Prolific actress Glenne Headly has passed away. She was 62. No cause of death was given.
As a child, Headly studied ballet at the Robert Joffrey school of ballet and modern dance at the Martha Graham Studios. She graduated with honors from the High School For the Performing Arts and after attending university in Switzerland, she returned to New York, then Chicago to become a stage actress.
It was in Chicago where she made a name for herself. She appeared in the Goodman Theater production of Curse of the Starving Class with future husband John Malkovich (the pair were married from 1982 to 1988). Her work in that production led to an invitation to join the prestigious Steppenwolf Theater ensemble.
She made her feature film debut in Arthur Penn’s 1981 film Four Friends. From there, she appear in a series of supporting roles in films such as Doctor Detroit, The Purple Rose of Cairo, Making Mr. Right, Seize the Day, and Stars and Bars.
In 1988, she was cast in Dirty Rotten Scoundrels. She played a target of con men Michael Caine and Steve Martin who ends up turning the tables on them.
This lead to perhaps her most famous role, as Tess Trueheart in 1990’s Dick Tracy. She was the good girl competing for Tracy’s heart against bad girl Breathless Mahoney (Madonna).
Headly then went on to appear in films such as Mortal Thoughts, Ordinary Magic (which marked the film debut of Ryan Reynolds), Getting Even With Dad, Mr. Holland’s Opus, Sgt. Bilko, 2 Days in the Valley, Breakfast of Champions, Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen, and Don Jon.
She also carved out a career in television, include roles on TV movies such as …And The Band Played On and shows such as ER, Encore! Encore!, Monk, and The Night Of…
Her final film role was in this year’s The Circle, where she played the wife of Bill Paxton’s character. She was currently filming the Seth Rogen/Evan Goldberg Hulu comedy Future Man.
