1976–1979: Career beginnings in
The Last Tycoon (1976) Through her modeling work, Russell met photographer
Peter Douglas, son of
Kirk Douglas, who introduced her to film producer
Sam Spiegel in 1975. Russell said she was initially intimidated during filming due to her lack of screen acting experience: "I just felt like I needed to do my job. I couldn't relate to all of these famous people." For her credit in the film, she adopted the surname Russell, the given name of her paternal grandfather, which she used professionally from thereon. In 1979, Russell starred in the
miniseries Blind Ambition for
CBS, a biographical drama focusing on the
Watergate scandal, in which she portrayed
Maureen Dean, the wife of White House Counsel
John Dean (played by
Martin Sheen).
1980–1986: Collaborations with Nicolas Roeg '' (1980) In 1979, Russell was cast as Milena Flaherty, a young American living in Vienna who enters a dysfunctional relationship with a psychoanalyst (played by
Art Garfunkel) in
Bad Timing (1980). Russell became a
muse of Roeg's, and the two were married in 1982. Following her role in
Bad Timing, Russell performed the English audio
dubbing of
Daria Nicolodi's character in the
giallo film
Tenebre (1982), directed by
Dario Argento. Her next on-screen role was in Roeg's drama
Eureka (1983), portraying the covetous daughter of a
Klondike prospector, played by
Gene Hackman. The film was a
box-office bomb, grossing $123,572 against an $11 million budget and received mixed reviews from critics, though Roger Ebert praised Russell's performance as "brilliant." The following year, she starred opposite
Bill Murray in
John Byrum's ''
The Razor's Edge'', an adaptation of the
W. Somerset Maugham novel of the same name. against its $13 million budget. The film was met with largely unfavorable reviews, though Russell's performance received some praise, with
Janet Maslin of
The New York Times noting it as possessing "a welcome vitality." '' (1985) She then portrayed
Marilyn Monroe in Roeg's experimental
alternate history film
Insignificance (1985), based on the play by
Terry Johnson, in which she appeared opposite
Gary Busey and
Tony Curtis. Critic
Roger Ebert praised her performance in the film, writing: "She doesn't really look very much like Monroe, but what does it matter? The blond hair and the red lips are there, and so is the manner, which has been imitated so often, and so badly, that the imitators prove that Monroe was a special case. Russell doesn't imitate. She builds her performance from the ground up, and it works to hold the movie together."
1987–1998: Mainstream recognition In 1987, Russell gained mainstream exposure for her portrayal of Catharine Peterson, a
serial killer who seduces and murders wealthy men in
Bob Rafelson's
noir thriller
Black Widow, co-starring
Debra Winger. Russell's performance earned praise; Vincent Canby of
The New York Times wrote that her "clear-eyed sweetness... adds unexpected dimension to the homicidal Catharine," while Roger Ebert praised her acting and screen chemistry with Winger. The same year, she appeared in a Nicolas Roeg-directed segment (a film version of the opera
Un ballo in maschera) of the anthology film
Aria. Roger Ebert, commenting on her performance, wrote: "Russell, who has survived the convoluted terrain of many of Roeg’s movies (he is her husband), seems at home in this twisted landscape, and [she and Oldman] work their characters up into an orgy of mutual laceration." The film received largely unfavorable reviews from critics, with some, such as Rita Kempley of
The Washington Post, singling out Russell's acting as a primary fault. Roger Ebert, who had previously championed many of Russell's performances, suggested in his review of the film that she and Reynolds merely lacked chemistry. In 1990, Russell was cast in
Sondra Locke's
Impulse, in which she portrayed a police officer who is drawn into the world of
prostitution while posing undercover as a prostitute in Los Angeles. The following year, Russell again played a prostitute in
Ken Russell's satirical drama
Whore (1991), based on the play by
David Hines. Though the film received a mixed reception from critics, Russell's performance was praised by
The New York Times and Roger Ebert of the
Chicago Sun-Times. Russell commented that she found making the film emotionally taxing, equating it to "doing two marathons underwater. But I’m terribly proud of it." David Ansen of
Newsweek felt that Russell was miscast in her role, while
Variety noted, "with her untempered US accent, and flat readings, [Russell sticks out like a sore thumb." She again united with her husband Roeg for his film
Cold Heaven (also 1991), starring opposite
Mark Harmon as a woman whose husband inexplicably rises from the dead. In 1993, Russell starred in the British miniseries ''A Woman's Guide to Adultery
, filmed in London and co-starring Sean Bean and Amanda Donohoe. Russell subsequently served as the narrator of the British drama film Being Human (1994), starring Robin Williams. In 1995, Russell appeared several projects, including the television film Trade-Off
, and A Young Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court
, an adaptation of A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court, in which she portrayed Morgan le Fay. The same year, she portrayed Ma Barker in the biographical crime film Public Enemies'', opposite
Alyssa Milano and
Eric Roberts. and went on to establish a
cult following.
1999–2014: Later film and television '' After appearing in the crime drama
Luckytown (2000) opposite
James Caan and
Kirsten Dunst, The film was critically acclaimed and received the Special Jury Prize—Drama at the
2001 Sundance Film Festival. The same year, Russell had a lead role opposite
Dan Aykroyd in the
Cinemax television sci-fi horror film
Earth vs. the Spider. In the early 2000s, Russell mainly appeared in low-budget and independent films, such as
The House Next Door (2002),
Now & Forever (2002), and
The Box (2003).
Empire Falls received critical acclaim, including a
Golden Globe Award nomination for
Best Miniseries or Television Film and a
Primetime Emmy Award nomination for
Outstanding Miniseries. She also appeared in the supporting role of Emma Marko in
Spider-Man 3 as the wife of
Flint Marko (
Thomas Haden Church). The following year, she appeared in the independent drama
Jolene, starring
Jessica Chastain and
Dermot Mulroney, portraying the aunt of a troubled teenaged girl. She had a minor role playing the mother of
Scarlett Johansson's character in the romantic comedy ''
He's Just Not That into You (2009), though her scenes were eventually cut from the film. Also in 2009, Russell had a minor role in the independent drama On the Doll, followed by two television appearances: a guest-starring role on the sci-fi series Fringe'', In 2012, after having taken a two-year hiatus from acting, she appeared in the
Lifetime television film
Liz & Dick, playing Sara Taylor, the mother of
Elizabeth Taylor (portrayed by
Lindsay Lohan). Reflecting on the role in a later interview, she described the film as "not good... I thought, ‘What am I doing here?’ It didn’t make me happy." In 2014, Russell appeared in the independent music drama
A Winter Rose, co-starring
Paul Sorvino and
Edward Furlong. The same year, she starred in
Moving Mountains, another independent feature about a woman living in a coal mining community in West Virginia. ==Acting style and reception==