The name Sigourney is of French origin and can be translated as “the conqueror” or “daring king or queen,” and Susan Alexandra “Sigourney” Weaver has been just that with a film career spanning more than 50 years.
Weaver catapulted to worldwide fame in 1979 with her portrayal of Ellen Ripley in Ridley Scott’s “Alien.” For this role, she earned a nomination for the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) Award for Most Promising Newcomer. Her appearance in subsequent films in the “Alien” franchise and her roles in the “Ghostbusters” series, “WALL-E,” and “Avatar” have earned her the nickname “The Sci-Fi Queen.”
Weaver began referring to herself as “Sigourney” at the age of 14, taking the name from a minor character in The Great Gatsby. She attended Stanford University, participating in theater and majoring in English. Despite later graduating from Yale University’s School of Drama with a Master of Fine Arts, Weaver lacked confidence and was self-conscious about her looks, her height (Weaver is just shy of 5 feet, 11 inches tall), and the absence of support from her parents.
“They both thought that I might be eaten alive. I was tall and galumphing around, and I don’t think they looked at me and thought, ‘A star in the making,’” Weaver told The Guardian in 2016.
However, Weaver’s successful film career has proven that she was on the right track all along. She won the Saturn Award for Best Actress and earned nominations for the Academy Award for Best Actress and the Golden Globe Award for Best Actress for “Aliens,” the sequel to her breakout role. Her performances in “Gorillas in the Mist” and “Working Girl” earned her simultaneous Academy Award nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress, respectively, and also won her two Golden Globe Awards. She also won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for appearing in “The Ice Storm.”
Weaver has also been credited for her work as an environmentalist by the Explorer’s Club and is the Honorary Chairwoman of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund. She has one daughter and lives with her husband in Manhattan.