Though she is a classically trained dramatic actress and has played a variety of roles, Sigourney Weaver is still most closely identified with the steel-jawed, grave, alien-butt-kicking space crusader Ellen Ripley from the four "Alien" movies. The 5'11'' dark haired, beautiful Weaver was born Susan Weaver to NBC president Pat Weaver and actress Elizabeth Inglis. She is also the niece of comedian Doodles Weaver. Her father had a passion for Roman history and originally wanted to name her Flavia Weaver. When she was older, Weaver renamed herself Sigourney comes from that of a minor character in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. Weaver attended Stanford University and the obtained a masters at Yale School of Drama where along with classmate Meryl Streep, she appeared in classical Greek plays. After earning her degree, Weaver was only able to find work in experimental plays produced well away from Broadway, as more conventional producers found Weaver too tall to perform in mainstream works. She got her first real break in the soap opera Somerset (1970-76) and made her film debut with a bit part in Woody Allen's Annie Hall (1977). She had her first major role in Madman (1979) which was released just prior to Alien (1979). Though the role of Ripley was originally designed for Veronica Cartwright, scouts for director Ridley Scott saw Weaver working off-Broadway and knew she would be perfect for the part. Weaver's take on the character was laced with subtlety that made her a new kind of action hero --- intelligent, resourceful, and fiercely maternal, unconsciously sexy, her Ripley was a woman with the guts to master her fear in order to take on a terrifying unknown enemy. The sci-fi chiller was one of the year's biggest hits and put Weaver on Hollywood's A-list, though she would not reprise her character for another seven years. In between, Weaver strove to show her versatility, playing solid dramatic roles in Eyewitness (1981) and The Year of Living Dangerously (1982) while letting a more playful side down as a cellist who channels a fearsome demon in Ghostbusters (1984). The second Alien film burst into theaters in 1986 and was even gorier and more rip roaring than the first. This time, Weaver focused more on the maternal side of her character which only served to make her tougher than ever. Following this film, she offered a haunting performance as doomed naturalist/animal rights activist Diane Fossey in Gorillas in the Mist (1988). The role won Weaver an Oscar nomination for "Best Actress." She has also earned nominations for her deliciously viperous portrayal of Melanie Griffith's boss in Working Girl (1989). She had her next big hit playing President Kevin Kline's lonely wife in the bittersweet romantic comedy Dave (1983). She gave a gripping performance as a rape/torture victim who faces down the man who may or may not have been her tormentor in Roman Polanski's moody thriller Death and the Maiden (1994). As the decade has progressed, Weaver has been increasingly drawn to off-beat roles such as the outwardly bitchy but inwardly fragile Janey in Ang Lee's The Ice Storm and a gleefully sinister turn as the psychotic wicked Queen in an adult-oriented HBO production, The Grimm Brothers' Snow White (both 1997). Weaver has been married to stage director Jim Simpson since 1984. When not appearing in films, she continues to be active in theater.