Let me tell you something about Sigourney Weaver. When she was just 11 years old, she already stood at 5-foot-10-and-a-half. Imagine being that tall as a kid. "I felt like a giant spider," Sigourney recalls with a laugh. "I just didn't have the confidence to think I could ever act." But oh, how things change.
Fifty-Eight Years Later: A Towering Talent
Fast forward fifty-eight years, and Sigourney Weaver isn't just tall—she’s a towering figure in Hollywood. Standing 6-foot-3 in heels, she’s become one of the most recognizable and respected actresses in the world. She’s graced the big screen in some of the biggest film franchises ever made, including Ghostbusters and Avatar. And guess what? She's set to reprise her iconic roles in upcoming sequels. "I’m getting wonderful parts," Sigourney says with a smile. "I was never the babe or the beautiful ingenue or the love interest, because I was too tall. But that’s okay. I’ve always played interesting people, and that’s continued. It’s not like I suddenly have to figure out who I am."
The Early Days: Breaking Into the Business
Sigourney has been aiming high from the very start. Born into a family of entertainment royalty—her father, Sylvester “Pat” Weaver, created Today and The Tonight Show, and her mother, Elizabeth Inglis, was an actress—she made her movie debut in Woody Allen’s Oscar-winning Annie Hall. Two years later, she landed the lead role of Ripley in the original Alien. Now, let me tell you, that was no small feat. Director Ridley Scott had to fight hard for her because the studio didn’t want an unknown in such a pivotal role. "The story was originally all men, but the writers thought it would be very timely to have a woman be the sole survivor," Sigourney explains. "Nobody saw her coming, and that’s exactly what made her so powerful."
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She didn’t stop there. Sigourney refused to be pigeonholed into one genre. She crossed over to comedy with the 1984 classic Ghostbusters. "I knew it would be big," she says. "Ghostbusters changed my life. It was such a fun and exciting project, and it really opened up new doors for me."
Pushing Boundaries: From Drama to Comedy
Still, Sigourney kept pushing her limits. In 1988, she starred in both the harrowing real-life drama Gorillas in the Mist, where she played the doomed primatologist Dian Fossey, and the frothy romantic comedy Working Girl, where she portrayed a steely corporate boss. And guess what? She earned Oscar nominations for both roles. "It’s rare when you have everything going perfectly all at the same time," Sigourney reflects. "But that year was magical for me."
A Career Full of Hits
The hits just kept coming for Sigourney. From cult comedies like Galaxy Quest and thrillers like Copycat, to indie dramas like The Ice Storm and political satire like Dave, she continued to showcase her versatility. Then, in 2009, she re-teamed with James Cameron, who had directed her to her first Oscar nomination in 1986’s Aliens, for the record-shattering epic Avatar. "It’s a great adventure movie about so many things, including the health of the environment," Sigourney says. "And that’s something I’m deeply passionate about."
A Happy Home Life
All the while, Sigourney has maintained a happy home life. She’s been married to Jim Simpson, who directed her in the post-9/11 drama The Guys, since 1984. The couple splits their time between NYC and Jim’s native Hawaii. "We do a lot of snorkeling," she says. "It’s so nice to be a normal human and to be able to hang my laundry. As a born-and-bred New Yorker, I never get to do that. It’s a little slice of paradise." They have one daughter, Charlotte, who’s 29. "She’s not in the industry, bless her heart," Sigourney says with a chuckle. "It’s a nightmare for parents in the business when their child says, 'I want to be in show business,' because we know what it entails."
Following in Her Parents' Footsteps
That didn’t stop Sigourney from following her parents into the industry, however. "I worked hard and made my own way, just as my father had," she says. "And just, I’m sure, as he hoped I would. I learned, from observing him, the satisfaction that comes from striving and seeing a dream fulfilled." She also learned valuable lessons from her mom. "My mother always said that I might not enjoy my height now, but someday I’ll be glad," Sigourney says with a laugh. "She was right."
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