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Diana Scarwid (born August 27, 1955) is an American actress. She is best known for her portrayal of Christina Crawford in Mommie Dearest (1981). She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Inside Moves (1980), and the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for Truman (1995).

Scarwid has more than 70 film and television credits, including Pretty Baby (1978), Rumble Fish (1983), Silkwood (1983), Psycho III (1986), Extremities (1986), The Neon Bible (1995), What Lies Beneath (2000), Party Monster (2003), The Clearing (2004), and Another Happy Day (2011).

Early life

Scarwid was born in Savannah, Georgia, the daughter of Elizabeth (née Frizelle) and Anthony John Scarwid. She has three brothers. Diana moved to New York City at 17 to become an actress. She graduated from The American Academy of Dramatic Arts and Pace University simultaneously, completing the dual program as an honor student.

Career

The 1980s

In 1980, Scarwid appeared in films Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones and Honeysuckle Rose. She co-starred in films Inside Moves (1980), Mommie Dearest (1981), and Brenda Starr (1989). Scarwid earned an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Inside Moves and a Razzie Award for Worst Supporting Actress in Mommie Dearest.

In television movies, Scarwid had performances in Desperate Lives (1982), Strange Invaders, Rumble Fish (1983), Silkwood (1983), The Ladies Club, Psycho III (1986), Extremities (1986), and After the Promise (1987).

The 1990s

In 1991, Scarwid appeared in Night of the Hunter (1991). She portrayed Rose Kennedy in JFK: Reckless Youth (1993). In 1995, Scarwid appeared in films The Cure, The Neon Bible, Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain and Heat, and she portrayed Bess Truman in Truman.

In 1996, Scarwid had roles in Trial By Fire and Bastard Out of Carolina, If These Walls Could Talk, Critical Choices, The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue and The Outer Limits.

In 1998, Scarwid appeared in The X-Files ( episode "Kitsunegari"), Ruby Bridges, From the Earth to the Moon, A Will of Their Own, and Down Will Come Baby.

The 2000s

Scarwid started the new century with the portrayal of Dianne Barrie in the TV movie Dirty Pictures (2000). The same year, she appeared as Michelle Pfeiffer's character's kooky friend in Robert Zemeckis's What Lies Beneath. In 2001, she guest-starred in Law & Order as a fingerprint analyst accused of manslaughter, and in 2003, she appeared as a prying mother in A Guy Thing. The same year, she portrayed Elke Alig, Michael Alig's enabling and neglectful German immigrant mother in Party Monster, the adaptation of James St. James's memoir Disco Bloodbath. The following year, she starred as Karen Tyler, a smothering mother in Wonderfalls. She returned to the Law and Order franchise with an appearance as a mother on the warpath after finding out her son is a victim of pedophilia in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit in the episode titled "Head".

In the mid-2000s, she had roles in Read Thread (2005), Valley of the Heart's Delight (2006); and Local Color (2006). The same year, she guest-starred as Jeanette Owens in Prison Break, following which she assumed the role of Isabel, a mysterious sheriff and island inhabitant in the TV series Lost. Consecutively, she assumed roles in episodes of other TV series, including Cold Case, Pushing Daisies, and Heroes. Nearing the end of the decade, she had roles on The Cleaner (2009) and Criminal Minds (2009).

The 2010s

Scarwid appeared in the TV movie Backyard Wedding (2010) and Sam Levinson's Another Happy Day (2011).

Filmography

Film

Television

References

1. "Celebrities: Today's Birthdays". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. August 27, 1997. p. 8. ProQuest 260578020. Actress Barbara Bach is 50. Actor Paul Reubens is 45. Rock musician Alex Lifeson (Rush) is 44. Actress Diana Scarwid is 42. Rap musician Bobo (Cypress Hill) is 29.
2. "Happy Birthday". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. August 27, 2022. pp. C3. ProQuest 2707161500. Country musician Jeff Cook is 73. Actor Peter Stormare is 69. Actor Diana Scarwid is 67. Gospel singer Yolanda Adams is 61.
3. familysearch.org https://familysearch.org/ark:/61903/1:1:K131-N9S. Retrieved February 12, 2015. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
4. "Diana Scarwid". Cinema.com. Retrieved May 2, 2014.
5. "Guyana Tragedy: Story of Jim Jones". www.tcm.com. Turner Classic Movies, Inc. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
6. "Honeysuckle Rose". www.tcm.com. Turner Classic Movies, Inc. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
7. Maslin, Janet (December 19, 1980). "'INSIDE MOVES,' STARRING JOHN SAVAGE". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
8. "Mommie Dearest". www.tcm.com. Turner Classic Movies, Inc. Retrieved July 3, 2023.
9. "Brenda Starr". www.tcm.com. Turner Classic Movies, Inc. Retrieved July 3, 2023.

External links

• Diana Scarwid at IMDb
• Brief bio at Red Thread Archived June 22, 2007, at the Wayback Machine

• 1955 births
• 20th-century American actresses
• 21st-century American actresses
• Actresses from Savannah, Georgia
• American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni
• American film actresses
• American Shakespearean actresses
• American stage actresses
• American television actresses
• Living people
• Pace University alumni