Dianne Wiest (born March 28, 1948 in Kansas City, Missouri) is an American actress in stage, television, and film, and has received several awards in her career, including two Oscars.

Wiest's original ambition was to be a ballerina, but she began acting on Broadway, playing Desdemona to James Earl Jones' Othello. She made her film debut in 1980, but didn't make a name for herself until her performance as Emma, a prostitute during the Great Depression, in Woody Allen's The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985). Allen was so impressed by Wiest's acting ability that he has directed her on four more occasions since.

Under Allen's direction, Wiest won an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress, in Hannah and Her Sisters (1986). She followed her Academy Award success with performances in The Lost Boys (1987) and Bright Lights, Big City (1988) before starring with Steve Martin, Mary Steenburgen, Jason Robards, Keanu Reeves and Martha Plimpton in Ron Howard's Parenthood, for which she received her second Oscar nomination.

In 1990 Wiest starred in Edward Scissorhands. She returned to Woody Allen in 1994 for Bullets Over Broadway (1994), a comedy set in 1920s New York City, winning her second Best Supporting Actress Oscar for her portrayal of Helen Sinclair, a boozy, glamorous and neurotic star of the stage.

She has recently performed roles in the film Practical Magic (1998) and the television mini-series The 10th Kingdom (2000).

Wiest lives in New York City with her two adopted daughters, Emily and Lily.

Selected filmography

• Footloose (1984)
• The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
• Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) (won Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress; nominated for Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture)
• Radio Days (1987)
• The Lost Boys (1987)
• Parenthood (1989) (nominated for Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress; nominated for Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture)
• Edward Scissorhands (1990)
• Little Man Tate (1991)
• Bullets Over Broadway (1994) (won Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress; won Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture)
• The Horse Whisperer (1998)
• The 10th Kingdom (2000)
• Law & Order (2000-2002)
• I Am Sam (2001)

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