Drug Store Cowboy

Background:

“I was so terrified of having to be beautiful for the rest of my life and not be an actor.” Kelly Lynch

Contemporary American actress Kelly Lynch first came to prominence as a model for the prestigious Elite Modeling Agency before establishing herself as a character actress of TV and films in the late 1980s and 1990s. Making her acting debut as the titular character in the straight-to-video “Osa” (1985), the blonde performer resurfaced in 1988 with small parts in “Bright Lights, Big City” and “Cocktail” before becoming a Hollywood star with her role as Matt Dillon's junkie wife on Gus Van Sant's hit, “Drugstore Cowboy” (1989), from which she received a Best Female Lead Independent Spirit nomination. She picked up her second Independent Spirit nomination five years later, this time for her fine supporting part in the film “The Beans of Egypt, Maine” (1994). Lynch is also memorable for playing roles in such successful films as Michael Cimino's remake, “Desperate Hours” (1990), “Virtuosity” (1995), “Homegrown” (1998) and “Charlie's Angels” (2000). She has recently made waves on the silver screen with her leading role in the successful thriller “The Jacket” (2005), opposite Adrien Brody and Keira Knightley. Referring to her character on the film, she said, “I’m a mom. I’ve been overwhelmed. I was a single mother for a time. And I think Jean loves her daughter but has sort of low self-esteem and doesn’t have the kind of equipment or sort of the vision about what she’s doing to herself and her child, you know? And Adrien Brody’s character comes into her life and sort of opens my mind up, actually wakes me up, I think. I’m just sort of going through the motions of living and not really appreciating it, and not really seeing how beautiful my life is and the possibilities of my life.”

On the small screen, Lynch is probably most known for playing the recurring role of Ivan Aycock on the racy series “The L Word” (2004-2005).

As for her personal life, the model-turned-actress has shared her time outside the limelight with her 15 years, Mitch Glazer. Glazer is a talented writer who has written”Scrooged” (1988) and “The Recruit” (2003). She has a 22-year-old daughter, Shane Lynch, from a previous relationship.

Vigorous Girl

Childhood and Family:

Daughter of Barbara Jean Dingmann and Robert Edward Lynch, Kelly Colleen Lynch was born on January 31, 1959, in Golden Valley, Minnesota. After her parents divorced, young Kelly spent much time hanging out and working with her father at his now-closed Boulevard Restaurant in Golden Valley, Minnesota. She has a sister named Robin Lynch.

Kelly loved to perform for her family and friends when she was a child. She showed her likeness to the limelight and owned a natural attraction for drawing attention to herself. While studying at Golden Valley High School, she took a modern-dance lesson. A confidence girl, she waited until the night before the final exam to create her dance routine and received A+ for her performance. Kelly also attended the Guthrie Theater Drama School, at the world celebrated Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

Since 1992, Kelly has been married to writer Mitch Glazer (born in 1953). She has a daughter named Shane Lynch (born in 1985), who is fathered by an East Coast musician.

The Beans of Egypt, Maine

Career:

Having been acting since age four, Kelly Lynch studied dance and then trained to be director at the prestigious Guthrie Theater for two summers. A tragedy struck in her life, when at age 20 she experienced life-threatening injuries in an auto-mobile accident on her way home from visiting her mother. Her legs were crushed, and she spent a year of recovery, during which time she became addicted to painkillers. The persistent Lynch finally became sober and could walk again.

With a new attitude on life, Lynch left her day occupation as a Northwest Airlines' flight attendant and relocated to New York to launch a modeling or acting career. While in NY, she honed her skills with renowned acting couches Sanford Meisner and Marilyn Fried, and before long, while in an elevator, she was spotted by the head of the Elite modeling agency, who then signed Lynch to a three-year modeling contract with the agency. In the meantime, she made occasional TV appearances.

