Diane Venora
Encyclopedia
Diane Venora is an American stage, television, and film actress.
, the daughter of Marie (Brooks) and Robert P. Venora, who owned a dry cleaning establishment. Diane graduated from East Hartford High School, class of 1970. During her high school years she was active in musicals and plays. She left Connecticut for a scholarship
at Juilliard School
. After graduation, she performed extensively on the stage, particularly in Shakespearean plays.
and Gregory Hines
in Wolfen
(1981). In 1983, she starred in Joseph Papp
's production of Hamlet
at the New York Shakespeare Festival
in the lead role
, the first woman to play the role at the prestigious showcase. She has a long history with Hamlet, having played the title role, having played Ophelia opposite Kevin Kline
, and having played Gertrude
onscreen opposite Ethan Hawke
.
She was married to cinematographer
Andrzej Bartkowiak
; the couple later divorce
d. After the divorce, she lived in New York
with her daughter, Madzia, traveling often for work. She quit show business when Madzia was eight to spend more time with her daughter. During her seven-year hiatus, Venora stayed close to home, teaching disadvantaged children and acting in an occasional play. When Madzia was 15, Venora took her to Los Angeles
and soon landed a starring role in the ABC
TV series Thunder Alley
(playing Ed Asner
's character's daughter), and a recurring role as plastic surgeon
Geri Infante in the Emmy-winning TV series Chicago Hope
.
In 1988, her critically acclaimed performance in Clint Eastwood
's biographical feature of jazz
great Charlie Parker
, Bird, as Chan Parker, his wife, earned her a Golden Globe Award
nomination and the New York Film Critics Circle Award.
In 1995, she starred opposite Al Pacino
and Robert De Niro
in Heat, earning high regard from both critics and audiences for her portrayal of Justine Hanna, the Pacino character's troubled wife. That performance and her follow-up as Juliet
's mother, Gloria Capulet, in Romeo + Juliet (1996) earned her supporting roles in The Jackal (1997), The 13th Warrior
(1999), and The Insider
(1999). She was most recently seen in the 2010 film, All Good Things
.
Early life
Venora was born Diana Venora in East Hartford, ConnecticutEast Hartford, Connecticut
East Hartford is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States. The population was 51,252 at the 2010 census.-Geography:...
, the daughter of Marie (Brooks) and Robert P. Venora, who owned a dry cleaning establishment. Diane graduated from East Hartford High School, class of 1970. During her high school years she was active in musicals and plays. She left Connecticut for a scholarship
Scholarship
A scholarship is an award of financial aid for a student to further education. Scholarships are awarded on various criteria usually reflecting the values and purposes of the donor or founder of the award.-Types:...
at Juilliard School
Juilliard School
The Juilliard School, located at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York City, United States, is a performing arts conservatory which was established in 1905...
. After graduation, she performed extensively on the stage, particularly in Shakespearean plays.
Career
Venora made her film debut alongside Albert FinneyAlbert Finney
Albert Finney is an English actor. He achieved prominence in films in the early 1960s, and has maintained a successful career in theatre, film and television....
and Gregory Hines
Gregory Hines
Gregory Oliver Hines was an American actor, singer, dancer and choreographer.-Early years:Born in New York City, Hines and his older brother Maurice started dancing at an early age, studying with choreographer Henry LeTang...
in Wolfen
Wolfen (film)
Wolfen is the title of a 1981 horror film starring Albert Finney, Diane Venora, Gregory Hines and Edward James Olmos based on Whitley Strieber's 1978 novel The Wolfen...
(1981). In 1983, she starred in Joseph Papp
Joseph Papp
Joseph Papp was an American theatrical producer and director. Papp established The Public Theater in what had been the Astor Library Building in downtown New York . "The Public," as it is known, has many small theatres within it...
's production of Hamlet
Hamlet
The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...
at the New York Shakespeare Festival
New York Shakespeare Festival
New York Shakespeare Festival is the previous name of the New York City theatrical producing organization now known as the Public Theater. The Festival produced shows at the Delacorte Theater in Central Park, as part of its free Shakespeare in the Park series, at the Public Theatre near Astor Place...
in the lead role
Prince Hamlet
Prince Hamlet is a fictional character, the protagonist in Shakespeare's tragedy Hamlet. He is the Prince of Denmark, nephew to the usurping Claudius and son of the previous King of Denmark, Old Hamlet. Throughout the play he struggles with whether, and how, to avenge the murder of his father, and...
, the first woman to play the role at the prestigious showcase. She has a long history with Hamlet, having played the title role, having played Ophelia opposite Kevin Kline
Kevin Kline
Kevin Delaney Kline is an American theatre, voice, film actor and comedian. He has won an Academy Award and two Tony Awards, and has been nominated for five Golden Globe Awards, two BAFTA Awards and an Emmy Award.- Early life :...
