1976–1989 in
The Best Little Girl in the World (1981) Leigh had a nonspeaking role in her film debut
Death of a Stranger (The Execution) (1973). At the age of 14, she attended acting workshops, taught by
Lee Strasberg, and the
Stagedoor Manor Performing Arts Training Center in
Loch Sheldrake, New York. Afterwards, she landed a role in the film
The Young Runaways (1978). She also appeared in an episode of
Baretta and an episode of
The Waltons. Several television films followed, including a portrayal of an
anorexic teenager in
The Best Little Girl in the World, for which Leigh dropped to . She made her film debut, as a blind, deaf and mute rape victim in the 1981
slasher film Eyes of a Stranger. She left school to star in the film. With the exception of
Ridgemont High and a supporting role in the comedy film
Easy Money (1983) alongside
Rodney Dangerfield, Leigh's early film work consisted of playing fragile, damaged or
neurotic characters in low-budget horror or thriller films. She played a virginal princess kidnapped and raped by mercenaries in
Flesh and Blood (1985), an innocent waitress pursued by the psychopathic title character in
The Hitcher (1986) (both films pitting her alongside
Rutger Hauer), a mentally disturbed, child-like young woman on the threshold of sexual awakening in the
Southern Gothic film
Sister, Sister (1987), and a young woman on the verge of a
nervous breakdown in
Heart of Midnight (1989). She was selected as one of "America's 10 Most Beautiful Women" by ''
Harper's Bazaar'' in 1989.
1990s In 1990, Leigh made a significant career breakthrough when she was awarded
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress and the
Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress for her portrayals of two very different prostitutes: the tough streetwalker Tralala who is brutally gang-raped in
Last Exit to Brooklyn, and Susie, a 23-year-old prostitute who falls in love with ex-con
Alec Baldwin in
Miami Blues.
Roger Ebert included
Last Exit in his list of Best Movies of 1990, calling Leigh's performance brave, though his review of
Miami Blues was much less sympathetic, simultaneously criticizing Leigh's ability to play dumb roles and praising her ability to play smart roles.
Entertainment Weekly called her "the
Meryl Streep of bimbos". In his 1991 book
Cult Movie Stars,
Danny Peary described Leigh as "an interesting, always watchable, and extremely talented young actress," summarizing her appeal "For those who believe that the preacher's angelic-looking daughter is as interested in sex as the
farmer's daughter. This pretty, sweet-looking blonde has played a number of shy and innocent-looking women who are curious about sex; once they learn, they display wicked imaginations." Peary added, "Leigh seems too gentle and looks too young and innocent to play the parts she has taken. Her females are either hungry for sex and/or have been psychologically affected by past sexual incidents... Her characters are vulnerable and almost always victimised, but usually they gave surprising resilience, and try to use their bad experiences to make themselves stronger." Leigh was cast in her first mainstream Hollywood studio film, the firefighter drama
Backdraft (1991), in which she played a more conventional role, the girlfriend of lead actor
William Baldwin. She found more success in the gritty crime drama
Rush (1991), portraying an undercover cop who becomes a junkie and falls in love with her partner, played by
Jason Patric. Reviewing
Rush, Roger Ebert noted, "Leigh of course is a veteran by now of grubby characters in sleazy films; she has become one of the best young actresses by accepting roles some of her contemporaries would not even consider... After her extraordinary work as a doomed prostitute in
Last Exit to Brooklyn, here she is again, looking sweet and wholesome, and descending into a world of people who have forgotten their better natures." Leigh's next film,
Single White Female (1992), was a surprise box-office success, bringing Leigh to her largest mainstream audience yet, portraying a mentally ill woman who terrorizes roommate
Bridget Fonda. Leigh was awarded the
MTV Movie Award for Best Villain at the
1993 MTV Movie Awards and nominated for
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress. Leigh co-starred with
Kathy Bates as a tormented, pill-popping woman hiding a history of childhood sexual abuse in the adaptation of
Stephen King's novel
Dolores Claiborne (1995). Leigh achieved her greatest acclaim in the role of Sadie Flood, an angry, drug-addicted rock singer living in the shadow of her successful older sister (
Mare Winningham), in
Georgia (1995). For the role, Leigh dropped to and sang all of her songs live, including a rambling -minute version of
Van Morrison's "Take Me Back".
Georgia was met with critical praise.
