden shooting a TV show called Welcome to Sweden, which was produced by Amy Poehler and also starred Greg Poehler and Lena Olin. The series was a Swedish-American co-production that aired on Swedish TV as well as on NBC.[11]

Writing and producing

Douglas has written and directed a comedy short The Perfect Woman (1993) (a satire about what men really want from women), the documentary Everybody Just Stay Calm—Stories in Independent Filmmaking (1994), and the satire Boy Crazy, Girl Crazier (1995). She has been the producer for several projects including Illeanarama, a collection of her short films for the Sundance Channel.

From 2008 to 2012, Douglas starred in a web series sponsored by IKEA called Easy to Assemble, where she plays herself as an actor-in-recovery-from-acting who goes to work at IKEA.[24] Douglas said that she had a great deal of autonomy from sponsor IKEA, whose only condition was that the show be suitable for children and families.[25] It was canceled after 4 seasons.[26][27]

In 2015, Douglas produced and mentored women filmmakers in developing a web-series for Jill Soloway called The Skinny.[26]

Turner Classic Movies

Douglas worked on a Turner Classic Movies series called Friday Night Spotlight, a prime-time show featuring a month-long festival of movies programmed by special guests. The season that she worked on focused on the theme "Second Looks".[28] Douglas said that curating, writing, and working on this series allowed her to use her movie knowledge while making it funny, entertaining, and informative.[11]

In 2015, in association with the advocacy group, Women in Film, Douglas presented a month-long series on the TCM cable channel called "Trailblazing Women," an initiative to highlight women's contributions to the art of cinema. Douglas became involved in the project when she found out that the American Film Institute's list of 100 greatest American movies didn't include any movies directed by women.[29] The series was also in response to active discussions about the gender imbalance in Hollywood. The series will present work by female pioneers like Dorothy Arzner, Alice Guy-Blaché, Agnès Varda, Lina Wertmüller, as well as interviews with Allison Anders, Amy Heckerling, Julie Dash, and others.[30] The series will be a multi-year event, with the first year's focus on women directors from the 1920s to the present. Each night is themed, with programming topics from foreign films to African-American filmmakers.[31]

Other work

  • In Spärhusen, a spinoff series from Easy to Assemble, Douglas plays Beirget Kattsson, a member of a band called Spärhusen,[12][32] a Swedish pop group. Douglas describes them: "Spärhusen has had their ups and downs over the years. They’ve been in many plane crashes, but they’ve survived and they’re together."[33]
  • At the Walt Disney World Resort in the Disney's Hollywood Studios theme park, Douglas plays Aerosmith's manager in the preshow video for the Rock 'n' Roller Coaster attraction.[34] She later appeared in an Aerosmith music video as Liv Tyler's mother.[citation needed]
  • Douglas and the comedian Sarah Sweet produced and co-starred in a series professional variety shows called The Living Room Show, that is hosted in various Los Angeles living rooms.[35]

In 2015 Douglas published a memoir called I Blame Dennis Hopper which was released through Flatiron Books. In the memoir, Douglas tells about her life via her love for the movies and her exposure to Hollywood through her paternal grandfather Melvyn Douglas.[31] Not long after the book's release, she began a podcast with the same title.[36]

Personal life

From 1989 until 1997, Douglas was in a relationship with director Martin Scorsese.[37]

On May 16, 1998, she married producer and writer Jonathan Axelrod, the stepson of producer George Axelrod; they divorced in 2001.[37][38][39] Douglas said that the period after her divorce was difficult both emotionally and financially, and that she relocated from living in Los Angeles to the New York area, where she took classes at her former school, the Neighborhood Playhouse, and worked in theater. She also began writing and directing.[11]

Douglas is a vegetarian.[33] She was named after Princess Ileana of Romania.[19]

