Joan Crawford as Joan Crawford | FEUD on FX
Career Highlights
Acclaimed as one of the greatest actresses of her generation, Jessica Lange has dazzled the screen with over 30 credits to her name. Making her Hollywood debut in John Guillermin’s King Kong opposite Jeff Bridges and Charles Grodin, Lange won a Golden Globe® for Best Acting Debut in a Motion Picture. Since then, she has permanently placed her name amongst the Hollywood elite, earning a total of two Academy Awards®, three Emmys®, five Golden Globes, a Tony Award®, and a SAG Award®.
Most recently, Lange reprised her role as “Mary Tyrone” in Eugene O’Neil’s Long Day's Journey Into Night on Broadway. The performance earned her a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play, a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play, an Outer Critics Circle Award in the category of Outstanding Actress in a Play, and a Drama League Award nomination for The Distinguished Performance Award.
Throughout her longstanding career, Lange has continued to take on diverse roles in many acclaimed film and television projects. She received dual Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for her challenging performances in Frances and in Sydney Pollack’s memorable comedy Tootsie starring opposite Dustin Hoffman, for which she took home the Oscar for Supporting Actress. She won her second Oscar in 1994 for Best Actress in Blue Sky, which she starred opposite Tommy Lee Jones. Lange has also starred in legendary films such as Sweet Dreams, Music Box, The Postman Always Rings Twice, Country, Rob Roy, and Cape Fear.
Lange’s presence on the television screen has been just as prominent. In 1996, she picked up her first Emmy nomination for the made for TV adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire in which Lange played “Blanche DuBois.” Since then, she also starred in Normal, Sybil, Grey Gardens, and the critically-acclaimed American Horror Story.
Lead by co-creators Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk, Lange starred in four seasons of FX's horror anthology series American Horror Story. In 2012, she won a Golden Globe, SAG Award, and Emmy Award for her portrayal as character “Constance Langdon” in the show’s 1st installment, American Horror Story: Murder House.
For the second installment, American Horror Story: Asylum, Lange played “Sister Jude,” a no-nonsense nun who runs a mental institution. Yet again, she garnered rave reviews for her character portrayal, earning her 2013 Golden Globe and SAG Awards nominations.
In American Horror Story: Coven, the show’s third installment, Lange starred as “Fiona Goode,” Supreme witch of the Salem descendants. Her mesmerizing performance earned her the 2014 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or Movie, as well as 2014 Golden Globe and SAG Awards nominations.
Lange completed her run on the American Horror Story franchise in 2015. She starred as “Elsa Mars,” a German expatriate who owned one of the last remaining freak shows in American Horror Story: Freak Show.