Robin Wright
Wright in 2009
Born
Robin Gayle Wright

(1966-04-08) April 8, 1966 (age 57)
Dallas, Texas, U.S.
Other namesRobin Wright Penn
OccupationActress
Years active1983–present
Spouses
​
​
(m. 1986; div. 1988)​
​
​
(m. 1996; div. 2010)​
Clément Giraudet
​
​
(m. 2018; div. 2022)​
ChildrenDylan Penn
Hopper Penn
RelativesCharlie Wright (nephew)
AwardsFull list

Robin Gayle Wright[1] (born April 8, 1966), credited as Robin Wright Penn from 1997 to 2009, is an American actress. She has received various accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, and nominations for eight Primetime Emmy Awards.

Wright first gained attention for her role as Kelly Capwell in the NBC Daytime soap opera Santa Barbara from 1984 to 1988. She transitioned to film with a starring role in the fantasy film The Princess Bride (1987), and she gained a nomination for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the top-grossing drama Forrest Gump (1994). She had further starring roles in the romantic drama Message in a Bottle (1999) and the thriller Unbreakable (2000), as she gained praise for her performances in the independent films Loved (1997), She's So Lovely (1997), Nine Lives (2005) and Sorry, Haters (2006). She has since taken on supporting roles in the sports drama Moneyball (2011), the thriller The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), the adventure film Everest (2015), the superhero film Wonder Woman (2017), and the science fiction film Blade Runner 2049 (2017).

On television, Wright starred in the HBO miniseries Empire Falls in 2005. From 2013 to 2018, she starred as Claire Underwood in the Netflix political drama series House of Cards. Her performance earned her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress and six nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress. In 2016, Wright was named one of the highest paid actresses in the United States, earning US$420,000 per episode for House of Cards.[2] She has also directed ten episodes of the series as well as two episodes of the Netflix crime series Ozark in 2022.

Early life

Wright was born April 8, 1966, in Dallas to Gayle Wright (née Gaston), a cosmetics saleswoman for Mary Kay, and Fred Wright, a pharmaceutical company employee. She has an elder brother, Richard (b. 1962), who is a photographer.[3] Her parents divorced when she was two, which led to her relocating to San Diego, California, with her mother.[1] She grew up in Southern California, attending La Jolla High School in La Jolla and Taft High School in Los Angeles.[1][4]

Career

Wright began her career as a model, when she was 14.[5][6] At the age of 18, she played Kelly Capwell in the NBC Daytime soap opera Santa Barbara, for which she received several Daytime Emmy Award nominations.[7]

1980s–2000s: Transition into feature films

Wright attending the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival

Wright transitioned into feature film work with a role in Hollywood Vice Squad in 1986, followed by her breakthrough role as Princess Buttercup in the cult film The Princess Bride in 1987. She gained critical acclaim in her role as Jenny Curran in Forrest Gump (1994), receiving Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild nominations for Best Supporting Actress.

In 1996, she starred in the lead role of the film adaptation of Daniel Defoe's Moll Flanders (1996), for which she received a Satellite Award nomination for Best Actress in a Drama. She was nominated for a Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress for her role in She's So Lovely (1997), a film in which she co-starred with her then-husband Sean Penn. Wright received her third Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for her role in the television film Empire Falls (2005).

2013–2018: House of Cards

From 2013 to 2018, Wright appeared in the Netflix political drama streaming television series House of Cards in the role of Claire Underwood, the ruthless wife of political mastermind Frank Underwood. On January 12, 2014, she won a Golden Globe for the role, becoming the first actress to win the award for a streaming television series.[8] She was nominated for the same award in 2015. She received nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award in 2013 and 2014 for the same role.[9]

Following Season 4 in 2016, Wright stated that she felt Claire Underwood was the equal of Frank Underwood and demanded equal pay for her performance as her co-star Kevin Spacey. Netflix acquiesced.[9] In 2017, for her performance in the fifth season, Wright was nominated for her fifth consecutive Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. In 2014, 2016, and 2017, Wright received Best Actress in a Drama Series nominations for the Critics' Choice Television Awards, with her being the only nomination for the show in December 2017.

