Her private life? That’s nobody’s business, says Oscar winner Jessica Lange. But she does reveal a little anecdote from the past.
Oscar winner Jessica Lange has frightened her children with some of her film and theater roles. “I remember my little daughter once said to me: ‘Mom, do you think it will drive you crazy to play all these crazy women?’ And I said: No, I think they will keep me from going crazy,” the 75-year-old told the German Press Agency on Monday at the Munich Film Festival. “With characters like that, I could let everything out and that was it, then I was just a mom again.” As an example, Lange cited the internally torn and sexually promiscuous Blanche Dubois from the play “A Streetcar Named Desire,” which she played on Broadway in 1992.
Long private life? Top secret
Family was always the most important thing for Lange, as she admitted. But she kept her private life a closely guarded secret. “My children were never photographed. My children were never in the press. We never allowed ourselves to become some kind of marketing product,” she explained. She has little understanding for young celebrities who now share their private lives on social media. “I think that this desire to constantly be in the public eye overshadows the work of acting,” the American is convinced. “You don’t have to reveal your entire inner life, your private life, to the public. It’s enough that you do your work.”
Photography exhibition in Munich
In addition to family and acting, Lange has another passion: photography. A selection of her works can be seen from Tuesday to September 8th at the German Theater Museum in Munich. The 25 images in the show “Through Her Lens – Photographs by Jessica Lange” come from her photo books “Highway 61” from 2019 and “Dérive” from 2023 – and are not digitally developed, but from real film. “I always enjoyed the hours in the darkroom.” She especially appreciates the moment when the photographed image becomes visible in the developer bath. “Something magical emerges from the paper and suddenly there is an image. That is unbeatable.”
At the Munich Film Festival on Sunday evening, Lange presented her new, touching feature film, “The Great Lillian Hall,” which has already been shown in the USA on TV provider HBO. Directed by Michael Christofer, she plays with great intensity and dedication a popular Broadway actress who increasingly struggles with mental lapses during rehearsals for a new play. A visit to the doctor brings the shocking diagnosis: dementia. It is still unclear whether and when the film will be shown in Germany. But talks are underway, said director Christofer.
Lange, who is known for films such as “King Kong”, “Frances”, “Operation Blue Sky” and the series “American Horror Story”, was also honored that evening with the CineMerit Award, the festival’s honorary award.
Source: Stern

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