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Kim Basinger Profile |
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Birth Date: December 8, 1953
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Birth Place: Athens, Georgia, USA
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Birth Name: Kimila Ann Basinger
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Height: 5'8"
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Biography |
Kim Basinger was born on December 8, 1953, in Athens,
Georgia, to Don, a jazz musician and loan-company manager,
and Ann, a former model, champion swimmer, and water ballet
performer (her mother performed in some Esther Williams
movies). Kim was extremely shy as a child, so much so that
her parents suspected that she was autistic and had her
tested for the condition. One thing was for sure: despite
her bashfulness, Kim knew she was going to be an actress.
Since performing is in both her parents' genes, this was not
too hard to believe. Basinger took diving, dancing and
gymnastics lessons in high school. She was 16 when she
entered the Athens Junior Miss contest, and won by singing a
number from My Fair Lady. She later won the "Junior Miss
Georgia" title and moved on to compete in the national
Junior Miss pageant held in the Big Apple.
It was in New York that Eileen Ford of the Ford Modeling
Agency met Kim and offered her a modeling contract. At
first, Basinger refused the offer since she was more
passionate about singing and acting, but she eventually
returned to New York after changing her mind while in
Georgia.
Basinger had to make quite an adjustment when she moved to
New York; the different culture and lifestyle of the
fast-paced city were intimidating for a small-town girl like
her, but that didn't stop her from adapting to her new
career. She graced dozens of magazine covers and posed for
hundreds of ads throughout the early '70s, and was mostly
known as the Breck shampoo girl. Kim also practiced
performing by singing at various clubs in New York City,
under the stage name "Chelsea."
Kim moved to Los Angeles in 1976, looking for a fresh start
and a chance to break into acting. Though her modeling
career was successful, she never gave up her dream of
becoming an actress.
Kim's first six months in L.A. were not so glamorous, as she
lived in a motel overlooking the Hollywood Freeway. She
finally broke into television with roles in Gemini Man,
Charlie's Angels and The Six Million Dollar Man. After a
year in Hollywood, Basinger landed her first role, as the
female lead (Officer J.Z. Kane) on the short-lived series,
Dog and Cat.
Thanks to her performance in NBC's Katie: Portrait of a
Centerfold (in 1978), Basinger won the female lead on the
network's 1979 remake of From Here to Eternity and made her
feature film debut in 1981's Hard Country. Although she was
getting roles, Basinger felt that a spread in Play..boy was
necessary to increase her status in the public eye, so she
posed for the magazine in February of 1983. And it
definitely didn't harm her film career: she took on the role
of "Bond Girl" Domino Petachi in 1983's Never Say Never
Again opposite Sean Connery, and was a notch in Burt
Reynolds' belt in the remake of 1983's The Man Who Loved
Women.
In 1984, she co-starred in The Natural with Robert Redford
and in 1986, she starred in the sexy box-office smash 9 1/2
Weeks, with Mickey Rourke. It was this film that made
Basinger more than a hot property; she became the key to
high ticket sales. In 1989, Basinger starred as Vicky Vale
in the hugely successful Batman, which led to a romance with
Prince. Batman was actually her last box-office hit during
the eight years that followed.
1989 was also the year Basinger made headlines after
purchasing the town of Braselton in her native Georgia. But
in 1993, she was sued by Main Line studio for violating a
verbal agreement she had made to star in Boxing Helena. She
was ordered to pay them $8.1 million, which caused her to
file for bankruptcy. Even though she eventually reached an
out-of-court settlement with Main Line, Basinger was forced
to sell her interest in Braselton.
She finally found love again in 1991, after her marriage
with makeup artist Ron Britton failed (they were married
from 1980 until 1988). In 1993, she married Alec Baldwin,
after meeting him on the set of 1991's The Marrying Man. In
1995, their only child -- a daughter named Ireland -- was
born, which prompted Basinger to take a few years off. Even
though she was out of the acting spotlight, she kept busy
with her activism in animal rights organizations like PETA.
