Biography
Who is Dianne Wiest?
Early Life
Dianne Wiest was born on March 28, 1948, in Kansas City, Missouri. Her mother, Anne Stewart, worked as a nurse, while her father, Bernard John Wiest, served as a college dean and a psychiatric social worker for the United States Army. Dianne grew up alongside her two brothers, Greg and Don. Her family background involved moving, and she attended high school at Nurnberg American High School in Germany.
During her youth, Dianne originally wanted to become a ballet dancer. However, she shifted her focus toward theater during her senior year of high school. She then enrolled at the University of Maryland, where she pursued her education and graduated in 1969 with a degree in Arts and Sciences.
Stage Career
Dianne left her theater studies in Maryland before finishing in order to tour with a Shakespearean troupe. She later secured a supporting role in a New York Shakespeare Festival production of Ashes. Her early stage work also included performing at the Yale Repertory Theatre in New Haven, Connecticut, where she played the title role in Henrik Ibsen's Hedda Gabler. She served as an understudy both off-Broadway and on Broadway for Kurt Vonnegut's Happy Birthday, Wanda June.
She made her official Broadway debut in Robert Anderson's Solitaire/Double Solitaire. Following this, she spent four years as a member of the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C., performing in plays like Our Town and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. Her performance as Elizabeth Barrow Colt in Tina Howe's The Art of Dining earned her an Obie Award, a Theatre World Award, and the Clarence Derwent Award.
Film and Television Success
Dianne transitioned successfully to film and television. Under the direction of Woody Allen, she won her first Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Hannah and Her Sisters. She later won her second Academy Award in the same category for Bullets Over Broadway, also directed by Woody Allen. Also, she received an Oscar nomination for her performance in Ron Howard's Parenthood.
Her extensive filmography includes appearances in Footloose, The Lost Boys, Edward Scissorhands, The Birdcage, Practical Magic, The Mule, and I Care a Lot. On television, she earned a Primetime Emmy Award for her work on the series Road to Avonlea and secured another Emmy for her role as therapist Gina Toll on the HBO series In Treatment. She also portrayed District Attorney Nora Lewin in Law & Order.
Personal Life
In her personal life, Dianne was in a relationship with her talent agent Sam Cohn for three years during the mid-1980s. She is also a parent who adopted two daughters named Emily and Lily.
Birthday and age
Dianne Wiest was born on March 28, 1948, which makes Dianne 78 years old today. That birthday falls under the Aries sign. Dianne shares the date with 49 other famous people.
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