Elizabeth McGovern
Birthday:
18 July 1961, Evanston, Illinois, USA
Height:
178 cm
Daughter of a law professor at Northwestern University, she moved with her family to Los Angeles when he transferred to the University of California at Los Angeles (U.C.L.A.). She began acting in school plays at North Hollywood High, graduated from The Oakwood School and then continued her stage training at the American Conservatory Theatre in San ...
Show more »
Daughter of a law professor at Northwestern University, she moved with her family to Los Angeles when he transferred to the University of California at Los Angeles (U.C.L.A.). She began acting in school plays at North Hollywood High, graduated from The Oakwood School and then continued her stage training at the American Conservatory Theatre in San Francisco and the drama division of The Juilliard School in New York. Following a pleasant screen debut in Robert Redford's Oscar-winning Ordinary People (1980), McGovern gave a great performance as Evelyn Nesbit in Ragtime (1981) for which she earned an Academy Award nomination as Best Supporting Actress. She has continued performing on stage between film assignments rather than concentrate on being a film star. Show less «
On careers other than acting: "I probably would have become a veterinarian, or I might have lived on a ranch somewhere and raised horses, or...Show more »
On careers other than acting: "I probably would have become a veterinarian, or I might have lived on a ranch somewhere and raised horses, or I might have become more serious about painting, or I might have worked in a Burger King." Show less «
Honestly, I am always shocked when I see myself in the mirror because I feel exactly the same as I did when I was 18 getting off the plane t...Show more »
Honestly, I am always shocked when I see myself in the mirror because I feel exactly the same as I did when I was 18 getting off the plane to go to Juilliard in New York. Show less «
There is nothing in my life where I view myself as a 1920s person.
There is nothing in my life where I view myself as a 1920s person.
I turned down the opportunity to be in some films that went on to be blockbusters.
I turned down the opportunity to be in some films that went on to be blockbusters.
My job now is to work hard and learn all I can.
My job now is to work hard and learn all I can.
I just find it fascinating, like everybody, to be in a different life. It's an escape.
I just find it fascinating, like everybody, to be in a different life. It's an escape.
Hollywood never suited me, I didn't ever feel comfortable with it, it took me a couple of years but I found where I was always meant to be.....Show more »
Hollywood never suited me, I didn't ever feel comfortable with it, it took me a couple of years but I found where I was always meant to be... Chiswick! Show less «
I still feel I'm doing the same work I've always done.
I still feel I'm doing the same work I've always done.
Most people grow up dreaming of going to Hollywood and some of them work and work and work and finally end up in Hollywood.
Most people grow up dreaming of going to Hollywood and some of them work and work and work and finally end up in Hollywood.
Whenever I work on anything, there's always the fantasy that what one is doing is the next 'Citizen Kane'-slash-'Sopranos.'
Whenever I work on anything, there's always the fantasy that what one is doing is the next 'Citizen Kane'-slash-'Sopranos.'
If I feel I can play a part I do everything in my power to try to play it.
If I feel I can play a part I do everything in my power to try to play it.
We lack rituals in this modern world.
We lack rituals in this modern world.
I'm someone who's done the opposite of whatever the received wisdom is, to keep your career going into your 50s.
I'm someone who's done the opposite of whatever the received wisdom is, to keep your career going into your 50s.
In London, I take the Tube everywhere.
In London, I take the Tube everywhere.
To me, the lyrics of the song define the kind of style it is.
To me, the lyrics of the song define the kind of style it is.
I love having the opportunity to explore a part for a great length of time, really get deeper and deeper into it, because you only have a ch...Show more »
I love having the opportunity to explore a part for a great length of time, really get deeper and deeper into it, because you only have a chance to do that once or twice in a career. Show less «
I've been in things that have impressed people and they've come up to congratulate you but in a kind of, you-must-think-you're-really-specia...Show more »
I've been in things that have impressed people and they've come up to congratulate you but in a kind of, you-must-think-you're-really-special way. Show less «
As far as I can see women who have facelifts don't look younger, just weirder. You see them on screen with these tight, little porcelain fac...Show more »
As far as I can see women who have facelifts don't look younger, just weirder. You see them on screen with these tight, little porcelain faces - then the hand goes up to the face and it looks like it belongs to an alien. I find it really freaky. Show less «
I miss sometimes the buzz of America. A sense that anything can change at the drop of a hat. In a way, it's an exhausting thing to live with...Show more »
I miss sometimes the buzz of America. A sense that anything can change at the drop of a hat. In a way, it's an exhausting thing to live with. Show less «
I wasn't ecstatic about being pregnant - I wasn't somebody who actively wanted kids. Certainly there were no fantasies about nappy-changing.
