American actress Jeanne Marie Tripplehorn works in theater, television, and motion pictures. She is a talented actress who has been working professionally for 27 years. In 1990, she made her theatrical debut in an off-Broadway production of John Patrick Shanley’s “The Big Funk.”
She was given her first TV job in “The Perfect Tribute” a year later. When she took a supporting role in the 1992 film “Basic Instinct,” she received her major break in the industry.
She was given her first role as the female lead, and that too opposite actors like Tom Cruise and Gene Hackman, in the film “The Firm.”
She collaborated with some of the biggest names in the business throughout the 1990s, including Julie Andrews in “Relative Values,” Hugh Grant in “Mickey Blue Eyes,” and Gwyneth Paltrow in “Sliding Doors.”
She most recently appeared in the critically acclaimed worldwide police procedural crime drama “Criminal Minds” as Dr. Alex Blake.
Jeanne Tripplehorn’s Date of Birth and Parents
Jeanne was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on June 10, 1963. Her parents are Suzanne Ferguson and Tom Tripplehorn. While Tripplehorn was a musician originally connected to the 1960s pop and rock band Gary Lewis & the Playboys, Ferguson is a published non-fiction author.
Three brothers, Kelly, Jason, and Daniel, are her siblings. Jeanne’s parents separated when she was two years old.
Jeanne Tripplehorn’s Education
Before enrolling for a semester at the University of Tulsa, she graduated from Edison High School. She later received her education at the Juilliard School in New York’s theater department where she was a member of Group 19 (1986-90). She graduated with actress Laura Linney.
Jeanne Tripplehorn’s Husband
She and her “Reality Bites” co-star Ben Stiller were in a six-year relationship at the beginning of her career. In 1999, Tripplehorn started dating Leland Orser, a character actor.
A year later, on October 14, 2000, they were married. Together, the pair are the parents of August Tripplehorn Orser (born on May 22, 2002).
Jeanne Tripplehorn’s Career
When Jeanne Tripplehorn was still a student, she first starred in the regional television programs “Creature Feature” (1982–1983) and “Night Shift.”
She made her acting debut after completing her studies in John Patrick Shanley’s play “The Big Funk,” which ‘The Guardian’ described as “Friends set in a self-help guidebook on acid.”
She then featured with Val Kilmer in the 1993 adaptation of John Ford’s “Tis Pity She’s a Whore” as a follow-up. She also participated in the Broadway production of Anton Chekov’s “Three Sisters,” which included Lili Taylor and Amy Irving.
In 1991, she made her acting debut in the television movie “The Perfect Tribute.” She got the character of Julia. Later, in 1992, she worked with Ben Stiller for the first time, appearing in three episodes of “The Ben Stiller Show” as The Wilson Woman/Goo.
In Paul Verhoeven’s neo-noir sexual thriller “Basic Instinct,” Tripplehorn played Dr. Beth Garner, a police psychologist who has an incredible relationship with the male lead Detective Nick Curren (Michael Douglas).
Due to its graphic sexual material and shameless representation of violence, the film shows emotional controversy at the time of its release. The movie is now seen as a turning point in Hollywood cinema’s treatment of sexuality.
She appeared in the 1993 romantic comedy “The Night We Never Met” with Matthew Broderick. Her following attempt, Sydney Pollack’s “The Firm,” is still her greatest piece of work.
She played Abby McDeere, the wife of Mitch McDeere played by Tom Cruise. The movie, which made $270.2 million at the box office, was a critical and financial success and was based on John Grisham’s book of the same name.
She appeared on stage with Kevin Costner as Helen, the female lead in the 1995 film “Waterworld.” The movie had a huge budget ($172 million), but it failed to recover that money at the box office, and reviewers compared it to earlier box office flops like “Heaven’s Gate” (1980) and “Ishtar” (1987).
However, the movie finally became successful thanks to home video sales and TV broadcast rights.
Her career lost the momentum it had gained from ‘The Firm’ after a string of duds including ‘Til There Was You (1997), ‘Monument Ave.’ (1998), and ‘Mickey Blue Eyes (1999).
She continued to work in independent films and play modest parts throughout the first ten years of the twenty-first century.
She was hired to play Dr. Alex Blake in the CBS drama “Criminal Minds” in 2012. In seasons 8 and 9, she was a series regular until quitting the program after 48 episodes. We Only Know So Much, directed by Donal Lardner Ward, will include her in a supporting role.