Anne Archer


Actor

About

Birth Place
Los Angeles, California, USA
Born
August 24, 1947

Biography

While Anne Archer earned an Academy Award nomination for her supporting performance in the popular 1987 thriller "Fatal Attraction," it was the actress' television career that provided the most long-term visibility. She earned her reputation as a loyal wife in big budget movies "Patriot Games" (1992) and "Clear and Present Danger" (1994) opposite Harrison Ford, and on the small screen sh...

Family & Companions

William L Davis
Husband
Businessman. Divorced.
Terry Jastrow
Husband
Producer, director. President of Jack Nicklaus Productions.

Biography

While Anne Archer earned an Academy Award nomination for her supporting performance in the popular 1987 thriller "Fatal Attraction," it was the actress' television career that provided the most long-term visibility. She earned her reputation as a loyal wife in big budget movies "Patriot Games" (1992) and "Clear and Present Danger" (1994) opposite Harrison Ford, and on the small screen she starred in countless movies-of-the-week as women coping with the aftermath of divorce, death, remarriage and infidelity. Archer also starred in a number of family-related television series, playing high-powered executive matriarchs on the glamorous dramas "Falcon Crest" (CBS, 1981-1990), and "Privileged" (The CW, 2008-09), proving her versatility as both a vulnerable every-woman and a saucy force to be reckoned with.

Archer was born on Aug. 24, 1947 in Los Angeles to actor parents John Archer - who appeared in the film classics "White Heat" (1947) and "Rock Around the Clock" (1956) - and Marjorie Lord, who starred as Danny Thomas' TV wife Kathy "Clancy" Williams on the classic sitcom, "Make Room for Daddy" (ABC, 1953-57; CBS 1957-1964). Young Anne was determined to continue in the family business, and earned a degree in Theater Arts from nearby Claremont Men's College (now known as Claremont McKenna College). Archer's professional acting career began with a number of guest television appearances before she was cast as one of the title foursome on the short-lived sitcom version of Paul Mazursky's feature "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice" (ABC, 1973). She had a number of supporting film roles in the early 1970s and landed her first screen lead in "Lifeguard" (1976), playing opposite Sam Elliott as a former sweetheart who reconnects at a high school reunion and encourages Elliot's lifeguard to reexamine his life. Archer studied with Scientologist drama coach Milton Katselas at the Beverly Hills Playhouse in the late 1970s and appeared in a string of movies like Sylvester Stallone's "Paradise Alley" (1978) and the famous adventure flop "Raise the Titanic!" (1980).

While continuing to average a movie a year, Archer worked steadily in television on the blended family drama "The Family Tree" (NBC, 1982-83) and "Falcon Crest" (CBS, 1981-90), where she made her mark as a duplicitous advertising exec. Archer's status rocketed from "working actress" to "noted actress" in 1987 with her role as the beautiful, wronged wife of Michael Douglas in Adrian Lyne's thriller "Fatal Attraction" (1987), who ends up taking out her onscreen nemesis, Glenn Close, with a famous gunshot to the heart. For her work in the seminal 1980s film, Archer was recognized with Best Supporting Actress nominations from the Academy and Golden Globe Awards. Suddenly in demand, she began to field offers for big budget Hollywood features like "Patriot Games" (1992), where she played the beleaguered wife of CIA agent Jack Ryan (Harrison Ford). She followed up with supporting role in the critically lambasted Madonna vehicle "Body of Evidence" (1993), but made a better showing with her role as a children's party clown at a moral crossroads with her husband (Fred Ward) in Robert Altman's brilliant ensemble "Short Cuts" (1993), which earned a Best Ensemble Cast award at the Golden Globe Awards.

Archer reprised her role as Harrison Ford's supportive wife in "Clear and Present Danger" (1994), but the actress spent the majority of the decade playing wives in peril in movies-of-the-week, starring as a recent divorcee in "Because Mommy Works" (NBC, 1994), the new wife of a widower (James Woods) in "Jane's House" (CBS, 1994), and a woman whose marriage to a writer (Alan Alda) is threatened by his imaginary love life in "Jake's Women" (CBS, 1996). In a change of pace, the actress played Angelina Jolie's alluring mother in the independent feature "Mojave Moon" (1996) before resuming her telepic run with "Indiscretion of an American Wife" (Lifetime, 1998) and "My Husband's Secret Life" (USA, 1998). A pair of thankless roles in the military legal drama "Rules of Engagement" (2000) opposite Tommy Lee Jones, and the action thriller "The Art of War" (2000) opposite Wesley Snipes followed. Archer hit the London stage to essay the sultry Mrs. Robinson in "The Graduate," and following guest stints on "The L Word" (Showtime, 2004-09) and "Boston Public" (Fox, 2000-04), resurfaced on movie screens as Tommy Lee Jones' college professor love interest in the comedy "Man of the House" (2005).

After Archer's portrayal of first lady to president Jack Scalia in the political thriller "End Game" (2006) went straight-to-DVD, the actress returned to television with recurring roles as the socialite mom of Dee and Dennis on the sitcom "It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia" (FX, 2005- ) and as the mother of a psychically gifted woman (Jennifer Love Hewitt) on the supernatural drama "Ghost Whisperer" (CBS, 2005-09). In 2006, Archer founded the non-profit organization Artists for Human Rights. She resurfaced on movies screens as the sultry cougar who catches the eye of an irrepressible bachelor (Matthew McConaughey) in "Ghosts of Girlfriends Past" (2009) while at the same time appearing weekly as a jet-setting cosmetics entrepreneur on the glitzy drama "Privileged" (The CW, 2008-09).

