Portrait of Jessica Lange

Birthday profile

Jessica Lange

Jessica Lange, American actress

Born
April 20, 1949
Age in 2026
77
Zodiac sign
Taurus
Birth year
1949

About Jessica Lange

Jessica Phyllis Lange (; born April 20, 1949) is an American actress and photographer. With a career spanning over five decades, she is known for her roles on stage and screen. Her accolades include two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and a Tony Award, in addition to nominations for a BAFTA Award and a Laurence Olivier Award. Lange is one of few performers to achieve Triple Crown of Acting status. Lange made her professional film debut in the remake King Kong (1976) which earned her the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year. Lange went on to receive two Academy Awards, her first for Best Supporting Actress as a soap opera star in the comedy Tootsie (1982) and her second for Best Actress playing a bipolar housewife in the drama Blue Sky (1994). Her other Oscar-nominated roles were for Frances (1982), Country (1984), Sweet Dreams (1985), and Music Box (1989). She also acted in films such as All That Jazz (1979), The Postman Always Rings Twice (1981), Crimes of the Heart (1986), Cape Fear (1991), Rob Roy (1995), Big Fish (2003), and Broken Flowers (2005). For her roles on television she received her first Primetime Emmy Award for her portrayal of Big Edie in the HBO movie Grey Gardens (2009). Lange gained new recognition by starring in FX's horror anthology, American Horror Story (2011–2014, 2018), which earned her two additional Primetime Emmys for its first and third seasons. She was Emmy-nominated for her roles as Blanche DuBois in the CBS film A Streetcar Named Desire (1995), a wife in the HBO television movie Normal (2003), and Joan Crawford in FX the miniseries Feud: Bette and Joan (2017). Lange has also acted in the television films O Pioneers! (1992), and The Great Lillian Hall (2024) as well as the Netflix series The Politician (2019). On stage, Lange made her Broadway debut as Blanche DuBois in the revival of the Tennessee Williams play A Streetcar Named Desire (1992). Lange won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her role as Mary Cavan Tyrone in the Broadway revival of the Eugene O'Neill play Long Day's Journey into Night (2016). Lange returned to Broadway playing the hardheaded matriarch in the Paula Vogel play Mother Play (2024). As a photographer, Lange has five published books of photography. She has been a foster parent and holds a Goodwill Ambassador position for UNICEF, specializing in HIV/AIDS in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Russia.

Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.

Jessica Lange timeline

  1. For her roles on television she received her first Primetime Emmy Award for her portrayal of Big Edie in the HBO movie Grey Gardens (2009).
  2. Lange gained new recognition by starring in FX's horror anthology, American Horror Story (2011–2014, 2018), which earned her two additional Primetime Emmys for its first and third seasons.
  3. Lange won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her role as Mary Cavan Tyrone in the Broadway revival of the Eugene O'Neill play Long Day's Journey into Night (2016).

The world when Jessica Lange was born

Jessica Lange was born in 1949. The year snapshot below places that birthday in its cultural and historical setting: the music and films people were following, the headlines shaping public life, and the everyday prices families encountered.

Culture in 1949

  • #1 song"Riders in the Sky" – Vaughn Monroe
  • Top movieAll the King's Men
  • Top TV showTexaco Star Theater
  • Best-selling bookThe Egyptian - Mika Waltari

Headlines and milestones

  • Major sports momentJoe Louis retires from boxing as undefeated heavyweight champion
  • Top headlineNATO established
  • Technology milestoneFirst stored-program computer runs its first program
  • Defining fadSilly Putty
  • Notable inventionSilly Putty
  • World population2.52 billion

United States snapshot

  • U.S. leaderHarry S. Truman
  • Sports championNew York Yankees (World Series)
  • Also wonMinneapolis Lakers (BAA)
  • U.S. population149.2M

1949 versus 2026

These figures put everyday life in Jessica Lange's birth year beside the site's latest United States snapshot.

Measure19492026
Gas$0.27$3.45/gal
Average home$8,400$435,000
Average income$5,000$67,500
Minimum wage$0.40$7.25/hr (federal)
Movie ticket$0.46$11.95
Postage stamp$0.03$0.73
Population149.2M341 million

Sources and editorial standards

This profile combines a biographical source with structured birthday and historical context. Sources recorded for this profile: Wikipedia, IMDb. See our editorial policy for sourcing, corrections, and review standards.

Read the source biography on Wikipedia. Wikipedia text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License.