In October 2017, she was the show's new lead for the final season, following the firing of Kevin Spacey due to sexual misconduct allegations. For her last appearance as Underwood, her performance was acclaimed - described as a "commanding performance [that] is more than enough to keep [the final season] standing strong" [10] - earning her her final nominations for the role at the Screen Actors Guild and Primetime Emmy Awards in 2019. For the latter, she became one of seven women to be nominated for the category six or more times for the same show, the first in 10 years since Mariska Hargitay for Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.[11]

Further film and directorial work

Wright attending the 2017 Cannes Film Festival.

In 2017, Wright directed a short film, The Dark of Night, which starred Sam Rockwell and premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.[12] Wright played General Antiope in Wonder Woman in 2017, and its 2020 sequel alongside Gal Gadot and Chris Pine. The film earned positive reviews and emerged as a financial success, grossing $822.8 million at the box office.[13][14] She appears in the Blade Runner sequel Blade Runner 2049 alongside Ryan Gosling, Harrison Ford, and Jared Leto, directed by Denis Villeneuve.

In April 2019, it was announced her feature film directorial debut in the film Land.[15] Wright starred as its lead, Edee Mathis, a lawyer who retreats in grief to the Shoshone National Forest in Wyoming. Sales for the film start at Cannes in May 2019.[15] Filming began in October 2019 and the movie was picked up by distributor Focus Features.[16]

Land premiered in January 2021 at the Sundance Film Festival to generally positive reviews, with specific praise towards the direction and the performances. Peter Debruge in a review for Variety wrote: "So bless Wright for paring “Land” down to a beautiful haiku, and for delivering a performance that's ambiguous and understated in all the right ways," and "in a directorial debut so pure and simple it speaks to enormous self-confidence, has better instincts than to reveal outright."[17]

In 2022, Wright directed the final two episodes of the first part of season 4 of the Netflix show, Ozark. The episodes were titled: "Sangre Sobre Todo" and "Sanctified".[18] Kayla Cobb for Decider praised Wright's direction in the latter episode as "powerful" with the pairing of her direction, the script and actress Julia Garner's performance as a "masterful collaboration."[19]

Wright will next star in and produce Ben Young's thriller Where All Light Tends to Go, an adaptation of the book of the same name by David Joy.[20] In April 2022, Wright joined the cast of Netflix's fantasy film Damsel directed by Juan Carlos Fresnadillo.[21] Wright will star in a Sony Pictures Classics and Miramax adaptation of Richard McGuire's Here in a Forrest Gump reteam with director Robert Zemeckis, actor Tom Hanks and writer Eric Roth for a 2023 release.[22]

Personal life

Wright with then-husband Sean Penn in September 2006

From 1986 to 1988, Wright was married to actor Dane Witherspoon, whom she met in 1984 on the set of the soap opera Santa Barbara.[23]

In 1989, Wright became involved with actor Sean Penn following his divorce from Madonna. Wright was offered the role of Maid Marian in the film Robin Hood: Prince of Thieves, but turned it down because she was pregnant.[24] Their daughter, Dylan Frances, was born in April 1991.[25] She backed out of the role of Abby McDeere in The Firm (1993) due to her pregnancy with her second child.[1] Their son, Hopper Jack, was born in August 1993.[26]

After breaking up and getting back together,[27] Wright and Penn married in 1996. Their on-and-off relationship seemingly ended in divorce plans, announced in December 2007.[28] The divorce petition was withdrawn four months later at the couple's request.[29] In February 2009, Wright and Penn attended the 81st Academy Awards together, at which Penn won the Best Actor award. Penn filed for legal separation in April 2009,[30] but withdrew the petition in May.[31] In August 2009, Wright filed for divorce, declaring she had no plans to reconcile.[32][33][34] The divorce was finalized in July 2010.[35]

In February 2012, Wright began dating actor Ben Foster.[36] Their engagement was announced in January 2014.[37] The couple called off their engagement in November 2014,[38] but reunited in January 2015.[39] In August 2015, they announced they were ending their second engagement.[40] In 2017, Wright began dating Clément Giraudet, a Saint Laurent executive. They secretly wed in August 2018 in La Roche-sur-le-Buis, France. Wright filed for divorce from Giraudet in September 2022.[41]

Philanthropy and activism

Wright is the honorary spokesperson for the Dallas, Texas–based non-profit The Gordie Foundation.[42]

In 2014, she co-partnered with two California-based companies; Pour Les Femmes[43] and The SunnyLion.[44] The SunnyLion donates a portion of its profits to the Raise Hope For Congo movement.

