| Joanna Cassidy | |
|---|---|
Joanna Cassidy in 2007 |
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| Born | Joanna Virginia Caskey August 2, 1945 [1] Haddonfield, New Jersey, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1968–present |
| Spouse | Dr. Kennard C. Kobrin (1964-1974) (divorced) 2 children |
Joanna Cassidy (born August 2, 1945) is an American film and television actress. She is known for her role as the replicant Zhora in the Ridley Scott's film Blade Runner (1982). She has won a Golden Globe Award, was nominated for three Emmy Awards and also was nominated for Saturn Award and Screen Actors Guild Awards.
She also has starred in films such as Under Fire, The Fourth Protocol, Who Framed Roger Rabbit?, The Package, Where the Heart Is and Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead, Vampire in Brooklyn and Ghosts of Mars. From 2001 to 2005, she acted out the role of Margaret Chenowith on the HBO drama series Six Feet Under. She currently plays Joan Hunt on the ABC series Body of Proof.
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Cassidy was born Joanna Virginia Caskey in Haddonfield, New Jersey, the daughter of Virginia and Joe Caskey.[2] She attended Haddonfield Memorial High School, where she described herself as being "a rowdy kid".[3]
At an early age, Cassidy was involved in painting and sculpture and went on to major in art at Syracuse University in New York. During her time there, she married Kennard C. Kobrin in 1964, a doctor in residency, and found work as a fashion model. The couple moved to San Francisco, where her husband set up a psychiatric practice while Cassidy continued modeling. In 1968, she landed a bit part in Bullitt. Following her divorce in 1974, Cassidy decided to move to Los Angeles in a bid for an acting career. The circumstances under which she changed her family name from "Caskey" to "Cassidy" for professional reasons are not known.
Cassidy started her acting career appearing in a 1973 Smokey the Bear public service announcement (PSA), and television series such as Mission: Impossible, Starsky & Hutch, and Taxi. She had a small role in the 1976 film Stay Hungry, an offbeat film about bodybuilding that featured a young Arnold Schwarzenegger. She co-starred in the 1978 film Our Winning Season. Her first regular role was as sheriff's pilot Morgan Wainwright in the 1979 action-adventure series 240-Robert, though the series only lasted for two abbreviated seasons. Afterwards, Cassidy continued to appear in guest roles in series such as Dallas, Falcon Crest, as well as a regular role in the short-lived 1983 sitcom Buffalo Bill (for which she earned a Golden Globe Award). Joanna also starred in the short-lived 1985 TV series Code Name: Foxfire.
In 1982, Cassidy had her first major feature film role as the replicant Zhora in Ridley Scott's Blade Runner.[4] The following year, she co-starred in Under Fire with Gene Hackman and Nick Nolte. She continued to appear in both films and television, and co-starred in the television miniseries Hollywood Wives (1985), The Fourth Protocol (1987), Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988), The Package (1989), Where the Heart Is (1990), and Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead (1991). In 1993, she co-starred with Dudley Moore in the sitcom Dudley, but the series only lasted for six episodes. She also appeared opposite James Garner, playing his ex-wife, in the 1994 television movie The Rockford Files: I Still Love L.A. Her other screen credits from this era include Barbarians at the Gate (1993), the 1993 miniseries adaptation of Stephen King's The Tommyknockers, and Wes Craven's Vampire in Brooklyn (1995). Cassidy also provided the voice of Inspector Maggie Sawyer in the WB's series Superman: The Animated Series, and had recurring guest roles on television shows such as L.A. Law, Melrose Place, Diagnosis: Murder and The District.
Since 2000, Cassidy has appeared in the 2001 film Ghosts of Mars directed by John Carpenter, and had a recurring role as Margaret Chenowith on the HBO drama series Six Feet Under for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award. In 2004, she also guest-starred in two episodes of Star Trek: Enterprise as T'Les (the Vulcan mother of Enterprise crewmember T'Pol) and she also had a recurring role as Beverly Bridge on the series Boston Legal in 2006. She also voiced the villainess, Hecubah, in the computer game Nox (2000) as well as once again voicing the character of Maggie Sawyer in the 2002 video game Superman: Shadow of Apokolips.
In the spring of 2007, Cassidy donned Zhora's costume once more, 25 years after the release of Blade Runner, in order to recreate a climactic scene from the film for the fall 2007 Final Cut release of the film.[5] In the original 1982 release, a stunt performer played out Zhora's death scene, with the physical differences between the performer and Cassidy very evident (including the stuntwoman wearing a different wig). For the Final Cut, Cassidy's head was digitally transposed onto footage of the stunt performer, making the death scene fit continuity. According to the DVD featurette, All Our Variant Futures, it was Cassidy herself who suggested this be done; she is captured on video making the suggestion during filming of a retrospective interview related to Blade Runner.[6]
In the second season of the NBC series Heroes, she is seen in a photo of the twelve senior members of the show's mysterious company. Beyond appearances in photographs, the actress first appeared as Victoria Pratt in the tenth episode of season two, "Truth & Consequences", during which her character was killed off.
