Jessica Harper
Encyclopedia
Jessica Harper is an American
actress and producer, as well as a singer and author of children's music and books.
Emery), a writer
, and Paul Church Harper, Jr., a painter
and the former chairman of the Needham Harper Worldwide advertising agency in New York. She attended the North Shore Country Day School
and Sarah Lawrence College
. She has three brothers including a twin brother, William Harper, a composer, Sam Harper
, a screenwriter and director, Charles Harper, and two sisters, Lindsay Harper duPont and Diana Harper.
's horror
classic Suspiria
, alongside Peter O'Toole
and Mark Linn-Baker
in My Favorite Year
, as Phoenix in Phantom of the Paradise
, and as Janet Majors in Shock Treatment
, where she demonstrated great skills as a singer in the rock/pop
style. She costarred with Steve Martin
and Bernadette Peters
in Pennies from Heaven
. Woody Allen
featured her in his films Stardust Memories
and Love and Death
. She appeared in the fourth season of It's Garry Shandling's Show
and in the Steven Spielberg
/Tom Cruise
film Minority Report
. She was most recently seen in a 2005 episode ("Forget Me Not") of the television series Crossing Jordan
.
She has written eleven books for children, and made seven albums of songs for children. She was named by Parenting magazine as "Parent of the Month" in 2004. In 2000, she sang background vocals on selected tracks on the Dan Hicks
and his Hot Licks album Beatin' the Heat.
In December 2010, Harper released a cookbook titled The Crabby Cook Cookbook: Recipes and Rants. In a January 2011 interview Harper, explained the book as "I thought it was high time there was a book that acknowledged that not everybody experiences the joy of cooking, that sometimes cooking for a family on a daily basis can be really irritating! This book, with 135 easy recipes, is for those people, crabby cooks like me! It’s a collection of humor, survival tips and recipes, for the kitchen-challenged!"
As of March 2011, she is currently on tour promoting her book. Stops include Chicago, where she held a "Lunch and Learn with Jessica Harper". Guests were invited to meet Jessica and discuss her current book.
. She is mother of two, Elizabeth and Nora, who are featured on her children's albums and books.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress and producer, as well as a singer and author of children's music and books.
Early life
Harper was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Eleanor (néeMarried and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Emery), a writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, and Paul Church Harper, Jr., a painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and the former chairman of the Needham Harper Worldwide advertising agency in New York. She attended the North Shore Country Day School
North Shore Country Day School
North Shore Country Day School, is a small private school founded in 1919 and located in Winnetka, Illinois. It consists of a lower school, a middle school, and an upper school.-History:...
and Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...
. She has three brothers including a twin brother, William Harper, a composer, Sam Harper
Sam Harper
Sam Harper is an American filmmaker of comedies notable for films which have mixed to neutral reviews from film critics but which have been highly profitable at the box office in terms of gross receipts.-Career:...
, a screenwriter and director, Charles Harper, and two sisters, Lindsay Harper duPont and Diana Harper.
Career
Harper has appeared in more than twenty motion pictures, most notably Dario ArgentoDario Argento
Dario Argento is an Italian film director, producer and screenwriter. He is best known for his work in the horror film genre, particularly in the subgenre known as giallo, and for his influence on modern horror and slasher movies....
's horror
Horror film
Horror films seek to elicit a negative emotional reaction from viewers by playing on the audience's most primal fears. They often feature scenes that startle the viewer through the means of macabre and the supernatural, thus frequently overlapping with the fantasy and science fiction genres...
classic Suspiria
Suspiria
Suspiria is a 1977 Italian horror film directed by Dario Argento and co-written by Argento and Daria Nicolodi. The film follows an American ballet student who transfers to a prestigious dance academy in Germany, only to discover that it is controlled by a coven of witches. The film's score was...
, alongside Peter O'Toole
Peter O'Toole
Peter Seamus Lorcan O'Toole is an Irish actor of stage and screen. O'Toole achieved stardom in 1962 playing T. E. Lawrence in Lawrence of Arabia, and then went on to become a highly-honoured film and stage actor. He has been nominated for eight Academy Awards, and holds the record for most...
and Mark Linn-Baker
Mark Linn-Baker
Mark Linn-Baker is an American actor and director famous for his role as Larry Appleton on the television sitcom Perfect Strangers.-Early life and career:...
in My Favorite Year
My Favorite Year
My Favorite Year is a 1982 American comedy film directed by Richard Benjamin which tells the story of a young comedy writer. It stars Peter O'Toole, Mark Linn-Baker, Jessica Harper, Joseph Bologna, Lou Jacobi, Bill Macy, Lainie Kazan, Selma Diamond, Cameron Mitchell, and Gloria Stuart. O'Toole was...
