100 Facts About Faye Dunaway

1.

Dorothy Faye Dunaway was born on January 14,1941 and is an American actress.

2.

Faye Dunaway is the recipient of many accolades, including an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, three Golden Globe Awards, and a BAFTA Award.

3.

Faye Dunaway's career began in the early 1960s on Broadway.

4.

Faye Dunaway made her screen debut in the 1967 film The Happening, the same year she made Hurry Sundown with an all-star cast, and rose to fame with her portrayal of outlaw Bonnie Parker in Arthur Penn's Bonnie and Clyde, for which she received her first Academy Award nomination.

5.

Faye Dunaway's career evolved to more mature character roles in subsequent years often in independent films, beginning with her controversial portrayal of Joan Crawford in the 1981 film Mommie Dearest.

6.

Faye Dunaway was awarded the Sarah Siddons Award for her portrayal of opera singer Maria Callas in Master Class.

7.

Faye Dunaway is of Ulster Scottish, English, and German descent.

8.

Faye Dunaway spent her childhood traveling throughout the United States and Europe.

9.

Faye Dunaway took ballet, tap, piano and singing lessons, while growing up and graduated from Leon High School in Tallahassee, Florida.

10.

Faye Dunaway then studied at Florida State University and the University of Florida, later graduating from Boston University with a degree in theatre.

11.

Faye Dunaway spent the summer before her senior year in a summer stock company at Harvard's Loeb Drama Center, where one of her co-players was Jane Alexander, the actress and future head of the National Endowment for the Arts.

12.

Faye Dunaway was spotted by Lloyd Richards while performing in a production of The Crucible, and was recommended to director Elia Kazan, who was in search of young talent for his Lincoln Center Repertory Company.

13.

Faye Dunaway studied acting at HB Studio in New York City.

14.

Shortly after graduating from Boston University, Faye Dunaway was appearing on Broadway as a replacement in Robert Bolt's drama A Man for All Seasons.

15.

Faye Dunaway subsequently appeared in Arthur Miller's After the Fall and the award-winning Hogan's Goat by Harvard professor William Alfred, who became her mentor and spiritual advisor.

16.

Faye Dunaway has taught me so much about the virtue of a simple life, about spirituality, about the purity of real beauty, and how to go at this messy business of life.

17.

Faye Dunaway had tried to get an interview with director Arthur Penn when he was directing The Chase but was rebuffed by a casting director who did not think that she had the right face for the movies.

18.

Penn loved Faye Dunaway and managed to convince actor and producer Warren Beatty, who played Clyde Barrow in the film, that she was right for the part.

19.

Besides Faye Dunaway's being a comparative unknown, Beatty's concern was her "extraordinary bone structure," which he thought might be inappropriate for Bonnie Parker, a local girl trying to look innocent while she held up smalltown Texas banks.

20.

Faye Dunaway's performance earned her a BAFTA Award for Best Newcomer and a David di Donatello for Best Foreign Actress, and she was now among the most bankable actresses in Hollywood, as she later recalled.

21.

Faye Dunaway was a yearning, edgy, ambitious southern girl who wanted to get out of wherever she was.

22.

Faye Dunaway got out only to see that she was heading nowhere and that the end was death.

23.

Faye Dunaway followed the success with another hit, The Thomas Crown Affair, in which she played Vicki Anderson, an insurance investigator who becomes involved with Thomas Crown, a millionaire who attempts to pull off the perfect crime.

24.

Faye Dunaway was one of the best-loved actors around, one whose talent more than equaled his sizable commercial appeal.

25.

In 1969, Faye Dunaway appeared in The Arrangement, a drama directed by Elia Kazan, based upon his novel of the same title, opposite Kirk Douglas.

26.

The film did poorly at the box office, receiving mostly negative reviews, although Faye Dunaway was praised, with Roger Ebert writing that her acting "is not only the equal of in Bonnie and Clyde, but is, indeed, the only good acting she has done since".

27.

In 1969, Faye Dunaway took a supporting role as a favor to Arthur Penn in his western, Little Big Man.

28.

Faye Dunaway returned to film in 1973 with Stanley Kramer's drama, Oklahoma Crude, opposite George C Scott.

29.

In 1972, following the filming of Oklahoma Crude, Faye Dunaway returned to the stage in an adaptation of Harold Pinter's Old Times.

30.

Faye Dunaway accepted the challenging and complex role of Mulwray, a shadowy femme fatale who knows more than she is willing to let Detective JJ Gittes know.

31.

Faye Dunaway got along well with Nicholson, describing him later as a "soul mate," but she clashed with Polanski, who had a reputation for being dictatorial and controlling on a set.

32.

Faye Dunaway was very domineering and abrasive and made it clear he wanted to manipulate the performance.

33.

