Sherilyn Fenn (born Sheryl Ann Fenn[1] on February 1, 1965 in Detroit, Michigan) is an American actress, best known for playing Audrey Horne on the cult TV series Twin Peaks, for her roles in Ruby, Of Mice and Men, Boxing Helena and Rude Awakening, and for portraying actress Elizabeth Taylor in Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story.
Sherilyn Fenn | |
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| File:Sherilynfenn.gif Agency photo of actress Sherilyn Fenn | |
| Born | Sheryl Ann Fenn |
Early life
Born into a family of musicians (her mother is keyboard player Arlene Quatro, her aunt is singer Suzi Quatro, her grandfather Art Quatro was a jazz musician and her father Leo Fenn managed such rock bands as Alice Cooper, The Suzi Quatro Band and The Billion Dollar Babies), of Italian and Hungarian descent on her mother's side and Irish and French descent on her father's side, Fenn traveled a lot with her mother and two older brothers before the family settled in Los Angeles when she was 17.[2] She studied at the Lee Strasberg Theatre Institute.[3] Despite a demure personality,[4] she chose to start an acting career.
Acting career
Early career
Sherilyn Fenn began her career with a number of B-movies including The Wild Life (1984, opposite Chris Penn), teen-fantasy movie The Wraith (1986) and erotic Two Moon Junction (1988, directed by 9½ Weeks' writer/producer Zalman King). She appeared in the 1985 cult teen-comedy Just One of the Guys in which she tries to seduce a teenage girl disguised as a boy, played by Joyce Hyser.
Rise to fame - Twin Peaks
Fenn won her most outstanding role and made an indelible impression on the public when she was cast by David Lynch and Mark Frost as the tantalizing, reckless Audrey Horne, the high-school femme fatale from the critically acclaimed TV series Twin Peaks. The series ran from 1990 to 1991, and the character of Audrey was one of the most popular with fans, in particular for her unrequited love for FBI Special Agent Dale Cooper (played by Kyle MacLachlan), and a memorable scene in which she knotted a cherry stem in her mouth. "With Sherilyn Fenn, Twin Peaks came on and effortlessly destroyed every other show’s sexuality," said co-star James Marshall.[5] In the show's second season, when the idea of pairing the characters was abandoned, Audrey was paired with other characters like Bobby Briggs (Dana Ashbrook) and John Justice Wheeler (Billy Zane). "Audrey’s been great for me. She has brought out a side of me that’s more mischievous and fun that I had suppressed, trying to be an adult. She has made it OK to use the power one has as a woman to be manipulative at times, to be precocious. She goes after what she wants vehemently and she takes it. I think that’s really admirable. I love that about her."[6]
Shortly after shooting Twin Peaks' pilot episode, David Lynch gave her a small part in Wild at Heart, as a girl injured in a car wreck, opposite Nicolas Cage and Laura Dern, which won the Golden Palm Award at the 1990 Cannes Film Festival. "David’s direction was, ‘Only think of this: bobby pins, lipstick, wallet, comb, that’s it.’ It’s very abstract."[7] "I just pictured her being able to do this," said Lynch of her scene, "she’s like a broken China doll."[8]
After Twin Peaks, Fenn chose to focus on widening her range of roles and was determined to avoid typecasting. "They’ve offered me every variation on Audrey Horne, none of which were as good or as much fun."[9] She turned down the Audrey Horne spin-off series that was offered to her, and unlike most of the cast, chose not to return for the 1992 prequel movie Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me, as she was then shooting Of Mice and Men.[10]
Post-Peaks roles
After two nominations (Emmy and Golden Globe) and a pictorial in Playboy magazine, Fenn was propelled to stardom and became a major sex symbol. She turned to the independent world, to manage to carve out a career on her own terms as a character actress, and imposed her old Hollywood-style beauty with many varied roles. "I’m not consciously being the rebel. I don’t get considered for a lot of those big fat movies. The studios have their list of five actresses and whether they’re right or wrong for a role doesn’t matter. It’s how much money their last movie made.[11] Not that I necessarily want to do them anyway. Because there’s very few that are big budget that have any substance or any depth or any integrity."[12]
Fenn starred in the neo-noir black comedy Desire and Hell at Sunset Motel as a sultry, seductive femme fatale, opposite Whip Hubley and David Hewlett. She played John Dillinger's girlfriend Billie Frechette in ABC's 1991 gangster TV movie Dillinger opposite Mark Harmon, Will Patton and Patricia Arquette. Her acting coach Roy London chose her to star in his directorial debut Diary of a Hitman (nominated for the Critics Award at the 1991 Deauville Film Festival, and costarring Sharon Stone, also one of London’s alumni), in which she plays a mother determined to protect her child from hitman Forest Whitaker.
