Jessica Harper | |
---|---|
Born | Jessica Randolph Harper October 3, 1949 |
Alma mater | Sarah Lawrence College |
Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1969–present |
Spouse | |
Children | 2 |
Relatives |
|
Jessica Randolph Harper (born October 3, 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 follow-up 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), Minority Report (2002), Bones and All (2022) and Nightbitch (2024). In addition to acting, Harper is also an award-winning author of children's music and books.
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.[ citation needed ]
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".
Harper married Tom 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]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1971 | Taking Off | Audition Singer | Uncredited |
1973 | The Garden Party | Peggy | Short |
1974 | 'Rameau's Nephew' by Diderot (Thanx to Dennis Young) by Wilma Schoen | Unnamed character | Experimental film |
1974 | Phantom of the Paradise | Phoenix | |
1975 | Inserts | Cathy Cake | |
1975 | Love and Death | Natasha | |
1977 | Suspiria | Suzy Bannion | |
1979 | The Evictors | Ruth Watkins | |
1980 | Stardust Memories | Daisy | |
1981 | Shock Treatment | Janet Majors | |
1981 | Pennies from Heaven | Joan | |
1982 | My Favorite Year | K.C. Downing | |
1986 | The Imagemaker | Cynthia | |
1988 | The Blue Iguana | Cora | |
1989 | Big Man on Campus | Dr. Fisk | |
1989 | Eat a Bowl of Tea | American prostitute | Uncredited |
1993 | Mr. Wonderful | Funny Face | |
1995 | Safe | Joyce | |
1996 | Boys | Mrs. John Baker | |
2002 | Minority Report | Anne Lively | |
2009 | House Broken | DWP Clerk | |
2018 | Suspiria | Anke Meier | |
2022 | Bones and All | Barbara Kerns | |
2023 | Memory | Samantha | |
2024 | Nightbitch | Post-production |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1971 | NBC Children's Theatre | Elizabeth Tyler | Episode: "Super Plastic Elastic Goggles" [13] |
1977 | Hawaii Five-O | Sunny Mandell | Episode: "See How She Runs" |
1977 | Aspen | Kit Kendrick | Miniseries |
1979 | Little Women | Jo March | TV pilot |
1979 | Kaz | Gail Pace | Episode: "A Little Shuck and a Whole Lotta Jive" |
1979 | Studs Lonigan | Loretta Lonigan | Miniseries |
1985 | When Dreams Come True | Annie | Television film |
1985 | Tales from the Darkside | Prudence | Episode: "The Tear Collector" |
1986 | The Equalizer | Kate Parnell | Episode: "Nocturne" |
1986 | Moonlighting | Janine Dalton | Episode: "All Creatures Great...and Not So Great" |
1987 | Once Again | Carrie | Television film |
1987 | Starman | Charlotte | Episode: "The System" |
1987 | Trying Times | Sydney | Episode: "Bedtime Story" |
1988–90 | It's Garry Shandling's Show | Phoebe Bass | 19 episodes |
1989 | Wiseguy | Jenny McPike | Episode: "Stairway to Heaven" |
1990 | Tales from the Crypt | Marie | Episode: "My Brother's Keeper" |
1996 | The Story First: Behind the Unabomber | Linda | Television film |
1997 | Chicago Hope | Phyllis Church | Episode: "Missed Conception" |
1997 | On the Edge of Innocence | Alice Walker | Television film |
1997 | Nothing Sacred | Elizabeth | Episode: "Calling" |
1998 | Ally McBeal | Sister Helen | Episode: "Words Without Love" |
1999 | 7th Heaven | Norma Moon | Episode: "Paranoia" |
2005 | Crossing Jordan | Dorris Meisner | Episode: "Forget Me Not" |
2015 | Proof | Virginia Tyler | Episode: "St. Luke's" |
2019–21 | See | Cora | 4 episodes |
2022 | The Old Man | Cheryl Harper | 3 episodes |
2023 | Fatal Attraction | Sophie | 2 episodes |
Year | Title | Role | Venue | Notes | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1968–1972 | Hair | Member of the Tribe | Biltmore Theatre | Replacement | [14] |
Dario Argento is an Italian film director, screenwriter and producer. His influential work in the horror and giallo genres during the 1970s and 1980s has led him to being referred to as the "Master of the Thrill" and the "Master of Horror".
