Rebecca De Mornay

'Rebecca De Mornay' (qv) was born 1959 as Rebecca Jane Pearch in Santa Rosa, California. She is the daughter of Julie (Eagar) and 'Wally George' (qv) (born George Walter Pearch), a television and radio commentator. Her paternal grandmother was child actress 'Eugenia Clinchard' (qv). Her parents divorced when she was young, and her mother married Richard De Mornay, who adopted her (Rebecca subsequently took his surname). Rebecca's paternal grandfather was English, and she also has German, French, and other English, ancestry.After Richard De Mornay's untimely death, Rebecca's mother moved her and her half-brother Peter from northern California to Europe, where she was raised primarily in England and Austria. Rebecca graduated "summa cum laude" from a German-speaking high school in the Austrian alps, and still speaks fluent German and French.She began her acting training in Los Angeles at 'Lee Strasberg' (qv)'s Institute, became an apprentice at 'Francis Ford Coppola' (qv)'s Zoetrope Film Studio, and soon thereafter made her film debut in _One from the Heart (1981)_ (qv). Her breakthrough came in the box office hit _Risky Business (1983)_ (qv), in which she gave a seductive and critically acclaimed performance as a streetwise prostitute opposite 'Tom Cruise' (qv). She went on to international stardom with her portrayal of a chillingly twisted nanny in the hugely popular _The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992)_ (qv). Other acclaimed film work includes _Runaway Train (1985)_ (qv) (with 'Jon Voight' (qv)), _The Trip to Bountiful (1985)_ (qv) (with 'Geraldine Page' (qv)), _Backdraft (1991)_ (qv) (with 'Kurt Russell' (qv)).Network television work includes the tour-de-force role of Arlie in the stellar _Getting Out (1994)_ (qv) (based on 'Marsha Norman' (qv)'s play), the tragic title character in 'Dominick Dunne' (qv)'s _An Inconvenient Woman (1991)_ (qv) (with 'Jason Robards' (qv)), the remake of _The Shining (1997)_ (qv) (produced by 'Stephen King' (qv)), a multi-episode story arc about a cancer survivor on _ER (1994)_ (qv) and Hallmark Hall of Fame's _Night Ride Home (1999)_ (qv) (with 'Ellen Burstyn' (qv)).On stage, she starred as Billie Dawn in "Born Yesterday" (1988) at the Pasadena Playhouse, as Charlotte Corday in "Marat/Sade" (1990) at the Williamstown Festival, and as Anna in "Closer" (2000) at the Mark Taper Forum.Rebecca's directing debut was with a segment of Showtime's _The Outer Limits (1995)_ (qv) starring 'John Savage' (qv) and 'Frank Whaley' (qv). Rebecca currently resides in Los Angeles with sportscaster 'Patrick O'Neal' (qv), and their daughters, 'Sophia De Mornay-O'Neal' (qv) and 'Veronica De Mornay-O'Neal' (qv).::A. Nonymous