Robin Wright Penn
Encyclopedia
Robin Virginia Gayle Wright (born April 8, 1966) is an American actress. She first rose to fame on the television series Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara (TV series)
Santa Barbara is an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on July 30, 1984, and last aired on January 15, 1993. The show revolved around the eventful lives of the wealthy Capwell family of Santa Barbara, California...

 as Kelly Capwell which earned her three Daytime Emmy nominations. She then went on to star in films such as The Princess Bride
The Princess Bride (film)
The Princess Bride is a 1987 American film based on the 1973 novel of the same name by William Goldman, combining comedy, adventure, romance, and fantasy. The film was directed by Rob Reiner from a screenplay by Goldman...

 and Toys both of which earned her nominations for the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress. She then starred as Jenny Curran in Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump is a 1994 American epic comedy-drama romance film based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Gary Sinise...

, which earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture nomination. She has starred in films such as Message in a Bottle
Message in a Bottle (film)
Message in a Bottle is a 1999 American romantic drama film directed by Luis Mandoki. Based on a novel with the same name by Nicholas Sparks, the film stars Kevin Costner, Robin Wright Penn, and Paul Newman...

, Unbreakable, White Oleander and The Conspirator. She has also been credited as Robin Wright Penn.

Early life

Wright was born Robin Virginia Gayle Wright in Dallas, Texas
Texas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...

, the daughter of Gayle (née
Married 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....

 Gaston), an Independent Executive National Sales Director for Mary Kay
Mary Kay
Mary Kay, Inc. is a privately held company that sells skin care and cosmetics products. Mary Kay World Headquarters is located in Addison, Texas, United States, a Dallas suburb. Mary Kay Ash founded Mary Kay Inc. on Friday, September 13, 1963...

 cosmetics, and Freddie Gayle Wright, a pharmaceutical executive. She was raised in San Diego, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...

. She attended La Jolla High School
La Jolla High School
La Jolla, CA 92037 Enrollment 1,650 Colors Black & Red██ Mascot Viking Rival Schools The Bishop's School, Cathedral Catholic High School, Mission Bay High School, University City High School Homepage...

 in La Jolla, California.

Career

She was listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1986" in John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 38. [1986]. Wright first became famous on television, playing Kelly Capwell on the soap opera
Soap opera
A soap opera, sometimes called "soap" for short, is an ongoing, episodic work of dramatic fiction presented in serial format on radio or as television programming. The name soap opera stems from the original dramatic serials broadcast on radio that had soap manufacturers, such as Procter & Gamble,...

 Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara (TV series)
Santa Barbara is an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on July 30, 1984, and last aired on January 15, 1993. The show revolved around the eventful lives of the wealthy Capwell family of Santa Barbara, California...

, which earned her three Daytime Emmy nominations. She shot to stardom after her roles as Buttercup in The Princess Bride
The Princess Bride (film)
The Princess Bride is a 1987 American film based on the 1973 novel of the same name by William Goldman, combining comedy, adventure, romance, and fantasy. The film was directed by Rob Reiner from a screenplay by Goldman...

 and Jenny Curran in Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump is a 1994 American epic comedy-drama romance film based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Gary Sinise...

, the latter role garnering her 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...

 and Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...

 nominations for Best Supporting Actress. Wright was offered the role of Maid Marian
Maid Marian
Maid Marian is the wife of the legendary English outlaw Robin Hood. Stemming from another, older tradition, she became associated with Robin Hood only in the 16th century.-History:The earliest medieval Robin Hood stories gave him no female companion...

 in Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves
Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves is a 1991 American adventure film directed by Kevin Reynolds. Kevin Costner heads the cast list as Robin Hood...

, but turned it down because she was pregnant. She had to back out of the role of Abby McDeere in The Firm (1993), with 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....

, upon discovering that she was pregnant with her second child (son Hopper Penn).

