Diana Scarwid

Diana Elizabeth Scarwid (born August 27, 1955) is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Christina Crawford in the cult classic Mommie Dearest (1981). She earned an Academy Award nomination for her performance in the 1980 film Inside Moves, and an Emmy Award nomination for her work in the television film Truman (1995).

Diana Scarwid
Born
Diana Elizabeth Scarwid

(1955-08-27) August 27, 1955
Savannah, Georgia, U.S
NationalityAmerican
EducationThe American Academy of Dramatic Arts
Pace University
OccupationActress
Years active1976–2011
Spouse(s)
Eric Scheinbart
​
(
m. 1978; div. 1995)
Children2

Scarwid has over 70 film and television credits to her name, including Pretty Baby (1978), Rumble Fish, Silkwood (both 1983), Psycho III, Extremities (both 1986), The Neon Bible (1995), What Lies Beneath (2000), Party Monster (2003), The Clearing (2004), and Another Happy Day (2011).

Life and career

Early life

Scarwid was born in Savannah, Georgia, the daughter of Elizabeth (née Frizelle (1920–2006)[1] and Anthony John Scarwid (1911–1989). She has three brothers. Her family are long-time residents of Tybee Island, Georgia. Diana left Georgia at the age of 17, moving to New York to become an actress. She graduated from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts and Pace University simultaneously, completing the dual program as an honor student.[2] After landing bit-parts in TV series, TV movies, and a few motion pictures, she married Eric Scheinbart, a physician, on August 27, 1978, with whom she has two children.

The 1980s

Scarwid's first performance of the 1980s was as Sheila Langtree in Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones (1980), the television miniseries about the People's Temple led by Jim Jones and their 1978 mass suicide at Jonestown. Following that was a supporting role in the romantic drama film Honeysuckle Rose (1980). Scarwid landed her breakthrough role in Inside Moves; her performance garnered her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. The following year, she portrayed the adult Christina Crawford, the abused adopted daughter of Hollywood legend Joan Crawford in the 1981 film Mommie Dearest. Her performance earned her a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress.

Scarwid's next roles were in the TV movie Desperate Lives (1982); Strange Invaders; Rumble Fish (1983); Silkwood, the 1983 autobiographical film depicting the turn of events that led to the disappearance of Karen Silkwood; The Ladies Club; Psycho III (1986), the second sequel to Alfred Hitchcock's Psycho and the third movie in the Psycho series; and the 1986 film adaptation of William Mastrosimone's 1982 play Extremities. Other movies included Heat, the TV movie After the Promise (1987), and Brenda Starr, the adventure film based on Dale Messick's comic strip Brenda Starr, Reporter.

The 1990s

Scarwid started off the decade with the role of Willa Harper in Night of the Hunter (1991), the TV remake of the 1955 film; the role was originated by Shelley Winters. Scarwid's next role was the portrayal of Rose Kennedy in JFK: Reckless Youth, a miniseries based on Nigel Hamilton's novel of the same name. In 1995, she played a bigoted and neglectful mother in the comedy-drama movie The Cure; the same year, she starred in The Neon Bible opposite Denis Leary. She portrayed Bess Truman in Truman (1995), an interpretation of David McCullough's Pulitzer Prize-winning book Truman. Scarwid played an alcoholic mother in Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain. Some time that year, she and Scheinbart divorced.

In 1996, Scarwid had roles in Trial By Fire, an episode of The Outer Limits;Bastard Out of Carolina, Anjelica Huston's interpretation of Dorothy Allison's novel; the TV movie If These Walls Could Talk; the TV movie Critical Choices; and the TV movie The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue.

Other highlights included roles in The X-Files in the episode titled "Kitsunegari"; the TV movie Ruby Bridges (1998); the 12-part miniseries From the Earth to the Moon (1998); the miniseries A Will of Their Own (1998); and the TV movie Down Will Come Baby.

The 2000s

Scarwid started the new century with the portrayal of Dianne Barrie in the TV movie Dirty Pictures (2000). The same year, she appeared as Michelle Pfeiffer's character's kooky friend in Robert Zemeckis's What Lies Beneath. In 2001, she guest-starred in Law & Order as a fingerprint analyst accused of manslaughter, and in 2003, she appeared as a prying mother in A Guy Thing. The same year, she portrayed Elke Alig, Michael Alig's enabling and neglectful mother in Party Monster, the adaptation of James St. James's memoir Disco Bloodbath. The following year, she starred as Karen Tyler, a smothering mother in Wonderfalls. She returned to the Law and Order franchise with an appearance as a mother on the warpath after finding out her son is a victim of pedophilia in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in the episode titled "Head".

In the mid 2000s, she had roles inRead Thread (2005), Valley of the Heart's Delight (2006); and Local Color (2006). The same year, she guest-starred as Jeanette Owens in Prison Break, following which she assumed the role of Isabel, a mysterious sheriff and island inhabitant in the TV series Lost. Consecutively, she assumed roles in episodes of other TV series, including Cold Case, Pushing Daisies, and Heroes. Nearing the end of the decade, she had roles on The Cleaner (2009) and Criminal Minds (2009).

