Greta Scacchi
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
This beautiful light-haired international lead first gained attention as the spirited grandmother in the flashback sequence of the Merchant-Ivory production, "Heat and Dust" (1982). Scacchi (pronounced "Skaa-key") was also memorable as the daffy secretary in Dusan Makavejev's "The Coca Cola Kid" (1985). By the late 1980s, despite such high-profile projects as "White Mischief" (1987) and "Presumed Innocent" (1990), she seemed typecast as a two-dimensional femme fatale. Her career received a renewed critical boost thanks to a standout performance in Robert Altman's "The Player" (1992). Scacchi seemed to excel in several period films, notably "Country Life" (1994), Michael Blakemore's adaptation of Chekhov's "Uncle Vanya." She then reteamed with Merchant-Ivory to portray Maria Cosway who entrances the future US president in "Jefferson in Paris" (1995) and segued to Douglas McGrath's adaptation of Jane Austen's "Emma" (1996).
In 1984, Scacchi stepped into one of Garbo's signature roles, playing the consumptive Marguerite Gauthier in a TV-movie remake of "Camille" (CBS). She appeared as the object of affection of an older Englishman (James Mason) in "Doctor Fischer of Geneva" (BBC, 1984; PBS, 1985) and was one of two nubile young woman living with an elderly artist (Laurence Olivier) in "The Ebony Tower" (BBC, 1986; PBS, 1987). For her performance as the Czarina Alexandra in "Rasputin" (HBO, 1996), Scacchi won a Supporting Actress Emmy. She followed with a turn as Penelope, the patient wife of Odysseus, in the NBC miniseries "The Odyssey" (1997).
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Costume-Wardrobe (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1963
Moved to England with her mother when parents separated (date approximate)
1975
Moved to Australia when stepfather accepted a teaching job (date approximate)
1982
International breakthrough role in the Merchant-Ivory production "Heat and Dust"
1984
Played leading role in the CBS TV-movie remake of "Camille"
1988
Had leading role in "White Mischief"
1990
Cast opposite Harrison Ford in "Presumed Innocent"
1992
Played pivotal role in Robert Altman's "The Player"
1995
Co-starred as Czarina Alexandra in the HBO TV-movie "Rasputin"; won Supporting Actress Emmy Award
1995
Reteamed with Merchant-Ivory for "Jefferson in Paris"
1997
Co-starred in NBC miniseries "The Odyssey"
1999
Reteamed with Merchant-Ivory for the period drama "Cotton Mary", directed by Ismail Merchant
2002
Starred on stage in England in "The True Life History of Mata Hari"; play especially written for her
2004
Portrayed Sandra Dee's (Kate Bosworth) mother in "Beyond the Sea" a biopic of the legendary signer Bobby Darin
2006
Earned SAG and Emmy nominations for Best Actress for her role in the American Movie Classic's original movie "Broken Trail"
Family
Companions
