Trivia

Her salary for Alien Resurrection (1997) was more than the entire cost of Alien (1979).

In Alien Resurrection (1997), Sigourney actually managed to sink the basketball into the hoop backwards on the first take, even though she was not supposed to or intended to. The shot was almost ruined because Ron Perlman broke character because he was so amazed.

Speaks French and German fluently.

Her performance as Ellen Ripley in the Alien quadrilogy is ranked #8 on Premiere magazine's 100 Greatest Movie Characters of All Time.

Changed her name after reading F. Scott Fitzgerald's 1925 novel "The Great Gatsby" in which a minor character was named Sigourney Howard.

She jumped at the chance to appear in the movie Paul (2011), as she felt this was a love letter to science fiction fans, and a genre that has been very good to her in her career. Simon Pegg even had a crush on Sigourney, and even wrote a poem about her at Bristol University. He would get his wish when he would work with her in one scene in this movie.

Suffered nightmares for two weeks after reading the screenplay for The Village (2004).

Is a supporter of the Dian Fossey Gorilla Fund and now its honorary chairperson.

Her father Sylvester L. Weaver Jr. ("Pat" Weaver), NBC-TV president (1953-55), pioneered the desk-and-couch talk show format that still survives on two programs he created - NBC's shows Today (1952) and The Tonight Show (1953).

Despite gaining fame for action roles, she has a strong dislike of guns; she's also afraid to travel in elevators.

Does not participate in social media.

Along with Fay Bainter, Teresa Wright, Barry Fitzgerald, Jessica Lange, Al Pacino, Holly Hunter, Emma Thompson, Julianne Moore, Jamie Foxx, Cate Blanchett and Scarlett Johansson, she is one of only twelve actors to receive Academy Award nominations in two acting categories in the same year. She was nominated for Best Actress for Gorillas in the Mist (1988) and Best Supporting Actress for Working Girl (1988) at the 61st Academy Awards in 1989.

Ranked #20 on E4's 100 Greatest Movie Stars. She was the second highest female on the list behind #13 Audrey Hepburn.

Currently remains in contact with her former Aliens (1986) co-star Carrie Henn.

Her character from the Alien series, Ellen Ripley, inspired the "Metroid" video game heroine, Samus Aran.

Along with Sissy Spacek, Piper Laurie, Janet Leigh, Jodie Foster, Glenn Close, Kathy Bates, Eileen Heckart, Ruth Gordon, Patty McCormack, Nancy Kelly, Toni Collette, Ellen Burstyn and Linda Blair, she is one of the few actresses to have been nominated for an Oscar for a performance in a horror movie.

Received her Bachelor's degree in English from Stanford University in Stanford, California. (1972)

As of 2023, has appeared in four films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Annie Hall (1977), Working Girl (1988), Avatar (2009), and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022). Of those, Annie Hall (1977) is the winner in the category.

Her performance as Ellen Ripley in Aliens (1986) is ranked #58 on Premiere magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time. (2006)

Her first job was as understudy in Sir John Gielgud's production of "The Constant Wife" starring Ingrid Bergman.

Mother of Charlotte Simpson.

In many of her roles, her character has had to deal with artificially intelligent spaceships. In the Alien movies, she battles them. In Galaxy Quest (1999), much to her character's chagrin, she repeated whatever the spaceship said. In addition, on an episode of Futurama (1999), and in the film WALL·E (2008), she had the chance to voice a spaceship.

As of the 6th edition of 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die (edited by Steven Jay Schneider), Sigourney Weaver appears in seven films, Annie Hall (1977), Alien (1979), Ghostbusters (1984), Aliens (1986), The Ice Storm (1997), Avatar (2009) and The Cabin in the Woods (2011).

She was considered for the role of Selina Kyle/Catwoman in Batman Returns (1992), which went to Michelle Pfeiffer.

Her American father had English, as well as German, Scottish, and distant Dutch, ancestry. Her mother was English.

Her character in the Ghostbusters movies, Dana Barrett, is the only character among the leads who did not appear in the animated adaptation, The Real Ghostbusters (1986).

She was awarded a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame at 7021 Hollywood Boulevard in Hollywood, California on December 16, 1999.

Ranked #71 in Empire (UK) magazine's "The Top 100 Movie Stars of All Time" list. (October 1997)

Family: Daughter of NBC-TV executive Sylvester L. Weaver Jr. ("Pat" Weaver) and actress Elizabeth Inglis, older brother, Trajan Weaver. Uncle, actor Doodles Weaver.

Injured her knee during the shooting of Snow Cake (2006) and has been forced to stop exercising for a year.

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#81). (1995)

Currently resides in New York City and Santa Barbara, California.

She was awarded the 1987 Saturn Award for Best Actress as Ellen Ripley in Aliens (1986), and the 2010 Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress as Dr. Grace Augustine in Avatar (2009). Both movies are written and directed by James Cameron.

Friends with Selina Cadell and Jamie Lee Curtis.

Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in film history (#74). (2007)

Singer/songwriter Mike Garrigan wrote a song entitled "Sigourney Weaver" that pays tribute to the actress.

Was a member of jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 1998.

She has appeared in four films that have been selected for the National Film Registry by the Library of Congress as being "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant": Annie Hall (1977), Alien (1979), Ghostbusters (1984) and WALL·E (2008).

Although she never worked with Alfred Hitchcock, she has worked with many other actresses who, like her, have family members who did. Her mother, Elizabeth Inglis appeared in The 39 Steps (1935), and her uncle, Doodles Weaver, appeared in The Birds (1963). Also appearing in that film were Veronica Cartwright, with whom Sigourney would later appear in Alien (1979), and Tippi Hedren, whose daughter Melanie Griffith appeared in Working Girl (1988). In You Again (2010), she appears with Jamie Lee Curtis, whose mother Janet Leigh appeared in Psycho (1960).

She was considered for the role of Dr. Ellie Sattler in Steven Spielberg's Jurassic Park (1993), which went to Laura Dern.

Received her Master's degree in Fine Arts from the Yale School of Drama in New Haven, Connecticut. (1974)

She was the only star to appear in Alien (1979), Aliens (1986), Alien³ (1992) and Alien Resurrection (1997) based on the Dan O'Bannon screenplay.

Ranked #13 of Sci-Fi's Sexy 50, by Femme Fatales magazine. (1997)

She was considered for the role of Barbara Maitland in the horror comedy Beetlejuice (1988), which went to Geena Davis.

Her mother Elizabeth Inglis once attended London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts (RADA) with Vivien Leigh.

Was nominated for Broadway's 1985 Tony Award as Best Actress (Featured Role - Play) for David Rabe's "Hurly Burly", but lost to a co-star, Judith Ivey.

In 1984 at the age of 34 she married theatre director Jim Simpson who was 7 years her junior & had a daughter, Charlotte born.

Has worked with three Bagginses. In Alien (1979), she works with Ian Holm, who played Frodo in the BBC radio adaptation and Bilbo in The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) and The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). In The Ice Storm (1997), she worked with Elijah Wood, who played the role in the film. In Aliens (1986), the stunt double for Newt was Kiran Shah, who was also Wood's scale double.

Attended the Ethel Walker School in Simsbury, Conneticut.

Studied acting with Michael Howard (1923-2019) in New York City.