Once Jessica Lange landed the role in King Kong, it would make her a celebrity, catapulting her to instant stardom. She would receive her first Golden Globe, but she proved to be recognized less for her acting chops than for her undeniable beauty. She was compared to the likes of Marilyn Monroe and mocked as King Kong’s girlfriend. Lange didn’t receive work for two years following the blockbuster film. Not one to be discouraged, she spent that time studying acting and went on to earn her first Academy Award for Tootsie in 1983.
It was during this decade that Lange’s career took root. She chose bold roles with powerful female characters, like Patsy Cline in Sweet Dreams. In the 1982 movie Frances, she played Hollywood starlet Frances Farmer, whose career shot to fame then crashed, ultimately resulting in her institutionalization.
The same type of dark, deeply disturbed role drew Lange to Grey Gardens. She seems to live for these parts, having honed an unmatched ability to capture heartbreakingly delicate characters like Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale (“Big Edie”), cousin of Jackie Kennedy, in the 2009 HBO film. Her portrayal of the thriving socialite turned aging recluse living in squalor was riveting enough to earn Lange an Emmy.
It’s rare for an actress to work so long in this industry, collecting awards throughout each decade. Hollywood is fueled by beauty — often more so than talent. But it’s evident Lange, now in her mid-60s, has always had both, allowing her to choose meatier, more enriching roles.
Perhaps it’s because, while Lange takes risk on the big screen, she remains fiercely private and grounded in her personal life. She chooses not to live in California, in the midst of the hullabaloo of the spotlight. Over the course of her career, she has spent most of her life raising her children in New Mexico, Virginia and her native Minnesota, where she shared a home in Stillwater with longtime partner Sam Shepard. The pair, who have two children (she also has a daughter with Russian dancer Mikhail Baryshnikov), quietly split after nearly three decades together and sold the home. But Lange’s roots remain firmly planted.
From a career standpoint, the actress is flourishing. She has been introduced to an entirely new generation of viewers: devout followers of the FX anthology series American Horror Story, where she recently wrapped her potentially final season as the most beloved character. The show wasn’t a surprising choice for Lange. The material is right up her alley: dark, a touch demented and certainly not safe.
Next up? In 2013, Lange told the Los Angeles Times, “I am coming to the end of acting.” She wants to go out with a bang — or rather a scare, she revealed to the publication. But with two Oscars, five Golden Globes and three Emmys under her belt, is she really ready to say goodbye to a four-decade career in acting? She has published two photography books and written a children’s book — perhaps her next move will be behind the camera or to a pen and paper.
These days, Lange splits her time between New York City and New Orleans, but she keeps a cabin in Holyoke, not far from her hometown in Minnesota. It’s here that she escapes to the place closest to her heart. For Lange, it’s always been home. In an interview with The New York Times dating back to 1982, she mused, “My most powerful connection is to Minnesota, to that part of the land. I have a certain love for it I have for nothing else. I feel better there than anywhere else in the world.”
