Jennifer Jason Leigh

Acting

Jennifer Jason Leigh

Born 1962-02-05 · Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Jennifer Jason Leigh (born Jennifer Leigh Morrow; February 5, 1962) is an American actress. She began her career on television during the 1970s before making her film breakthrough in the teen film Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982). She received critical praise for her performances in Last Exit to Brooklyn (1989), Miami Blues (1990), Backdraft (1991), Single White Female (1992), and The Hudsucker Proxy (1994). She was nominated for a Golden Globe for her portrayal of Dorothy Parker in Mrs Parker and the Vicious Circle (1994). Leigh starred in a 1995 film written by her mother, screenwriter Barbara Turner, titled Georgia. She co-wrote and co-directed a film with Alan Cumming titled The Anniversary Party (2001). Leigh starred in the crime drama Road to Perdition (2002) and the family drama Margot at the Wedding (2007). She had a recurring role on the Showtime comedy-drama series Weeds (2009–2012). She received critical acclaim for her voice work in Charlie Kaufman's Anomalisa (2015). For her role as fugitive Daisy Domergue in The Hateful Eight (2015), she was nominated for the Golden Globe and Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. From 2017 to 2021, she starred in the Netflix comedy-drama series Atypical while featuring in the science fiction films Annihilation (2018) and Possessor (2020). She has since starred in the fifth season of the crime drama series Fargo (2023). For her stage work, Leigh was nominated for a Drama Desk award for her off-Broadway performance as Beverly Moss in Mike Leigh's Abigail's Party. Her Broadway debut occurred in 1998 when she became the replacement for the role of Sally Bowles in the musical Cabaret.

Acting credits

Crime 101 poster
7.0

When an elusive thief whose high-stakes heists unfold along the iconic 101 freeway in Los Angeles eyes the score of a lifetime, with hopes of this being his final job, his path collides with a disillusioned insurance broker who is facing her own crossroads. Determined to crack the case, a relentless detective closes in on the operation, raising the stakes even higher.

Crime 101

2026

Annihilation poster
6.4

A biologist signs up for a dangerous, secret expedition into a mysterious zone where the laws of nature don't apply.

Annihilation

2018

The Hateful Eight poster
7.8

Bounty hunters seek shelter from a raging blizzard and get caught up in a plot of betrayal and deception.

The Hateful Eight

2015

Good Time poster
7.2

After a botched bank robbery lands his younger brother in prison, Connie Nikas embarks on a twisted odyssey through New York City's underworld to get his brother Nick out of jail.

Good Time

2017

The Machinist poster
7.5

Trevor, an insomniac lathe operator, experiences unusual occurrences at work and home. A strange man follows him everywhere, but no one else seems to notice him.

The Machinist

2004

Synecdoche, New York poster
7.5

A theater director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he attempts to create a life-size replica of New York inside a warehouse as part of his new play.

Synecdoche, New York

2008

eXistenZ poster
6.8

A game designer on the run from assassins must play her latest virtual reality creation with a marketing trainee to determine if the game has been damaged.

eXistenZ

1999

Road to Perdition poster
7.4

Mike Sullivan works as a hit man for crime boss John Rooney. Sullivan views Rooney as a father figure, however after his son is witness to a killing, Mike Sullivan finds himself on the run in attempt to save the life of his son and at the same time looking for revenge on those who wronged him.

Road to Perdition

2002

Backdraft poster
6.7

Two feuding siblings carrying on a heroic family tradition as Chicago firefighters. But when a puzzling series of arson attacks is reported, they are forced to set aside their differences to solve the mystery surrounding these crimes.

Backdraft

1991

The Jacket poster
6.9

A military veteran goes on a journey into the future, where he can foresee his death and is left with questions that could save his life and those he loves.

The Jacket

2005

Short Cuts poster
7.2

Many loosely connected characters cross paths in this film, based on the stories of Raymond Carver. Waitress Doreen Piggot accidentally runs into a boy with her car. Soon after walking away, the child lapses into a coma. While at the hospital, the boy's grandfather tells his son, Howard, about his past affairs. Meanwhile, a baker starts harassing the family when they fail to pick up the boy's birthday cake.

Short Cuts

1993

The Woman in the Window poster
6.0

An agoraphobic woman living alone in New York begins spying on her new neighbors only to witness a disturbing act of violence.

The Woman in the Window

2021

Dolores Claiborne poster
7.3

Dolores Claiborne was accused of killing her abusive husband twenty years ago, but the court's findings were inconclusive and she was allowed to walk free. Now she has been accused of killing her employer, Vera Donovan, and this time there is a witness who can place her at the scene of the crime. Things look bad for Dolores when her daughter Selena, a successful Manhattan magazine writer, returns to cover the story.