In 1996, she married Sean Penn
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...

 and changed her name to Robin Wright Penn. The same year, she starred in the film adaptation of Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders
Moll Flanders (1996 film)
Moll Flanders is a 1996 film starring Robin Wright and Morgan Freeman. The film was directed by Pen Densham. The original music score was composed by Mark Mancina...

 for which she received a Satellite
Satellite Awards
The Satellite Awards are an annual award given by the International Press Academy. The awards were originally known as the Golden Satellite Awards.- Film :*Best Actor – Drama*Best Actor – Musical or Comedy*Best Actress – Drama...

 Nomination for Best Actress in a Drama. She went on to co-star with her husband in the 1997 film She's So Lovely
She's So Lovely
She's So Lovely is a 1997 film directed by Nick Cassavetes, written by the late John Cassavetes. At the time of its release, it received special attention because, eight years after his death, it was the first film to posthumously feature new material from John Cassavetes.The film stars Sean Penn...

, for which she was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress. One of her most recent successes was a supporting role in the television film Empire Falls
Empire Falls
Empire Falls is a two-part mini-series that aired on HBO in 2005. It was based on the Pulitzer Prize winning novel of the same name which was written by Richard Russo. It was nominated for and won multiple awards, including various Emmys and Golden Globes...

 as Grace Roby, mother of Ed Harris
Ed Harris
Edward Allen "Ed" Harris is an American actor, writer, and director, known for his performances in Appaloosa, Radio, The Rock, The Abyss, Apollo 13, A Beautiful Mind, A History of Violence, and The Truman Show. Harris has also narrated commercials for The Home Depot and other companies...

's character Miles Roby. Wright received her third Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for this role.

Personal life

From 1986 to 1988, Wright was married to actor Dane Witherspoon, whom she met in 1984 on the set of the soap-opera Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara (TV series)
Santa Barbara is an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on July 30, 1984, and last aired on January 15, 1993. The show revolved around the eventful lives of the wealthy Capwell family of Santa Barbara, California...

.

In 1989, Wright became involved with actor Sean Penn
Sean Penn
Sean Justin Penn is an American actor, screenwriter and film director, also known for his political and social activism...

 following his divorce from Madonna
Madonna (entertainer)
Madonna is an American singer-songwriter, actress and entrepreneur. Born in Bay City, Michigan, she moved to New York City in 1977 to pursue a career in modern dance. After performing in the music groups Breakfast Club and Emmy, she released her debut album in 1983...

. Their daughter Dylan Frances Penn was born on April 13, 1991. Their son Hopper Jack Penn, born August 6, 1993, is named after two family friends, Dennis Hopper
Dennis Hopper
Dennis Lee Hopper was an American actor, filmmaker and artist. As a young man, Hopper became interested in acting and eventually became a student of the Actors' Studio. He made his first television appearance in 1954 and appeared in two films featuring James Dean, Rebel Without a Cause and Giant...

 and Jack Nicholson
Jack Nicholson
John Joseph "Jack" Nicholson is an American actor, film director, producer and writer. He is renowned for his often dark portrayals of neurotic characters. Nicholson has been nominated for an Academy Award twelve times, and has won the Academy Award for Best Actor twice: for One Flew Over the...

. After the marriage in 1996, the relationship went through on-and-off again periods in the 2000s. Divorce plans and separation have been announced, beginning in December 2007. In February 2009, Wright and Penn attended the 81st Academy Awards
81st Academy Awards
The 81st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences , honored the best films of 2008 and took place February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30 p.m. PST / 8:30 p.m. EST...

 together, at which Penn won Best Actor
Best Actor
Best Actor may refer to:* Academy Award for Best Actor* BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role* Best Actor Award * Empire Award for Best Actor* Empire Award for Best British Actor* Filmfare Best Actor Award...

, but the couple announced separation again in April 2009, only to be withdrawn, and then again in May 2009. On August 12, 2009, Wright filed for divorce once more, declaring she had no plans to reconcile. She also dropped "Penn" from her professional name. The couple finalized their divorce on July 22, 2010.

