Jenny Wright(I)
- Actress
The talented, unpredictable, opinionated, and uniquely beautiful Jenny
Wright was born March 23, 1962 in New York City. Her father was an
artist and her mother was a teacher. They instilled a love of the arts
and a strong devotion to self education in Jenny at an early age. Her
parents later separated, and Jenny moved to Cambridge, New York to live
with her mother and two sisters. After her sisters left for college,
Jenny and her mother moved back to New York City. Once back home, Jenny
decided to pursue acting, and enrolled herself in the Lee Strasberg Theatre
Institute. There, she immediately captured the attention of modeling
and casting agents. At the age of 16, Jenny modeled for artists Antonio Lopez
and Salvador Dalí. She then went on to act on stage, in an off Broadway play,
"Album", with Kevin Bacon. In 1980, Jenny made a brief appearance in
the TV film Rape and Marriage: The Rideout Case (1980) with Mickey Rourke. She continued to act
on stage, even garnering rave reviews for her portrayal of Dorcus Fray
in Joseph Papp's Broadway production of "Plenty". In 1982, Jenny was cast
in The World According to Garp (1982), after impressing director George Roy Hill with her blend of
sensuality and innocence. Jenny then arrived in London for "Pink Floyd:
The Wall", where she played an abused groupie. She then quickly
followed up with four months in Utah for the TV documentary/drama, "The
Executioner's Song," which proved to be a more substantial role. Jenny
returned to New York afterwards, and back to the stage and took a break
from films. She went back to films in 1984, for "The Wild Life" with
Eric Stoltz and Chris Penn. Jenny also made appearances in films such
as "St. Elmo's Fire" (1984) and "Out of Bounds" (1986). By appearing in
films with actors such as Rob Loew and Anthony Michael Hall, Jenny was
put in the 'Brat Pack' category. It was something she found to be
uncomfortable, and wanted to shake off. Thus, Jenny's film choices
became edgier, starting with Near Dark in 1987. With her girl next door
look, large soulful eyes, and sensuality, Jenny made the role of sweet
yet dangerous Mae her most memorable part of her career. She credits
director Kathryn Bigelow with creating the film's mood and atmosphere,
which makes "Near Dark" a stand-out film in the vampire genre. While
"Near Dark" didn't fare too well at the box office, it did receive cult
status, bringing Jenny independent,'left of center' film roles.
Finally, Jenny successfully rid herself of the 'Brat Pack' label. She
went on to teen roles in the critically acclaimed film The Chocolate War (1988) and in
the off-beat "Twister" (1988). Those roles then gave way to
conventional parts in the mainstream films "Young Guns II" (1990)and
"The Lawnmower Man" (1992). After that, Jenny quit the film business.