Jennifer Jason Leigh
As Roger Ebert once put it, "She has the face of an angel, and she plays roles from hell."
Since her teens, Jennifer Jason Leigh has portrayed characters of astonishing range, but she has never shied away from playing women at their most damaged, unhinged or threatened, finding a power in situations that would destroy weaker individuals.
She is currently in the spotlight for two acclaimed films: the stop-motion animated "Anomalisa," and the Quentin Tarantino western, "The Hateful Eight," for which Leigh has received her first Academy Award nomination, for Best Supporting Actress.
"The Hateful Eight"
In Quentin Tarantino's big-screen western, "The Hateful Eight" (2015), Jennifer Jason Leigh plays Daisy Domergue, a member of an outlaw gang being hauled to a Wyoming town for a date with the hangman.
New York City
The role came at a time when Leigh had been writing more than acting. "I just hadn't been working that much, to be quite honest," Leigh told CBS News' Tracy Smith. "One day, my brother-in-law was like, 'You know, all it takes is a call from, like, Quentin Tarantino for everything to turn around.' And I just kind of laughed. Because it seemed so -- not impossible, but how many movies does he make, you know? And how many times is there gonna be a part that I could be right for? Will I even get to audition?
"It didn't seem like a reality that was going to happen. And then it happened."
"Eyes of a Stranger"
The daughter of actor Vic Morrow (TV's "Combat") and screenwriter Barbara Turner ("Petulia"), Jennifer Jason Leigh began acting in '70s television, including the Robert Blake crime drama, "Baretta."
In the 1981 horror film "Eyes of a Stranger" (1981), Leigh played a blind, deaf and mute teenager being stalked by a killer. The New York Times review proclaimed Leigh "the only thing worth seeing in the movie."
"The Best Little Girl in the World"
Jennifer Jason starved herself to get into the role of an anorexic teenager in the TV movie, "The Best Little Girl in the World," costarring Eva Marie Saint and David Steinberg.
"Fast Times at Ridgemont High"
Leigh was 19 when she made "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (1982), Amy Heckerling's teen comedy that was the big break for Leigh, and costars Phoebe Cates (pictured), Sean Penn and Judge Reinhold.
"Fast Times at Ridgemont High"
Phoebe Cates and Jennifer Jason Leigh in "Fast Times at Ridgemont High."
Leigh told Tracy Smith that, as a Hollywood kid, becoming part of show business didn't seem like a far-away dream: "It just seemed like, 'Oh yeah, that's what people do when they grow up.' There's a naiveté to that, obviously. But I think that worked in my favor, because it didn't seem impossible."
"Grandview, U.S.A."
Jennifer Jason Leigh is the philandering young wife of a demolition derby driver (Patrick Swayze) in "Grandview, U.S.A." (1984).
"Flesh + Blood"
Paul Verhoeven ("Basic Instinct") directed the 1985 Middle Ages adventure "Flesh + Blood," starring Rutger Hauer and Jennifer Jason Leigh in a tale of a kidnapped aristocrat's daughter and the quest to free her.
"The Hitcher"
Jennifer Jason Leigh plays a roadside diner waitress who becomes mixed up in the deadly cat-and-mouse game between a driver and a hitchhiker in the thriller, "The Hitcher" (1986).
"Last Exit to Brooklyn"
Jennifer Jason Leigh was widely praised for her performance as Tralala, a hooker who appears to own the street, in "Last Exit to Brooklyn" (1989).
"Last Exit to Brooklyn"
Jennifer Jason Leigh in "Last Exit to Brooklyn."
Able to play gritty as well as anyone, Leigh was once dubbed by Entertainment Weekly as "the Meryl Streep of bimbos."
"That's hilarious," Leigh laughed. "I'll take the Meryl Streep of anything, actually. I don't mind that one iota."
"Miami Blues"
Leigh played another prostitute opposite Alec Baldwin in the 1990 film, "Miami Blues."
For this film and "Last Exiut in Brooklyn" Leigh was named Best Actress by the New York Film Critics Circle.
"Buried Alive"
As a woman who plotted to murder her husband, Jennifer Jason Leigh discovers he's not quite dead in the TV thriller, "Buried Alive," directed by Frank Darabont ("The Walking Dead").
"Backdraft"
Jennifer Jason Leigh's character has a professional and personal interest in the firefighters at the heart of the Ron Howard drama, "Backdraft" (1991).
"Rush"
Jason Patric and Jennifer Jason Leigh played narcotics detective who get a little too close to their work in the 1991 crime drama "Rush."
"Single White Female"
In the 1992 thriller "Single White Female," Jennifer Jason Leigh played the whacko roommate of Briget Fonda. Leigh took home an MTV Movie Award for Best Villain.
"The Hudsucker Proxy"
Jennifer Jason Leigh, as a wisecracking reporter, with Tim Robbins in the Coen Brothers comedy, "The Hudsucker Proxy."
"Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle" and "The Men's Club"
Jennifer Jason Leigh was razor-sharp as Dorothy Parker in "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle" (left), for which she earned an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actress; and cutting as Teensy, a hooker, in Peter Medak's "The Men's Club."
"Dolores Claiborne"
Kathy Bates and Jennifer Jason Leigh in Taylor Hackford's 1995 film of the Stephen King novel, "Dolores Claiborne."
