Jessica Harper
Harper in Little Women (1979)
Born (1949-10-10) October 10, 1949
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Alma materSarah Lawrence College
OccupationActress
Years active1971–present
Spouse
​
(m. 1989)​
Children2
RelativesJohn Rothman (brother-in-law)

Jessica Harper (born October 10, 1949)[1] is an American actress and singer. Harper began her feature film career with a starring role in Brian De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise (1974), and subsequently featured in films including Love and Death (1975), Inserts (1975) and My Favorite Year (1982). She is best known for her portrayal of Suzy Bannion, the protagonist of Dario Argento's cult classic Suspiria (1977),[2] and appeared in a supporting role in Luca Guadagnino's 2018 remake.[3]

Her other films include Stardust Memories (1980), Shock Treatment (1981) (the followup to The Rocky Horror Picture Show in which she replaced Susan Sarandon as Janet Weiss), Pennies from Heaven (1981), The Blue Iguana (1988), Safe (1995), and Minority Report (2002). In addition to acting, Harper is also an author of children's music and books.

Early life

Harper was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Eleanor (née Emery), a writer, and Paul Church Harper Jr., a painter and the former chairman of the Needham Harper Worldwide advertising agency in New York.[4] She attended the North Shore Country Day School in Winnetka, Illinois, and Sarah Lawrence College in New York.[5] She has two sisters—Lindsay Harper duPont,[6] an illustrator, and Diana Harper, a teacher—and three brothers—her twin brother William Harper, a composer; Sam Harper, a screenwriter and director; and Rev. Charles Harper.

Career

Harper has appeared in more than twenty motion pictures, most notably Dario Argento's Suspiria, Brian DePalma's Phantom of the Paradise, and the follow-up to The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Shock Treatment. She was also in My Favorite Year, alongside Peter O'Toole and Mark Linn-Baker, and costarred with Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters in Pennies from Heaven. Woody Allen featured her in his films Stardust Memories and Love and Death, and she appeared in the fourth season of It's Garry Shandling's Show as well as the Steven Spielberg/Tom Cruise film Minority Report. She was seen in a 2005 episode ("Forget Me Not") of the television series Crossing Jordan.

She has written eleven books for children, and made seven albums of songs for children. She was named by Parenting magazine as "Parent of the Month" in 2004. In 2000, she sang background vocals on selected tracks on the Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks album Beatin' the Heat.[7]

In December 2010, Harper released a cookbook titled The Crabby Cook Cookbook: Recipes and Rants. In a January 2011 interview[8] Harper said, "I thought it was high time there was a book that acknowledged that not everybody experiences the joy of cooking, that sometimes cooking for a family on a daily basis can be really irritating! This book, with 135 easy recipes, is for those people, crabby cooks like me! It's a collection of humor, survival tips and recipes, for the kitchen-challenged!" In March 2011, she was on tour promoting her book. Stops included Chicago,[9] where she held a "Lunch and Learn with Jessica Harper".

Personal life

Harper married Thomas Edgar Rothman, a top executive at Sony Pictures (formerly of 20th Century Fox) on March 11, 1989, in an ecumenical ceremony.[6] She has two daughters, Elizabeth and Nora, who are featured on her children's albums and in her books. Harper resides in Los Angeles, California, and New York City.[10]

In a blog post on her official website in 2017, Harper revealed she had suffered from neovascular macular degeneration for the past 15 years, and that she receives injections in her eye every six weeks to treat the condition.[11]

Recordings

  • A Wonderful Life (1994)[12]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1971Taking OffAudition SingerUncredited
1972–1974'Rameau's Nephew' by Diderot (Thanx to Dennis Young) by Wilma SchoenUnnamed characterexperimental film
1973The Garden PartyPeggyShort
1974Phantom of the ParadisePhoenix
1975InsertsCathy Cake
1975Love and DeathNatasha
1977SuspiriaSuzy Bannion
1979The EvictorsRuth Watkins
1980Stardust MemoriesDaisy
1981Shock TreatmentJanet Majors
1981Pennies from HeavenJoan
1982My Favorite YearK.C. Downing
1986The ImagemakerCynthia
1988The Blue IguanaCora
1989Big Man on CampusDr. Fisk
1989Eat a Bowl of TeaAmerican prostituteUncredited
1993Mr. WonderfulFunny Face
1995SafeJoyce
1996BoysMrs. John Baker
2002Minority ReportAnne Lively
2018SuspiriaAnke Meier
2022Bones and AllBarbara Kerns
2023MemorySamanthaPost-production