Dolores Claiborne

1995

The Hitcher poster
6.9

On a stormy night, young Jim, who transports a luxury car from Chicago to California to deliver it to its owner, feeling tired and sleepy, picks up a mysterious hitchhiker, who has appeared out of nowhere, thinking that a good conversation will help him not to fall asleep. He will have enough time to deeply regret such an unmeditated decision.

The Hitcher

1986

Fast Times at Ridgemont High poster
6.8

A group of Southern-California high school students ignore their studies in favor of indulging in their teenage distractions.

Fast Times at Ridgemont High

1982

The Man Who Wasn't There poster
7.5

A tale of murder, crime and punishment set in the summer of 1949. Ed Crane, a barber in a small California town, is dissatisfied with his life, but his wife Doris' infidelity and a mysterious opportunity presents him with a chance to change it.

The Man Who Wasn't There

2001

The Hudsucker Proxy poster
7.1

A naive business graduate is installed as president of a manufacturing company as part of a stock scam.

The Hudsucker Proxy

1994

Morgan poster
5.8

A corporate risk-management consultant must determine whether or not to terminate an artificial being's life that was made in a laboratory environment.

Morgan

2016

Flesh + Blood poster
6.6

A band of medieval mercenaries take revenge on a noble Lord who cheated them by kidnapping his son's fiancée. As the plague and warfare cut a swathe of destruction throughout the land, the mercenaries hole up in a castle and await their fate.

Flesh + Blood

1985

White Boy Rick poster
6.3

The story of Richard Wershe Jr., a teenager who became an undercover informant for the police during the 1980s, and was ultimately arrested for drug trafficking and sentenced to life in prison.

White Boy Rick

2018

Night Always Comes poster
6.1

Facing eviction in a city her family can no longer afford, a woman plunges into a desperate and increasingly dangerous all-night search to raise $25,000.

Night Always Comes

2025

Amityville: The Awakening poster
5.3

Belle, her little sister, and her comatose twin brother move into a new house with their single mother in order to save money to help pay for her brother's expensive healthcare. But when strange phenomena begin to occur including the miraculous recovery of her brother, Belle begins to suspect her mother isn't telling her everything and soon learns they moved into the infamous Amityville house.

Amityville: The Awakening

2017

Kill Your Darlings poster
7.0

A murder in 1944 draws together the great poets of the beat generation: Allen Ginsberg, Jack Kerouac and William Burroughs.

Kill Your Darlings

2013

Awake poster
5.8

After a sudden global event wipes out all electronics and takes away humankind’s ability to sleep, chaos quickly begins to consume the world. Only Jill, an ex-soldier with a troubled past, may hold the key to a cure in the form of her own daughter. The question is, can Jill safely deliver her daughter and save the world before she herself loses her mind.

Awake

2021

Behind the camera

Greenberg poster
5.9

Roger Greenberg, a failed musician now making a living as a carpenter in New York, returns to Los Angeles to house-sit for his brother. He's stranded there—since he doesn't drive—until his brother's assistant, Florence, comes to his rescue. She's as much a lost soul as he is, and the pair form a significant connection—giving Roger a much-needed reason to be happy.

Greenberg

2010

The Anniversary Party poster
5.6

While celebrating their reconciliation and six years of marriage, American actress Sally Nash and British novelist Joe Therrian receive their close friends, some colleagues and their next door neighbors in a party. Under the effect of Ecstasy, revelations are disclosed and relationships deteriorate among the group.

The Anniversary Party

2001

The Anniversary Party poster
5.6

While celebrating their reconciliation and six years of marriage, American actress Sally Nash and British novelist Joe Therrian receive their close friends, some colleagues and their next door neighbors in a party. Under the effect of Ecstasy, revelations are disclosed and relationships deteriorate among the group.

The Anniversary Party

2001

The Anniversary Party poster
5.6

While celebrating their reconciliation and six years of marriage, American actress Sally Nash and British novelist Joe Therrian receive their close friends, some colleagues and their next door neighbors in a party. Under the effect of Ecstasy, revelations are disclosed and relationships deteriorate among the group.

The Anniversary Party

2001

Georgia poster
5.7

Sadie looks up to her older sister Georgia, a successful folk singer. Unfortunately it is this very obsession — coupled with her self-destructive tendencies and rampant drug abuse — that keeps her spiraling down the drain.

Georgia

1995