Susan Abigail Sarandon (née Tomalin; born October 4, 1946) is an American actress and progressive political activist. She has received an Academy Award, a British Academy Film Award, and a Screen Actors Guild Award, and has been nominated for nine Golden Globe Awards. Known for her social and political activism, Sarandon was appointed a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador in 1999 and received the Action Against Hunger Humanitarian Award in 2006 She began her acting career in the film Joe (1970), before appearing in the soap opera A World Apart (1970–1971). In 1974, she co-starred in Billy Wilder‘s The Front Page, with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau; and the following year, she starred as Janet Weiss in Jim Sharman‘s The Rocky Horror Picture Show, with Tim Curry, Barry Bostwick, Richard O’Brien, Patricia Quinn, Little Nell, Jonathan Adams, Peter Hinwood, Meat Loaf, and Charles Gray.
Sarandon was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress for Atlantic City (1980), with Burt Lancaster, Kate Reid, Michel Piccoli, Robert Joy, Hollis McLaren, and Al Waxman; Ridley Scott‘s Thelma & Louise (1991), with Geena Davis, Harvey Keitel, Michael Madsen, and Brad Pitt; George Miller‘s Lorenzo’s Oil (1992), with Nick Nolte and Peter Ustinov; and Joel Schumacher‘s The Client (1994), with Tommy Lee Jones; before winning for Tim Robbins’ Dead Man Walking (1995), with Sean Penn. She has also won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for The Client, and the Screen Actors Guild Award for Best Actress for Dead Man Walking.
Her other films include: George Roy Hill‘s The Great Waldo Pepper (1975), with Robert Redford, Margot Kidder, Bo Svenson, and Edward Herrmann; Pretty Baby (1978), with Brooke Shields and Kieth Carradine; Tony Scott‘s The Hunger (1983), with Catherine Deneuve and David Bowie; Miller’s The Witches of Eastwick (1987), with Jack Nicholson, Cher, and Michelle Pfeiffer; Ron Shelton’s Bull Durham (1988), with Kevin Costner, Trey Wilson, and Robert Wuhl; White Palace (1990), with James Spader, Jason Alexander, Kathy Bates, Steven Hill, Jeremy Piven, and Renee Taylor; Little Women (1994), with Winona Ryder, Gabriel Byrne, Trini Alvarado, Samantha Mathis, Kirsten Dunst, Claire Danes, Christian Bale, Eric Stoltz, and John Neville, Mary Wickes; Safe Passage (1994), with Nick Stahl, Sam Shepard, Sean Astin, and Jason London; Twilight (1998), with Paul Newman, Gene Hackman, Reese Witherspoon, and Stockard Channing; and Stepmom (1998), with Julia Roberts and Ed Harris.
Films in the 2000s include The Banger Sisters (2002), with Goldie Hawn and Geoffrey Rush; Chazz Palminteri‘s Noel (2004), with Penélope Cruz, Paul Walker, Alan Arkin, Daniel Sunjata, and an uncredited Robin Williams; In the Valley of Elah (2007), with Jones, Charlize Theron, Jason Patric, Jonathan Tucker, James Franco, Josh Brolin, Frances Fisher, and Zoe Kazan; Enchanted (2007), with Amy Adams, Patrick Dempsey, and James Marsden; The Wachowskis‘ Speed Racer (2008), with Emile Hirsch, Christina Ricci, John Goodman, Matthew Fox, Roger Allam, Benno Fürmann, Hiroyuki Sanada, Rain, and Richard Roundtree; Peter Jackson‘s The Lovely Bones (2009), Mark Wahlberg, Rachel Weisz, Stanley Tucci, Michael Imperioli, and Saoirse Ronan; Cloud Atlas (2012), with Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Jim Broadbent, Hugo Weaving, Jim Sturgess, Doona Bae, Ben Whishaw, James D’Arcy, Zhou Xun, Keith David, David Gyasi, and Hugh Grant; The Big Wedding (2013), with Robert De Niro, Katherine Heigl, Diane Keaton, Amanda Seyfried, Topher Grace, Ben Barnes, and Williams; Tammy (2014), with Melissa McCarthy, Allison Janney, Gary Cole, Mark Duplass, Dan Aykroyd, Bates, and Sandra Oh; The Meddler (2015), with Rose Byrne and J.K. Simmons.