Lynch's first film role arrived in the mid 1980s when she landed a starring role in the independent movie “Osa” (1985), a sci-fi set in Mexico which was written and directed by Oleg Egorov. She went on to appear in the drama “Bright Lights, Big City” (1988), starring Michael J. Fox and Kiefer Sutherland, and the Roger Donaldson-directed “Cocktail” (also 1988), opposite Tom Cruise. Lynch, however, did not gain her first widespread acclaim until Gus Van Sant cast her as Matt Dillon's drug addict, Dianne, in the applauded film “Drug Store Cowboy” (1989). Delivering fine acting, she was nominated for a 1990 Independent Spirit Award in the category of Best Female Lead. The same year, she also portrayed Kate in Joy Gayton's “Warm Summer Rain” and starred opposite Patrick Swayze and Sam Elliott in “Road House.”

After supporting Mickey Rourke, Anthony Hopkins and Mimi Rogers in the thriller “Desperate Hours” (1990), Lynch starred with James Belushi in the John Hughes comedy “Curly Sue” (1991), teamed up with William Baldwin and Sherilyn Fenn in the comedy/romance “Three of Hearts” (1993), and costarred with Harvey Keitel and Fairuza Balk on the biographical film “Imaginary Crimes” (1994), based on a book by Sheila Ballantyne. She received an Independent Spirit nomination for her scene-stealing turn as Roberta Bean in 1994's “The Beans of Egypt, Maine” and was noted for performance opposite Denzel Washington and Russel Crowe in the sci-fi thriller “Virtuosity” (1995).

Lynch continued to star in such films as “White Man's Burden” (1995, as John Travolta's wife), the thriller “Heaven's Prisoners” (1996, as the wife of Alec Baldwin), “Persons Unknown” (1996, with Joe Mantegna), John Ridley's “Cold Around the Heart” (1997, with David Caruso) and “Mr. Magoo” (1997, with Leslie Nielson) before again delivering a fine turn in director/writer Stephen Gyllenhaal's “Homegrown” (1998), along side John Lithgow, Jon Tenney, Ryan Phillippe, Hank Azaria and Billy Bob Thornton. Meanwhile, on the small screen, she made two TV films, “For Better and for Worse” (1993) and “Brotherhood of Murder” (1999), as well as appeared in an episode of “Fallen Angels” (1995), as Lola.

Entering the new millennium, Lynch shared the spotlight with the cast of the blockbuster hit “Charlie's Angels” (2000) that included Cameron Diaz, Drew Barrymore, Lucy Liu and Bill Murray. In the successful film based on the popular 70's TV show of the same name, she portrayed cunning villain Vivian Wood. She next was cast as Callie Scheffer in the comedy “Joe Somebody” (2001), starring Tim Allen as an under-appreciated video specialist, appeared with Ryan Gosling, David Morse and Clea DuVall in the sport-themed “The Slaughter Rule” (2002) and portrayed the mother of Shawn Hatosy and the girlfriend of Jeff Goldblum in the drama “Dallas 326,” the directorial debut of Scott Caan which was shown at the Toronto Film festival on September 12, 2003.

Also in 2003, Lynch, who previously had a guest spot in the hit series “Ally McBeal” (2001), landed a supporting part in the made-for-TV film “Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story,” starring Thora Birch. She went on to take a recurring role in the acclaimed TV series “The L Word,” playing Ivan Aycock in five episodes during 2004/2005. The versatile performer returned to the big screen in 2005 with a bit part in the drama “At Last” and a successful role as Keira Knightley's mother in the thriller “The Jacket,” also starring Adrien Brody. After leaving the show, she appeared in Susan Traylor's drama “Welcome to California” (also 2005). The same year, she also portrayed Jeremy Sumpter's mother in the television film “Cyber Seduction: His Secret Life.”

In 2006, Lynch was cast opposite Martin Donovan and Edward Furlong in the horror movie “ The Visitation,” directed by Robby Henson. She also starred as Joan Hunter in the television film “The Hunters,” along side Callum Keith Rennie, Hillary Tuck and Neal Bledsoe. Her recent film, “Normal Adolescent Behavior,” premiered at the Tribeca Film Festival on April 27, 2007, was shown on TV on September 1, 2007. The drama starred Amber Tamblyn, Ashton Holmes, Kelli Garner and Daryl Sabara.

Awards:
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