Faye Dunaway was offended, describing his act as "sadistic" and left the set furious.

34.

Faye Dunaway received a second Best Actress nomination, and received a Golden Globe nomination and a BAFTA nomination.

35.

Faye Dunaway has something we haven't seen on the screen for a long time.

36.

That same year, Faye Dunaway appeared in a television adaptation of After the Fall with Christopher Plummer.

37.

Also in 1974, Dunaway married Peter Wolf, the lead singer of the rock group The J Geils Band.

38.

They're obscene and funny and poignant all at once, and Faye Dunaway delivers them just marvelously.

39.

Faye Dunaway passed on a role in Alfred Hitchcock's final film, the comic thriller Family Plot, which she later lamented.

40.

Faye Dunaway returned to the screen in 1976 with the Holocaust drama Voyage of the Damned.

41.

That same year, Faye Dunaway appeared in the Paddy Chayefsky-scripted satire Network as the scheming TV executive Diana Christensen, a ruthless woman who will do anything for higher ratings.

42.

However, Faye Dunaway believed it was "one of the most important female roles to come along in years" and went along with Chayevsky's conception and director Sidney Lumet's warning that she would not be allowed to sneak in any weeping or softness, and that it would remain on the cutting room floor if she did.

43.

In early 1977, the Academy Awards nominated Network for ten awards, with Faye Dunaway winning the Best Actress award.

44.

Also in 1976, Faye Dunaway appeared as the lead in the made-for-television movie, The Disappearance of Aimee, in which she co-starred with Bette Davis.

45.

In 1978, Faye Dunaway returned to the screen in Irvin Kershner's thriller Eyes of Laura Mars, about a fashion photographer who sees visions of a killer murdering people.

46.

In 1981, Faye Dunaway played the title role in Evita Peron, a television miniseries based on the life of the famed First Lady of Argentina.

47.

That same year, Faye Dunaway portrayed actress Joan Crawford in the adaptation of her daughter Christina's controversial memoirs, Mommie Dearest, in which she had depicted her adoptive mother as an abusive tyrant who only adopted her four children to promote her acting career, making quite a stir as the first celebrity tell-all book.

48.

Faye Dunaway accepted the role after meeting producer Frank Yablans and director Frank Perry, who both assured her that they wanted to tell the real story of Joan Crawford and not just a tabloid version of her life.

49.

Janet Maslin, while dismissing the film as incoherent, wrote that Faye Dunaway's performance was "a small miracle" and praised her energy and commitment to the role.

50.

In 1984, Faye Dunaway played the lead villain in the superhero movie Supergirl.

51.

Faye Dunaway said, "you have to be the straight person".

52.

Faye Dunaway appeared in two Agatha Christie adaptations, Ordeal by Innocence and Thirteen at Dinner.

53.

Faye Dunaway was widely praised for her performance as an alcoholic opposite Mickey Rourke in Barbet Schroeder's drama Barfly.

54.

Faye Dunaway co-starred with Richard Widmark and Neil Patrick Harris as an enchanting dressmaker who lightens up the lives of a young boy and his grandfather, whom she marries, to the town's disapproval.

55.

The film did not do well at the box office but Faye Dunaway's performance earned her good reviews.

56.

Faye Dunaway was very proud of the film, and believed that her role could bring her career to greater heights than ever.

57.

That same year, Faye Dunaway was cast in the short-lived CBS sitcom, It Had to Be You.

58.

Faye Dunaway offered it to her and Dunaway accepted immediately.

59.

Faye Dunaway was recognized with the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, saying it was at that moment when she felt like she was truly home.

60.

Faye Dunaway auditioned to replace Glenn Close in the musical Sunset Boulevard, a stage version of 1950 film of the same name.

61.

Faye Dunaway filed a lawsuit, claiming that Webber had damaged her reputation with his claims.

62.

In 1995, Faye Dunaway reunited with Johnny Depp in the romantic comedy Don Juan DeMarco, in which she played Marlon Brando's wife.

63.

That same year, Faye Dunaway published Looking for Gatsby, a memoir she co-wrote with Betsy Sharkey, which earned her great reviews.

64.

Faye Dunaway starred in the family comedy Dunston Checks In, the crime thriller The Chamber, which reunited her with her Bonnie and Clyde co-star Gene Hackman, and in the directorial debut of actor Kevin Spacey, Albino Alligator.

65.

Also in 1996, Faye Dunaway returned to the stage, playing famed opera singer Maria Callas in the US national tour of the Tony Award winning play Master Class by Terrence McNally.

66.

Also in 1999, Faye Dunaway portrayed Yolande of Aragon in Luc Besson's historical drama The Messenger: The Story of Joan of Arc.

67.

In 2000, Faye Dunaway appeared in the James Gray-directed crime film The Yards as Charlize Theron's mother.

68.