Suspiria is a 1977 Italian epic supernatural horror film directed by Dario Argento, who co-wrote the screenplay with Daria Nicolodi, partially based on Thomas De Quincey's 1845 essay Suspiria de Profundis. The film stars Jessica Harper as an American ballet student who transfers to a prestigious dance academy but realizes, after a series of murders, that the academy is a front for a coven of witches. It also features Stefania Casini, Flavio Bucci, Miguel Bosé, Alida Valli, Udo Kier, and Joan Bennett, in her final film role.
Asia Argento is an Italian actress and filmmaker. The daughter of filmmaker Dario Argento, she has had roles in several of her father's features and achieved mainstream success with appearances in XXX (2002), Land of the Dead (2005) and Marie Antoinette (2006). Her other notable acting credits include Queen Margot (1994), Let's Not Keep in Touch (1994), Traveling Companion (1996), Last Days (2005) and Islands (2011). Argento is the recipient of several accolades, including two David di Donatello awards for Best Actress and three Italian Golden Globes. Her directorial credits include The Heart Is Deceitful Above All Things (2004) and Misunderstood (2014).
Ina Rosenberg Garten is an American television cook and author. She is host of the Food Network program Barefoot Contessa, and was a former staff member of the Office of Management and Budget. Among her dishes are Perfect Roast Chicken, Weeknight Bolognese, French Apple Tart, and a simplified version of beef bourguignon. Her culinary career began with her gourmet food store, Barefoot Contessa; Garten then expanded her activities to many best-selling cookbooks, magazine columns, and a popular Food Network television show.
Goblin is an Italian progressive rock band known for their film scores. They frequently collaborate with Dario Argento, most notably creating the scores for Profondo Rosso in 1975 and Suspiria in 1977. Because their collaborator Dario Argento specializes in creating horror, suspense and slasher/giallo genre movies, scores made by Goblin in these movies often had eerie and ominous tones. CD re-releases of their scores have performed well, especially in Germany and Japan. Goblin returned with a series of live concerts in Europe in 2009 and in North America in 2013.
Daria Nicolodi was an Italian television and film actress and screenwriter, and associated mostly with the films of director Dario Argento.
Phenomena is a 1985 Italian giallo-horror film produced and directed by Dario Argento, who co-wrote the screenplay with Franco Ferrini. It stars Jennifer Connelly, Daria Nicolodi, Dalila Di Lazzaro, Patrick Bauchau and Donald Pleasence. The plot concerns an American teenage girl (Connelly) at a remote Swiss boarding school who discovers she has psychic powers that allow her to communicate with insects, and uses them to pursue a serial killer who is targeting young girls at and around the school.
Inferno is a 1980 Italian supernatural horror film written and directed by Dario Argento, and starring Irene Miracle, Leigh McCloskey, Eleonora Giorgi, Daria Nicolodi and Alida Valli. The plot follows a young man's investigation into the disappearance of his sister, who had been living in a New York City apartment building that also served as a home for a powerful, centuries-old witch. The cinematography was by Romano Albani, and Keith Emerson composed the film's musical score.
Tenebrae is a 1982 Italian giallo film written and directed by Dario Argento. The film stars Anthony Franciosa as American author Peter Neal, who – while in Rome promoting his latest murder-mystery novel – becomes embroiled in the search for a serial killer who may have been inspired to kill by his novel. John Saxon and Daria Nicolodi co-star as Neal's agent and assistant respectively, while Giuliano Gemma and Carola Stagnaro appear as detectives investigating the murders. John Steiner, Veronica Lario, and Mirella D'Angelo also feature in minor roles. The film has been described as exploring themes of dualism and sexual aberration, and has strong metafictional elements; some commentators consider Tenebrae to be a direct reaction by Argento to criticism of his previous work, most especially his depictions of murders of women.
