• Diana Scarwid is an American actress best known for her role as Christina Crawford in Mommie Dearest (1981)
• She was born in Savannah, Georgia and graduated from Pace University and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts
• Her big break came in 1980 with the Oscar-nominated drama movie Inside Moves, earning her a nomination for Best Supporting Actress
• She followed this up with critically acclaimed roles in Truman (1995) and What Lies Beneath (2000)
• As of late 2019, her net worth is estimated to be over $2.5 million
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About Diana Scarwid
Diana Scarwid is a renowned American actress, who is probably best known for portraying the character of Christina Crawford in the 1981 biographical drama movie “Mommie Dearest”. Apart from this iconic yet critically booed performance, she is also widely recognized for starring in several high-profile movies, such as “Inside Moves” (1980), “Truman” (1995) and “What Lies Beneath” (2000).
Early Life, Childhood and Education
Diana Elizabeth Scarwid was born under the zodiac sign of Virgo on the 27th August 1955, in Savannah, Georgia, USA, one of four children of Elizabeth and Anthony John Scarwid, and is of white ethnicity and American nationality. She spent her childhood growing-up alongside three brothers in Tybee Island, Georgia, before she moved to New York City at the age of 17 to pursue a career in the movie-making industry.
Diana simultaneously graduated from both Pace University and The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, earning her degrees as an honor student.
Early Career
Diana’s debut on-camera appearance occurred aged 21, when in 1976 she appeared in an episode of the Golden Globe-winning TV action drama series “Police Woman”, followed by appearances in episodes of popular TV series such as “Starsky and Hutch” and “Kojak” later that year.
After honing her acting skills through a streak of small screen appearances in a variety of TV movies and series, her first big screen appearance came in 1978 when she guest-starred in the Oscar-nominated drama movie “Pretty Baby”.
Career
The big breakthrough in Diana’s career occurred in 1980, when she appeared as a ‘besotted waitress’ named Louise in the Oscar-nominated drama movie “Inside Moves”. This performance earned her a nomination for the prestigious Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, which certainly set her career on the rising path.
However, in the following year of 1981 she caught mass media attention with her portrayal of the grown-up Christina Crawford in the biographical drama movie “Mommie Dearest”, which brought her the Razzie Award for the Worst Supporting Actress, as well as a nomination for the Worst New Star of the Decade.
Through the rest of the 1980s, Diana appeared in a vast number of movies, such as the 1983 drama movie and Golden Globe-nominated “Rumble Fish”, the critically praised biographical drama film “Silkwood”, as well as the 1986 drama movie “The Ladies Club”, and the Golden Globe-nominated thriller “Extremities” later that year.
In 1993 she was cast for the role of Rose Kennedy in the biographical TV drama mini-series “JFK: Reckless Youth”, before in 1995 starring in critically praised dramas “The Cure” and “The Neon Bible”, before appearing as Bess Truman in the TV biographical drama film “Truman”. The latter performance earned Diana Scarwid a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for the Outstanding Supporting Actress.
After appearing in the 1996 Primetime Emmy Award-winning drama film “Bastard Out of Carolina”, Scarwid made a streak of small screen appearances in TV movies such as “If These Walls Could Talk” and “The Angel of Pennsylvania Avenue” both in 1996, as well as the 1998 thriller movie “Before He Wakes”.
To greater prominence she came in 2000 when she starred alongside Michelle Pfeiffer and Harrison Ford in the supernatural horror movie “What Lies Beneath”, for which she was nominated for the Blockbuster Entertainment Award. In 2002 Scarwid appeared in the drama movie “The Angel Doll”, which was followed by the 2003 biographical drama film “Party Monster”, after which she was cast for the recurring role of Karen Tyler in the FOX TV’s comedy drama series “Wonderfalls”.
In 2006 Diana appeared in the drama films “Valley of the Heart’s Delight” and “Local Color”, before making a guest appearance in a couple of episodes of the globally popular TV action crime drama series “Prison Break”. After starring in the 2008 romantic drama film “Dream Boy”, between 2008 and 2009 she portrayed Mother Superior in the TV fantasy comedy drama series “Pushing Daisies”.
After adding several guest appearances in TV series such as “Heroes”, “The Cleaner” and “Criminal Minds” to her professional acting portfolio in the late 2010s, Diana made her most recent on-camera appearance as Donna in the comedy drama film “Another Happy Day” in 2011.
Personal Life
Between 1978 and 1995 Diana was married to physician Eric Allen Scheinbart, with whom she welcomed a daughter named Ursula and a son named Jeremy before they divorced. There are no further personal details, so Diana is presumed to have remained officially unattached.
Net Worth
As of late 2019, Diana Scarwid’s net worth is over $2.5 million, earned largely through her acting career between 1976 and 2011.
1 Comment
Louise (the character Diana played in Inside Moves) was the quintessential woman to me. She had an unassuming physical beauty (thanks to Diana Scarwid) and an inner beauty that made her (to me, at least) made her the most desirable woman I have ever seen. I wish that I had some way to reach out to her.