, and having played Gertrude
Gertrude (Hamlet)
In William Shakespeare's play Hamlet, Gertrude is Hamlet's mother and Queen of Denmark. Her relationship with Hamlet is somewhat turbulent, since he resents her for marrying her husband's brother Claudius after he murdered the King...
onscreen opposite Ethan Hawke
Ethan Hawke
Ethan Green Hawke is an American actor, writer and director. He made his feature film debut in 1985 with the science fiction movie Explorers, before making a supporting appearance in the 1989 drama Dead Poets Society which is considered his breakthrough role...
.
She was married to cinematographer
Cinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
Andrzej Bartkowiak
Andrzej Bartkowiak
Andrzej Bartkowiak, A.S.C. is a Polish cinematographer and director.In the early 1980s, Bartkowiak was cinematographer on three films that received Academy Award nominations for Best Picture: The Verdict, Terms of Endearment, and Prizzi's Honor.As cinematographer he has collaborated with several...
; the couple later divorce
Divorce
Divorce is the final termination of a marital union, canceling the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage and dissolving the bonds of matrimony between the parties...
d. After the divorce, she lived in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
with her daughter, Madzia, traveling often for work. She quit show business when Madzia was eight to spend more time with her daughter. During her seven-year hiatus, Venora stayed close to home, teaching disadvantaged children and acting in an occasional play. When Madzia was 15, Venora took her to Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
and soon landed a starring role in the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
TV series Thunder Alley
Thunder Alley
Thunder Alley is an American sitcom which aired from March 9, 1994 to July 4, 1995 on ABC.-Premise:The show stars Edward Asner as retired race-car driver Gil Jones. The unaired original pilot episode featured Felicity Huffman in the role of Bobbi Turner, Gil's daughter. When ABC picked up the...
(playing Ed Asner
Ed Asner
Edward Asner , commonly known as Ed Asner, is an American film, television, stage, and voice actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild, primarily known for his Emmy Award-winning role as Lou Grant on both The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spin-off series, Lou Grant...
's character's daughter), and a recurring role as plastic surgeon
Plastic surgery
Plastic surgery is a medical specialty concerned with the correction or restoration of form and function. Though cosmetic or aesthetic surgery is the best-known kind of plastic surgery, most plastic surgery is not cosmetic: plastic surgery includes many types of reconstructive surgery, hand...
Geri Infante in the Emmy-winning TV series Chicago Hope
Chicago Hope
Chicago Hope is an American medical drama series created by David E. Kelley that ran from September 18, 1994, to May 5, 2000. It takes place in a fictional private charity hospital.-Premise:The show stars Mandy Patinkin as Dr...
.
In 1988, her critically acclaimed performance in Clint Eastwood
Clint Eastwood
Clinton "Clint" Eastwood, Jr. is an American film actor, director, producer, composer and politician. Eastwood first came to prominence as a supporting cast member in the TV series Rawhide...
's biographical feature of jazz
Jazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
great Charlie Parker
Charlie Parker
Charles Parker, Jr. , famously called Bird or Yardbird, was an American jazz saxophonist and composer....
, Bird, as Chan Parker, his wife, earned her a Golden Globe Award
Golden Globe Award
The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign...
nomination and the New York Film Critics Circle Award.
In 1995, she starred opposite Al Pacino
Al Pacino
Alfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...
and Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro
Robert De Niro, Jr. is an American actor, director and producer. His first major film roles were in Bang the Drum Slowly and Mean Streets, both in 1973...
in Heat, earning high regard from both critics and audiences for her portrayal of Justine Hanna, the Pacino character's troubled wife. That performance and her follow-up as Juliet
Juliet Capulet
Juliet is one of the title characters in William Shakespeare's tragedy Romeo and Juliet, the other being Romeo. She is the daughter of old Capulet, head of the house of Capulet. The story has a long history that precedes Shakespeare himself....
's mother, Gloria Capulet, in Romeo + Juliet (1996) earned her supporting roles in The Jackal (1997), The 13th Warrior
The 13th Warrior
The 13th Warrior is a 1999 historical fiction action film starring Antonio Banderas as Ahmad ibn Fadlan and Vladimir Kulich as Buliwyf; it is based on the novel Eaters of the Dead by Michael Crichton. It was directed by John McTiernan and an uncredited Crichton.The 13th Warrior is regarded as a...
(1999), and The Insider
The Insider (film)
The Insider is a 1999 film based on the true story of a 60 Minutes television series segment, as seen through the eyes of a real tobacco executive, Jeffrey Wigand. The 60 Minutes story originally aired in November 1995 in an altered form because of objections by CBS’ then-owner, Laurence Tisch, who...
(1999). She was most recently seen in the 2010 film, All Good Things
All Good Things (film)
All Good Things is a 2010 romantic mystery film directed by Andrew Jarecki starring Ryan Gosling and Kirsten Dunst. The film is inspired by the life of accused murderer Robert Durst. All Good Things was filmed between April and July 2008 in Connecticut and New York...
.