Susan Sarandon Biography

She was born as Susan Abigail Tomalin on October 4, 1946, as the first of nine children to Lenora Marie and Philip Leslie Tomalin. Her father was an advertising executive and television producer. She is of mixed ancestry.

She accompanied her husband, Chris Sarandon, whom she had married in 1967, to a casting call for the movie Joe. Although she had never previously considered acting as a career, she decided to audition and secured a major supporting role in the film.

Her debut film, Joe, was out in 1970. She played Melissa in the drama film which went on to become a critical as well as a commercial success. She received several film offers following this.

After appearing in various films in the early 1970s, she got her breakthrough role in 1975. She played Janet Weiss in the musical comedy horror film The Rocky Horror Picture Show, a tribute to classic B-horror movies.

In 1977 she played Catherine Alexander, a sweet and trusting young woman in the drama, The Other Side of Midnight. The story revolves around a scheming air force pilot who attempts to murder his wife in order to be with his ex-girlfriend.

She played a young Canadian woman in the 1980 French Canadian romantic crime film,  Atlantic City. The film was a huge critical success which won several awards. Sarandon was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for this role.

In 1983, she appeared along with Catherine Deneuve in the romantic horror film, The Hunger which was a love triangle between a doctor and a vampire couple. In spite of not being well received at the time of its release the film went on to achieve cult status.

She played Sandra Boon in the 1988 comedy film Sweet Hearts Dance which focused on the stories of two couples, one married for several years and the other at the beginning of their relationship.

Along with Geena Davis she acted in the adventure female buddy film, Thelma & Louise which was directed by Ridley Scott. The film was both a critical as well as a commercial success.

She portrayed Sister Helen Prejean in the crime drama Dead Man Walking in 1995. The film was co-produced and directed by Tim Robbins. It was a critically acclaimed film which earned several Academy Award nominations.

In the film Cradle Will Rock (1999), she appeared alongside John Cusack and Joan Cusack. The film is a fictionalized account of the original production of the musical The Cradle Will Rock.

The prolific actress appeared in a number of films throughout the 2000s. Some of her best-known movies from the decade include Moonlight Mile (2002), Shall We Dance (2004), Speed Racer (2008), and The Lovely Bones (2009).

She starred opposite Sean Penn in the crime drama Dead Man Walking in which she played the role of Sister Helen Prejean who forms a special bond with a death row inmate. She was much appreciated for this role which earned her several awards and accolades.

In the legal thriller, The Client, she played a recovering alcoholic lawyer hired to defend a man who unwittingly becomes involved in a murder case. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for this role.

She won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her portrayal of Sister Helen Prejean in the crime drama film Dead Man Walking in 1995.

She married actor Chris Sarandon in 1967, and divorced him in 1979.