I wasn't ecstatic about being pregnant - I wasn't somebody who actively wanted kids. Certainly there were no fantasies about nappy-changing.
North Hollywood isn't actually Hollywood, it's in the San Fernando Valley... it's not the most glamorous part of L.A.
North Hollywood isn't actually Hollywood, it's in the San Fernando Valley... it's not the most glamorous part of L.A.
My father was an academic, an eccentric. He was a lecturer.
My father was an academic, an eccentric. He was a lecturer.
So the English approach to show business and their work is more - and this is a big generalization, I hasten to say - but it's more, they wo...Show more »
So the English approach to show business and their work is more - and this is a big generalization, I hasten to say - but it's more, they work on it as a craft job. Show less «
I've found acting on stage much more challenging than on screen.
I've found acting on stage much more challenging than on screen.
My family were all into classical music, and I found that very intimidating.
My family were all into classical music, and I found that very intimidating.
England as a culture has endured so much more than America has as a culture, so it's given them a different perspective.
England as a culture has endured so much more than America has as a culture, so it's given them a different perspective.
By definition, an actor's life is a recipe for regret. There are always roads you could have taken. But I've lived long enough to realize th...Show more »
By definition, an actor's life is a recipe for regret. There are always roads you could have taken. But I've lived long enough to realize that each road has its own rewards. Show less «
I have a terrible sense of direction.
I have a terrible sense of direction.
Well, when I moved to England I was making a lot of personal adjustments because I was getting married and starting a family, that sort of t...Show more »
Well, when I moved to England I was making a lot of personal adjustments because I was getting married and starting a family, that sort of thing. Show less «
I've got my private life - that's sacred - and I didn't have that before.
I've got my private life - that's sacred - and I didn't have that before.
Well, I have a band, "Sadie and the Hotheads", and we have an album that is already out that is available on our website.
Well, I have a band, "Sadie and the Hotheads", and we have an album that is already out that is available on our website.
Now we have to contend with overstimulation and too many opportunities all the time, and too many decisions all the time.
Now we have to contend with overstimulation and too many opportunities all the time, and too many decisions all the time.
I like writing letters and receiving letters. It's a shame that we've lost the art of letter-writing and saving correspondence. I mourn that...Show more »
I like writing letters and receiving letters. It's a shame that we've lost the art of letter-writing and saving correspondence. I mourn that. Show less «
That feeling of being 19 or 20 and 'hot' in Hollywood was so intense.
That feeling of being 19 or 20 and 'hot' in Hollywood was so intense.
I can't just sit around thinking how lucky I am.
I can't just sit around thinking how lucky I am.
It's peaceful for people to know how their lives are going to be, pretty much.
It's peaceful for people to know how their lives are going to be, pretty much.
I don't believe in villains - just people who channel their energy in the wrong way.
I don't believe in villains - just people who channel their energy in the wrong way.
It's very tough when two creative people are together.
It's very tough when two creative people are together.
In today's world, we all live with the burden of feeling that anything is possible if we're only clever enough, smart enough, work hard enou...Show more »
In today's world, we all live with the burden of feeling that anything is possible if we're only clever enough, smart enough, work hard enough. Show less «
I had reconciled myself to being happily out to pasture, a bit.
I had reconciled myself to being happily out to pasture, a bit.
Elizabeth McGovern's Photos
NEXT PAGE
Marmara
Deborah Gelly
Mrs. Lizewski
Evelyn Nesbit
Cora Crawley
Laura Kendall
