Susan Sarandon (born October 4, 1946) is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1970, and won an Oscar for her performance in the 1995 film
Dead Man Walking. She is also noted for her social and political activism for a variety of
liberal causes.
Early life
Sarandon, the eldest of nine children, was born
Susan Abigail Tomalin in New York City, the daughter of Lenora Marie (
née Criscione) and Phillip Leslie Tomalin, who worked as an advertising executive, television producer, and
nightclub singer during the
big band era.
[A fine romancer. The Guardian. 18 March 2006.][Susan Sarandon biography. Film Reference.com.] Sarandon's father was of English, Irish, and Welsh ancestry and her mother was of
Sicilian/Italian descent;
[Sarandon learns about Welsh roots News.bbc.co.uk. 28 November 2006] the family was
Roman Catholic. In 2006, Sarandon and 10 of her relatives (including her partner
Tim Robbins and her son Miles) traveled to
Wales to trace her family's Welsh genealogy. Their journey was documented by the
BBC Wales programme,
Coming Home: Susan Sarandon.
Sarandon graduated from
Edison High School, in
Edison, New Jersey, in 1964. She then attended
The Catholic University of America from 1964 to 1968, earning a BA in drama, and working with noted drama coach and master teacher, Father
Gilbert Hartke.
Career
In 1969, Sarandon went to a casting call for the motion-picture
Joe with her then husband
Chris Sarandon. Although he did not get a part, she was cast in a major role of a disaffected teen who disappears into the seedy underworld (the film was released in 1970). In 1970 and 1971, she appeared on the short lived soap opera
A World Apart, playing Patrice Kahlman. Five years later, she appeared in the
cult favorite
The Rocky Horror Picture Show. That same year, she also played the female lead in
The Great Waldo Pepper, opposite
Robert Redford. Her most controversial film appearance was in
The Hunger in 1983, a modern
vampire story which turned out to be a critical and
box office flop. The film has gained some cult status for a rather graphic
lesbian love scene between Sarandon and co-star
Catherine Deneuve. It was the first mainstream American film to feature such a scene between two star actresses. However, Sarandon did not become a "household name" until her breakthrough in the 1988 film
Bull Durham, which became a huge commercial and critical success.
Sarandon received five Academy Award nominations for best actress, in
Atlantic City (1981),
Thelma & Louise (1991),
Lorenzo's Oil (1992), and
The Client (1994), finally winning in 1995 for
Dead Man Walking. Her other movies include
Stepmom (1998),
Anywhere but Here (1999),
Cradle Will Rock (1999),
The Banger Sisters (2002),
Shall We Dance (2004),
Alfie (2004),
Romance & Cigarettes (2005),
Elizabethtown (2005) and
Enchanted (2007).
Sarandon has appeared in two episodes of
The Simpsons, one as herself ("
Bart Has Two Mommies"), and another as a ballet teacher, "
Homer vs. Patty and Selma". She has made appearances on comedies such as
Friends,
Malcolm in the Middle,
Mad TV,
Saturday Night Live,
Chappelle's Show, and
Rescue Me.
Sarandon has contributed the narration to some two dozen
documentary films, many dealing with social and political issues; in addition, she has served as the presenter on many installments of the
PBS documentary series,
Independent Lens. In 2007 she hosted and presented
Mythos, a series of lectures by the late American mythology professor
Joseph Campbell.
[www.jcf.org/works.php?id=680]
Sarandon joined the cast of the adaptation of
The Lovely Bones, opposite
Rachel Weisz, and appeared with her daughter,
Eva Amurri, in
Middle of Nowhere; both of the movies were filmed in 2007.
["Susan Sarandon set to star in 'The Lovely Bones' ". DailyIndia.com. 27 July 2007.][Chupnick, Steven. "Susan Sarandon on Speed Racer". Superhero Hype.com. 25 August 2007.]
Most recently, Sarandon joined the cast of
Peacock starring opposite
Ellen Page,
Cillian Murphy,
Bill Pullman and
Josh Lucas. Filming will take place in Des Moines, Iowa.
Personal life
While in college, she met and married fellow student
Chris Sarandon in 1967. They divorced in 1979 and she retained her married name as her
stage name.
[Susan Sarandon. Hollywood.com.]
In the mid-1980s, Sarandon dated director Franco Amurri, with whom she had a daughter in 1985, actress
Eva Amurri.
Since 1988, Sarandon has been in a relationship with actor
Tim Robbins, whom she met while filming
Bull Durham. The couple have two sons: Jack Henry (born 1989) and Miles Guthrie (born 1992).
Sarandon and Robbins are often involved in the same social and political causes. They live in New York City.
[ The New York Observer]
In 2006, she received the
Action Against Hunger Humanitarian Award. She was honored for her work as a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, an advocate for victims of hunger and HIV/AIDS, and a spokesperson for Heifer International.
Sarandon also also participates as a member of the Jury for the
NYICFF, a local New York City Film Festival dedicated to screening films for children between the ages of 3 and 18.
