Martha Plimpton

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Birthday:

16 November 1970, New York City, New York, USA

Birth Name:

Martha Campbell Plimpton

Height:

165 cm

She has show biz in her blood. Martha Plimpton was born November 16, 1970, in New York City to two actors: Keith Carradine and Shelley Plimpton. Martha began her career at age 8, when her mom had a friend of hers, composer Elizabeth Swados, enroll her in an actors' workshop. At age 10, she got a small part in Rollover (1981), and also made a series of Calvin Klein commercials.Her first substantial film role was as a tomboy in The River Rat (1984); the following year, Steven Spielberg cast her in The Goonies (1985). Martha met River Phoenix while they were both filming The Mosquito Coast (1986), but since she was only 15 at the time, she did not go out with him. Even though she had a small part in the movie, it established her as a serious actress. Martha appeared in movies such as the screwball comedy Stars and Bars (1988) and, that same year, she was paired again with Phoenix in Running on Empty (1988). They dated for a while and then broke up. For a while, she was engaged to actor Jon Patrick Walker.As if making movies didn't keep her busy enough, Martha frequently worked at theaters and made her Chicago debut with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company Ensemble in "The Libertine" in 1996. As a member of that ensemble, she received a National Medal of Arts award in the autumn of 1998. As for movies, Colin Fitz (1997) and Eye of God (1997) in which she plays the starring role, have been run at the Sundance Film Festival. Although some recent movies have had low box office (Pecker (1998) $2.1 million, and 200 Cigarettes (1999) $6.8 million), Martha's performances shine and she often rises above her material.Perhaps recalling how important acting lessons were to her as a child, she donates her time and efforts to the "52nd Street Project" which is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to matching the inner-city children with professional theater artists to create original theater, by writing, directing and performing their own plays. Perhaps one of the inner-city kids she is coaching will be the next famous actress in Hollywood. Show less «

I realized as I got older that I could choose to be an actor to a certain extent, but movie stardom is not something you choose. It chooses ...Show more »

I realized as I got older that I could choose to be an actor to a certain extent, but movie stardom is not something you choose. It chooses you. You have very little control over that. So I stopped considering that an option. Show less «

On River Phoenix: Once when we were fifteen, River and I went out for this fancy dinner in Manhattan and I ordered soft-shell crabs. He left...Show more »

On River Phoenix: Once when we were fifteen, River and I went out for this fancy dinner in Manhattan and I ordered soft-shell crabs. He left the restaurant and walked around on Park Avenue, crying. I went out and said, "I love you so much. Why?". He had such a pain that I was eating an animal, that he hadn't impressed on me what was right. I loved him for that. For his dramatic desire that we share every belief, that I be with him all the way. (Cosmopolitan magazine, April 1995) Show less «

Don't go to Hollywood right away unless you're, like, ridiculously hot and only marginally talented. In which case, go straight to Hollywood...Show more »

Don't go to Hollywood right away unless you're, like, ridiculously hot and only marginally talented. In which case, go straight to Hollywood and make all the money you can. Just take the money and run! Show less «

I like to try new things. I like to go new places and I like to work with new people. That's sort of the definition of my job. As an actor, ...Show more »

I like to try new things. I like to go new places and I like to work with new people. That's sort of the definition of my job. As an actor, you just go where the work is, right? Show less «

The '80s to me, more than anything else, represents a real time of criminal activity in the office of the president: an incredibly disparate...Show more »

The '80s to me, more than anything else, represents a real time of criminal activity in the office of the president: an incredibly disparate economy in terms of the class distinctions and whatnot, and a tremendous shallowness - a lot of sort of bank robbery by executives. This is the '80s to me. and a lot of synthesizer music. And, of course, Madonna and the beginning of MTV. Show less «