
Due to the nature of her father's professions, her family moved more than a dozen times to various towns and cities in Minnesota before settling down in her hometown, where she graduated from Cloquet High School. Her paternal ancestry is German and Dutch, her maternal ancestry Finnish. She has two older sisters, Jane and Ann, and a younger brother, George. Her father, Albert John Lange, was a teacher and traveling salesman, and her mother, Dorothy Florence (née Sahlman), was a housewife. Jessica Phyllis Lange was born on April 20, 1949, in Cloquet, Minnesota. She has been a foster parent and holds a Goodwill Ambassador position for UNICEF, specializing in HIV/AIDS in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Russia. Lange is also a photographer with five published books of photography. In 2016, Lange won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for the Broadway revival of Long Day's Journey into Night.

She received her ninth Emmy Award nomination for her portrayal of Joan Crawford in the miniseries Feud (2017). Lange then gained new recognition by starring in FX's horror anthology, American Horror Story (2011–2015, 2018), which earned her two additional Primetime Emmys for its first and third seasons. In 2010, Lange won her first Primetime Emmy Award for her portrayal Big Edie in HBO's Grey Gardens (2009). Her other film roles include in All That Jazz (1979), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), Crimes of the Heart (1986), Cape Fear (1991), Rob Roy (1995), and Big Fish (2003).Īs her screen career started to decline, Lange transitioned into television starring in O Pioneers! (1992), A Streetcar Named Desire (1995) and Normal (2003).

Her other Oscar-nominated roles were for Frances (1982), Country (1984), Sweet Dreams (1985) and Music Box (1989). 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 Blue Sky (1994). Lange made her professional film debut in the remake King Kong (1976) which despite receiving mixed reviews, earned her the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year.

She is one of the few performers to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, having received two Academy Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award. Jessica Phyllis Lange ( / l æ ŋ/ born April 20, 1949) is an American actress.
