Biography

Notable for playing sultry women in films such as The Cotton Club, actress Diane Lane began her film career at age 13, beginning with a role in George Roy Hill's, A Little Romance (1979) starring opposite Sir Laurence Olivier. Lane's enchanting combination of sexuality and innocence made her popular with adolescent audiences and landed her on the cover of Time magazine. Despite such a promising beginning to her career, Lane was subsequently relegated to work in a series of unremarkable films throughout the rest of the decade; it was not until the late '90s that she re-emerged into the spotlight, thanks to strong work in such films as A Walk on the Moon (1999). The daughter of drama coach Burt Lane, Lane made her acting debut at the age of six, working with New York's renowned experimental group Cafe La Mama. With them, Lane toured Europe in productions of Medea and The Trojan Women, among other plays. Working for Joseph Papp, Lane appeared in his productions of The Cherry Orchard and Agamemnon at Lincoln Center. In 1978, she received critical acclaim for her lead performance in the off-Broadway hit Runaways. Following her success in A Little Romance (1979), Lane was lucky enough to be able to sustain a steady career as a young adult actress. Her profile was noticeably enhanced after director Francis Ford Coppola became her mentor and provided her with roles in such films as The Outsiders (1983), Rumble Fish (1983), and The Cotton Club (1984). Her career suffered several blows during the latter half of the '80s and early '90s, thanks largely to work in films of low quality. With her acclaimed portrayal of a dissatisfied 1960s Jewish housewife in A Walk on the Moon, however, Lane once again found herself basking in the glow of Hollywood adulation.

Filmography

Under the Tuscan Sun (2003)
Just Like Mona (2002) .... Mona
Searching for Debra Winger (2002) .... Herself
Unfaithful (2002) .... Connie Sumner
Glass House, The (2001/I) .... Dr. Erin Madre-Glass
Hardball (2001) .... Elizabeth Wilkes
Perfect Storm, The (2000) .... Christina 'Chris' Cotter
Virginian, The (2000) (TV) .... Molly Stark
My Dog Skip (2000) .... Ellen Morris

Setting Sun, The (1999)
Walk on the Moon, A (1999) .... Pearl Kantrowitz
Grace and Glorie (1998) (TV) .... Gloria 'Glorie' Greenwood
Gunshy (1998) .... Melissa Hunter
Only Thrill, The (1997) .... Katherine Fritzsimmons
Murder at 1600 (1997) .... Nina Chance, Secret Service Agent
Mad Dog Time (1996) .... Grace Everly
... aka Trigger Happy (1996) (video title)
Jack (1996) .... Karen Powell
Wild Bill (1995) .... Susannah Moore, Jack McCall's Mother
Streetcar Named Desire, A (1995) (TV) .... Stella
Judge Dredd (1995) .... Judge Hershey
Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All (1994) (TV) .... Lucy Marsden (age 14-61)
"Fallen Angels" (1993) TV Series .... Bernette Stone (Murder, Obliquely)
Indian Summer (1993) .... Beth Warden/Clair Everett (flashback)
Chaplin (1992) .... Paulette Goddard
... aka Charlot (1992) (Italy)
My New Gun (1992) .... Debbie Bender
Knight Moves (1992) .... Kathy Sheppard
... aka Face to Face (1992)
... aka Knight Moves (1992) (Germany)
... aka Knight Moves - Ein mörderisches Spiel (1992) (Germany)
Lonesome Dove: The Making of an Epic (1991) (TV) .... Herself
Descending Angel (1990) (TV) .... Irina Stroia
Vital Signs (1990) .... Gina Wyler

Love Dream (1989) .... China
... aka Priceless Beauty (1989) (USA)
"Lonesome Dove" (1989) (mini) TV Series .... Lorena Wood
Big Town, The (1987) .... Lorry Dane
Lady Beware (1987) .... Katya Yarno
Cotton Club, The (1984) .... Vera Cicero
Music Videos and Inside 'Streets of Fire' (1984) (TV) .... Herself (Ellen Aim)
Streets of Fire (1984) .... Ellen Aim
Rumble Fish (1983) .... Patty
Outsiders, The (1983) .... Cherry Valance
Miss All-American Beauty (1982) (TV) .... Sally Butterfield
Six Pack (1982) .... Breezy
Ladies and Gentlemen, the Fabulous Stains (1981) .... Corinne Burns
... aka All Washed Up (1981)
National Lampoon Goes to the Movies (1981) .... Liza
... aka National Lampoon's Movie Madness (1981)
Summer (1981) (TV) .... Charity Royall
Child Bride of Short Creek (1981) (TV) .... Jessica Rae Jacobs
Cattle Annie and Little Britches (1981) .... Jenny (Little Britches)
Touched by Love (1980) .... Karen
... aka To Elvis, with Love (1980)

Little Romance, A (1979) .... Lauren
... aka I love you, je t'aime (1979) (France)