Daryl Hannah

Daryl Hannah (born 3.12.1960)

Daryl Hannah is an American actress. She rose to fame in the 1980s, with roles in Blade Runner and Splash.

Daryl Hannah: Childhood

Daryl Hannah was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Susan Wexler and Don Hannah. Her father was the owner of a barge and tugboat company. Shortly after she was born, Daryl Hannah's parents divorced. Her mother married Jerrold Wexler, whose brother Haskell was a well-known cinematographer. She has a brother, Don Hannah, a sister, Page Hannah and a half-sister, Tanya Wexler.

Daryl Hannah attended Francis W. Parker School, where she played soccer on the boys' team and was diagnosed as being 'borderline autistic'. She later attended the Latin School of Chicago and the University of Southern California.

Daryl Hannah: Acting Career

Daryl Hannah's debut film appearance came in 1978 when she had a brief role in The Fury, directed by Brian De Palma. After turning down the role of Emmeline Lestrange in The Blue Lagoon, which eventually went to Brooke Shields, Daryl Hannah took her first serious film role in 1982, when she appeared in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner. The cult classic sci-fi thriller also starred Harrison Ford and Rutger Hauer. Later that year, Hannah was cast in Summer Lovers. The film starred Peter Gallagher and became a seasonal hit.

In 1984, Daryl Hannah landed her next big role, when she was cast in Splash. Starring Tom Hanks and John Candy, the film was a huge success and helped to propel Daryl Hannah's profile into Hollywood stardom.

The remainder of the 1980s remained a successful period for Daryl Hannah. In 1986, Hannah was cast in Wall Street, which starred Michael Douglas and Charlie Sheen. Although the performances from the two male leads were highly regarded, Daryl Hannah's performance was widely panned and she earned herself a derogatory 'Razzie' award.

The following year, Daryl Hannah starred opposite Steve Martin in Roxanne, the comedy film version of Cyrano De Bergerac. The film was a hit and the respected film critic Roger Ebert wrote in praise of her performance.

In 1989, Daryl Hannah was part of an all-star cast that performed in the film Steel Magnolias. Other members of the cast included Dolly Parton, Sally Field, Olympia Dukakis, Julia Roberts and Shirley MacLaine.

After the 1980s, there was something of a break in Daryl Hannah's career, though she worked with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau in Grumpy Old Men and Grumpier Old Men.

Daryl Hannah's reputation entered a renaissance with the release of Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill Volume 1 and Kill Bill Volume 2, in which she played Elle Driver, a one-eyed assassin. The films also starred Uma Thurman, Lucy Liu and David Carradine. These two films were followed by an appearance in Northfork, with James Woods and Nick Nolte. Hannah then featured in Dancing at The Blue Iguana, by Michael Radford, the director of Il Postino. Along with her performances in Casa de los Babys and Silver City, Daryl Hannah's career has seen a resurgence since her work with Tarantino. She also appeared as the love interest in Robbie Williams' music video for his song 'Feel'.

Daryl Hannah has also tried her hand working on the other side of the camera. She wrote, produced and directed The Last Supper, which won an accolade at the Berlin Film Festival. She also worked as director and producer on the Channel 4 documentary Strip Notes.

Daryl Hannah: Personal Life

Daryl Hannah runs a weekly video blog entitled 'DHLoveLife', which focuses on sustainable solutions. She also acted as a judge of treehugger.com's 'Convenient Truth' series. She has worked with the Sea Shepherd Conservation group as part of their Operation Musashi, a campaign against whaling. In 2006, she was arrested and jailed for some time for her involvement in a protest against the destruction of an urban farm in Los Angeles. In 2009, she was arrested again - this time for protesting against mountaintop removal in West Virginia.

In the past, Daryl Hannah has had relationships with a number of high profile men, including the singer Jackson Browne, Val Kilmer and John F Kennedy Jr.