Wright is the national campaign spokesperson for the Myasthenia Gravis
Myasthenia gravis
Myasthenia gravis is an autoimmune neuromuscular disease leading to fluctuating muscle weakness and fatiguability...

 Foundation of America. She is also the Honorary Spokesperson for the Dallas, Texas-based non-profit The Gordie Foundation
The Gordie Foundation
The Gordie Foundation is a 501 non-profit organization located in . The Foundation's is "to provide today's young people with the skills to navigate the dangers of alcohol, binge drinking, peer pressure and hazing." The Gordie Foundation was created in memory of 18 year-old Gordie Bailey who died...

.

Filmography

Year Film Role Notes
1984–1988 Santa Barbara
Santa Barbara (TV series)
Santa Barbara is an American television soap opera, first broadcast in the United States on NBC on July 30, 1984, and last aired on January 15, 1993. The show revolved around the eventful lives of the wealthy Capwell family of Santa Barbara, California...

 
Kelly Capwell Nominated – Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series
Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series
The Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series has been given every year at the Daytime Emmys since the 12th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards ceremony in 1985. The award category was originally called the Outstanding Ingenue in a Drama Series...

, 1986
Nominated – Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series, 1987

Nominated – Daytime Emmy Award for Outstanding Younger Actress in a Drama Series, 1988
1986 Hollywood Vice Squad
Hollywood Vice Squad
-Plot:Pauline Stanton, a mother, travels to Hollywood to find her teenage runaway daughter Lori. Once there, Pauline discovers that Lori has become involved in the pornography industry and teams with the police to find her and get her back.-Cast:...

 
Lori Stanton
1987 The Princess Bride
The Princess Bride (film)
The Princess Bride is a 1987 American film based on the 1973 novel of the same name by William Goldman, combining comedy, adventure, romance, and fantasy. The film was directed by Rob Reiner from a screenplay by Goldman...

 
Buttercup Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
1990 Denial
Denial (1990 film)
Denial is a 1990 American drama film, written and directed by Erin Dignam. The film features Robin Wright as "Sarah," a sometime actress and tall, dark, handsome loner, "Michael" , as lovers, as they were in real life,...

 
Sara/Loon
State of Grace
State of Grace (film)
State of Grace is an American neo-noir crime film starring Sean Penn, Ed Harris and Gary Oldman, and featuring Robin Wright, John Turturro and John C. Reilly. Written by Dennis McIntyre and directed by Phil Joanou, the film was executive produced by Ned Dowd, Randy Ostrow, and Ron Rotholz, and...

 
Kathleen Flannery
1992 The Playboys  Tara Maguire
Toys  Gwen Tyler Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
1994 Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump
Forrest Gump is a 1994 American epic comedy-drama romance film based on the 1986 novel of the same name by Winston Groom. The film was directed by Robert Zemeckis, starring Tom Hanks, Robin Wright and Gary Sinise...

 
Jenny Curran Nominated – Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
Nominated – Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role
1995 The Crossing Guard
The Crossing Guard
The Crossing Guard is a 1995 independent film directed and written by American actor Sean Penn. It stars Jack Nicholson, David Morse, Anjelica Huston and Robin Wright Penn.- Plot :...

 
Jojo
1996 Moll Flanders
Moll Flanders (1996 film)
Moll Flanders is a 1996 film starring Robin Wright and Morgan Freeman. The film was directed by Pen Densham. The original music score was composed by Mark Mancina...

 
Moll Flanders Nominated – Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
1997 Loved
Loved (film)
Loved is a 1997 film directed by Erin Dignam and starring Robin Wright Penn and William Hurt- Plot :After a husband is accused of droving his third wife to suicide, his first wife Hedda, a troubled woman who can't hate or hurt others even if they had wronged her, is subpoenaed to testify on his...

 
Hedda Amerson Seattle International Film Festival for Best Actress
Seattle International Film Festival
The Seattle International Film Festival , held annually in Seattle, Washington since 1976, is among the top film festivals in North America. Audiences have grown steadily; the 2006 festival had 160,000 attendees...