In 1992 she played a sad and lonely country wife, desperately in need to talk to somebody in Gary Sinise's film adaptation of Of Mice and Men (nominated for the Golden Palm at the 1992 Cannes Film Festival) opposite John Malkovich. "Sherilyn’s one of the reasons we got such a great ovation at Cannes," said Sinise.[13] "Gary Sinise was one of the first people who didn’t see me like a lot of other people did,"[14] she said "It was a wonderful experience. Horton Foote adapted the novel and he fleshed out my character, and he made her much, much more."[15] The same year saw her starring in John Mackenzie's Ruby as stripper Candy Cane DuJean, a character inspired by Marilyn Monroe, alongside Danny Aiello, Arliss Howard and Marc Lawrence. "I see these images of Marilyn," said Lawrence - who worked with Monroe - about Fenn, "she even moves like Marilyn."[16] "She’s got a brain and all the right emotional instincts," said Mackenzie, "and that’s a great combination."[17] In 1993 she starred in the romantic comedy Three of Hearts as Kelly Lynch and William Baldwin's love interest, and Carl Reiner's detective film parody Fatal Instinct as Armand Assante's devoted secretary and Sean Young and Kate Nelligan’s rival.
Her most notable film role to date was in the controversial Boxing Helena (nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the 1993 Sundance Film Festival), directed by David Lynch's daughter Jennifer Chambers Lynch. Helena, in which she played a narcissistic seductress amputated and imprisoned by Julian Sands, was a way for Fenn to avoid being type-cast,[18] with a radically different role from what she’d done in the past. Both Lynch and Fenn were proud of their work in it[19] but the film - which was overshadowed by the lawsuits against Kim Basinger after she dropped out - ultimately was a critical and commercial failure. "Sherilyn is an amazing actress,"[20] said Lynch. "Jennifer’s one of the brightest person I know,"[21] said Fenn. "Boxing Helena was something that I think was pretty cool, but people judged it without even having seen it. It’s not perfect, but I think for the story that we were trying to tell, it turned out pretty good. What it signified was really powerful to me: how society puts us in boxes one way or another."[22]
After a short break during which she married and gave birth to a son, Fenn portrayed Elizabeth Taylor in NBC's 1995 telemovie Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story. "Playing Elizabeth Taylor was probably the hardest job I’ve ever done."[23] During the shooting, Fenn fought to keep integrity in the script, in order to accurately portray Taylor.[24] "I just tried to play the truth of the woman. Not the legend, not the stories we hear about her."[25] She also portrayed Potiphar's wife Zulaikha in Showtime's biblical TV movie Slave of Dreams opposite Adrian Pasdar and Edward James Olmos. The film was directed by multi-award winning Robert M. Young and produced by Martha and Dino De Laurentiis.
Slowdown in her career
In the late 1990s, Fenn's career took a downturn, which she herself has attributed to her frankness ("When I go to an audition and I don't like the script, they know it."[26]) and her lack of enthusiasm in traditional Hollywood films. "I was a brat", she admits. "I didn't like anything, even then. It was crazy, I was very picky. In other words, I didn't take advantage of what was happening necessarily then. But they also have a way of putting you in a category. I wasn't into playing the Hollywood game. I only responded to certain things."[27]
Fenn then began to alternate TV movies and small independent films. In 1996 she joined the winning ensemble cast in the romantic comedy Lovelife as Jon Tenney's low self-esteemed girlfriend. The film was written and directed by Tru Calling's creator Jon Harmon Feldman and costarred Matt Letscher, Bruce Davison, Saffron Burrows and Carla Gugino. Fenn also starred in the 1997 romantic comedy Just Write as Hollywood tour bus driver Jeremy Piven's dream actress who mistakes him for a famous screenwriter.
She starred in the 1998 British psychological thriller Darkness Falls as Tim Dutton's unhappy wife, sequestered by despaired Ray Winstone. While shooting the film in the UK in 1997, Fenn hesitated to settle in London in order to start a European career and finally decided to stay in the USA.[28]
Recent roles
Fenn's return to television was the lead role in Showtime's sitcom Rude Awakening (1998-2001) as Billie Frank, an alcoholic has-been ex-soap actress who tries to go sober and become a writer but continues to struggle with her self-destructive habits. "I liked the hard-core truth of Rude Awakening. But when I first read it, I was scared of it. Part of me was, like, it’s so unattractive! But I liked that it didn’t glamorize alcohol."[29]
In 1999 Fenn reteamed with Chris Penn and Adrian Pasdar for Pasdar's directorial debut, the neo-noir Cement, in which she played a tempting, thoughtless femme fatale, the wife of jealous corrupt cop Chris Penn. The film, written by Farscape’s screenwriter Justin Monjo also starred Jeffrey Wright and Henry Czerny. She also reteamed with actor/director Bruce Davison for his 2001 award-winning [1] family comedy, Showtime's Off Season alongside Rory Culkin, Hume Cronyn and Adam Arkin.