Wright is an activist for human rights in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. She is the narrator and executive producer of the documentary When Elephants Fight[45] which highlights how multinational mining corporations and politicians in the Democratic Republic of Congo threaten human rights, and perpetuate conflict in the region.[46]

She is a supporter of Stand With Congo, the human rights campaign behind the film.[47] In 2016, Wright spoke publicly in support of the campaign at a film screening at the Tribeca Film Institute in New York City,[48] in media interviews,[49][50][51][52] with journalists,[53][54][55] and across her social media accounts.[56][57][58]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1986 Hollywood Vice Squad Lori Stanton
1987 The Princess Bride Buttercup
1990 Denial Sara / Loon
State of Grace Kathleen Flannery
1992 The Playboys Tara Maguire
Toys Gwen Tyler
1994 Forrest Gump Jenny Curran
1995 The Crossing Guard Jojo
1996 Moll Flanders Moll Flanders
1997 Loved Hedda Amerson starts being credited
as Robin Wright Penn
She's So Lovely Maureen Murphy Quinn
1998 Hurlyburly Darlene
1999 Message in a Bottle Theresa Osborne
2000 How to Kill Your Neighbor's Dog Melanie McGowan
Unbreakable Audrey Dunn
2001 The Pledge Lori
The Last Castle Rosalie Irwin Uncredited
2002 Searching for Debra Winger Herself Documentary
White Oleander Starr Thomas
2003 The Singing Detective Nicola / Nina / Blonde
Virgin Mrs. Reynolds
2004 A Home at the End of the World Clare
2005 Nine Lives Diana
Sorry, Haters Phoebe Torrence
Max Mother Short film
2006 Breaking and Entering Liv
Room 10 Frannie Jones Short film
2007 Hounddog Stranger Lady
Beowulf Queen Wealtheow Motion-capture role
(credited as Robin Wright-Penn)
2008 What Just Happened Kelly
New York, I Love You Anna
2009 State of Play Anne Collins
The Private Lives of Pippa Lee Pippa Lee
A Christmas Carol Fan Scrooge / Belle Motion-capture role,
last credit as Robin Wright Penn
2010 The Conspirator Mary Surratt
2011 Moneyball Sharon Beane
Rampart Linda Fentress
The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Erika Berger
2013 The Congress Robin Wright
Adore Roz
2014 A Most Wanted Man Martha Sullivan
2015 Everest Peach Weathers
2017 Wonder Woman General Antiope
Blade Runner 2049 Lieutenant Joshi
Justice League General Antiope Uncredited; cameo
2018 André the Giant Herself Documentary
2020 Wonder Woman 1984 General Antiope
2021 Land Edee Holzer Also director
2021 Zack Snyder's Justice League General Antiope
2023 Devil's Peak Virgie Also producer
2024 Damsel Queen Isabelle Post-production
Here Filming

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1983–1984 The Yellow Rose Barbara Anderson 2 episodes
1984–1988 Santa Barbara Kelly Capwell 538 episodes
2005 Empire Falls Grace Roby Miniseries, only television credit as Robin Wright Penn
2011 Enlightened Sandy 2 episodes
2013–2018 House of Cards Claire Underwood Main role; executive producer (seasons 4–6) and director (10 episodes)
2020 First Ladies Narrator 6 episodes; voice
2022 Ozark — Director only; episodes: "Sangre Sobre Todo" and "Sanctified"

