Diana Scarwid

Diana Scarwid
Born	(1955-08-27) August 27, 1955 (age 69)[1][2] Savannah, Georgia, U.S
Nationality	American
Education	The American Academy of Dramatic Arts Pace University
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1976–2011
Spouse	Eric Scheinbart ​ ​ (m. 1978; div. 1995)​
Children	2

Diana Scarwid (born August 27, 1955) is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Christina Crawford in Mommie Dearest (1981). She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Inside Moves (1980), and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for Truman (1995).

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

Early life

Scarwid was born in Savannah, Georgia, the daughter of Elizabeth (née Frizelle)^[3] and Anthony John Scarwid. She has three brothers. Diana moved to New York City at 17 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.^[4]

Career

The 1980s

In 1980, Scarwid appeared in films Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones and Honeysuckle Rose.^[5][6] She co-starred in films Inside Moves (1980), Mommie Dearest (1981), and Brenda Starr (1989).^[7][8][9] Scarwid earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Inside Moves and a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress in Mommie Dearest.

In television movies, Scarwid had performances in Desperate Lives (1982), Strange Invaders, Rumble Fish (1983), Silkwood (1983), The Ladies Club, Psycho III (1986), Extremities (1986), and After the Promise (1987).

The 1990s

In 1991, Scarwid appeared in Night of the Hunter (1991). She portrayed Rose Kennedy in JFK: Reckless Youth (1993). In 1995, Scarwid appeared in films The Cure, The Neon Bible, Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain and Heat, and she portrayed Bess Truman in Truman.

In 1996, Scarwid had roles in Trial By Fire and Bastard Out of Carolina, If These Walls Could Talk, Critical Choices, The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue and The Outer Limits.

In 1998, Scarwid appeared in The X-Files ( episode "Kitsunegari"), Ruby Bridges, From the Earth to the Moon, A Will of Their Own, and 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 German immigrant 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 in Read 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 movie Backyard 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 the 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

References

1. "Celebrities: Today's Birthdays". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. August 27, 1997. p. 8. ProQuest 260578020. Actress Barbara Bach is 50. Actor Paul Reubens is 45. Rock musician Alex Lifeson (Rush) is 44. Actress Diana Scarwid is 42. Rap musician Bobo (Cypress Hill) is 29.
2. "Happy Birthday". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. August 27, 2022. pp. C3. ProQuest 2707161500. Country musician Jeff Cook is 73. Actor Peter Stormare is 69. Actor Diana Scarwid is 67. Gospel singer Yolanda Adams is 61.
3. familysearch.org https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K131-N9S. Retrieved February 12, 2015. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)^{[title missing]}
4. "Diana Scarwid". Cinema.com. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
5. "Guyana Tragedy: Story of Jim Jones". www.tcm.com. Turner Classic Movies, Inc. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
6. "Honeysuckle Rose". www.tcm.com. Turner Classic Movies, Inc. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
7. Maslin, Janet (December 19, 1980). "'INSIDE MOVES,' STARRING JOHN SAVAGE". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
8. "Mommie Dearest". www.tcm.com. Turner Classic Movies, Inc. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
9. "Brenda Starr". www.tcm.com. Turner Classic Movies, Inc. Retrieved July 3, 2023.

External links

• Diana Scarwid at IMDb
• Brief bio at Red Thread Archived June 22, 2007, at the Wayback Machine