• Name: Martha Plimpton
  • Date of Birth: November 16, 1970
  • Place of Birth: New York, New York, USA
Mini-bio: A dramatic actress of stage, screen, and television, Martha Plimpton has specialized in playing rebellious, eccentric young women. The daughter of actress Shelley Plimpton and actor Keith Carradine (t... read morehe two never married and split up before she was born), Plimpton was raised by her mother on New York's Upper West Side. She made her acting debut at age eight and her film debut two years later with a bit part in Rollover (1981). When she was 11, Plimpton appeared in a series of Calvin Klein commercials, but her real break didn't come until Tom Rickman cast her as Tommy Lee Jones' daughter in The River Rat (1984). No sooner had she finished that then she was co-starring in Steven Spielberg's cult classic The Goonies (1985) and the following year in Peter Weir's The Mosquito Coast, which featured River Phoenix among its impressive cast. Though her role in the latter film was relatively small, it went some way toward establishing Plimpton as a serious actress to be watched. The Mosquito Coast also played a vital role in her developing relationship with Phoenix; for a time the two dated seriously, and they remained close friends until the actor's death in 1993.Plimpton subsequently appeared in numerous dramas, including Sidney Lumet's Running on Empty (1988), in which she re-teamed with Phoenix, Woody Allen's Another Woman (1988), Parenthood (1989) -- in which she gave a hilarious performance as Dianne Wiest's rebellious, pregnant teenage daughter -- and Stanley and Iris (1990), which featured her as Jane Fonda's pregnant teenage daughter. Plimpton continued to work steadily throughout the '90s in a series of films that often featured her in eccentric roles. She did particularly memorable work in Beautiful Girls (1996), playing Michael Rapaport's exasperated girlfriend; I Shot Andy Warhol (1996), which featured her as a lesbian prostitute; John Waters' Pecker (1998), which cast her as the protagonist's sister, a go-go boy recruiter for the local gay bar; and 200 Cigarettes (1998), an ensemble drama in which Plimpton starred as a young woman equally obsessed with Elvis Costello and throwing a successful New Year's Eve party. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi
Post it anywhere Link it anywhere

Martha Plimpton Wiki Profile


EasyEdit tools are temporarily disabled for maintenance.
What's going on here?
Flixster members are collaborating to create the definitive resource for Martha Plimpton information on the Internet. We're adding all the images, info, and ideas that best tell this actor's unique story. To add your knowledge of Martha Plimpton, just log in and click the EasyEdit button at the top of the wiki pages. (
Click here for help.)
Replace this image with an actor photoMartha Plimpton mini-bio: She has show biz in her blood. Martha Plimpton was born November 16, 1970, in New York City to two actors: Keith Carradine and Shelley Plimpton. Martha began her career at age 8, when her mom had a friend of hers, composer Elizabeth Swados, enroll her in an actors' workshop. At age 10, she got a small part in Rollover (1981), and also made a series of Calvin Klein commercials.

Her first substantial film role was as a tomboy in The River Rat (1984); the following year, Steven Spielberg cast her in The Goonies (1985). She had a small part in The Mosquito Coast (1986), but it established her as a serious actress. Martha appeared in movies such as the screwball comedy Stars and Bars (1988) and in Running on Empty the same year.

As if making movies didn't keep her busy enough, Martha frequently worked at theaters and made her Chicago debut with the Steppenwolf Theatre Company Ensemble in "The Libertine" in 1996. As a member of that ensemble, she received a National Medal of Arts award in the autumn of 1998. As for movies, Colin Fitz (1997) and Eye of God (1997) in which she plays the starring role, have been run at the Sundance Film Festival.

Perhaps recalling how important acting lessons were to her as a child, she donates her time and efforts to the "52nd Street Project" which is a not-for-profit organization dedicated to matching the inner-city children with professional theater artists to create original theater, by writing, directing and performing their own plays.

VITAL STATS

Martha Plimpton Information:
Eye color:
Height:
Nickname(s):
Notable feature(s):
Education:
Family:
Resides in:
Religious affiliations:
Political affiliation:
Personal interests/hobbies:
Charities/Causes:
Other:



Martha Plimpton Movies


Martha Plimpton Movies
Martha Plimpton at LocateTV.com

Facts


No facts approved yet. Be the first

Actor Skins


Martha Plimpton Trivia


  • In what movie does Martha Plimpton tell Keanu Reeves: "I wouldn't live with you if the world were flooded with piss and you lived in a tree!!"  Answer »
  • Which of these actresses has never been in a movie with Corey Haim ?  Answer »
  • Name the movie that had this cast: Steve Martin, Keanu Reeves, Tom Hulce, Jason Robards, Martha Plimpton, and Leaf Phoenix.  Answer »
  • What "nerd" is the uncle to Martha Plimpton, brother to Keith Carradine, half-brother to Robert Carradine, and son of the late John Carradine?   Answer »

Actor Quizzes


Martha Plimpton Quizzes

No quizzes for Martha Plimpton. Want to create one?