Awards and nominations

Main article: List of awards and nominations received by Robin Wright

References

  1. ^ a b c d "Robin Wright – Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Archived from the original on June 27, 2012. Retrieved May 21, 2013.
  2. ^ Placido, Dani Di (May 19, 2016). "Robin Wright Is The Real Deal". Forbes. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  3. ^ Frivolette.com. "Robin Wright — biography, photos, personal life". www.frivolette.com. Retrieved February 13, 2022.
  4. ^ "Robin Wright". Biography.com (FYI/A&E Networks). Retrieved July 12, 2021.
  5. ^ "Robin Wright as Claire Underwood". TV3.
  6. ^ Broadbent, Lucy (February 9, 2014). "Robin Wright on House of Cards, Botox and getting married again". The Daily Telegraph. Archived from the original on January 11, 2022. Retrieved May 21, 2017.
  7. ^ Cameron-Wilson, James (1994). Young Hollywood. Batsford. p. 218. ISBN 978-0-7134-7266-0.
  8. ^ Hyman, Vicki (January 12, 2014). "2014 Golden Globes: Robin Wright wins best actress for online-only 'House of Cards'". The Star-Ledger. NJ.com. Retrieved January 13, 2014.
  9. ^ a b Peck, Emily (May 18, 2016). "Robin Wright Demanded The Same Pay As Kevin Spacey For 'House of Cards'". HuffPost. Retrieved May 19, 2016.
  10. ^ "House of Cards: Season 6 (2018)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  11. ^ "Robin Wright ('House of Cards') just became the first actress in 10 years to pull off this rare Emmy stat". Gold Derby. July 17, 2019. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  12. ^ "THE DARK OF NIGHT - Festival de Cannes 2023". Festival de Cannes. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  13. ^ "Wonder Woman (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. June 2, 2017. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  14. ^ "Wonder Woman". Box Office Mojo. IMDb. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  15. ^ a b Clarke, Stewart (April 30, 2019). "Robin Wright Heads Into Wilderness for Directorial Film Debut 'Land,' With Sales to Start at Cannes". Variety. Retrieved July 16, 2019.
  16. ^ Reimann, Tom (October 18, 2019). "Filming Begins on Robin Wright's Directorial Debut 'Land'". Collider. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
  17. ^ Debruge, Peter (January 31, 2021). "'Land' Review: A Broken Soul Rebuilds in Robin Wright's Beautiful Solo Show". Variety. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  18. ^ Rowe, Brandon (January 21, 2022). "The Surprising Director Behind Two Episodes Of Ozark Season 4, Part 1". Looper. Retrieved January 21, 2022.
  19. ^ Cobb, Kayla (January 27, 2022). "'Ozark's "Sanctified" Is an Audio Masterpiece". Decider. Retrieved February 4, 2023.
  20. ^ Welk, Brian (September 2, 2021). "Robin Wright and Billy Bob Thornton to Star in Thriller 'Where All Light Tends to Go'". TheWrap. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  21. ^ D'Alessandro, Anthony (April 12, 2022). "'Damsel': Robin Wright, Ray Winstone, Nick Robinson, Brooke Carter & Shohreh Aghdashloo Join Netflix Millie Bobby Brown Fantasy Pic". Deadline Hollywood.
  22. ^ Fleming, Mike Jr. (May 11, 2022). "Sony Pictures Lands U.S. Rights To Miramax's 'Here'; Robin Wright Joins Tom Hanks, Robert Zemeckis, Eric Roth In 'Forrest Gump' Reteam – Cannes Market". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved January 14, 2023.
  23. ^ Grossberg, Josh (December 28, 2007). "Penn, Wright Splitsville". Yahoo! News. Archived from the original on January 1, 2008.
  24. ^ Mell, Eila (2005). Casting Might-Have-Beens: A film by film directory. Jefferson, North Carolina: McFarland & Company, Inc. p. 204. ISBN 978-0786420179.
  25. ^ MacMinn, Aleene (April 17, 1991). "Cradle Watch". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on March 9, 2012. Retrieved July 27, 2014. Dylan Frances Penn was born Saturday [April 13] at 10:49 p.m. at UCLA Medical Center.
  26. ^ Kelly, Richard T. (2004). Sean Penn: His Life and Times. Canongate U.S. p. 274. ISBN 978-1841956237.
  27. ^ "The Insider – Vol. 45 No. 12". People. March 25, 1996.