Nominated – Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead
Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead
The Film Independent's Spirit Award for Best Female Lead is one of the annual Independent Spirit Awards.-1980s:-1990s:-2000s:-2010s:...

She's So Lovely
She's So Lovely
She's So Lovely is a 1997 film directed by Nick Cassavetes, written by the late John Cassavetes. At the time of its release, it received special attention because, eight years after his death, it was the first film to posthumously feature new material from John Cassavetes.The film stars Sean Penn...

 
Maureen Murphy Quinn Nominated – Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role
1998 Hurlyburly
Hurlyburly (film)
Hurlyburly is a 1998 independent film, based on the acclaimed 1984 play of the same name by David Rabe, who adapted it into a screenplay for the film...

 
Darlene
1999 Message in a Bottle
Message in a Bottle (film)
Message in a Bottle is a 1999 American romantic drama film directed by Luis Mandoki. Based on a novel with the same name by Nicholas Sparks, the film stars Kevin Costner, Robin Wright Penn, and Paul Newman...

 
Theresa Osborne
2000 How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog
How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog
How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog is a 2000 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Michael Kalesniko and produced by Michael Nozik, Nancy M. Ruff and Brad Weston.- Plot :...

 
Melanie McGowan
Unbreakable  Audrey Dunn
2001 The Pledge
The Pledge (film)
The Pledge is a 2001 American mystery film directed by Sean Penn. It is based on the 1958 novella Das Versprechen: Requiem auf den Kriminalroman , by Swiss author Friedrich Dürrenmatt...

 
Lori
The Last Castle
The Last Castle
The Last Castle is a 2001 American drama film directed by Rod Lurie, starring Robert Redford, James Gandolfini, and Mark Ruffalo.The film portrays a struggle between inmates and the warden of the prison, based on the United States Disciplinary Barracks at Fort Leavenworth. Eugene Irwin, a highly...

 
Rosalie Irwin Uncredited
2002 Searching for Debra Winger
Searching for Debra Winger
Searching for Debra Winger is a 2002 American documentary film conceived and directed by Rosanna Arquette. It presents a series of interviews with leading actresses who discuss the various pressures they face as women working in the film industry while trying to juggle their professional...

 
Herself Documentary
White Oleander  Starr Thomas
2003 The Singing Detective
The Singing Detective (film)
The Singing Detective is a 2003 film based on the BBC serial The Singing Detective, a work by Dennis Potter. It stars Robert Downey, Jr...

 
Nicola/Nina/Blonde
Virgin
Virgin (film)
Virgin is a 2003 American film that directed by Deborah Kampmeier and starring Elisabeth Moss, Robin Wright Penn and Daphne Rubin-Vega. -Plot:...

 
Mrs. Reynolds
2004 A Home at the End of the World
A Home at the End of the World (film)
A Home at the End of the World is a 2004 drama film directed by Michael Mayer. The screenplay by Michael Cunningham was adapted from his 1990 novel of the same title.-Plot synopsis:...

 
Clare
2005 Nine Lives
Nine Lives (2005 film)
Nine Lives is a 2005 American drama film written and directed by Rodrigo García. The screenplay, an example of hyperlink cinema, relates nine short, loosely intertwined tales with nine different women at their cores. Their themes include parent-child relationships, fractured love, adultery,...

 
Diana Locarno International Film Festival for Best Actress
Locarno International Film Festival
The Film Festival Locarno is an international film festival held annually in the city of Locarno, Switzerland since 1946. After Cannes and Venice and together with Karlovy Vary, Locarno is the Film Festival with the longest history...

  shared with the ensemble of the actresses
Sant Jordi Award for Best Foreign Actress
Nominated – Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actress
Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actress
The Chlotrudis Award for Best Supporting Actress is an award given by the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film to the actress or actresses whose winning performance is voted by participating members...


Nominated – Gotham Award for Best Ensemble
Gotham Awards
The Gotham Awards is an annual ceremony of awards presented to the makers of independent films which takes place in New York City...