Films in the mid to late 2010s include A Bad Moms Christmas (2017), with Mila Kunis, Kristen Bell, Kathryn Hahn, Christine Baranski, and Cheryl Hines; The Death & Life of John F. Donovan (2018), with Kit Harington, Jacob Tremblay, Portman, Bates, Thandiwe Newton, Ben Schnetzer, Amara Karan, Chris Zylka, Jared Keeso, Emily Hampshire, Sarah Gadon, and Michael Gambon; Viper Club (2018), with Matt Bomer, Lola Kirke, Julian Morris, Sheila Vand, Adepero Oduye, and Edie Falco; Blackbird (2019), with Kate Winslet, Mia Wasikowska, Lindsay Duncan, Rainn Wilson, Bex Taylor-Klaus, and Sam Neill; VHYes (2019), with Mason McNulty, Rahm Braslaw, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Thomas Lennon, Mark Proksch, Lo Mutac, Jake Head, Christian Drerup, Madeline Zima, and Robbins; and The Jesus Rolls (2019), with Turturro (who also directed), Bobby Cannavale, Audrey Tautou, Christopher Walken, Jon Hamm, and Pete Davidson.
Films in the 2020s include Jolt (2021), with Kate Beckinsale, Bobby Cannavale, Laverne Cox, Tucci, and Jai Courtney; Ride the Eagle (2021), with Jake Johnson, J.K. Simmons, and D’Arcy Carden; Forty Winks (2022), with Justin Marcel McManus and Turturro; Maybe I Do (2023), with Keaton, Richard Gere, Emma Roberts, Luke Bracey, and William H. Macy; Blue Beetle (2023), with Xolo Maridueña, Adriana Barraza, Damián Alcázar, Raoul Max Trujillo, and George Lopez; The Gutter (2024), with Shameik Moore, Carden, and Paul Reiser; a voice role in Gracie & Pedro: Pets to the Rescue (2024), with Claire Alan, Cory Doran, Bianca Alongi, Bill Nighy, Alicia Silverstone, Shields, and Danny Trejo; The Fabulous Four (2024), with Bette Midler, Megan Mullally, Sheryl Lee Ralph, Bruce Greenwood, Timothy V. Murphy, and Michael Bolton; and The Six Triple Eight (2024), with Kerry Washington, Ebony Obsidian, Milauna Jackson, Shanice Shantay, Sarah Jeffery, Pepi Sonuga, Gregg Sulkin, Dean Norris, Sam Waterston, Kylie Jefferson, Moriah Brown, and Oprah Winfrey.
Films in the mid to late 2020s include Nonnas (2025), with Vince Vaughn, Lorraine Bracco, Talia Shire, Brenda Vaccaro, Joe Manganiello, Linda Cardellini, and Campbell Scott; The Accompanist (2026), with Everly Carganilla, Aubrey Plaza, Ilia Volok, John Rothman, Helena Howard, and Kevyn Morrow; The Echo Chamber (2026), with Luca Marinelli and Alicia Vikander.
She made her Broadway debut in the play An Evening with Richard Nixon (1972) and went on to receive Drama Desk Award nominations for the Off-Broadway plays A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking (1979) and Extremities (1982). She returned to Broadway in the 2009 revival of Exit the King. On television, Sarandon is a six-time Primetime Emmy Award nominee, including for her guest roles on the sitcoms Friends (2001) and Malcolm in the Middle (2002), as well as supporting role in the film You Don’t Know Jack (2010), with Al Pacino. She was also nominated for her leading roles as Doris Duke and Bette Davis in the film Bernard and Doris (2008), with Ralph Fiennes; and the miniseries Feud (2017), respectively.
