Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (born Susan Alexandra Weaver, Saturday, October 8, 1949 in New York City) is an American actress perhaps best remembered for her portrayal of Ripley in Alien (1979) and its sequels.
She began using the name Sigourney in 1963, after a character in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. During the 1970s Weaver studied theater at Yale University, where she appeared in original plays by friend and classmate Christopher Durang.
Her part in Ridley Scott's 1979 film Alien as the sole survivor, Lieutenant Ripley, ensured her role in the sequels Aliens, Alien3 and Alien: Resurrection. Many of her roles since have been in knowing reference to the tough character of Ripley.
She is the daughter of NBC television executive Sylvester L. Weaver, Jr. and niece of comedian and actor Doodles Weaver. She is married to theater director Jim Simpson (of The Flea Theater), and has one child, Charlotte.