, as Phoenix in Phantom of the Paradise
Phantom of the Paradise
Phantom of the Paradise is a 1974 musical film written and directed by Brian De Palma. The story is a loosely adapted mixture of The Phantom of the Opera, The Picture of Dorian Gray and Faust and also briefly references Frankenstein and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari...
, and as Janet Majors in Shock Treatment
Shock Treatment
Shock Treatment is a 1981 musical-black comedy film and a follow-up to the film The Rocky Horror Picture Show. While not an outright sequel, the movie does feature several characters from the movie portrayed by different actors and several Rocky Horror actors portraying new characters...
, where she demonstrated great skills as a singer in the rock/pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
style. She costarred with Steve Martin
Steve Martin
Stephen Glenn "Steve" Martin is an American actor, comedian, writer, playwright, producer, musician and composer....
and Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters
Bernadette Peters is an American actress, singer and children's book author from Ozone Park, Queens, New York. Over the course of a career that has spanned five decades, she has starred in musical theatre, films and television, as well as performing in solo concerts and recordings...
in Pennies from Heaven
Pennies from Heaven (1981 film)
Pennies from Heaven is a 1981 musical film. The film was based on a 1978 BBC television drama. In 1981, Dennis Potter adapted his own screenplay for a film of the same name for American audiences, with its setting changed to Depression era Chicago. Potter was nominated for the 1981 Academy Award...
. Woody Allen
Woody Allen
Woody Allen is an American screenwriter, director, actor, comedian, jazz musician, author, and playwright. Allen's films draw heavily on literature, sexuality, philosophy, psychology, Jewish identity, and the history of cinema...
featured her in his films Stardust Memories
Stardust Memories
Stardust Memories is a 1980 film written and directed by Woody Allen, who considers this to be one of his best films in addition to The Purple Rose of Cairo and Match Point. The film is shot in black-and-white, particularly reminiscent of Federico Fellini's 8½ , which it parodies...
and Love and Death
Love and Death
Love and Death is a 1975 comedy film by Woody Allen. Starring Woody Allen and Diane Keaton, Love and Death is a satirical take on Russian epic novels. Coming in between Sleeper and Annie Hall, Love and Death is in many respects an artistic transition between the two...
. She appeared in the fourth season of It's Garry Shandling's Show
It's Garry Shandling's Show
It's Garry Shandling's Show is an American sitcom which was initially broadcast on Showtime from 1986 to 1990. It was created by Garry Shandling and Alan Zweibel. The show is notable for its frequent use of breaking the fourth wall to allow characters to speak directly to the audience...
and in the Steven Spielberg
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg KBE is an American film director, screenwriter, producer, video game designer, and studio entrepreneur. In a career of more than four decades, Spielberg's films have covered many themes and genres. Spielberg's early science-fiction and adventure films were seen as an...
/Tom Cruise
Tom Cruise
Thomas Cruise Mapother IV , better known as Tom Cruise, is an American film actor and producer. He has been nominated for three Academy Awards and he has won three Golden Globe Awards....
film Minority Report
Minority Report (film)
Minority Report is a 2002 American neo-noir science fiction film directed by Steven Spielberg and loosely based on the short story "The Minority Report" by Philip K. Dick. It is set primarily in Washington, D.C...
. She was most recently seen in a 2005 episode ("Forget Me Not") of the television series Crossing Jordan
Crossing Jordan
Crossing Jordan is an American television crime/drama series that aired on NBC from September 24, 2001 to May 16, 2007. It stars Jill Hennessy as Jordan Cavanaugh, M.D., a crime-solving forensic pathologist employed in the Suffolk County, Massachusetts, Medical Examiner's Office...
.
She has written eleven books for children, and made seven albums of songs for children. She was named by Parenting magazine as "Parent of the Month" in 2004. In 2000, she sang background vocals on selected tracks on the Dan Hicks
Dan Hicks (singer)
Dan Hicks , is an American singer-songwriter working at the intersection of cowboy folk, jazz, country, swing, bluegrass, pop, and gypsy music...
and his Hot Licks album Beatin' the Heat.
In December 2010, Harper released a cookbook titled The Crabby Cook Cookbook: Recipes and Rants. In a January 2011 interview Harper, explained the book as "I thought it was high time there was a book that acknowledged that not everybody experiences the joy of cooking, that sometimes cooking for a family on a daily basis can be really irritating! This book, with 135 easy recipes, is for those people, crabby cooks like me! It’s a collection of humor, survival tips and recipes, for the kitchen-challenged!"
As of March 2011, she is currently on tour promoting her book. Stops include Chicago, where she held a "Lunch and Learn with Jessica Harper". Guests were invited to meet Jessica and discuss her current book.
Family
Harper is married to Thomas Edgar RothmanThomas Rothman
Thomas "Tom" Edgar Rothman is an American film executive. He is co-chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Fox Filmed Entertainment with Jim Gianopulos...
. She is mother of two, Elizabeth and Nora, who are featured on her children's albums and books.