In 2002 Fenn was cast as Harleen Quinzel/Harley Quinn in WB's Birds of Prey but was replaced by Mia Sara before the series began (Fenn appeared in the unaired pilot episode but dropped out when the network decided to reshoot the episode)[30]. She played a criminal in the 2002 film, Swindle, opposite undercover cop Tom Sizemore. Fenn had small roles in the critically acclaimed The United States of Leland (2003) as a woman who represents happiness and joie de vivre to Ryan Gosling, and in Showtime's Cavedweller (2004) opposite Kyra Sedgwick. She co-starred in 2005 in the ultimately unreleased Lesser of Three Evils alongside Ho Sung Pak and Peter Greene.
In 2006 she will star in Whitepaddy alongside Lisa Bonet and Treasure Raiders with David Carradine. She will appear in the 2007 Dukes of Hazzard prequel, The Dukes of Hazzard: The Beginning.
Guest appearances
Sherilyn Fenn guest-starred in numerous TV series like 21 Jump Street (1987) opposite her then-fiancé Johnny Depp and in a 1995 episode of HBO's Tales from the Crypt directed by Robert Zemeckis, alongside Isabella Rossellini and John Lithgow, in which she played the lover of Humphrey Bogart, who appeared in the episode via CGI special effects. In a 1997 episode of Friends she was Matthew Perry's wooden-legged girlfriend. She appeared in a 2001 episode of The Outer Limits in which her character was duplicated and played a manipulative woman in a 2002 episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. She joined former co-stars Jeremy Piven on Cupid in 1998, and Mark Harmon on NCIS: Naval Criminal Investigative Service in 2004. In 2005 Fenn appeared on The 4400, in which she plays Jean DeLynn Baker, a 4400 who has the ability to grow toxin-emitting spores on her hands. Other appearances include Judging Amy in 2005 and CSI: Miami in 2006.
Fenn was one of several former Twin Peaks stars, such as Dana Ashbrook and Mädchen Amick, to have a recurring role on WB's Dawson's Creek. She also had a recurring role on Fox's Boston Public. She played two different roles on WB's Gilmore Girls, originally appearing in a season 3 episode, and reappearing in the 6th season as a different character, Anna Nardini, the ex-girlfriend of Luke Danes (played by Scott Patterson) and mother to his daughter April.
Personal quotes
- "I'm honest. I say what I feel. I try to be tactful, but I can't not say what I feel. I have a really big problem with that."[31]
- "I've never wanted to do the same thing twice. If a script doesn't surprise me in some way, I simply can't commit to the project."[32]
- "I was told once that I didn't play the Hollywood game, and that's why I wasn't a big star. What they meant when they said that was that I don't go to parties, and when I go to an audition and I don't like the script, they know it. I don't flirt and I don't play the people that I'm meeting with. In the next breath, this person said to me, 'When you're passionate about a role, there's nobody that can touch you, but you have to learn to do this also...' But I don't know how to sit there and pretend I love something when I don't!"[33]
- "Women do feel like they're in a box. Society, Hollywood, some men... they want to wrap women up in a neat little package."[34]
Personal life
Fenn dated Prince and was engaged to Johnny Depp. She briefly dated Hollywood agent Jay Moloney. Fenn also dated photographer Barry Hollywood (who photographed her for the December 1990 issue of Playboy magazine). She married guitarist/songwriter Toulouse Holliday[35] in 1994, and bore a son, Myles, in late 1993. The marriage came to an end in 1997.
Fenn practices kundalini yoga.
Awards & nominations
- 1990: Emmy Award: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (nomination), Twin Peaks
- 1991: Golden Globe Award: Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series (nomination), Twin Peaks
Trivia
- Director David Lynch described Sherilyn Fenn as "Five feet of heaven in a ponytail" and said that she always made him think of a porcelain doll.
- In October 1990, Sherilyn Fenn appeared on the cover of Rolling Stone magazine (along with Mädchen Amick and Lara Flynn Boyle)
- Fenn appeared in a nude pictorial in the December 1990 Playboy magazine. She chose her then boyfriend Barry Hollywood to photograph her.
- In 1990 Us Magazine chose her as one of the 10 Most Beautiful Women in the world.