Works and publications

  • I Blame Dennis Hopper: And Other Stories from a Life Lived in and Out of the Movies. New York: Flatiron Books. 2015. ISBN 978-1-250-05291-9. OCLC 912507695.
  • curator: Shelley Stamp; producer: Bret Wood; executive producer: Illeana Douglas (2018). Pioneers: First Women Filmmakers (boxset). New York, NY: Kino Classics; Library of Congress. Blu-ray DVD book OCLC 1077206039 OCLC 1100589636 OCLC 1206364129
  • Connecticut in the Movies: From Dream Houses to Dark Suburbia. New York: Rowman & Littlefield. 2023. ISBN 978-1-493-08088-5.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1987 Hello Again Mother in park
1988 The Last Temptation of Christ Crowd member
1989 New York Stories Paulette's friend
1990 Goodfellas Rosie
1991 Guilty by Suspicion Nan
Cape Fear Lori Davis
1993 Alive Liliana Methol
Household Saints Evelyn Santangelo
Grief Leslie
1994 Quiz Show Woman at book party
1995 Search and Destroy Marie Davenport
Judgement Laurel Short
To Die For Janice Maretto Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
1996 Wedding Bell Blues Jasmine
Grace of My Heart Denise Waverly
1997 Picture Perfect Darcy O'Neil
Hacks Georgia Feckler
1998 The Thin Pink Line Julia Bullock
1999 Flypaper Laura
Stir of Echoes Lisa Weil
Happy, Texas Doreen Schaefer
Message in a Bottle Lina Paul Nominated—Blockbuster Entertainment Award for Favorite Supporting Actress – Drama
Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Band manager Short
2000 The Next Best Thing Elizabeth Ryder
2001 Ghost World Roberta Allsworth
2002 Dummy Heidi Schoichet
The New Guy Kiki Pierce
The Adventures of Pluto Nash Dr. Mona Zimmer
2003 The Kiss Joyce Rothman
Missing Brendan Julie Conroy
2005 Alchemy KJ
The Californians Olive Ransom
2006 Factory Girl Diana Vreeland
The Bondage Elaine Edwards
2007 Walk the Talk Jill
Order Up Waitress Short
Osso Bucco Megan
Expired Wilman
2008 The Year of Getting to Know Us Christine Jacobson
Otis Kate Lawson
2009 April Showers Sally Reedman
Life Is Hot in Cracktown Mommy
2010 Spärhusen Plays The Egyptian Beirget Kattson Short
2011 The Green Trish
Knots Miriam
2013 Monarch Lindsey Teller Short
Chez Upshaw Rita Upshaw
Dark Around the Stars Dayton
Max Rose Jenny Flowers
A Country Christmas Susan Satcher
It's Dark Here Linda Tennies
2014 The Boxcar Children Mary Moore (voice)
Sister Aunt Connie
Outlook Not So Good Mom Short
She's Funny That Way Judy
2015 All Stars Billie
Road Hard Kim Madsen
Pearly Gates Karen Weiner
Mega Shark Versus Kolossus Dr. Alison Gray
Return to Sender Judy
2016 The Late Bloomer Linda
Unleashed Monty