James Berardinelli wrote, "There are times when it's uncomfortable to watch this performance because it's so powerful", and
Janet Maslin of
The New York Times described Leigh's "fierce, risk-taking performance and flashes of overwhelming honesty". Leigh won
New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress and Best Actress from the
Montreal World Film Festival, as well as an
Independent Spirit Award nomination and Sensual Knife fight nomination Some expressed surprise that she was not nominated for an
Academy Award, while Winningham was nominated for an
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Throughout the 1990s, Leigh worked with many
independent film directors. She worked with
Robert Altman in
Short Cuts (1993), playing a phone-sex operator, and
Kansas City (1996), as a streetwise kidnapper. Leigh has expressed admiration for Altman and called him her mentor. as well as
Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress and Fort Lauderdale Film Critics Best Actress Award. In another change of pace, she starred in
Agnieszka Holland's version of the
Henry James novel
Washington Square (1997), as a mousy 19th-century heiress courted by a gold digger. In 1997, she was featured in
Faith No More's music video for "
Last Cup of Sorrow". In 1998, she appeared alongside
Campbell Scott in the
Hallmark Hall of Fame television film
The Love Letter. In
David Cronenberg's
eXistenZ (1999), she played a virtual-reality game designer who becomes lost in her own creation. Leigh filmed a role in
Stanley Kubrick's final film
Eyes Wide Shut (1999) as a grieving patient of Dr. Bill Harford (
Tom Cruise) who declares her love for him after her father's death. Kubrick wanted to reshoot the scenes, but Leigh was unavailable due to scheduling conflicts with
eXistenZ; instead, her scenes were cut, and the role was recast with
Marie Richardson.
2000s She served as a jury member at the
57th Venice International Film Festival in 2000. Leigh had a brief role as a gangster's doomed wife in
Sam Mendes's
Road to Perdition (2002) and co-starred as
Meg Ryan's brutally murdered sister in
Jane Campion's erotic thriller
In the Cut (2003). She went on to play Stevie, the prostitute girlfriend of
Christian Bale's character in the dark thriller
The Machinist (2004).
Mick LaSalle of the
San Francisco Chronicle commented that "As the downtrodden, sexy, trusting, and quietly funny prostitute, Leigh is, of course, in her element". Her performance as a manipulative stage mother in
Don McKellar's film
Childstar won her a
Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in 2005. After many years of wanting to be in a
Todd Solondz film, She also appeared in the
psychological thriller The Jacket (2005), alongside
Adrien Brody and
Keira Knightley. Leigh appeared in the 2008 ensemble film
Synecdoche, New York and has acted in two films written and directed by her then-partner
Noah Baumbach:
Margot at the Wedding, co-starring
Nicole Kidman, and
Greenberg. Leigh has said that the roles were not specifically written for her, as Baumbach does not write roles with actors in mind. becoming a regular guest in the eighth season. Leigh has received three separate career tributes: at the
Telluride Film Festival in 1993, a special award for her contribution to independent cinema from the
Film Society of Lincoln Center in 2002, and a week-long retrospective of her film work held by the
American Cinematheque at Los Angeles's
Grauman's Egyptian Theatre in 2001.
2010s–present .Leigh joined the drama series
Revenge on
ABC in 2012. In 2015, Leigh starred in
Quentin Tarantino's
western film The Hateful Eight. It is set in
Wyoming after the
Civil War, and was released on December 25. Leigh, along with the rest of the cast, appeared at
San Diego Comic-Con to promote the film in July 2015. Leigh's performance has received multiple award nominations at various award ceremonies, including her third
Golden Globe nomination for
Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture, her first
BAFTA Award nomination for
Best Actress in a Supporting Role and her first
Academy Award nomination for
Best Supporting Actress. In 2017, Leigh was reunited with her
Hateful Eight co-star
Tim Roth when the pair played a husband-and-wife team of
contract killers in six episodes of
Showtime's revival of
David Lynch and
Mark Frost's
Twin Peaks. Leigh played psychiatrist Dr. Ventress in the 2018 science fiction film
Annihilation, alongside Natalie Portman, directed by
Alex Garland and based on the novel by
Jeff VanderMeer. In 2019, Leigh appeared in two episodes of Showtime's last season of
The Affair and narrated the audiobook for Quentin Tarantino's novelization of
Once Upon a Time in Hollywood. She appeared in
Brandon Cronenberg's science fiction thriller
Possessor in 2020. In 2022, Leigh was cast in a lead role as Lorraine Lyon in the fifth season of the
FX black comedy crime drama anthology series
Fargo.
Stage roles In 1998, Leigh took on the lead role of
Sally Bowles in
Sam Mendes's Broadway revival of the musical
Cabaret, succeeding
Natasha Richardson, who originated the role in Mendes's production. She succeeded
Mary-Louise Parker in the lead role in
Proof on Broadway in 2001. Her other theatrical appearances include
The Glass Menagerie,
Man of Destiny,
The Shadow Box,
Picnic,
Sunshine and ''
Abigail's Party. In 2011, she played Bunny in the Broadway revival of The House of Blue Leaves'' in New York City alongside
Ben Stiller and
Edie Falco.
Writing and directing In 2001, Leigh co-wrote and co-directed
The Anniversary Party, an independently produced feature film about a recently reconciled married couple who assemble their friends at their Hollywood Hills house, ostensibly to celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary. As the evening progresses, the party disintegrates into emotional confrontations and bitter arguments as the façade of their happy marriage crumbles. Leigh was inspired by her recent experience filming the low-budget
Dogme 95 film
The King Is Alive. Leigh and co-writer
Alan Cumming drew freely from their personal experiences in the writing of the film. and were nominated for the
Independent Spirit Award for Best First Feature and
Independent Spirit Award for Best First Screenplay. The film received generally positive reviews. ==Personal life==