Legends ... Vanessa Redgrave

Born: 1937
Resume: 61 films, 1 Academy Award, 6 nominations
Most recently: Plays a psychiatrist in James Mangold's Girl, Interrupted and a countess in Tim Robbins' Cradle Will Rock, both opening in December.
Relatives in the biz: Parents Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson, siblings Lynn and Corin Redgrave, daughters Natasha and Joely Richardson, son Carlo Sparanero
How she does it: Intensity. Unpredictability. Complete commitment. What characterizes Redgrave as an activist is what characterizes her as an actress—and what has kept viewers riveted for 35 years. The secret? As with all of the greats, it's in the eyes, and the voice, the body, the brain. Let others talk of their talent as an "instrument." Redgrave's is an orchestra.

Classic roles

Real people: Isadora Duncan, Mary Queen of Scots, Agatha Christie, Renee Richards, Oscar Wilde's mother, concentration-camp survivor Fania Fenelon

Fictional Greats: A genteel dying mother in Howards End, the introspective title character in Mrs. Dalloway, Olive Chancellor in The Bostonians, Jean Travers in David Hare's Wetherby

Just for fun: Played Joan Crawford's role in a TV remake of What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? opposite her sister; played Tea Leoni's mom in Deep Impact; mopped the floor with Tom Cruise in Mission: Impossible

Originally posted Sep 24, 1999 Published in issue #504 Sep 24, 1999 Order article reprints
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