Wiest was born on March 28, 1948, in Kansas City, Missouri, as one of three children. She originally planned on being a ballerina, but was quite taken up but the acting profession once she began appearing on Broadway, with her biggest stage role being Desdemona in Othello along with James Earl Jones. She followed this with a few small television and movie roles.
Things picked up for Wiest as she co-starred with Jill Clayburgh and Joe Pesci in I’m Dancing as Fast as I Can, and a role as a close-minded pastor’s wife in Footloose. She appeared in the movie with John Lithgow, Kevin Bacon, Lori Singer, Chris Penn, and Sarah Jessica Parker. Wiest followed this success co-starring with Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep in Falling in Love, a movie about two strangers who meet and keep on having chance meetings that strengthen their friendship.
Wiest found her niche as she appeared in the Woody Allen’s film, The Purple Rose of Cairo, along with Mia Farrow, Jeff Daniels, and Danny Aiello. Another Allen film followed, Hannah and Her Sisters, which had Wiest starring with Barbara Hershey, Carrie Fisher, and Mia Farrow. This movie earned Wiest her very first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She filmed two other Allen movies as well, Radio Days, starring with the other actresses that often worked with Allen, Diane Keaton and Mia Farrow; and Bullets Over Broadway, with John Cusack and Jennifer Tilly, earning Wiest second Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Leaving the comfort of working in Woody Allen films, Wiest appeared in a vampire movie, The Lost Boys, with Jason Patric, Corey Haim, and Kiefer Sutherland. Wiest followed this working with Sutherland again in Bright Lights, Big City, a movie about an addicted writer that starred Michael J Fox and his real life wife, Tracy Pollan. The comedy Parenthood followed with an ensemble cast that included Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, and Keanu Reeves. This was a role Wiest knew well, having adopted two children herself.
Next up for Wiest was the Tim Burton directed movie Edward Scissorhands, a Burton classic about a young man with scissors as hands. Johnny Depp has the title role, and falls in love with a beautiful girl played by Winona Ryder. Wiest followed this, co-starring with Jodie Foster in Little Man Tate, a movie about a single parent raising a gifted child.
Quirky comedies fit around Wiest very well, with her appearing as Calista Flockhart’s mother in The Birdcage, along with other great comedic actors such as Robin Williams, Nathan Lane, and Hank Azaria. She continued her career by drifting toward a serious drama, appearing with Robert Redford, Kristin Scott Thomas, and Sam Neill in The Horse Whisperer. Wiest next returned to television, appearing as a district attorney on both Law and Order and Law and Order: Special Victims Unit.
YUDDY