  28. ^ White, Nicholas (December 27, 2007). "Sean Penn and Robin Wright Penn Divorcing". People. Retrieved July 30, 2017.
  29. ^ Orloff, Brian (April 9, 2008). "Sean Penn & Robin Wright Stop Divorce Action". People. Retrieved April 8, 2017.
  30. ^ Laudadio, Marisa; Lee, Ken (April 29, 2009). "Sean Penn Files for Legal Separation". People. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  31. ^ "Sean Penn withdraws separation filing". USA Today. May 22, 2009.
  32. ^ Lee, Ken (August 18, 2009). "Robin Wright Penn Files for Divorce". People. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  33. ^ Breslau, Karen (September 2009). "Robin Wright Penn Goes It Alone". More. Archived from the original on March 27, 2016. Retrieved September 16, 2009.
  34. ^ Derschowitz, Jessica (November 16, 2009). "Big changes for Robin Wright". CBS News. Retrieved December 8, 2016.
  35. ^ Oh, Eunice (August 4, 2010). "Sean Penn and Robin Wright Finalize Their Divorce". People. Retrieved February 26, 2017.
  36. ^ "Robin Wright and Ben Foster Get Cozy". People. Retrieved February 10, 2012.
  37. ^ Loinaz, Alexis L. (January 11, 2014). "Robin Wright and Ben Foster are engaged". People. Retrieved January 11, 2014.
  38. ^ Marquina, Sierra (November 12, 2014). "Robin Wright and Ben Foster Split, Call Off 10-Month Engagement – Find Out What Went Wrong". Us Weekly. Retrieved November 13, 2014.
  39. ^ Lee, Esther (March 10, 2015). "Robin Wright Talks Sex Life With Ben Foster After Sean Penn Divorce: "I've Never Been Happier"". Us Weekly. Retrieved July 4, 2015.
  40. ^ Webber, Stephanie (August 29, 2015). "Robin Wright, Ben Foster Call Off Engagement For the Second Time". Us Weekly. Retrieved August 29, 2015.
  41. ^ "Robin Wright files quietly for divorce from fashion exec Clément Giraudet". Los Angeles Times. September 26, 2022.
  42. ^ "The Gordie Foundation". Archived from the original on May 1, 2008.
  43. ^ "Pour Les Femmes". Plfdreams.tilt.com. Archived from the original on April 2, 2015. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  44. ^ "Giving Back – The SunnyLion and Raise Hope for Congo". TheSunnyLion.com. June 20, 2014. Retrieved May 8, 2015.
  45. ^ "When Elephants Fight (2015)". IMDb. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  46. ^ "Mortality in the Democratic Republic of Congo: An Ongoing Crisis" (PDF). International Rescue Committee. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  47. ^ "#StandWithCongo | A Stier Forward Campaign". Stand With Congo. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  48. ^ "LIVE NYC Screening4Action at TriBeCa". Facebook.com/StandWithCongo. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  49. ^ "Live with Robin Wright". Facebook.com/MicMedia. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  50. ^ "Congo: The High Cost of Mineral Riches". WNYC (NPR). Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  51. ^ "Actress Robin Wright Talks About Her New Documentary". Facebook.com/HuffPostEntertainment. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  52. ^ "'Making Noise': The Path Towards Global Equality". Rockefeller Foundation. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  53. ^ "The Paradox Of Congo: How The World's Wealthiest Country Became Home To The World's Poorest People". ThinkProgress.org. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  54. ^ "Robin Wright Makes a Powerful Political Statement — It's Not Related to 'House of Cards'". Mic.com. May 16, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  55. ^ "Robin Wright: A-lister who's playing for high stakes off screen". The Guardian. May 22, 2016. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  56. ^ "Robin Wright Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  57. ^ "Robin Wright Twitter". Twitter. Retrieved July 27, 2016.
  58. ^ "Robin Wright Instagram". Instagram. March 13, 2016. Archived from the original on December 23, 2021. Retrieved July 27, 2016.

External links

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