- In 1991 People magazine chose her as one of the 50 most beautiful women in the world.
- Posed for photographer Steven Meisel for the autumn-winter 1991-1992 Dolce & Gabbana campaign.
- In 1992 photographer George Hurrell took a series of photographs of Sherilyn Fenn. In these portraits he recreated his style of the 1930s, with Fenn posing in costumes, hairstyle and makeup of the period.
- In 1995 FHM magazine chose her as one of the 100 sexiest women in the world.
- In 1996 Femme Fatales magazine chose her as one of the 50 sexiest sci-fi actresses.
- Fenn was chosen by Batman fans as a perfect Selina Kyle/Catwoman in a Batman dreamcast.
- Fenn inspired Norwegian hard rock band Audrey Horne, named after her character in Twin Peaks.
Selected filmography
References
- ^ Michael A. Lipton & Joyce Wagner. "Elizabethan Drama." People. Volume 43: Issue 19. May 15, 1995. p.142-144.
- ^ Glenn O'Brien. "Fenn-Tastic! Meet Twin Peaks' Mysterious Siren Sherilyn Fenn." Playboy. December 1990. p.82-91, 213-214.
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ Glenn O'Brien. "Fenn-Tastic! Meet Twin Peaks' Mysterious Siren Sherilyn Fenn." Playboy. December 1990. p.82-91, 213-214. Diana Rico. "Phenomenal Fenn." Harper's Bazaar. December 1991. p.132-133, 156.
- ^ James Marshall, quoted in "The James Marshall Interview" by Craig Miller and John Thorne. Wrapped In Plastic. Issue 72. December 2004.
- ^ Sherilyn Fenn quoted in "Fenn-Tastic! Meet Twin Peaks' Mysterious Siren Sherilyn Fenn" by Glenn O'Brien. Playboy. December 1990. p.82-91, 213-214.
- ^ Fenn, quoted in "Babes in the Woods: Sharing Pie and Secrets With the Mystery Girls of Twin Peaks" by Bill Zehme. Rolling Stone. Issue 588. October 4, 1990. p.68-71, 170.
- ^ David Lynch, quoted in "Babes in the Woods: Sharing Pie and Secrets with the Mystery Girls of Twin Peaks" by Bill Zehme. Rolling Stone. Issue 588. October 4, 1990. p.68-71, 170.
- ^ Fenn, quoted in "Fenn de Siècle" by Joshua Mooney. Movieline. July 1993. p.36-40, 80-82.
- ^ Fenn, quoted in "Fenn & Now" by Dennis Hensley. Movieline. June 1999. p.54-59.
- ^ Fenn, quoted in "Crate Expectations" by Jim McClellan. The Face. Issue 57. June 1993. p.40-47.
- ^ Fenn, quoted in M.J. Simpson's Interview With Sherilyn Fenn. October 1, 1997.
- ^ Gary Sinise, quoted in the DVD audio commentary of Of Mice and Men.
- ^ Fenn, quoted in "Fenn & Now" by Dennis Hensley. Movieline. June 1999. p.54-59.
- ^ Fenn, quoted in "Fenn Fatale" by Mike Bygrave. Sky Magazine. July 1992. p.6-10.
- ^ Marc Lawrence, quoted in "Fenn & Games" by Erik Hedegaard. Details. December 1991. p.76-81, 154-155.
- ^ John Mackenzie, quoted in "Phenomenal Fenn" by Diana Rico. Harper's Bazaar. December 1991. p.132-133, 156.
- ^ Joshua Mooney. "Fenn de Siècle." Movieline. July 1993. p.36-40, 80-82.
- ^ Jim McClellan. "Crate Expectations." The Face. Issue 57. June 1993. p.40-47.
- ^ Jennifer Lynch, quoted in the Boxing Helena press kit. 1993.
- ^ Fenn, quoted in "Fenn & Now" by Dennis Hensley. Movieline. June 1999. p.54-59.
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ Fenn, quoted in "Fenntastic" by Jill Daniel. Orange Coast. January 1999.
- ^ Fenn, quoted in M.J. Simpson's Interview With Sherilyn Fenn. October 1, 1997.
- ^ Fenn, quoted in "Fenntastic" by Jill Daniel. Orange Coast. January 1999.
- ^ Fenn, quoted in M.J. Simpson's Interview With Sherilyn Fenn. October 1, 1997.
- ^ M.J. Simpson's Interview With Sherilyn Fenn. October 1, 1997. Dennis Hensley. "Fenn & Now." Movieline. June 1999. p.54-59.
- ^ Fenn, quoted in "Fenntastic" by Jill Daniel. Orange Coast. January 1999.
