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Joan Cusack Poster

Biography

Jump to: Overview (3)  | Mini Bio (1)  | Family (4)  | Trivia (19)  | Personal Quotes (1)

Overview (3)

Born in New York City, New York, USA
Birth NameJoan Mary Cusack
Height 5' 9" (1.75 m)

Mini Bio (1)

Actress Joan Cusack was born on October 11, 1962 in New York City and is the daughter of Nancy (née Carolan) and Dick Cusack. Her father was an advertising executive, writer and actor, and her mother was a mathematics teacher. Her siblings - Susie Cusack, John Cusack, Ann Cusack and Bill Cusack are also actors. Her family is of Irish descent.

Raised in Evanston, Illinois, Cusack was actively encouraged to explore her creativity by her parents, and as a child, she joined the Piven Theater Workshop. She went on to learn and perform improvisation at the Story Theater and The Ark. Later, she attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison, graduating with a bachelor's degree in English. Whilst at university, Cusack took some small film roles, but her big break came after graduation, when she joined the cast of the legendary "Saturday Night Live". However, she only stayed for one season before moving onto explore other projects.

Cusack produced a memorable turn in the acclaimed Broadcast News (1987), and she earned an Oscar nomination for her performance in Working Girl (1988). Other notable films include Addams Family Values (1993), Corrina, Corrina (1994), Grosse Pointe Blank (1997) and In & Out (1997), which earned her a second Oscar nomination. One of her most well-known roles was Rosalie Mullins, the principal of Horace Green Elementary School in School of Rock (2003). She also provided, superbly, the voice of Jessie the Yodeling Cowgirl in Toy Story 2 (1999), Toy Story 3 (2010) and Toy Story 4 (2019). On television, she scored a role on Shameless (2011), with her work garnering her an Emmy nomination.

Joan Cusack is married to an attorney, Dick Burke. They have two sons - Dylan and Miles.

- IMDb Mini Biography By: Anonymous

Family (4)

Spouse Richard Burke (1993 - present)  (2 children)
Children Dylan John Burke
Miles Burke
Parents Ann Paula Cusack
Dick Cusack
Relatives John Cusack (sibling)
Ann Cusack (sibling)

Trivia (19)

First son, Dylan John Burke, born. [June 1997]
Second son, Miles Burke, born. [July 2000]
Husband, Dick Burke, is a Chicago attorney.
She and Julianne Moore played pregnant women in Nine Months (1995). In 1997, their own sons were born.
She was supposed to play Bobbie Markowitz in The Stepford Wives (2004). When her father became sick, both she and her brother John Cusack had to drop out of the film. Bette Midler then got the role.
Shares her birthday (October 11) with Michelle Trachtenberg, her on-screen daughter in Disney's Ice Princess (2005).
Cusack was the first regular cast member of Saturday Night Live (1975) (1985-1986 season) to be nominated for an Academy Award. She was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for her work in Working Girl (1988).
One of her conditions for starring in the sitcom What About Joan (2000) was that it had to be produced in Chicago so she would not have to leave her family.
In the mid-1980s, she was a co-founder of the three woman improv comedy troupe, "An Impulsive Thing", with Bonnie Hunt and Holly Wortell.
In 2003, both Joan and her brother John Cusack signed the "Not in My Name" resolution (along with people such as Noam Chomsky and Susan Sarandon) opposing the invasion of Iraq.
She was nominated for a 1991 Joseph Jefferson Award for Actress in a Supporting Role in a Play for "A Midsummer's Night Dream" at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.
In the film In & Out (1997), where Joan stars alongside Kevin Kline, there is a group dance scene on the song "Macho Man" by The Village People. Years earlier, in Addams Family Values (1993), Joan sings the same song.
Both she and Matt Dillon were in their debut film, My Bodyguard (1980), as classmates. 17 years later, they both had roles in the film In & Out (1997), but this time she was his former teacher.
Has appeared with her brother John Cusack in ten films: Class (1983), Sixteen Candles (1984), Grandview, U.S.A. (1984), Broadcast News (1987), Say Anything (1989), Grosse Pointe Blank (1997), Cradle Will Rock (1999), High Fidelity (2000), Martian Child (2007) and War, Inc. (2008).
Has appeared with Alec Baldwin in four films: Married to the Mob (1988), Working Girl (1988), The Last Shot (2004) and My Sister's Keeper (2009).
Has appeared with Whoopi Goldberg in four films: Corrina, Corrina (1994), In & Out (1997), It's a Very Merry Muppet Christmas Movie (2002) and Toy Story 3 (2010).
Has appeared in five films each with the word "Toy": Toys (1992), Toys in the Attic (2009), Toy Story 2 (1999), Toy Story 3 (2010) and Toy Story 4 (2019).
Born at 11:00am-EDT.
Graduated from the University of Wisconsin at Madison with a degree in English in 1984.

Personal Quotes (1)

I was never the 'babe,' so I knew I'd never get those big roles. I'd always be the best friend or the quirky sidekick.

See also

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