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1995 Homicide: Life on the Street Gina Doolen Episode: "Autofocus"
1995 The Single Guy Martha Episode: "Sister"
1997 Weapons of Mass Distraction Rita Pasco Television movie
1997 Rough Riders Edith Roosevelt Television movie
1997 Bella Mafia Teresa Scorpio Luciano Television movie
1998 Seinfeld Loretta Episode: "The Strong Box"
1998 The Larry Sanders Show Herself 2 episodes
1999 Brother's Keeper Ginny Episode: "Dating the Teacher"
1999 Lansky Anna Lansky Television movie
1999–2000 Action Wendy Ward 13 episodes
Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy
2001 Frasier Mrs. Daly Episode: "Hungry Heart"
2001 The Drew Carey Show Rachel Murray 2 episodes
2001–2005 Six Feet Under Angela 3 episodes
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
2002 Point of Origin Kate Television movie
2002–2003 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Gina Bernardo 3 episodes
2006 Crumbs Shelley 3 episodes
2006 Not Like Everyone Else Toni Blackbear Television movie
2006–2007 Shark Gloria Dent 2 episodes
2007 Ugly Betty Sheila 3 episodes
2008 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Beverly Tyson Episode: "Contract"
2010–2011 Entourage Marcie 2 episodes
2011 The Cape Netta Stilton 2 episodes
2011 Chaos Linda Phillips Episode: "Two Percent"
2013 Maron Herself Episode: "Dominatrix"
2013 Drop Dead Diva Dr. Reza Episode: "The Kiss"
2013 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Ruby Banks Episode: "Passed Pawns"
2013 Grey's Anatomy Dr. Alma Episode: "Man on the Moon"
2014–2015 Welcome to Sweden Nancy 6 episodes
2015 Chasing Life Mariann Russo 2 episodes
2016 Modern Family Janet Episode: "Double Click"
2019 The Simpsons New Age Clerk (voice) Episode: "Crystal Blue-Haired Persuasion"
2019 Goliath Rita 7 episodes
2019 All Rise Beatrix Rycroft Episode: "Dripsy"
2020 Shrill Sheila 2 episodes

Streaming television

Year Title Role Notes
2008–2012 Easy to Assemble Illeana 48 episodes
2010–2011 The Temp Life Eve Randall 5 episodes
2010 The Webventures of Justin and Alden Herself Episode: "1760"
2010 Suite 7 Livvy Episode: "Soulmates"
2016 The Skinny Jacqueline 5 episodes