Maitland McDonagh is an American film critic, writer-editor and podcaster. She is the author of Broken Mirrors/Broken Minds: The Dark Dreams of Dario Argento (1991) and other books and articles on horror and exploitation films, as well as about erotic fiction and erotic cinema. In 2022, McDonagh was inducted into the Rondo Hatton Classic Horror Awards' Monster Kid Hall of Fame. She is the founder of the small press 120 Days Books, which became an imprint of Riverdale Avenue Books.
The Three Mothers is a trilogy of supernatural horror films by Italian filmmaker Dario Argento. It consists of Suspiria, Inferno, and Mother of Tears. Each film deals with one of the titular "Mothers", a triumvirate of ancient witches who are determined to rule the world, using their powerful magic to manipulate its events on a global scale, killing anyone who discover their whereabouts.
Mother of Tears is a 2007 supernatural horror film written and directed by Dario Argento, and starring Asia Argento, Daria Nicolodi, Moran Atias, Udo Kier and Coralina Cataldi-Tassoni. The film has also been billed in English-speaking media as Mater Lachrymarum, The Third Mother and Mother of Tears: The Third Mother.
Jessica Seinfeld is an American author and wife of comedian Jerry Seinfeld. She has released five cookbooks about preparing food for families, and is the founder of the GOOD+ Foundation, a New York City-based charitable organization that provides essential items for families in need throughout New York City.
Suspiria de profundis is a collection of essays in the form of prose poems by English writer Thomas De Quincey, first published in 1845. An examination of the process of memory as influenced by hallucinogenic drug use, Suspiria has been described as one of the best-known and most distinctive literary works of its era.
Ysanne Spevack is a British-American and composer, conductor and arranger who plays violin, viola and cello, and assorted multi-instruments including mbira, keyboards and guitar. best known for her work recording and touring with the Smashing Pumpkins, David J, Michael Stipe, Tiesto, Elton John, Christina Perri, Hawkwind, Psychic TV, and Asian Dub Foundation. Since 2016, she has been known as Meena Ysanne.
Anne Marie "Ree" Drummond is an American blogger, author, food writer, and television personality. Drummond became known for her blog, The Pioneer Woman, which documented her life in rural Oklahoma.
Terror is a 1978 British supernatural horror slasher film written by David McGillivray and directed by Norman J. Warren. It stars John Nolan and Carolyn Courage as two cousins who fall victim to a curse that a witch placed on their ancestors.
Alan Jones is a film critic, broadcaster, and reporter primarily focused on movies in production, especially in the horror fantasy genre. His first assignment was on Star Wars in 1977, after which he became the London correspondent for Cinefantastique magazine from 1977 to 2002 and reviewed for the British magazine Starburst from 1980 until 2008. A film critic for Film Review and Radio Times, he has made contributions to the Radio Times Guide to Films, the Radio Times Guide to Science Fiction, and Halliwell's Film Guide. He has also been a film critic for BBC News 24, Front Row on BBC Radio 4, and Sky News programme Sunrise. He has worked for Empire, Première, and Total Film. An article of his in the latter coined the term for the Splat Pack.
Suspiria is a 2018 epic supernatural horror film directed by Luca Guadagnino from a screenplay by David Kajganich, inspired by Dario Argento's 1977 Italian film of the same name. It stars Dakota Johnson as an American woman who enrolls at a prestigious dance academy in Berlin run by a coven of witches. Tilda Swinton co-stars in three roles, as the company's lead choreographer, as a male psychotherapist involved in the academy, and as the leader of the coven. Mia Goth, Elena Fokina and Chloë Grace Moretz appear in supporting roles as students, while Angela Winkler, Ingrid Caven, Sylvie Testud, Renée Soutendijk and Christine LeBoutte portray some of the academy's matrons. Jessica Harper, star of the original film, has a cameo appearance.
Susan Spungen is an American food writer, editor, and food stylist. Spungen was founding food editor and editorial director of food at Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia, publisher of Martha Stewart Living magazine, from 1991 to 2003. She later published the books Recipes: A Collection for the Modern Cook (2005), What's a Hostess to Do? (2013), Open Kitchen (2020), and Veg Forward (2023), and worked as a culinary consultant for the films Julie & Julia and It's Complicated, Eat Pray Love (2010), and Labor Day (2013).
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.