Signature Roles

Home \ Signature Roles \ The China Syndrome (1979) — Jane Fonda JANE FONDA · 1979 · SIGNATURE ROLES Kimberly Wells is a television reporter assigned to fluff pieces who stumbles onto a near-meltdown at a nuclear power plant — and discovers that the plant’s owners would rather discredit her than fix it. Kimberly Wells … Read more

Home \ Signature Roles \ Coming Home (1978) — Jane Fonda JANE FONDA · 1978 · SIGNATURE ROLES Sally Hyde’s husband is fighting in Vietnam; she volunteers at a veterans’ hospital and meets Luke Martin, a paralyzed former Marine played by Jon Voight, and falls in love with him. Sally Hyde’s husband is fighting in … Read more

Home \ Signature Roles \ Julia (1977) — Jane Fonda JANE FONDA · 1977 · SIGNATURE ROLES Lillian Hellman and Julia were friends from childhood: Hellman became a famous playwright, Julia became an anti-fascist activist working against the Nazis, and the film follows Hellman’s journey to smuggle money to Julia in pre-war Europe. Lillian Hellman … Read more

Home \ Signature Roles \ Fun with Dick and Jane (1977) — Jane Fonda JANE FONDA · 1977 · SIGNATURE ROLES Dick and Jane Harper are a comfortable suburban couple until Dick loses his aerospace job, and the bills keep coming. Dick and Jane Harper are a comfortable suburban couple until Dick loses his aerospace … Read more

Home \ Signature Roles \ Klute (1971) — Jane Fonda JANE FONDA · 1971 · SIGNATURE ROLES Bree Daniels is a New York call girl who is also an aspiring actress, and Jane Fonda plays her as a woman who has learned to perform for everyone — clients, cops, herself — and who is terrified … Read more

Home \ Signature Roles \ Kramer vs. Kramer (1979) — Meryl Streep Meryl Streep · 1979 · Signature Roles Joanna Kramer leaves her husband and her young son in the film’s first scene, and the audience is meant to judge her. Joanna Kramer leaves her husband and her young son in the film’s first scene, … Read more

Home \ Signature Roles \ Manhattan (1979) — Meryl Streep Meryl Streep · 1979 · Signature Roles Jill is Woody Allen’s ex-wife in Manhattan, and she appears in only a few scenes. Jill is Woody Allen’s ex-wife in Manhattan, and she appears in only a few scenes. Meryl Streep makes each one count. Jill is … Read more

Home \ Signature Roles \ Holocaust (1978) — Meryl Streep Meryl Streep · 1978 · Signature Roles Holocaust was a television event: a four-part miniseries that told the story of the Nazi genocide through two fictional Berlin families, one Jewish, one German. Holocaust was a television event: a four-part miniseries that told the story of … Read more

Home \ Signature Roles \ The Deer Hunter (1978) — Meryl Streep Meryl Streep · 1978 · Signature Roles Linda is the woman at the center of The Deer Hunter’s love triangle: engaged to one steelworker, loved by another, waiting while both go to Vietnam. Linda is the woman at the center of The Deer … Read more

Home \ Signature Roles \ Julia (1977) — Meryl Streep Meryl Streep · 1977 · Signature Roles Meryl Streep’s film debut is a small role in a film about big things: Julia, based on Lillian Hellman’s memoir, tells of two friends — Hellman and the title character, an anti-fascist activist — separated by war and … Read more