References

  1. ^ Justin, Neal (3 October 2015). "Illeana Douglas helps shine spotlight on female directors in TCM film festival". Star Tribune. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
  2. ^ Wilson Berg, Katie (2 November 2015). "Illeana Douglas on Living in an 'Easy Rider' Commune, Dressing Like Richard Dreyfuss and Hollywood's Deep-Seated Sexism (Q&A)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
  3. ^ "Illeana Douglas". British Film Institute. Archived from the original on October 11, 2016.
  4. ^ "Celebrity birthdays for the week of July 24–30". AP News. July 18, 2022.
  5. ^ "Today's famous birthdays list for July 25, 2022 includes celebrity Matt LeBlanc". Cleveland.com. July 25, 2022.
  6. ^ a b "Illeana Douglas Biography". TCM Movie Database. Turner Entertainment Networks, Inc. A Time Warner Company. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  7. ^ Smith, Chris (October 1996). "Illeana Douglas". Us Weekly. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  8. ^ a b c Douglas, Melvyn; Arthur, Tom (1986). See You At the Movies: The Autobiography of Melvyn Douglas. Lanham, MD: University Press of America. pp. 63–64. ISBN 978-0-819-15389-0. OCLC 13426441.
  9. ^ "Stefan Hesselberg, 48; Of Haddam". Hartford Courant. May 24, 2007. Archived from the original on April 7, 2014. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  10. ^ "Stefan Gregor Hesselberg". Hartford Courant. May 23, 2007. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  11. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l Maron, Marc (November 11, 2013). "Episode 441 - Illeana Douglas" (podcast). WTF Podcast with Marc Maron. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  12. ^ a b c d e f g h i Pollak, Kevin (June 14, 2009). "KPCS: Illeana Douglas #11". Kevin Pollak's Chat Show. Archived from the original (video interview) on 7 April 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  13. ^ Flora, Carlin (July 1, 2007). "Final Analysis: Illeana Douglas - Actress Illeana Douglas discusses rejection and how it's helped her career". Psychology Today. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  14. ^ a b Vigil, Delfin (February 15, 2009). "Illeana Douglas inspired by Melvyn's 'Being There'". San Francisco Chronicle. Retrieved 2 August 2009.
  15. ^ Haddam Killingworth High School - Opticon Yearbook (Higganum, CT), Class of 1979, Page 105
  16. ^ a b c d e f O'Neal, Sean (February 9, 2009). "Random Roles: Illeana Douglas". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  17. ^ Shattuck, Kathryn (July 13, 1997). "Playing the Woman Beside the Man Who Took San Juan Hill". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  18. ^ Maslin, Janet (September 13, 1996). "Movie Review: Grace of My Heart (1996) - One Fine Day at the Brill Building". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  19. ^ a b Maynard, Kevin (December 1999). "Q&A: Illeana Douglas, The Veteran Scene-Stealer Sparkles in 'The Next Best Thing'". Out. p. 44. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  20. ^ Ford, Rebecca (18 June 2015). "Sean Astin, Illeana Douglas Join Indie 'Unleashed' (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  21. ^ Wallace, Amy (29 July 2015). "Comedy Investigation! The Long-Lost Ending of The Larry Sanders Show". GQ. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  22. ^ Levy, Ariel (September 13, 1999). "Television: Boys' Town". New York. Retrieved October 31, 2015.
  23. ^ R, Alissa (July 11, 2007). "Illeana's Getting Ugly This Fall". Us Weekly. Archived from the original on June 10, 2007. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  24. ^ Lloyd, Robert (November 23, 2011). "Illeana Douglas puts herself together in 'Easy to Assemble'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  25. ^ Stelter, Brian (August 8, 2010). "After Drought, Hope for Shows Made for Web". The New York Times. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  26. ^ a b Rubin, Sam (29 September 2015). "Illeana Douglas on Hollywood's 'Trailblazing Women'". KTLA. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  27. ^ Ng, Philiana (May 21, 2012). "Illeana Douglas' 'Easy to Assemble' Web Series to End After Fourth Season (Exclusive Video)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  28. ^ Fristoe, Roger. "Introduction to Second Looks". Turner Classic Movies. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  29. ^ Keegan, Rebecca (30 September 2015). "The embarrassing number that got Illeana Douglas and TCM to showcase 'Trailblazing Women' directors". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  30. ^ Littleton, Cynthia (2 September 2015). "TCM, Women in Film LA Launch 'Trailblazing Women' Programming Initiative (EXCLUSIVE)". Variety. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  31. ^ a b Leach, Robin (1 October 2015). "Q+A: Illeana Douglas discusses 'Trailblazing Women,' 'I Blame Dennis Hopper'". Las Vegas Sun. Retrieved 31 October 2015.
  32. ^ "Spärhusen". Easy To Assemble TV. Archived from the original on 8 October 2014. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  33. ^ a b Ward, Kate (October 7, 2009). "Illeana Douglas talks about new Web series 'Sparhusen' (featuring Keanu Reeves)". Entertainment Weekly. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  34. ^ Rock 'n' Roller Coaster Starring Aerosmith with Illeana Douglas The Official Disney Fan Club. August 4, 2011.
  35. ^ Speidel, Maria (December 13, 2013). "Illeana Douglas: Live From Your Living Room (photos)". The New York Times. Retrieved 3 April 2014.
  36. ^ I Blame Dennis Hopper Podcast. Accessed September 18, 2018
  37. ^ a b Jewel, Dan (March 1, 1999). "Note Worthy: Message in a Bottle's Illeana Douglas, Martin Scorsese's Ex-Girlfriend, Triumphs in Her Marriage and in Movies". People. Retrieved 2 April 2014.
  38. ^ Musto, Michael (June 2, 1998). "NY Mirror". Village Voice. Archived from the original on 2012-05-10. Retrieved 2010-06-23.
  39. ^ Halliwell, Leslie (2003). Halliwell's Who's Who in the Movies (15th ed., rev. and updated, 1st HarperResource ed.). New York, NY: HarperCollins. p. 142. ISBN 978-0-06053-423-3. OCLC 52803761.
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