Luminous, ageless beauty who supported her family as a child model and TV performer; the strains precipitated a nervous breakdown at the age of nine, an alcohol problem at 10 and a suicide attempt at 12. Weld appeared in her first film in 1956 at the age of 13 and, drawing on experience beyond her years, played various oversexed and underage nymphets in a bevy of low-rent productions and the TV series "Dobie Gillis."Weld's tempestuous off-screen adventures made her fodder for the gossip columnists, but she went on to display a quirky, unique talent in several fine dramas, including "The Cincinnati Kid" (1966) and "Pretty Poison" (1968)--in which she suggested both innocence and evil as few performers had since the heyday of Louise Brooks. Her reputation fully rehabilitated, Weld carved a niche as a dependable lead in a number of fine films, from "Lord Love a Duck" (1966), "A Safe Place" (1971), with Orson Welles and Jack Nicholson, and "Play It as It Lays" (1972). Beginning with "Looking for Mr. Goodbar" (1977), which earned her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination, she began alternating second leads and character roles with leads in films like "Thief" (1981). She worked more in TV as the 80s progressed, but still performed well in features including "Once Upon a Time in America" (1984). By the 90s, she had all but abandoned acting, appearing in only two features to date, "Falling Down" (1993) and "Feeling Minnesota" (1996).
Profession(s):
Actor, child model
Sometimes Credited As:
Susan Ker Weld
Family
daughter:Natasha Harz (born on August 26, 1966; father, Claude Harz)
husband:Claude Harz (married in October 1965; divorced in 1971; father of Weld's daughter Natasha)
husband:Dudley Moore (married on September 20, 1975; divorced; father of Weld's son Nicholas)
husband:Pinchas Zuckerman (married on October 18, 1985; Zuckerman filed for divorce in 1998)
son:Patrick Moore (born on February 26, 1976; father, Dudley Moore)
Companion(s)
Henry Jaglom
, Companion
Golden Globe Award Most Promising Newcomer-Female 1959
1996 Had featured role in "Feeling Minnesota"
1993 Returned to films in "Falling Down"
1988 Last feature for five years, "Heartbreak Hotel"
1986 Last TV-movie to date, "Something in Common" (CBS)
1982 Starred opposite Tommy Lee Jones in the HBO TV remake of "The Rainmaker", directed by John Frankenheimer
1978 Starred in the superior TV-movie "A Question of Guilt" (CBS)
1977 Returned to films as Diane Keaton's sister in "Looking for Mr. Goodbar"; earned Oscar nomination as Best Supporting Actress
1974 Co-starred with Joan Hackett and Sam Waterston in TV remake of "Diabolique", titled "Reflections of a Murder"; marked Weld's first TV appearance in a decade
1972 Starred in the film adaptation of "Play It as It Lays"; last film for five years
1968 Had one of her best screen roles in "Pretty Poison"
1959 - 1960 Played Thalia Menninger on "The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis" (CBS)
1956 Film acting debut, at age 13, in "Rock Rock Rock"
Began career as child model--fashion and catalogues--at age three
Starred as Cherie in the TV series version of "Bus Stop" (ABC)
Featured as one of the trapeze artists in the TV series "The Greatest Show on Earth" (ABC)