The 2010s

Scarwid appeared in the TV movieBackyard Wedding (2010) and Sam Levinson's Another Happy Day (2011).

Filmography

Film
Year Title Role Notes
1978 Pretty Baby Frieda
1980 Honeysuckle Rose Jeanne
1980 Inside Moves Louise
1981 Mommie Dearest Christina Crawford
1983 Strange Invaders Margaret Newman
1983 Rumble Fish Cassandra
1983 Silkwood Angela
1986 The Ladies Club Lucy Bricker
1986 Psycho III Maureen Coyle
1986 Extremities Terry
1986 Heat Cassie
1989 Brenda Starr Libby "Lips" Lipscomb
1995 The Cure Gail
1995 The Neon Bible Sarah
1995 Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain Lynette Salerno
1996 Bastard out of Carolina Raylene
1996 The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue Annie Feagan
2000 What Lies Beneath Jody
2002 The Angel Doll Fronia Black
2003 A Guy Thing Sandra Cooper
2003 Party Monster Elke Alig
2004 The Clearing Eva Finch
2005 Red Thread Miss Johnson
2006 Valley of Heart's Delight Natalie Walsh
2006 Local Color Edith Talia
2006 Swimming with the Virgin Mother Short film
2008 And Then She Was Gone Woman in Disguise Short film
2008 Dream Boy Vivian Davies
2011 Another Happy Day Donna

Television
Year Title Role Notes
1976 Police Woman Irene "Sara Who?"
1976 Starsky & Hutch Lisa Graham "Nightmare"
1976 Gibbsville Kathleen "Andrea"
1977 In the Glitter Palace Casey Walker TV movie
1977 The Possessed Lane TV movie
1977 Kingston: Confidential Erica "Golden Girl"
1977 Bunco Lolly TV movie
1978 Forever Sybil Davidson TV movie
1978 Battered Doris Thompson TV movie
1979 Hawaii Five-O Carole Walker "The Spirit Is Willie"
1979 Studs Lonigan Catherine Banahan TV miniseries
1980 Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones Sheila Langtree TV movie
1982 Desperate Lives Eileen Phillips TV movie
1982 Thou Shalt Not Kill Susan Masters TV movie
1985 A Bunny's Tale Toby TV movie
1987 After the Promise Anna Jackson TV movie
1991 Night of the Hunter Willa Harper TV movie
1993 American Experience Louisa Holt "Simple Justice"
1993 Labor of Love: The Arlette Schweitzer Story Darlene TV movie
1993 J.F.K.: Reckless Youth Rose Kennedy TV movie
1995 Truman Bess Truman TV movie
1996 The Outer Limits Elizabeth Halsey "Trial by Fire"
1996 If These Walls Could Talk Marcia Schulman Segment: "1996"
1996 Critical Choices Diana TV movie
1998 The X-Files Linda Bowman "Kitsunegari"
1998 Ruby Bridges Miss Woodmere TV movie
1998 From the Earth to the Moon Joan Aldrin "Mare Tranquilitatis"
1998 Before He Wakes Joanne Michaels TV movie
1998 A Will of Their Own Crystal Eastman "1.1"
1999 Down Will Come Baby Dorothy McIntyre TV movie
2000 Dirty Pictures Dianne Barrie TV movie
2001 Law & Order Lisa Russo "Myth of Fingerprints"
2002 Path to War Marny Clifford TV movie
2004 Wonderfalls Karen Tyler Main role
2004 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Jackie Madden "Head"
2006 Prison Break Jeanette Owens "Subdivision", "Buried", "Dead Fall"
2007 Lost Isabel "Stranger in a Strange Land"
2008 Cold Case Rayanne Leland "Spiders"
2008-2009 Pushing Daisies Mother Superior Recurring role
2009 Tribute Cathy Morrow TV movie
2009 Heroes Alice Shaw "1961"
2009 The Cleaner Mrs. Geiler "Split Ends"
2009 Criminal Minds Jane Winmar "Cradle to Grave"
2010 Backyard Wedding Susan Slauson TV movie
gollark: I'm also hoping some sort of comparatively cheap geoengineering-type solution is developed for climate problems, because otherwise we have basically no chance of hitting the not-heating-the-world-up-a-lot targets, unless the world ends up with a totalitarian ecodictatorship or something.
gollark: Though wiping out lots of species is *probably* not a great idea, since we rely on ecosystems functioning.
gollark: The Earth is very hard to destroy.
gollark: I'm not exactly left, and it seems to have put me in "democratic socialism".
gollark: I'm libertarian center-ish and progressive.

References
  1. https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K131-N9S accessed 2/12/2015
  2. "Diana Scarwid". Cinema.com. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
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