- ^ "Entertainment news". TV Guide. July 19, 2002.
- ^ Fenn, quoted in "Fenntastic" by Jill Daniel. Orange Coast. January 1999.
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ Ibid.
- ^ R. Daniel Foster. "Sherilyn Fenn, Taylor Made." Los Angeles. May 1995. p.64-67.
Bibliography
- "Summer Pleasures." New York (USA). Volume 23: Issue 26. July 2-July 9, 1990. p.20-21.
- Henry Edwards. "Sherilyn Fenn: The Twin Peaks Temptress Is Back for Fall." Details (USA). September 1990. p.130-131.
- Bill Zehme. "Babes in the Woods: Sharing Pie and Secrets with the Mystery Girls of Twin Peaks." Rolling Stone (USA). Issue 588. October 4, 1990. p.68-71, 170.
- Glenn O'Brien. "Fenn-Tastic! Meet Twin Peaks' Mysterious Siren Sherilyn Fenn." Playboy (USA). December 1990. p.82-91, 213-214.
- Steven Daly. "Sherilyn Fenn: Is She the Sexiest Woman on Television?" The Face (UK). Issue 27. December 1990. p.52-57.
- Erik Hedegaard. "Fenn & Games." Details (USA). December 1991. p.76-81, 154-155.
- Diana Rico. "Phenomenal Fenn." Harper's Bazaar (USA). December 1991. p.132-133, 156.
- Erin Culley. "Fenn Peaks." Detour (USA). December 1991. p.16-22.
- Jamie Diamond. "Red Hot Right Now: Saucy Sexpot Sherilyn Fenn." Cosmopolitan (USA). Volume 212: Issue 4. April 1992. p.46-50.
- Michel Rebichon. "Sur la Croisette: Arrêts sur Images sur Quarante-Cinq Acteurs." Studio (France). Issue 62: Spécial Cannes 1992. May 1992. p.138.
- "Now and Fenn." GQ (UK). June 1992. p.98-99.
- Dave Reeder. "Ruby: Sherilyn Fenn's Shot at Fame." Film Monthly (UK). Volume 4: Issue 3. June 1992. p.8-9.
- Silvia Bizio. "Sherilyn Fenn." Max (Italy). July 1992. p.136-141.
- Mike Bygrave. "Fenn Fatale." Sky Magazine (UK). July 1992. p.6-10.
- Jim McClellan. "Crate Expectations." The Face (UK). Issue 57. June 1993. p.40-47.
- Joshua Mooney. "Fenn de Siècle." Movieline (USA). July 1993. p.36-40, 80-82.
- Simon Banner. "Five Feet of Heaven in a Ponytail." Premiere (UK). July 1993. p.26-29.
- Sherilyn Fenn's On-Line Interview on AOL. January 6, 1995.
- Michael A. Lipton & Joyce Wagner. "Elizabethan Drama." People Weekly (USA). Volume 43: Issue 19. May 15, 1995. p.142-144.
- Dale Brasel. "Sherilyn and Sherilyn Again." Detour (USA). May 1995. p.46-50.
- R. Daniel Foster. "Sherilyn Fenn, Taylor Made." Los Angeles (USA). May 1995. p.64-67.
- M.J. Simpson. Interview with Sherilyn Fenn. October 1, 1997.
- Jill Daniel. "Fenntastic." Orange Coast (USA). January 1999.
- Dennis Hensley. "Fenn & Now." Movieline (USA). June 1999. p.54-59.
- Sherilyn Fenn's On-Line Interview on Showtime's SHO.com. November 27, 1999.
- Honor Brodie. "California Sweet." In Style (USA). Volume 7: Issue 7. July 2000. p.234-240.
- Marc Toullec. "Rude Awakening: Boire et Déboires." Ciné Live (France). Issue 55. March 2002. p.128.
- Ed Grenby. "Schoolboy Crush." Maxim (UK). Issue 96. April 2003.
- Romain Nigita. "Qui Sont les 4400?" Mad Movies (France). Hors-série: Les Séries Cultes. March 2006. p.16-17.
External links
- Sherilyn Fenn at IMDb
- Sherilyn Fenn interview with M.J. Simpson
- Sherilyn Fenn's On-Line Interview on Showtime's SHO.com
- Sherilyn Fenn articles at DavidLynch.de
- Sherilyn Fenn pictures and articles at TwinPeaks.fr
- An Ode to Sherilyn Fenn fan site with pictures and articles
- Divine Sherilyn fan site
- The Sherilyn Fenn Fan Community
- Sherilyn Fenn biography at All Movie Guide
- Sherilyn Fenn biography at Yahoo!Movies