Juliette Lewis is recognized as one of Hollywood's most talented and versatile actors of her generation.
Oscar Nomination: 1
Supporting Actress, 1991
She first stunned audiences and critics alike with her Oscar-nominated performance as Danielle Bowden in Martin Scorsese's thriller "Cape Fear," in 1991. Her powerful scenes with Robert De Niro, who plays a psychotic ex-cop taking revenge on her father-lawyer who had prosecuted him, captured the quiet complexities of adolescence and earned her an Oscar nomination and Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress.
Oscar Context
The other nominees for the Supporting Actress Oscar in 1991 were: Diane Ladd in "Rambling Rose," Kate Nelligan in "The Prince of Tides," Mercedes Ruehl in "The Fisher King," who won, and Jessica Tandy in "Fried Green Tomatoes."
Career
Juliette Lewis has worked with some of the most revered directors in the industry, including Scorsese, Woody Allen, Lasse Hallstrm, Oliver Stone, and Garry Marshall. Whether lending dramatic authenticity or a natural comedic flair, Lewis graces her roles with remarkable range and an original and captivating style.
Lewis recently co-starred in the independent film Aurora Borealis with Joshua Jackson and Donald Sutherland. She also had a supporting role in The Darwin Awards with David Arquette and Winona Ryder and appeared as Flora, a charming, warm-hearted widow, opposite Johnny Knoxville in Daltry Calhoun, executive-produced by Quentin Tarantino. Other feature film credits include the comedies Grilled, Starsky & Hutch, and Old School, the action-adventure Blueberry, and the thrillers Cold Creek Manor and Enough.
Lewis received both an Emmy Award nomination and an Independent Spirit Award nomination for her nuanced performance opposite Uma Thurman in HBO's poignant drama "Hysterical Blindness." She also received an Emmy nomination for her performance in Showtime's "My Louisiana Sky," a coming-of age drama set in rural Louisiana in the early 1950s.
The Hollywood native began her acting career at an early age, appearing in the sitcoms "The Wonder Years" and "I Married Dora." She went on to star in the critically acclaimed telefilm "Too Young to Die," based on the true story of Amanda Sue Bradley, a sexually abused runaway who was the first minor to receive the death sentence. Lewis' performance caught the attention of Martin Scorsese, who cast her in the thriller Cape Fear.
Other standout performances include roles as a mentally challenged woman on a journey of independence in Garry Marshall's The Other Sister, a self-assured college coed in Woody Allen's Husbands and Wives, a dysfunctional innocent on a cross-country journey with her psycho-killer boyfriend in Kalifornia, a wise and worldly young drifter in What's Eating Gilbert Grape, and half of a mass murdering duo in Oliver Stone's controversial media satire, Natural Born Killers.
As with her acting career, Lewis exhibits the same focus and passion with her parallel career fronting her rock 'n' roll band, Juliette and the Licks. Collaborating with such hot, hip music producers as Linda Perry, Tony Hoffer, and The Prodigy's Liam Howlett, the band's songs, which are mostly penned by Lewis, speak for empowerment and individualism, qualities which Lewis herself imbues. The band's EP, "Like a Bolt of Lightning," and their debut album, "You're Speaking My Language," continue to gain a strong following. Their most recent album, Four on the Floor, has just been released.
