Actress of the month: Sigourney Weaver

I have so many favorite actresses that I figure I could write a monthly blog on each one of them. And I'm going with actresses over actors because I feel women had to be twice as good as their counterparts to get respect. I may chime in with an actor from time to time but mostly my blogs will be directed at the women. And I will start with Sigourney Weaver, because I'm in the midst of watching Alien and Aliens, which most people know her as strong willed Warrant Officer Ellen Ripley. And believe it or not, Sigourney just turned 60 on October 8th. Still looking stunning and impressive as ever. As with most fans, the first I saw Sigourney was in the 1979 classic Alien. She was not the top billed star but as the last survivor standing, she made an impact on the world. She had a bit part in Annie Hall previously and some TV work, most notably the soap opera Somerset. Sigourney had done several plays in high school and college including A Midsummer Night's Dream and You Can't Take It With You. After Alien put her on the map, she followed that film up with Eyewitness with William Hurt and The Year of Living Dangerously with Mel Gibson. Her best work would soon following with film roles in Ghostbusters, Half Moon Street, and Aliens (in which she became the first actress in Academy Award history to be nominated for Best Actress in a science fiction role...she was that good in Aliens). She followed that up with the 1-2 punch of Gorillas in the Mist and Working Girl, achieving Oscar nominations for Best Actress and Best Supporting Actress respectively. She lost both but did manage to win Golden Globes. Various roles followed including two more sequels for her return as Ripley; the sci-fi spoof Galaxy Quest, and Ang Lee's powerful drama The Ice Storm. Sigourney is steadily working today, just recently an Emmy nominated performance in Prayers For Bobby and co-starring with Tina Fey and Amy Poehler for the comedy Baby Mama. She is currently starring in James Cameron's new epic Avatar for release Christmas 2009. Sigourney is one of my favorite all time Actresses and it's a crime she has not yet won an Oscar. But she doesn't need that shiny gold statue to validate her career. Not in my eyes anyway.