Faye Dunaway

Faye Dunaway is an American film actress. He was born as Dorothy Faye Dunaway on January 14, 1941, in Bascom, Florida, U.S. to Grace April and John MacDowell Dunaway Jr. She took dance, piano, tap, and singing classes. Faye attended Florida State University and the University of Florida. She completed a degree in theater at the Boston University. She also attended American National Theater and Academy, where she took acting classes.

Lloyd Richards, a Canadian theater director, and actor, spotted her while she is performing in The Crucible production. She was then recommended to Elia Kazan, a Greek director, who at that time is looking for young artists for his Lincoln Center Repertory Company. After graduating from Boston University, she started to appear at the Broadway as a replacement for Robert Bolt’s A Man for All Seasons. Later, she appeared in Arthur Miller’s play entitled After the Fall and in William Alfred’s 1965 award-winning blank-verse drama, Hogan’s Goat. Alfred was then becoming her spiritual advisor and mentor.

Dunaway’s first feature film was in Elliot Silverstein’s 1967 comedy crime film, The Happening, where she co-starred with Anthony Quinn. In the same year, she did a supporting role in Otto Preminger’s drama film, Hurry Sundown. Though the film failed at the box office, she earned a nomination for the Golden Globe Award for Best New Star of the Year. She auditioned for Arthur Penn’s The Chase, but a casting director rejected her thinking that she doesn’t have the right face for the films. However, when Penn saw her in The Happening, he decided to cast her as Bonnie Parker in the biographical crime film, Bonnie and Clyde (1967). Many actresses were considered for the role, but Dunaway was the one who luckily took the spot. She was only given few weeks to prepare and the director requires her to lose weight so she dropped 30-pounds after doing a starvation diet. Bonnie and Clyde did well at the box office and led Dunaway to stardom. She got her first nomination in the Best Actress category. She bagged David di Donatello’s Award for Best Foreign Actress and the BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer.

She followed Bonnie and Clyde’s success with another hit in the year 1968 with Norman Jewison’s The Thomas Crown Affair. She played the role of Vicki Anderson, an insurance investigator, who got involved with Steve McQueen’s character as Thomas Crown. In 1968, she starred in Vittorio De Sica’s French-Italian romantic drama film, A Place for Lovers, alongside Marcello Mastroianni, whom she had an affair for two years. In the following year, she appeared in Elia Kazan’s drama film, The Arrangement, based on the novel of the same name. Both films did poorly at the box office, although she earned praises for her good acting in both films. Also in the year 1969, she appeared in John Frankenheimer’s Extraordinary Seaman; the film was also a commercial failure. After this, she turned down all the high-profile projects to spend some time with his lover Mastroianni.

During the 70’s, Dunaway acted in films like Little Big Man, Puzzle of a Downfall Child, The Three Musketeers Click to look into! >> Read More... , Chinatown, The Towering Inferno, The Four Musketeers, Three Days of the Condor, Network, Eyes of Laura Mars, and The Champ. Little Big Man earned commercial success and praises from the critics. She also got her second nomination at the Golden Globe Awards for Best Actress for her performance in the Puzzle of a Downfall Child. In 1972, she also accepted an offer to appear in The Woman I Love, a film for television, where she played as Wallis Simpson. Her return to the big screen was in Stanley Kramer’s ambitious project entitled Oklahoma Crude.

Dunaway also made a comeback on stage in Harold Printer’s Old Times and later with the stage adaptation of A Streetcar Named Desire by Tennessee Williams. In 1982, she made an appearance in the TV adaptation of Clifford Odets’ The Country Girl. She got married to Terry O’Neill in 1983. They moved to England and focused on her married life. She made a comeback in Michael Winner’s British drama film, The Wicked Lady (1983). And then, she played a villain in Jeannot Szwarc’s Supergirl in 1984. That very same year, Dunaway was cast in the TV miniseries, Ellis Island, where she bagged the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film. She was later seen in the miniseries, Christopher Columbus and has also appeared in Agatha Christie’s adaptations of Thirteen at Dinner and Ordeal by Innocence.

In 1987, her performance as an alcoholic in the comedy drama film, Barfly, earned her praises and was a success at the box office. During the late 80s, she made appearances in Carlo Vanzina’s The Gamble (1988) and Lina Wertmuller’s Crystal or Ash, Fire or Wind, as Long as It’s Love. During the 90s, Dunaway has performed in The Handmaid’s Tale (1990), Double Edge (1992), Arizona Dream (1993), Don Juan DeMarco (1995), Gia (1998), The Thomas Crown Affair (remake in 1999), and The Messenger:

The Story of Joan of Arc (1999). In the year 2000, Dunaway played as Charlize Theron’s mother in James Gray’s The Yards. She was one of the judges on the reality television show, The Starlet (2005). She also made a guest appearance on her favorite show, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation and has also appeared in Alias, Touched by an Angel, and Grey’s Anatomy. She was also cast in a low-budget Welsh film entitled Flick in 2008. This 2017, she returned in Stacy Title’s supernatural horror film, The Bye Bye Man. Despite negative reviews, the film earned commercial success. She was last seen in Jonathan Baker’s thriller film, Inconceivable, alongside Gina Gershon and Nicholas Cage.