Each review will be linked to the title below.
(*seen originally in theaters)
(**seen rereleased in theaters)
- Joe (1970) directed by John G. Avildsen
- Lady Liberty (1972) – directed by Mario Monicelli
- The Apprentice (1972) – directed by Larry Kent
- F. Scott Fitzgerald and ‘The Last of the Belles’ (1974) – directed by George Schaefer – TV movie
- Lovin’ Molly (1974) – directed by Sidney Lumet
- The Front Page (1974) – directed by Billy Wilder
- The Great Waldo Pepper (1975) – directed by George Roy Hill
- The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) – directed by Jim Sharman
- One Summer of Love (1976) – directed by Gilbert Cates
- Checkered Flag or Cash (1977) – directed by Alan Gibson
- The Great Smokey Roadblock (1977) – directed by John Leone – also co-producer
- The Other Side of Midnight (1977) – directed by Charles Jarrott
- Pretty Baby (1978) – directed by Louis Malle
- King of the Gypsies (1978) – directed by Frank Pierson
- Something Short of Paradise (1979) – directed by David Helpern
- Atlantic City (1980) – directed by Louis Malle
- Loving Couples (1980) – directed by Jack Smight
- Tempest (1982) – directed by Paul Mazursky
- The Hunger (1983) – directed by Tony Scott
- The Buddy System (1984) – directed by Glenn Jordan
- Compromising Positions (1985) – directed by Frank Perry
- Women of Valor (1986) – directed by Buzz Kulik – TV movie
- The Witches of Eastwick (1987) – directed by George Miller
- Bull Durham (1988) – directed by Ron Shelton
- Sweet Hearts Dance (1988) – directed by Robert Greenwald
- The January Man (1989) – directed by Pat O’Connor
- A Dry White Season (1989) – directed by Euzhan Palcy
- White Palace (1990) – directed by Luis Mandoki
- Thelma & Louise (1991) – directed by Ridley Scott
- Light Sleeper (1992) – directed by Paul Schrader
- The Player (1992) – directed by Robert Altman – cameo as herself
- Bob Roberts (1992) – directed by Tim Robbins
- Lorenzo’s Oil (1992) – directed by George Miller
- The Client (1994) – directed by Joel Schumacher
- Little Women (1994)* – directed by Gillian Armstrong
- Safe Passage (1994) – directed by Robert Allan Ackerman
- School of Americas Assassins (1994) – directed by Robert Richter – narrator – documentary short
- Dead Man Walking (1995) – directed by Tim Robbins
- James and the Giant Peach (1995)* – directed by Henry Selick
- Twilight (1998) – directed by Robert Benton
- Illuminata (1998) – directed by John Turturro
- For Love of Julian (1998) – directed by Meira Blaustein – narrator – documentary
- Stepmom (1998) – directed by Chris Columbus
- Earthly Possessions (1999) – directed by James Lapine – TV movie
- Cradle Will Rock (1999) – directed by Tim Robbins
- Anywhere But Here (1999) – directed by Wayne Wang
- Joe Gould’s Secret (2000) – directed by Stanley Tucci
- Rugrats in Paris: The Movie (2000)* – directed by Stig Bergqvist & Paul Demeyer
- Cats & Dogs (2001) – directed by Lawrence Guterman
- Igby Goes Down (2002) – directed by Burr Steers
- The Banger Sisters (2002)* – directed by Bob Dolman
- Moonlight Mile (2002) – directed by Brad Silberling
- Ice Bound (2003) – directed by Roger Spottiswoode – TV movie
- Noel (2004) – directed by Chazz Palminteri
- Jiminy Glick in Lalawood (2004) – directed by Vadim Jean – cameo as herself
- Shall We Dance (2004) – directed by Peter Chelsom
- Alfie (2004) – directed by Charles Shyer
- The Exonerated (2005) – directed by Bob Balaban – TV movie
- Elizabethtown (2005) – directed by Cameron Crowe