Kim returned to the big screen with a vengeance in 1997's
L.A. Confidential, co-starring Kevin Spacey and Russell
Crowe, which resulted in Best Supporting Actress trophies at
the Oscars and Golden Globes. Basinger's salary was bumped
up to $5 million for 2000's I Dreamed of Africa, which she
followed up with 2002's 8 Mile. While portraying Eminem's
mother (in a loose biopic of the rapper), rumors even
surfaced that Kim and Eminem were an item, but it seems they
were just that: rumors.
After 2002's People I Know, Kim starred in 2004's The Door
in the Floor, which received positive reviews. Basinger next
starred in the thriller Cellular, which did well at the box
office and earned her a Saturn Award nomination for Best
Supporting Actress.
In 2005, she can add Jump Shot to her resume, while The
Sentinel will follow in 2006.
On a personal note, Kim Basinger and Alec Baldwin filed for
divorce in February of 2002. |
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Other
Information |
Replaced Sean Young for the role of Vicki Vale in Batman
(1989).
Chosen by Empire magazine as one of the 100 Sexiest Stars in
film history (#40). [1995]
Her agoraphobia could keep her housebound for up to six
months at a time, before she received therapy to combat it.
As a school child, she suffered from crippling shyness
preventing her from reading aloud or answering questions in
class.
Studied ballet from age of 3 to mid-teens.
Her father was an introspective, classically trained
trumpter, while mom was a flamboyant, extroverted housewife
Kim describes as "Lucy-like."
Loved the movie My Fair Lady (1964) and the "Loverly" song
in it, which prompted her dad to encourage her to enter
local Junior Miss pageant and sing the song as her "talent."
She didn't win, but later did succeed in competition to
become the 'Breck (shampoo) Girl." This led to career as
Ford model, then to acting.
Her grandmother was part Cherokee Indian.
Suffers from Agoraphobia.
Went to high school with Keith Strickland of the 'B-52s' .
Bought her own town, Braselton, in her home state of
Georgia.
Daughter, with Alec Baldwin, Ireland born. [October 23,
1995]
Turned down the role in Basic Instinct (1992) that later
went to Sharon Stone.
Listed as one of twelve "Promising New Actors of 1984" in
John Willis' Screen World, Vol. 36. [1984]
Vegetarian.
When she reneged on her verbal agreement to star in Boxing
Helena (1993) in 1993, the producers sued her for breach of
contract and a jury ordered her to pay over $8 million,
which ultimately forced Basinger to declare bankruptcy. Her
appeal was ultimately accepted.
Ex-sister-in-law of Daniel Baldwin, William Baldwin and
Stephen Baldwin. Ex-cousin-in-law of Joseph Baldwin.
Her last name is often mispronounced, so when she appeared
with husband Alec Baldwin on "Saturday Night Live" (1975) on
NBC, he asked her during the opening monologue how to
pronounce it. In seriousness, she answered "BAY-sing-ger,"
with the final syllable used with a hard "g" as in "go."
First "Bond Girl" (she played Domino in Never Say Never
Again (1983) to win an Oscar (won for L.A. Confidential
(1997)).
Was a cheerleader at Athens High School.
Measurments: 35 1/2C-24-35 1/2 (but mostly wears a 34C bra)
(Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine).
Recreated Molly Peters's massage scene in the Thunderball
(1965) remake, Never Say Never Again (1983).
She and Alec Baldwin met and fell in love in 1990 on the set
of the trouble-plagued movie The Marrying Man (1991).
Ex-sister-in-law of Chynna Phillips.
Born on the same day as the late Sam Kinison.
First actress to win an Oscar after appearing naked in
Playboy magazine.
She is of German, Swedish and Cherokee Indian ancestry.
Has Irish Ancestry
Turned down the title role in Boxing Helena (1993) that
later went to Sherilyn Fenn.
Almost didn't appear in L.A. Confidential because she was
tired of playing prostitutes. |
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