ACTOR · BORN 1949

Sigourney Weaver

Born: 8 October 1949, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
Known for: Alien (1979), Avatar (2009), WALL·E (2008), Aliens (1986)

24 archived facts 6 topics 1 source Last reviewed Nov 2026

Sigourney Weaver (born 8 October 1949) is an actor best known for Alien, Avatar and WALL·E.

Sigourney Weaver over the years

24 Interesting Facts About Sigourney Weaver

Interesting Facts (2)

#001
In many of her roles, her character has had to deal with artificially intelligent spaceships. In the Alien movies, she battles them. In Galaxy Quest (1999), much to her character's chagrin, she repeated whatever the spaceship said. In addition, on an episode of Futurama (1999), and in the film WALL·E (2008), she had the chance to voice a spaceship.
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#002
She suffered nightmares for two weeks after reading the screenplay for The Village (2004).
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Production Story (2)

#003
Her salary for Alien: Resurrection (1997) was more than the entire cost of Alien (1979).
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#004
She jumped at the chance to appear in the movie Paul (2011), as she felt this was a love letter to science fiction fans, and a genre that has been very good to her in her career. Simon Pegg even had a crush on Sigourney, and even wrote a poem about her at Bristol University. He would get his wish when he would work with her in one scene in this movie.
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Behind the Scenes (2)

#005
She injured her knee during the shooting of Snow Cake (2006) and was forced to stop exercising for a year.
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#006
In Alien: Resurrection (1997), Sigourney actually managed to sink the basketball into the hoop backwards on the first take, even though she was not supposed to or intended to. The shot was almost ruined because Ron Perlman broke character because he was so amazed.
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Characters & Cast (5)

#007
Her character in the Ghostbusters movies, Dana Barrett, is the only character among the leads who did not appear in the animated adaptation, The Real Ghostbusters (1986).
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#008
Her character from the Alien series, Ellen Ripley, inspired the "Metroid" video game heroine, Samus Aran.
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#009
She currently remains in contact with her former Aliens (1986) co-star Carrie Henn.
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#010
Is a supporter of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and now its honorary chairperson.
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#011
She was considered for the role of Elaine Dickinson in the disaster comedy Airplane! (1980), which went to Julie Hagerty.
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Career & Awards (5)

#012
She was ranked #20 on E4's 100 Greatest Movie Stars. She was the second highest female on the list behind #13 Audrey Hepburn.
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#013
She was awarded the 1987 Saturn Award for Best Actress as Ellen Ripley in Aliens (1986), and the 2010 Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress as Dr. Grace Augustine in Avatar (2009). Both movies are written and directed by James Cameron.
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#014
She was chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#81).
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#015
Her first job was as understudy in Sir John Gielgud's production of "The Constant Wife" starring Ingrid Bergman.
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#016
Currently resides in New York City and Santa Barbara, California.
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Life & Family (8)

#017
Her father, Sylvester L. Weaver Jr. ("Pat" Weaver), president of NBC-TV from 1953 to 1955, pioneered the desk-and-couch talk show format that still survives on two programs he created, NBC's Today (1952) and The Tonight Show (1953).
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#018
Despite gaining fame for action roles, she has a strong dislike of guns; she is also afraid to travel in elevators.
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#019
In 1984, at the age of 34, she married theatre director Jim Simpson, who was 7 years her junior, and had a daughter, Charlotte, born in 1990.
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#020
She is a former roommate and high school classmate of Frances Beinecke, former president of the Natural Resources Defense Council, who has been the inspiration for a number of her roles, including Ellen Ripley in Aliens, Grace Augustine in Avatar and Dian Fossey in Gorillas in the Mist.
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#021
She has a fear of water, particularly in confined spaces.
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#022
She changed her name after reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel The Great Gatsby, in which a minor character was named Sigourney Howard.
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#023
Received her Bachelor's degree in English from Stanford University in Stanford, California.
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#024
Her mother Elizabeth Inglis once attended London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) with Vivien Leigh.
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Temple Grandin — Sigourney Weaver comes up in the facts on that page
Prom Night — Sigourney Weaver comes up in the facts on that page
Carrie Henn — Sigourney Weaver comes up in the facts on that page

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Sources & editorial notes

Reference databases

Wikipedia English Wikipedia article
IMDb IMDb name page (biography and trivia)

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