Sigourney Weaver
Sigourney Weaver (born Susan Alexandra Weaver; October 8, 1949) is an American actress and film producer, best known for playing Ellen Ripley in the Alien franchise. Following her film debut as a minor character in Annie Hall, Weaver quickly came to prominence in 1979 with her first lead role as Ripley in Alien, subsequently reprising the role in its three sequels Aliens (1986), Alien 3 (1992), and Alien Resurrection (1997). Her 1986 Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for Aliens is considered a landmark in the recognition of science fiction, action, and horror genres, as well as a major step in challenging the gender role in cinema. She also starred in the box-office hits Ghostbusters (1984), Ghostbusters II (1989), and Avatar (2009). A seven-time Golden Globe Award nominee, she won both Best Actress in Drama and Best Supporting Actress for her work in the 1988 films Gorillas in the Mist and Working Girl, becoming the first person ever to have won two acting Golden Globe Awards in the same year. For her role in the 1997 film The Ice Storm, she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role. Additionally, she has received three Academy Award nominations, three Emmy Award nominations, and two Saturn Awards. On stage, she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for the 1980 Off-Broadway play Das Lusitania Songspiel and received a Tony Award nomination for the 1984 original Broadway production of Hurlyburly. In 2013, she returned to Broadway for the first time in over 15 years in the original production of Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, which won the Tony Award for Best Play. Her other films include The Year of Living Dangerously (1983), Dave (1993), Death and the Maiden (1994), Copycat (1995), A Map of the World (1999), Galaxy Quest (1999), and Prayers for Bobby (2009). Weaver progressively gained the nickname of "The Sci-Fi Queen" for her numerous contributions to science fiction film history, including minor roles in successful works such as Futurama (2002), WALL-E (2008), Paul (2011) and The Cabin in the Woods (2012)