Sean Young

Sean Young
Young at the 2007 Jules Verne Adventure Film Special Awards Presentation
Born	Mary Sean Young (1959-11-20) November 20, 1959 Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1980–present
Spouse(s)	Robert Lujan (1990–2002, 2011–present 2 children)
Website
maryseanyoung.com

Sean Young (born November 20, 1959) is an American actress. She is best known for her performances in films from the 1980s such as Blade Runner (1982), Dune (1984), No Way Out (1987), Wall Street (1987) and Cousins (1989).

Early life

She was born as Mary Sean Young in Louisville, Kentucky, daughter of Donald Young Jr., a television producer and journalist, and Lee Guthrie (born Mary Lee Kane), a screenwriter, public relations executive, and journalist.^[1][2][3] Young graduated from Cleveland Heights High School in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, followed by the Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan.^[4] She also attended the School of American Ballet in New York.^[5] Before becoming an actress, Young worked as a model and dancer.^[5]

Film career

The 1980s

Young attending the 60th Academy Awards in 1988.

Young began her film career in 1980 in the film Jane Austen in Manhattan, followed by a role in the 1981 film Stripes. She then played the female lead, Rachael, alongside Harrison Ford in the classic science fiction film Blade Runner (1982). On television in 1986, Young played the woman lead opposite Lenny Von Dohlen in Under the Biltmore Clock, based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's story Myra Meets His Family. The following year, she had a small role in the film Wall Street as the wife of Michael Douglas's character, Gordon Gekko. Her role was originally intended to be larger, but was significantly reduced due to clashes with Oliver Stone.^[6][7]

One of her most prominent roles was as the lover of a ruthless Washington politician (Gene Hackman) in 1987's No Way Out, alongside Kevin Costner. Other notable credits include Dune, Fatal Instinct, and Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend.^[8]

In 1988, Young appeared in The Boost with James Woods. Woods later sued her for harassing him and his then-fiancée, alleging that, in addition to other disruptive behavior, Young left a disfigured doll on his doorstep. Young denied the allegations and claimed that Woods filed the lawsuit out of spite. Young stated, "It was a crush being turned down, that's all.... So sue me! And he [Woods] did." The suit was settled out of court in 1989.^[6] Young was awarded $227,000 to cover her legal costs.^[9]

Young was next cast as Vicki Vale in Tim Burton's 1989 film Batman, but during rehearsals, she broke her arm after falling off a horse and was replaced by Kim Basinger. In an unsuccessful attempt to win the role of Catwoman (which was originally offered to Annette Bening but ultimately went to Michelle Pfeiffer after Bening became pregnant) in the sequel Batman Returns, Young constructed a homemade Catwoman costume and attempted to confront Burton and actor Michael Keaton during production.^[6]

The 1990s

As the crazed heiress Twinkle in the 1992 screwball comedy Hold Me, Thrill Me, Kiss Me, Young played a tongue-in-cheek caricature of her public image at the time.^[10]

Young was cast as Tess Trueheart in the 1990 movie Dick Tracy. However, she was dismissed in favor of Glenne Headly for not appearing maternal in the role. Young later claimed her dismissal was punishment for her having rebuffed Warren Beatty's advances, a claim Beatty denies.^[6] In 1991, she was awarded the Worst Actress and the Worst Supporting Actress Razzies for her roles in A Kiss Before Dying.^[11] She played a supporting role in the 1994 comedy Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. During most of the 1990s, she resided in Sedona, Arizona, and her career cooled.^[6] In 1997, however, Young reprised her role as Rachael in the 1997 Blade Runner video game. Her face was scanned and reproduced in 3D, one of the first times such technology was used in a game.

After the turn of the 21st Century

Since 2001, Young has appeared in a variety of independent films and made guest appearances on television, including roles in Poor White Trash, Mockingbird Don't Sing, Sugar & Spice, Boston Public, and Reno 911!.^[8] In 2005, she spent four months in Russia filming the miniseries Esenin, in which she impersonated dancer Isadora Duncan.^[12] She also had a small role on the CW's One Tree Hill in 2007.

In late 2007, Young finished work on two films, The Man Who Came Back and Haunted Echoes.

In 2008, Young competed in the television program Gone Country 2, which included a competition in a celebrity demolition derby at the Henry County Fairgrounds in Paris, Tennessee. Young went on to win the celebrity derby heat and then went on to compete against 21 professional demolition derby drivers. Young finished in fourth place.^[13]

The 2010s

Young appeared on The Young and the Restless in June 2010 as Canadian barmaid Meggie McClain, alongside good friend Eric Braeden.^[14][15] She returned to the show on July 14 in a recurring role, which lasted through February 2011.^[16]

In 2010, she was cast on the first season of the ABC show Skating with the Stars as a celebrity contestant who skated with professional skater Denis Petukhov.^[17][18] But she was the first celebrity to be eliminated.

In October 2011, Young appeared on the CBS television show Late Show with David Letterman.^[19] During the interview, she described how she was now looking for movie work after raising her two sons, and produced a short video clip promoting her job search which Letterman played. She was subsequently cast in a film about Nikola Tesla, slated for release in 2013, titled Fragments From Olympus—The Vision of Nikola Tesla (unreleased as of September, 2014).

In October 2013, Young played the role of Dr. Lucien in Star Trek: Renegades, a fan project to create a pilot for a new Star Trek series (scheduled for release in 2014) where several former Star Trek actors appeared, including Tim Russ (who also directed the pilot) as well as Walter Koenig, Garrett Wang and J. G. Hertzler.

Personal life

In 1990, Young married Robert Lujan, with whom she has two sons, Rio Kelly and Quinn Lee.^[1] The couple divorced in 2002.^[6]

In January 2008, Young checked herself into rehab for alcohol abuse.^[20][21][22]

During a stay in rehab in 2011, which was depicted on Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew, Lujan was identified as Young's husband, both when he visited her during Family Weekend in Episode 6,^[23] and when he and Young spoke to Doctors Drew Pinsky and John Sharp about their relationship.^[24]

On June 9, 2013, Young performed in a benefit skating event at the Ice Theater of New York. She competed in a Celebrity Skating competition against Michael Buckley, YouTube personality, and Tim Morehouse, US Olympic Fencing silver medalist.

Filmography

See also

• List of people from the Louisville metropolitan area

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Sean Young.

• Official site
• John C. Tibbetts interviews Sean Young about Blade Runner in 1982
• Sean Young at the Internet Movie Database
• Sean Young at the TCM Movie Database
• Sean Young at AllMovie