- Romance & Cigarettes (2005) – directed by John Turturro
- Sonnet 22 (2005) – directed by Simone Stock – short
- Irresistible (2006) – directed by Ann Turner
- Bernard and Doris (2006) – directed by Bob Balaban – TV movie
- In the Valley of Elah (2007) – directed by Paul Haggis
- Mr. Woodcock (2007) – directed by Craig Gillespie
- Emotional Arithmetic (2007) – directed by Paolo Barzman
- Enchanted (2007)* – directed by Kevin Lima
- Speed Racer (2008)* – directed by The Wachowskis (as The Wachowski Brothers)
- Middle of Nowhere (2008) – directed by John Stockwell
- The Greatest (2009) – directed by Shana Feste
- Leaves of Grass (2009) – directed by Tim Blake Nelson
- Solitary Man (2009) – directed by Brian Koppelman & David Levien
- The Lovely Bones (2009) – directed by Peter Jackson
- You Don’t Know Jack (2010) – directed by Barry Levinson – TV movie
- Peacock (2010) – directed by Michael Lander
- Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps (2010) – directed by Oliver Stone
- Jeff, Who Lives at Home (2011) – directed by Jay & Mark Duplass
- The Miraculous Year (2011) – directed by Kathryn Bigelow – TV movie/Pilot
- Robot & Frank (2012) – directed by Jake Schreier
- Arbitrage (2012) – directed by Nicholas Jarecki
- That’s My Boy (2012) – directed by Sean Anders
- The Company You Keep (2012) – directed by Robert Redford
- Cloud Atlas (2012) – directed by The Wachowskis & Tom Tykwer
- Snitch (2013) – directed by Ric Roman Waugh
- The Big Wedding (2013) – directed by Justin Zackham
- The Last Robin Hood (2013) – directed by Richard Glatzer & Wash Westmoreland
- Ping Pong Summer (2014) – directed by Michael Tully
- Tammy (2014) – directed by Ben Falcone
- The Calling (2014) – directed by Jason Stone
- April and the Extraordinary World (2015) – directed by Christian Desmares & Franck Ekinci – English dub – aka Avril et le Monde truqué – France/Belgium
- 3 Generations (2015) – directed by Gaby Dellal
- The Meddler (2015) – directed by Lorene Scafaria
- Hell and Back (2015) – directed by Tom Gianas & Ross Shuman
- Zoolander 2 (2016) – directed by Ben Stiller – uncredited cameo as herself
- Spark: A Space Tale (2016) – directed by Aaron Woodley
- Mothers and Daughters (2016) – directed by Paul Duddridge & Nigel Levy
- Ace the Case (2016) – directed by Kevin Kaufman
- My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea (2016) – directed by Dash Shaw
- A Bad Moms Christmas (2017) – directed by Jon Lucas & Scott Moore
- The Death & Life of John F. Donovan (2018) – directed by Xavier Dolan
- Viper Club (2018) – directed by Maryam Keshavarz
- Blackbird (2019) – directed by Roger Michell
- VHYes (2019) – directed by Jack Henry Robbins
- The Jesus Roles (2019) – directed by John Turturro
- Love (2019) – directed by James Gallagher – short
- Fearless (2020) – directed by Cory Edwards
- Jolt (2021) – directed by Tanya Wexler
- Ride the Eagle (2021) – directed by Trent O’Donnell
- Forty Winks (2022) – directed by William Atticus Parker
- Maybe I Do (2023) – directed by Michael Jacobs
- Blue Beetle (2023)* – directed by Ángel Manuel Soto
- The Gutter (2024) – directed by Yassir & Isaiah Lester
- Gracie & Pedro: Pets to the Rescue (2024) – directed by Kevin Donovan & Gottfried Roodt
- The Fabulous Four (2024) – directed by Jocelyn Moorhouse
- The Six Triple Eight (2024) – directed by Tyler Perry
- Nonnas (2025) – directed by Stephen Chbosky
- The Accompanist (2026) – directed by Zach Woods
- The Echo Chamber (2026) -directed by Andrea Pallaoro
