Sigourney Weaver Movies and Career Information

Sigourney Weaver (born October 8, 1949) is an American actress known for her role as Ellen Ripley in the Alien film series, a role for which she has received worldwide recognition. She is also known for her roles in the Ghostbusters films, Gorillas in the Mist, The Ice Storm, Working Girl, and Avatar. Weaver is also a three-time Academy Award nominee for her performances in Aliens (1986), Gorillas in the Mist (1988), and Working Girl (1988) winning Golden Globe Awards in the latter two films. She has been called "The Sci-Fi Queen" by many on account of her many science fiction and fantasy films. Weaver was born Susan Alexandra Weaver in Manhattan, New York City, the daughter of Elizabeth Inglis (née Desiree Mary Lucy Hawkins; 1913–2007), an English actress, and the NBC television executive and television pioneer Sylvester "Pat" Laflin Weaver (1908–2002). Her uncle, Doodles Weaver, was a comedian and actor. She began using the name "Sigourney Weaver" in 1963 after a minor character (Sigourney Howard) in F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel The Great Gatsby. Weaver attended the Ethel Walker School, a prep school in Simsbury, Connecticut, where she was made fun of all the time for being a nerd