Background and career
Jessica Phyllis Lange (; born April 20, 1949) is an American actress and photographer. With a career spanning five decades, she is known for her roles on stage and screen. Her accolades include two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award, in addition to nominations for a BAFTA Award and a Laurence Olivier Award. Lange is one of few performers to achieve Triple Crown of Acting status.
Lange made her professional film debut in the remake King Kong (1976), which earned her the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year. Lange went on to receive two Academy Awards, her first for Best Supporting Actress as a soap opera star in the comedy Tootsie (1982) and her second for Best Actress playing a bipolar housewife in the drama Blue Sky (1994). Her other Oscar-nominated roles were for Frances (1982), Country (1984), Sweet Dreams (1985), and Music Box (1989). She also acted in films such as All That Jazz (1979), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), Crimes of the Heart (1986), Cape Fear (1991), Rob Roy (1995), Big Fish (2003), and Broken Flowers (2005).
For her roles on television, she received her first Primetime Emmy Award for her portrayal of Big Edie in the HBO movie Grey Gardens (2009). Lange gained new recognition by starring in FX's horror anthology, American Horror Story (2011–2014, 2018, 2026), which earned her two additional Primetime Emmys for its first and third seasons. She was Emmy-nominated for her roles as Blanche DuBois in the CBS film A Streetcar Named Desire (1995), a wife in the HBO television movie Normal (2003), and Joan Crawford in FX the miniseries Feud: Bette and Joan (2017). Lange has also acted in the television films O Pioneers! (1992), and The Great Lillian Hall (2024), as well as the Netflix series The Politician (2019).
On stage, Lange made her Broadway debut in 1992 as Blanche DuBois in that year's revival of Tennessee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire. Lange won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her role as Mary Cavan Tyrone in the 2016 Broadway revival of the Eugene O'Neill play Long Day's Journey into Night. Lange returned to Broadway playing the hardheaded matriarch Phyllis in Paula Vogel's play Mother Play (2024).
Sources
Net-worth figure: Celebrity Net Worth (2025-06-18), in USD. Biography and career facts: the person's Wikipedia article and linked reporting. Snapshot date for all StarWorth figures: 28 October 2026.