"Georgia"
Jennifer Jason Leigh played a punk singer in the 1995 drama, "Georgia."
"Georgia"
Jennifer Jason Leigh won the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress, and earned her second Independent Spirit Award nomination, for "Georgia."
"Kansas City"
After joining Robert Altman's ensemble cast in the 1993 drama "Short Cuts" (in which she played a housewife who moonlights as a sex phone operator), Jennifer Jason Leigh starred in Altman's 1996 crime story "Kansas City," in which she kidnaps a local politician's wife (Miranda Richardson) in order to win back her own kidnapped husband.
"Bastard Out of Carolina"
Jennifer Jason Leigh starred in Anjelica Huston's TV film version of Dorothy Allison's novel, "Bastard Out of Carolina" (1996).
"Washington Square"
Agnieszka Holland ("Europa, Europa") directed Ben Chapin and Jennifer Jason Leigh in "Washington Square" (1997), from a Henry James novel previously filmed as "The Heiress."
"The Love Letter"
Based on a short story by Jack Finney, the TV movies "The Love Letter" stars Jennifer Jason Leigh as a 19th century woman whose correspondence is found - and answered - by a man a century later.
"eXistenZ"
Jennifer Jason Leigh and Jude Law in David Cronenberg's virtual reality thriller "eXistenZ" (1999).
Broadway
After appearing as Sally Bowles in the Roundabout Theatre Company's revival of "Cabaret," Jennifer Jason Leigh starred in David Auburn's Tony Award-winning play, "Proof" (2001).
She was also featured in the 2011 revival of "The House of Blue Leaves," starring Ben Stiller and Edie Falco.
"The Anniversary Party"
Alan Cumming and Jennifer Jason Leigh co-wrote, co-directed and starred in "The Anniversary Party" (2001), about an estranged Hollywood couple who reunite in time to celebrate their sixth wedding anniversary (a celebration not without its complications).
"Road to Perdition"
Jennifer Jason Leigh played the wife of mob enforcer Tom Hanks in "Road to Perdition" (2002), a Depression-era tale of revenge.
"The Machinist"
Christian Bale and Jennifer Jason Leigh in the psychological thriller "The Machinist" (2004).
"Palindromes"
Jennifer Jason Leigh was one of several actresses playing the role of teenage girl growing to adulthood in Todd Solandz's "Palindromes" (2004).
"Margot at the Wedding"
Nicole Kidman and Jennifer Jason Leigh play sisters in the 2007 dramedy "Margot at the Wedding," written and directed by Noah Baumbach.
AFI Fest
Actress Jennifer Jason Leigh, star of the film "Margot at the Wedding," poses during AFI FEST 2007, at ArcLight Cinemas on November 3, 2007 in Hollywood, California.
"Synecdoche, New York"
Jennifer Jason Leigh starred opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman in Charlie Kaufman's postmodern tale of a theatre director's artistic striving, "Synecdoche, New York" (2008).
"Greenberg"
Jennifer Jason Leigh and Noah Baumbach on the set of the 2010 film, "Greenberg."
The couple, who married in 2005 and have one son, divorced in 2013.
"Weeds"
Mary-Louise Parker (as a housewife-turned-pot dealer) and Jennifer Jason Leigh, in an episode of the Showtime series, "Weeds."
"Kill Your Darlings"
In "Kill Your Darlings" (2013), Jennifer Jason Lee played Naomi Ginsberg, mother of Beat poet Allen Ginsberg (Daniel Radcliffe).
"The Hateful Eight"
For much of "The Hateful Eight," Leigh is chained to Kurt Russell, who plays the bounty hunter bringing Leigh' s Daisy Domergue to the town of Red Rock to hang.
"The Hateful Eight"
"You kind of think that you'd be a little sick of Kurt Russell," said CBS News' Tracy Smith, "since you were handcuffed" for the entire film."
"Never. Never. No, I wish I were still handcuffed to him, to be quite honest. He's just the best guy," Leigh said.
"The Hateful Eight"
Director Quentin Tarantino on the set of "The Hateful Eight," with cinematographer Robert Richardson and cast members Kurt Russell, Jennifer Jason Lee and Tim Roth.
Leigh received her first Academy Award nomination, for Best Supporting Actress, for her performance.
"Anomalisa"
Jennifer Jason Leigh provided the voice to the character of a young woman who has a one-night stand with a noted author in the stop-motion animated feature, "Anomalisa," written and co-directed by Charlie Kaufman ("Being John Malkovich").
"It took us three days to voice it, but it took them two years to actually make the movie," Leigh told CBS News, "because, at best, they shot two seconds a day -- if they had a good day. The sex scene alone took six months to shoot!"
Oscar Nominee
Actress Jennifer Jason Leigh and jewelry designer Roberto Coin attend The Hollywood Reporter's 4th Annual Nominees Night at Spago on February 8, 2016 in Beverly Hills, California.
"The Hitcher"
Jennifer Jason Leigh in "The Hitcher."
Coming up for the actress: Rob Reiner's "LBJ" (playing Lady Bird Johnson), and the Showtime reboot of David Lynch's "Twin Peaks."
For more info:
"The Hateful Eight" (Official site)
"Hateful Eight" 70mm Roadshow screening locations
"Anomalisa" (Official site)
Thanks to The Leopard at Des Artistes, New York City
By CBSNews.com senior producer David Morgan