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Jessica Lange

© Stephanie Faris

There's one thing you can't say about Jessica Lange: that the lady doesn't have guts. From the time she debuted in the 1976 version of King Kong, Lange wowed moviegoers with a fiery determination that saw her claw her way up from the bottom.

In fact, at the time of King Kong's dismal debut, it looked like Jessica Lange was finished before she'd really gotten started. The film, as well as her performance, was trashed by critics and, despite being highly publicized, was a box office failure. But Lange spent the years following that performance making connections and learning her craft, and by the time she appeared in 1979's All That Jazz, it was apparent this lady was no ordinary talent.

What followed was a string of remarkable performances, including The Best Little Girl in the World, which was the first movie ever to tackle the then-unheard-of topic of anorexia/bulimia. That same year she appeared opposite Jack Nicholson in The Postman Always Rings Twice, a liberal remake of the 1946 film of the same name. But it was her next film, Tootsie, that would introduce her to the public on a large-scale level.

Lange won the Best Supporting Actress award that year, beating out her Tootsie co-star Teri Garr. In fact the only Oscar given out that year to Tootsie was Lange's. And she wasted no time parlaying it into acting roles.

Lange would receive Oscar nominations for her next two roles: the 1984 drama Country and 1985's Sweet Dreams, in which she played singing legend Patsy Cline. She tackled the Emmys next, receiving a nomination in 1985 for her performance in the TV movie Cat on a Hot Tin Roof. She appeared to be on a roll.

Then came the 1986 movie Crimes of the Heart. Opposite Sissy Spacek and Diane Keaton, Lange put in a stellar performance but at Oscar time it was Spacek who got the nod. Tess Harper, a supporting actress in the film, also received a nomination, but both Keaton and Lange were left out.

Lange took a break from the dramatic roles to star in a romance with Dennis Quaid. Everybody's All-American may not have been an Oscar contender, but it brought in more than $12 million in the U.S. And she would get her chance at the Oscar again, anyway. In 1990 she was again nominated for her role in Music Box but she lost to Driving Miss Daisy's Jessica Tandy.