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1971NBC Children's TheatreElizabeth TylerEpisode: "Super Plastic Elastic Goggles"[13]
1977Hawaii Five-OSunny MandellEpisode: "See How She Runs"
1977AspenKit KendrickMiniseries
1979Little WomenJo MarchTV pilot
1979Studs LoniganLoretta LoniganMiniseries
1985When Dreams Come TrueAnnieTelevision film
1985Tales from the DarksidePrudenceEpisode: "The Tear Collector"
1986The EqualizerKate ParnellEpisode: "Nocturne"
1986MoonlightingJanine DaltonEpisode: "All Creatures Great...and Not So Great"
1987Once AgainCarrieTelevision film
1987StarmanCharlotteEpisode: "The System"
1987Trying TimesSydneyEpisode: "Bedtime Story"
1988–90It's Garry Shandling's ShowPhoebe Bass19 episodes
1990Tales from the CryptMarieEpisode: "My Brother's Keeper"
1996The Story First: Behind the UnabomberLindaTelevision film
1997On the Edge of InnocenceAlice WalkerTelevision film
1998Ally McBealSister HelenEpisode: "Words Without Love"
19997th HeavenNorma MoonEpisode: "Paranoia"
2005Crossing JordanDorris MeisnerEpisode: "Forget Me Not"
2015ProofVirginia TylerEpisode: "St. Luke's"
2019SeeCora3 episodes
2022The Old ManCheryl Harper3 episodes
2023Fatal AttractionSophie2 episodes

Stage

Year Title Role Venue Notes Ref.
1968–1972HairMember of the TribeBiltmore TheatreReplacement[14]

References

  1. ↑ Erickson, Hal. "Jessica Harper Biography". AllMovie. Archived from the original on January 12, 2022. Retrieved January 12, 2022.
  2. ↑ Brown, Nic. "An Interview with Jessica Harper". Rogue Cinema. Archived from the original on February 26, 2018. Retrieved April 28, 2015.
  3. ↑ Bitran, Tara (November 2, 2018). "Jessica Harper on Early TV Role, Starring in Two Versions of 'Suspiria'". Variety. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
  4. ↑ Svitek, Patrick (December 15, 2013). "Paul C. Harper Jr., former chairman of Needham Harper Worldwide, 1920–2013". Chicago Tribune. Archived from the original on November 3, 2018.
  5. ↑ Jessica Harper Biography at Yahoo! Movies
  6. 1 2 "Jessica Harper, actress, Marries T. E. Rothman". The New York Times. March 12, 1989. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  7. ↑ "Dan Hicks Discography". Retrieved January 27, 2017.
  8. ↑ Mondo-video.com Archived February 7, 2011, at the Wayback Machine
  9. ↑ "Jessica Harper's The Crabby Cook Appearances". Thecrabbycook.com. January 16, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Board of Directors: Jessica Harper". PXE.org. Archived from the original on December 31, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  11. ↑ "My Skin in the Game". JessicaHarper.com. 2017. Archived from the original on June 1, 2017. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
  12. ↑ McCormick, Moria (December 24, 1994). "Child's Play". Billboard. p. 69. Probably the most delightful surprise of the year was actress Jessica Harper's debut children's album, "A Wonderful Life," on Alacazam!/Alacazar, label arm of wholesaler Silo Inc. of Waterbury, Vt.
  13. ↑ "Super Plastic Elastic Goggles". PaleyCenter.org. The Paley Center for Media. Retrieved November 13, 2016. Air date was January 30, 1971.
  14. ↑ "Hair – Broadway Musical". Internet Broadway Database. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.