Diane Venora Biography – 5 Interesting Facts You Should Know

Back when certain roles were strictly for men, Diane Venora broke the mold by becoming the first performer to play the lead role in Shakespeare’s Hamlet. Since then, she has continued to make bold statements with her roles in theatre, film and television. His other notable roles include Bird, Thunder Alley, Chicago Heat, and Heat. Here’s everything you need to know about her.

Diane Venora Biography

The actress was born to Marie (née Brooks) and Robert P. Venora on August 10, 1952, in East Hartford, Connecticut, where she was raised alongside five siblings. She was born under the sign of the sun, Leo. His father was of Italian descent and owned a dry cleaning business. As a child, Diane Venora had instinctively called for singing and playing, and then she hit the trail. She was active in her school’s musicals and plays, as well as other pursuits.

She attended East Hartford High School where she graduated in 1970, then went to the Boston Conservatory of Music where she studied music for two years. In 1973, she earned a full scholarship to the prestigious Juilliard School of Performing Arts in New York and graduated in 1977. She joined the drama department and was in the same group as Kelsey Grammer, Harriet Sansom Harris and Robin Williams..

After Julliard, Diane Venora went to the theater. Her initial performance was in an Off-Broadway play called Touquet de pingouin in 1981. Previously, she had already started her acting career with a role in the television short film Getting There in 1980. Venora performed extensively on stage, especially in Shakespearean plays. In 1983, she won the main role in Hamlet at the Shakespeare Festival in New York, becoming the first and only performer to have achieved the feat in her history.

His first appearance in a 1981 crime horror film was Wolfen, co-starring Gregory Hines. During the 80s, she appeared in other films such as The Cotton Club (1984), Choice of Terminal (1985), F/X (1986) and Ironweed (1987). This same decade marks a turning point in his career. She appears in Clint Eastwood’s biopic, Bird as Chan Parker, the wife of legendary jazz superstar Charlie Parker. She received a Golden Globe Award nomination, Best Actress award from the New York Critics Circle as well as Sant Jordi Best Foreign Actress award.

After a long hiatus she took to care for her daughter, Diane Verona made her comeback in 1994 with a television role on the ABC series Thunder Alley. He was followed by a recurring role on the Emmy-winning television series Chicago Hope as plastic surgeon Dr. Geri Infante. In 1995, she had a starring role alongside Robert De Niro and Natalie Portman in Heat as Al Pacino’s wife, Justine Hanna, which earned her rave reviews.

Subsequently, she had other notable roles in works such as Romeo + Juliet (1996), The Jackal (1997) opposite Bruce Willis and Richard Gere, The 13th Warrior, and The Insider, both in 1999. His other film credits include Self Medication (2005), Following the Prophet (2009), and All Good Things (2010). The 2005 film won Best Ensemble at the Phoenix Film Festival.

On television, she has also racked up major credits such as Race Against Time (2000), Criminal Minds (2006), Private Practice (2009), Grey’s Anatomy and The Wish List, both in 2010 and The Victorians (2016).

5 interesting facts you need to know

Diana Venora and Hamlet

After her performance at the New York Shakespeare Festival, she established a remarkable relationship with Shakespearian Hamlet. She went on to portray the lead in various locations on numerous occasions, including Ophelia opposite Kevin Kline in 1990, Hamlet’s mother Gertrude to Liev Schreiber’s Sad Prince in 1999, and again as Gertrude in the 2000 film , Hamlet opposite Ethan Hawke.

Family life

In 1980 Diane Venora married Polish cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak whom she had met the previous year while working on an advertisement for Head and Shoulders shampoo. The duo had a daughter named Madzia Bartkowiak who was born in 1981 but sadly they divorced when she was just eight years old.

After the divorce, she took a leave of absence from work, about seven years to devote herself to her daughter, who, according to her, was clearly her priority. Her daughter is partially deaf from a degenerative nerve condition and has suffered from panic attacks. During this period, she stayed close to home, taught underprivileged children and performed in occasional plays.

Net value

The veteran actress has truly come a long way in her career and in turn, amassed a fortune for herself. Various sources have estimated his net worth to be varying amounts. Therefore, it was not really possible to substantiate this figure. However, one thing is certain: something big and deserving should not be deserved.

Where is she now?

Diane Venora was last seen on TV in the 2016 made-for-TV movie, The Victorian, Mary Rutherford. She definitely has plans up her sleeve and would let us in when they’re fully blossomed.

Height, weight and body measurements

Venora is 1.65 meters tall. Although his weight and other body measurements are unknown, they are nothing but his impressive figure. Her age-defying physique is further accentuated by her dark brown hair and beautiful brown eyes.