Faye Dunaway served as a judge on the 2005 reality show The Starlet, which sought, American Idol-style, to find the next young actress with the potential to become a major star.

69.

In 2006, Faye Dunaway guest-starred in "Kiss Kiss, Bye Bye", an episode of the crime drama CSI: Crime Scene Investigation because she was a huge fan of the show.

70.

Faye Dunaway appeared on Touched by an Angel, Alias and Grey's Anatomy.

71.

In 2008, Faye Dunaway agreed to star in a low-budget Welsh horror film, Flick, for a fraction of her usual $1 million fee after falling in love with the script.

72.

Faye Dunaway called the writer and director David Howard personally to accept the part of a one-armed American detective, saying it was "a really original story".

73.

In 2009, Faye Dunaway began shooting a film version of the McNally play Master Class as Maria Callas, starring Al Pacino, Val Kilmer, Alan Cumming, her son Liam Faye Dunaway O'Neill and lyric soprano Danielle de Niese.

74.

People hear Faye Dunaway and think she has a lot of money, but I don't because I've spent a lot.

75.

However, it was announced in June 2014 that after nearly 20 years of owning the film rights, Faye Dunaway had decided to withdraw from the project.

76.

In 2011, a photo of Faye Dunaway taken by Jerry Schatzberg in 1970 was chosen as the 64th annual Cannes Film Festival poster backdrop.

77.

In 2013, Faye Dunaway was the first recipient of the Leopard Club Award and made a rare personal appearance at the Locarno International Film Festival to accept it.

78.

In 2014, Faye Dunaway was recognized as the guest of honor by the Lumiere Film Festival.

79.

In 2017, Faye Dunaway returned to acting with a cameo role in the horror-thriller The Bye Bye Man, a small part in the Christian drama The Case for Christ and a supporting role in the psychological thriller Inconceivable, which starred Nicolas Cage and Gina Gershon.

80.

The critic Frank Scheck of The Hollywood Reporter found it "distressing that Faye Dunaway can't find more dignified projects at this point in her estimable career".

81.

Also in 2017, Faye Dunaway reunited with her Bonnie and Clyde co-star Warren Beatty at the 89th Academy Awards, in celebration of the film's 50th anniversary.

82.

That same year, Faye Dunaway was honored at the Dallas International Film Festival where she was presented with the Dallas Star Award.

83.

In 2019, more than thirty years since her performance in The Curse of the Aching Heart, Faye Dunaway planned to return to Broadway with an updated version of Matthew Lombardo's one-woman play Tea at Five, which was first staged at Hartford Stage in 2002.

84.

Faye Dunaway had a lot of class, too, and the innate ability to project intelligence, both on and off screen.

85.

Faye Dunaway has a palpable emotional intensity, and gives you the sense that entire scenes are playing out behind her eyes as part of her backstory.

86.

However, following three weeks at the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston, Faye Dunaway was released from the play, reportedly due to altercations between her and crewmembers.

87.

An assistant fired by Faye Dunaway filed a lawsuit against the actress in August 2019 alleging homophobic verbal harassment.

88.

In July 2021, Variety reported that Faye Dunaway would appear in the film The Man Who Drew God, whose production was controversial due to the inclusion of Kevin Spacey in the cast.

89.

Faye Dunaway is regarded as one of the greatest and most beautiful actresses of her generation, as well as a powerful emblem of the New Hollywood.

90.

In 1994, Faye Dunaway was ranked 27th by People Magazine on a list of the 50 most beautiful people and in 1997 she was ranked 65th by Empire Magazine on a list of the 100 top stars in film history.

91.

Famously demanding, with an attention to detail that sometimes drove costars and directors mad, Faye Dunaway believed that she was often mistaken as being as cold and calculating as some of the women she portrayed.

92.

In 1962, Faye Dunaway started a romance with stand-up comedian Lenny Bruce that lasted for a year.

93.

Faye Dunaway was engaged to photographer Jerry Schatzberg from 1967 to 1968.

94.

Faye Dunaway wanted to marry and have children, but Mastroianni, a married man, could not bear to hurt his wife and refused, despite protests from his teenage daughter Barbara and his close friend Federico Fellini.

95.

Faye Dunaway thought we would be like Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn, a love kept secret for a lifetime.

96.

In 1974, Dunaway married Peter Wolf, the lead singer of the rock group The J Geils Band.

97.

Faye Dunaway met her second husband, the British photographer Terry O'Neill, when he was assigned by People magazine to take pictures of Peter Wolf and of her in 1977.

98.

Faye Dunaway then had a three-year relationship with Warren Lieberfarb, Home Video president of Warner Bros.

99.

Faye Dunaway is a devout Catholic and has said that she attends morning Mass regularly.

100.

Faye Dunaway converted in 1996, having been a lifelong Protestant until then.