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Who is Jeanne Tripplehorn?
American actress Jeanne Marie Tripplehorn was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma USA, on 10 June 1963, meaning that Gemini’s her zodiac sign. She’s had roles in nearly 50 movies and TV series, but is perhaps still known best for playing Dr. Beth Garner in the 1992 mystery thriller movie “Basic Instinct”, which starred Sharon Stone and Michael Douglas, and was directed by Paul Verhoeven. It follows a violent police detective as he’s investigating a brutal murder, and the movie won five of its 27 award nominations, including two Oscar nominations for Best Music, Original Score and Best Film Editing.
Education and early life
Jeanne was raised in Tulsa alongside her brother Jason, by their father Tom Tripplehorn and mother Suzanne Ferguson; her father was once a guitarist in the popular rock ‘n’ roll group Gary Lewis & The Playboys. Tom and Suzanne divorced when Jeanne was two, but it’s believed that they both remained highly involved in her upbringing.
She studied at Edison High School and was perhaps mostly into dancing and singing during her four years there; Jeanne was also interested in acting, appearing in a couple of school plays, and she occasionally played volleyball with her peers.
She matriculated in 1981 and then spent half a year studying at the University of Tulsa, prior to finding work at the local radio station KMOD.
Jeanne eventually changed her mind about college and enrolled at Juilliard School’s Drama Division, from which she graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in 1990.
Roles in movies
Jeanne’s debut film role was playing Julia Warren in the 1991 drama “The Perfect Tribute”, and some of her following roles were in the 1993 romantic comedy “The Night We Never Met”, the 1993 mystery thriller “The Firm”, and the 1994 romantic comedy “Reality Bites”.
In 1995, she starred as Helen in the hit action science fiction adventure “Waterworld”, which also starred Kevin Costner and Dennis Hopper, and was directed by Kevin Reynolds. Set in an apocalyptic future, in which Earth is nearly entirely submerged, the movie follows a mutated mariner as he’s searching for land, and it won six of its 15 award nominations, including an Oscar nomination for Best Sound. Some of Jeanne’s roles in the remainder of the decade were in the 1997 historical drama “Old Man”, the 1998 crime thriller comedy “Very Bad Things” and the 1999 romantic crime comedy “Mickey Blue Eyes”.
The year 2002 saw her play Marina in the romantic comedy “Swept Away”, which starred Madonna and Adriano Giannini, and was written and directed by Guy Ritchie. It follows a communist sailor who’s been stranded on an island with a snooty socialite, and the film won eight of its 16 award nominations. Jeanne had only a couple of other film roles in the remainder of the 2000s, some of which in the 2003 drama “Word of Honor”, the 2008 crime drama “Winged Creatures”, and the 2010 crime comedy “Crazy on the Outside”.
She played the lead character Nina in the 2013 romantic drama “A Perfect Man”, which also starred Joelle Carter and Live Schreiber, and was directed by Kees Van Oostrum. It follows a womanizing husband who’s fallen back in love with his wife, only because she’s pretending to be another woman over the phone.
Jeanne’s three most recent movie roles have been in 2018 in the drama “We Only Know So Much” and the musical comedy “Gloria Bell”, and the 2020 comedy “Ana”.
Roles in TV series
Jeanne’s debut TV series role was playing Goo in three episodes of the 1992 comedy “The Ben Stiller Show”, and the year 1996 saw her portray Stone Throwing Singer in the episode “The Biggest Failure in Broadway History” of the comedy “Mr. Show with Bob and David”.
Her following role came in 2003, when cast to play Chelsea in the episode “Trophy Girlfriend” of the comedy “Frasier”, while the year 2007 saw her play Barb Henrickson in the drama “Big Love: In the Beginning”, which starred Chloe Sevigny and Ginnifer Goodwin, and was created by Mark V. Olsen and Will Scheffer; it follows the lives of members of the Henrickson family.
From 2006 through 2011, Jeanne starred as Barb Henrickson in all 53 episodes of the hit drama “Big Love”, which also starred Bill Paxton and Chloe Sevigny, and was created by Mark V. Olsen. It follows the life of the owner of home improvement stores who has three wives, and is trying to hide that he’s a polygamist from the public; the series won seven of its 52 award nominations.
In 2012, Jeanne played Hope Chatsworth in all 20 episodes of the short action “Electric City”, which starred Tom Hanks, and was also created by him; it provides a view into the future of civilization, and the series won one of its two award nominations.
Some of Jeanne’s most recent TV series roles have been in six episodes of the 2022 drama “The Gilded Age”, eight episodes of the 2022 action thriller “The Terminal List”, and 22 episodes of the crime mystery “Exeter” since 2018.
Other credits
Jeanne sang the song “Jeepers Creepers – Semi-Star” in the 1996 episode “The Biggest Failure in Broadway History” of the series “Mr. Show with Bob and David”.
She received special thanks for the 2001 short documentary film “Blonde Poison: The Making of ‘Basic Instinct’”.
Some of Jeanne’s recent talk-show appearances have been in “GMA3: What You Need to Know”, “The Three Questions with Andy Richter” and “Celebrity Page”.
Awards and nominations
Jeanne’s been nominated for seven awards, including a 2009 Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie, for her performance in “Grey Gardens”.
Some of her other nominations include a 1993 Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress, for “Basic Instinct”, two Satellite Awards for Best Actress in a Series, Drama in 2006 and 2007, both for “Big Love,” and a 2009 Online Film & Television Association Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture of Miniseries, for “Grey Gardens”.
Love life and relationships
Jeanne avoids speaking about her love life in public, but has still allowed her fans a glimpse into it. From 1990 through 1996, she was in a relationship with famous American actor, moviemaker and comedian Benjamin Edward Meara ‘Ben’ Stiller; he has 56 acting credits, and has won 18 of his 85 award nominations.
Since 14 October 2000, Jeanne’s been married to American actor, screenwriter and director Leland Orser; he’s had roles in close to 100 TV series and movies, but is probably still known best for playing Crazed Man in Massage Parlor in the evergreen 1995 crime mystery movie “Se7en”. Jeanne gave birth to her and Leland’s son August Tripplehorn Orser on 11 May 2002.
She’s yet to mention other men whom she’s dated, Jeanne’s married to Leland Orser as of June 2023, and they have a son together.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Jeanne was to play the lead character in the hit 1994 romantic comedy movie “Four Weddings and a Funeral”, however, her mother died right before she was to start shooting for it and Jeanne was thus replaced by Andie MacDowell.
She was also cast to play Mia Wallace in the evergreen 1994 crime movie “Pulp Fiction”, which is widely believed to be one of the best movies of all time; Jeanne turned down the role, and was replaced by Uma Thurman.
Her brother Jason’s a rock ‘n’ roll musician – he made an uncredited appearance as a drummer in the 1994 romantic comedy movie “Reality Bites”.
Jeanne’s a philanthropist and environmentalist, and is today a spokesperson for the World Monuments Fund.
One of her favorite actresses is Andie MacDowell, and some of her favorite movies include “Groundhog Day”, “Ready or Not”, and “Magic Mike XXL”.
Height, eyes and wealth
Jeanne’s age is 59. Her hair and eyes are brown, she’s 5ft 7ins (1.7m) tall and weighs around 135lbs (61kgs).
Jeanne’s net worth’s been estimated at over $8 million, as of June 2023.