[NYICFF Jury]
Political activism
[
Sarandon Tnz.jpg|right|thumb|Susan Sarandon with [[Tanzania]n Children in
Dar es Salaam]], 2000
Sarandon is noted for her active support of
progressive and
left-liberal political causes, ranging from donations made to organizations such as
EMILY's List to participating in a 1983 delegation to
Nicaragua sponsored by
MADRE, an organization that promotes "social, environmental and economic justice."
Sarandon has also expressed support for various
tolerance and
human rights causes that are similar philosophically to ideas found among the
Christian left.
In 1995 Sarandon was one of many Hollywood actors, directors and writers who were interviewed for the documentary,
The Celluloid Closet, which looked at how Hollywood films have depicted
homosexuality.
In 1999, she was appointed
UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador and in that capacity has actively supported the organization's global advocacy, as well as the work of the Canadian
UNICEF Committee.
During the
2000 election, Sarandon supported
Ralph Nader's run for President, serving as a co-chair of the National Steering Committee of Nader 2000.
However, during the
2004 election campaign, she withheld support for Nader's bid, being among several "Nader 2000 Leaders" who signed a petition urging voters to vote for Democratic Party candidate
John Kerry.
Sarandon and Robbins both took an early stance against the
2003 invasion of Iraq, with Sarandon stating that she was firmly against the concept of the war as a pre-emptive strike.
[Iraq: Antiwar Voices. Washington Post, February 13, 2003.] Prior to a 2003 protest sponsored by the
United for Peace and Justice coalition, she said that many Americans "do not want to risk their children or the children of
Iraq."
["Sarandon To Bush: Get Real On War", CBS News, February 14, 2003.] Sarandon was one of the first to appear in a series of political ads sponsored by
TrueMajority, an organization established by
Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream founder
Ben Cohen.
Also in 2003, Sarandon appeared in a "Love is Love is Love" commercial, promoting the acceptance of
gay,
lesbian,
bisexual and
transgender individuals.
In 2004, she served on the advisory committee for the group
2004 Racism Watch.
She hosted a section of the
Live 8 concert in
Edinburgh, Scotland, in 2005.
Along with anti-war activist
Cindy Sheehan, Sarandon took part in a 2006
Mother's Day protest sponsored by
Code Pink; she has expressed interest in portraying Sheehan in a movie.
[Asthana, Anushka. Sarandon tells of Iraq death threat. The Observer. 30 April 2006.] In January 2007, she appeared with Robbins and
Jane Fonda at an
anti-war rally in
Washington, D.C. in support of a Congressional measure to withdraw U.S. forces from Iraq.
[Hunt, Kasie. Anti-War Actress Bored by Iraq Pitch. CBS News. January 24, 2007.]
In 2006 she was one of eight women selected to carry in the
Olympic flag at the Opening Ceremony of the
2006 Olympic Winter Games in
Turin, Italy
On May 29, 2008 Sarandon announced that she would consider moving to Canada or Italy if
John McCain were to be elected
President of the United States.
[Hisock, John. "On a roller-coaster with Susan Sarandon". Telegraph.Co.UK. May 24, 2008]
Body of work
Filmography
Television
Documentaries
| Year
| Film
| Role
|
| 1983
| When the Mountains Tremble
|
|
| 1990
| Through the Wire
| narrator
|
| 1993
| Wildnerness: The Last Stand
| narrator
|
| 1994
| School of the Americas Assassins
| narrator
|
| 1995
| The Celluloid Closet
|
|
| 1996
| Tell the Truth and Run: George Seldes and the American Press
| narrator
|
| 1997
| The Need to Know
| narrator
|
| Father Roy: Inside the School of Assassins
| narrator
|
| 187: Documented
| narrator
|
| 1999
| For Love of Julian
| narrator
|
| 2000
| Light Keeps Me Company
|
|
| Iditarod: A Far Distant Place
| narrator
|
| This Is What Democracy Looks Like
| narrator
|
| Dying to be Thin
| narrator
|
| 2001
| Uphill All the Way
| narrator
|
| 900 Women
| narrator
|
| The Shaman's Apprentice
| narrator
|
| Rudyland
| narrator
|
| Ghosts of Attica
| narrator
|
| Last Party 2000
|
|
| 2002
| The Next Industrial Revolution
| narrator
|
| Tibet: Cry of the Snow Lion
| narrator
|
| 2003
| XXI Century
|
|
| The Nazi Officer's Wife
| narrator
|
| Burma: Anatomy of Terror
| narrator
|
| Journey of the Heart: The Life of Henri Nouwen
| narrator
|
| 2004
| Fragile Hopes from the Killing Fields
| narrator
|
| 2005
| A Whale in Montana
| narrator
|
| On the Line: Dissent in an Age of Terrorism
|
|
| 2006
| Secrets of the Code
| narrator
|
| Christa McAuliffe: Reach for the Stars
| narrator
|
| 2007
| This Child of Mine
| narrator
|
| World Beyond Wiseguys: Italian Americans & the Movies
|
|