By Susan Clarke

Filmography

 

Cast (Feature Film)

Lullaby (2014)
Ghosts of Girlfriends Past (2009)
Felon (2008)
Antique (2007)
Judicial Indiscretion (2007)
Man of the House (2005)
2004: A Light Knight's Odyssey (To Be Deleted) (2005)
Cast
November (2004)
Anne Archer
The Art of War (2000)
Eleanor Hooks
Whispers: An Elephant's Tale (2000)
Voice
Rules of Engagement (2000)
Dark Summer (1999)
Mother
My Husband's Secret Life (1998)
Theresa "Sissy" Sullivan
Nightmare in Big Sky Country (1998)
Nico the Unicorn (1998)
Julie Hastings
Indiscretion of an American Wife (1998)
Neil Simon's Jake's Women (1996)
Mojave Moon (1996)
The Man In The Attic (1995)
Krista Heldmann
Clear and Present Danger (1994)
Because Mommy Works (1994)
Abby Forman
Jane's House (1994)
Family Prayers (1993)
Body of Evidence (1993)
Short Cuts (1993)
Claire Kane
Nails (1992)
Patriot Games (1992)
The Last of His Tribe (1992)
Narrow Margin (1990)
Eminent Domain (1990)
Mira Burski
Love At Large (1990)
Miss Dolan
Leap of Faith (1988)
Debby Franke Ogg
Fatal Attraction (1987)
A Different Affair (1987)
The Check Is in the Mail (1986)
Peggy Jackson
The Naked Face (1985)
Ann Blake
The Sky's No Limit (1984)
Waltz Across Texas (1983)
Gail
Too Scared to Scream (1982)
Green Ice (1981)
Raise the Titanic (1980)
Hero At Large (1980)
Good Guys Wear Black (1978)
Paradise Alley (1978)
A Matter of Wife... and Death (1976)
The Dark Side of Innocence (1976)
Nora Hancock Mulligan
Trackdown (1976)
Lifeguard (1976)
Cathy
Log of the Black Pearl (1975)
Lila Bristol
The Mark of Zorro (1974)
The All-American Boy (1973)
Drenna
The Honkers (1971)

Producer (Feature Film)

The Squeeze (2015)
Producer
Because Mommy Works (1994)
Co-Producer

Music (Feature Film)

Love At Large (1990)
Song Performer ("You Don'T Know What Love Is")

Cast (Special)

AFI's 100 Years... 100 Thrills (2001)
We All Dream of Oz (2000)
Interviewee
Gene Hackman: Portrait of an Artist (1998)
The 24th Annual People's Choice Awards (1998)
Presenter
The World Fashion Premiere From Paris (1998)
Inside Scientology (1998)
The 53rd Annual Golden Globe Awards (1996)
Presenter
Earth Day at Walt Disney World (1996)
The 22nd Annual People's Choice Awards (1996)
Presenter
Present Tense, Past Perfect (1996)
Leslie's Folly (1994)
Luck, Trust & Ketchup: Robert Altman in Carver Country (1994)
Herself
The 14th Annual CableACE Awards (1993)
Presenter
The Movie Awards (1991)
Presenter
The 63rd Annual Academy Awards Presentation (1991)
Presenter
The 61st Annual Academy Awards Presentation (1989)
Performer
The Celebrity Football Classic (1979)

Producer (Special)

Paris Fashion Collections (1999)
Producer
The World Fashion Premiere From Paris (1998)
Producer

Misc. Crew (Special)

Luck, Trust & Ketchup: Robert Altman in Carver Country (1994)
Other

Cast (TV Mini-Series)

Harold Robbins' The Pirate (1978)
Seventh Avenue (1977)
Myrna Gold
The Blue Knight (1973)

Life Events

1970

Appeared on TV series, "The Storefront Lawyers"

1971

Feature film debut, "The Honkers"

1973

TV-movie debut, "The Blue Knight"

1973

Starred in TV series, "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice"

1975

First leading role in film, "Lifeguard"

1981

New York (off-Broadway) stage debut, "A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking"

1982

Co-starred in the series "The Family Tree"

1985

Had a recurring role on the primetime soap, "Falcon Crest"

1987

Had breakthrough film role as Michael Douglas' wife in "Fatal Attraction"; received Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination

1992

First played Dr. Cathy Ryan opposite Harrison Ford in "Patriot Games"

1993

Acted in Robert Altman's "Short Cuts"

1994

Reprised role of Dr. Ryan in "Clear and Present Danger"

2000

Played the wife of an American ambassador in "Rules of Engagement"

2000

Acted in the L.A. stage production "The Poison Tree"

2001

Replaced Amanda Donohoe in the role of Mrs. Robinson in the London stage version of "The Graduate" (June)

2005

Co-starred with Joe Mantegna in "Uncle Nino" a film about a dysfunctional family brought closer by a visiting relative

2005

Starred as Courteney Cox's mother in the drama "November"

Family

John Archer
Father
Actor. Born in 1915; divorced from Marjorie Lord and remarried; died of lung cancer on December 5, 1999 at age 84.
Marjorie Lord
Mother
Actor. Born in 1918; divorced from actor John Archer; co-starred on "Make Room for Daddy/The Danny Thomas Show".
Gregg Archer
Brother
John Archer
Half-Brother
Younger.
Lisa Archer
Half-Sister
Younger.
Thomas W Davis
Son
Born on August 18, 1972; father, William L Davis.
Jeffrey Tucker Jastrow
Son
Born on October 18, 1984; father, Terry Jastro.

Companions

William L Davis
Husband
Businessman. Divorced.
Terry Jastrow
Husband
Producer, director. President of Jack Nicklaus Productions.

Bibliography