In 2008-2009, Cassidy appeared in episodes of Ghost Whisperer, Desperate Housewives, Law & Order: UK, and was also seen in the recurring guest role of Amanda Hawthorne, the mother-in-law of Jada Pinkett Smith's eponymous character in the medical drama HawthoRNe.
In 2011, Cassidy began to appear in a recurring role on the ABC series Body of Proof as Judge Joan Hunt, the mother of Megan Hunt, Dana Delany's character in the show.
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | Bullitt | Bit Part | |
| 1973 | The Outfit | Rita | |
| The Laughing Policeman | Monica, Beth's Roommate | ||
| 1974 | Bank Shot | Eleonora | |
| 1975 | Il medaglione insanguinato | Joanna Morgan | |
| 1976 | Stay Hungry | Zoe | |
| 1977 | American Raspberry | Lisa Allen | |
| The Late Show | Laura Birdwell | ||
| Stunt | Patti Johnson | ||
| 1978 | Our Winning Season | Sheila | |
| 1979 | The Glove | Sheila Michaels | |
| 1980 | Night Games | ||
| 1982 | Blade Runner | Zhora | |
| 1983 | Under Fire | Claire | Won - Sant Jordi Awards - Best Foreign Actress |
| 1983–1984 | Buffalo Bill | Jo Jo White | 26 episodes
Won - Golden Globes Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy (1984) |
| 1985 | Hollywood Wives | Marilee Gray | TV mini-series |
| Code Name: Foxfire | Elizabeth 'Firefox' Towne | 3 episodes | |
| 1986 | Club Paradise | Terry Hamlin | |
| Pleasures | Lillian Benton | TV film | |
| 1987 | The Fourth Protocol | Irina Vassilievna | |
| 1988 | Who Framed Roger Rabbit | Dolores | Nominated Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy & Horror Films - Best Supporting Actress (1990) |
| 1969 | Ev | ||
| 1989 | The Package | Eileen Gallagher | |
| 1990 | Where the Heart Is | Jean | |
| 1990 | Girl of the Limberlost | Gene Stratton-Porter | |
| 1991 | Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead | Rose Lindsey | |
| Lonely Hearts | Erin Randall | ||
| 1992 | Landslide | Lucy Matterson | |
| 1993 | The Tommyknockers | Sheriff Ruth Merrill | |
| CBS Schoolbreak Special | Linda Jurgenson | 1 episode, Nominated Daytime Emmy Awards Outstanding Performer in a Children's Special (1994) |
|
| Dudley | Laraine Bristol | ||
| 1993–1994 | L.A. Law | Judge Carolyn Walker | 3 episodes |
| 1995 | Vampire in Brooklyn | Capt. Dewey | |
| 1996 | Chain Reaction | Maggie McDermott | |
| 1997 | Loved | Elenore Amerson | |
| Melrose Place | Kate Reilly | 3 episodes | |
| 1998 | Dangerous Beauty | Laura Venier | |
| 1999–2000 | Diagnosis: Murder | Madison Wesley | 8 episodes |
| 2000 | The Right Temptation | Maryanne | |
| 2001 | Ghosts of Mars | Whitlock | |
| Anthrax | Jackie Potter | ||
| 2001–2005 | Six Feet Under | Margaret Chenowith | 21 episodes, Nominated Emmy Awards Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (2006), Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2006) |
| 2006 | Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector | Lily Micelli | |
| The Grudge 2 | Mrs. Davis | ||
| Boston Legal | Beverly Bridge | 5 episodes | |
| 2007 | Heroes | Victoria Pratt | 1 episode |
| 2008 | Kiss the Bride | Evelyn Golski | |
| The Human Contract | Rose | ||
| Criminal Minds | Mrs. Holden | 1 episode | |
| Ghost Whisperer | Faith Clancy | 1 episode | |
| 2009 | Stay Cool | Mrs. Smith | |
| Stolen Lives | Lea Adkins | ||
| For Sale by Owner | Linda Flannery | ||
| Desperate Housewives | Melina Cominis | 1 episode | |
| Sex Ed: The Series | Professor Alison Trevase | pilot
Nominated Streamy Awards Best Actress in a Comedy Series (2010) |
|
| Hawthorne | Amanda Hawthorne | 4 episodes | |
| 2010 | Anderson's Cross | Mrs. McCarthy | |
| Call Me Fitz | Elaine Fitzpatrick | 2 episodes
Nominated Gemini Awards Best Ensemble Performance in a Comedy Program or Series (2011) |
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| 2011 | The American Standards | Ann Jennings | |
| Carjacked | Betty | ||
| 2011–present | Body of Proof | Judge Joan Hunt | Recurring role |
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