Growing up, Kim suffered from debilitating shyness. She was too afraid to read aloud or answer questions in class. She has also suffered from agoraphobia, a type of anxiety disorder that would keep her confined to her home for six months at a time.
To help Kim get over her shyness, her parents enrolled her in ballet classes from an early age. By the time she hit sixteen, Kim began losing some of her shyness. She entered the Athens Junior Miss pageant. She won the competition and then won the Georgia Junior Miss pageant. After her second victory she competed in the National Junior Miss pageant in New York City.
Although she did not win the national title, Kim was offered a modeling contract with Ford Modeling Agency. By the time Kim reached the age of twenty in the early 1970s, she was commanding a salary of $1,000 per day as a top model. She was most recognizable as the Breck girl. Basinger also posed nude for Playboy magazine.
While working as a model, Kim began to take an interest in acting. She took classes at a neighborhood playhouse and performed in Greenwich Village Clubs. In 1976, Kim decided to put modeling behind her and move to acting full-time. She moved out to Hollywood and began her television career by appearing in episodes of Charlie’s Angels, which starred Farrah Fawcett, Kate Jackson, and Jaclyn Smith.
In 1980 Basinger married Ron Snyder-Britton. The couple divorced in 1989 and in 1993 Basinger married Alec Baldwin. Their daughter, Ireland Eliesse, was born in 1995. The couple divorced in 2003 and since then the two have been fighting over the custody of their daughter.
In the early 1980s, Kim began appearing in small roles in films. One of her most notable appearances was as a Bond girl in the James Bond film Never Say Never Again (1983), starring Sean Connery. Basinger’s first starring role was in 91/2 Weeks in 1986, opposite Mickey Rourke.
Following her big break came a few other notable films for Basinger, including Batman in 1989, co-starring Jack Nicholson and Michael Keaton. Also in 1989, after making it in Hollywood, Kim bought the town of Braselton, Georgia, for a reported $20 million. Her plan was to turn the town into a tourist attraction with a film festival and movie studios.
In 1993 Kim decided against starring in the film Boxing Helena, after she had already made a verbal agreement to do the film. The producers sued her for breech of contract and she was forced to pay them $8 million in damages.
The financial blow as well as other financial difficulties forced Basinger to sell her Georgian town and file for bankruptcy.
In 1997, Basinger landed the starring role in L.A. Confidential. The high profile cast included Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, James Cromwell, and David Strathairn. Basinger almost turned down the role because she was tired of playing prostitutes. It was a good thing she didn’t though, because she won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress in the film.
Basinger, a strict vegetarian, strongly promotes animal rights. She has spent much time working with PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals), raising awareness for animal rights issues. She also lent them her face, posing in some of their ads.
YUDDY