Nominated – Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female
Nominated – Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
Sorry, Haters
Sorry, Haters
Sorry, Haters is a 2005 film written and directed by Jeff Stanzler, starring Robin Wright Penn, Abdel Kechiche, Élodie Bouchez and Sandra Oh, distributed by IFC Films. It was an "official selection" in both the Toronto and American Film Institute film festivals...

 
Phoebe Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress
Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress
The Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress is an award given by the Chlotrudis Society for Independent Film to the actress or actresses whose winning performance is voted by participating members. The Chlotrudis Awards is an annual ceremony where the best of the previous year's independent and...


Nominated – Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Female
Max Mother Short subject
2006 Breaking and Entering
Breaking and Entering (film)
Gabriel Yared and Underworld collaborated on the film's original music score.-External links:* at TIFF, by Andrea Miller /CANOE Live...

 
Liv Nominated – British Independent Film Award for Best Actress
British Independent Film Awards
The Moët British Independent Film Awards is an annual award ceremony celebrating achievement in independently funded British film and cinema. Nominations and jury are announced at the beginning of November with the award ceremony taking place in late November or early December.-History:The British...

Room 10 Frannie Short subject
2007 Hounddog  Stranger Lady
Beowulf
Beowulf (2007 film)
Beowulf is a 2007 American animated fantasy film written by Neil Gaiman and Roger Avary inspired by the Old English epic poem of the same name. Directed by Robert Zemeckis, the film was created through a motion capture process similar to the technique he used in The Polar Express...

 
Wealthow "motion capture"-enhanced performance
2008 What Just Happened  Kelly
New York, I Love You
New York, I Love You
New York, I Love You is a 2009 romance film released in the United States on October 16, 2009. From the producer of Paris, je t'aime, it stars an ensemble cast, among them Bradley Cooper, Shia LaBeouf, Natalie Portman, Anton Yelchin, Hayden Christensen, Orlando Bloom, Irrfan Khan, Rachel Bilson,...

 
Anna
2009 State of Play
State of Play (film)
State of Play is a 2009 French-British-American political thriller film. It is an adaptation of the six-part British television serial of the same name which first aired on BBC One in 2003. The plot of the six-hour serial was condensed to fit a two-hour movie format, with the location changed to...

 
Anne Collins
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee is a 2009 American drama film written and directed by Rebecca Miller. The screenplay is based on her novel of the same title. The film premiered on February 9, 2009, at the 59th Berlin International Film Festival and was shown at the Sydney Film Festival and the...

 
Pippa Lee
A Christmas Carol
A Christmas Carol (2009 film)
A Christmas Carol is a 2009 film written and directed by Robert Zemeckis...

 
Fan Scrooge/Belle "motion capture"-enhanced performance
2010 The Conspirator  Mary Surratt
Mary Surratt
Mary Elizabeth Jenkins Surratt was an American boarding house owner who was convicted of taking part in the conspiracy to assassinate Abraham Lincoln. Sentenced to death, she was hanged, becoming the first woman executed by the United States federal government. She was the mother of John H...

 
2011 Moneyball
Moneyball (film)
Moneyball is a 2011 biographical sports drama film directed by Bennett Miller and distributed by Columbia Pictures. The film is based on Michael Lewis' 2003 book of the same name, an account of the Oakland Athletics baseball team's 2002 season and their general manager Billy Beane's attempts to...

 
Sharon
Rampart
Rampart (film)
Rampart is a drama film released in 2011. Directed by Oren Moverman and co-written by Moverman and James Ellroy, the film stars Woody Harrelson and Ice Cube. In the midst of the fallout from the Rampart scandal of the 1990s, dirty LAPD veteran Dave Brown is forced to face up to the consequences of...

 
Linda Fentress in post-production
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011 film)
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo is an upcoming English-language drama thriller film that is the second film based on the Swedish novel of the same name by Stieg Larsson. The first film was the 2009 Swedish-language adaptation. The upcoming film is written by Steven Zaillian and directed by David...

 
Erika Berger in post-production

See also



External links

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