Kyra Sedgwick
Made her professional acting debut on screen in 1982 when she earned a role in the daytime soap opera Another world. Three years later, she made her big screen debut in the movie War and love. Since then, she has also expanded her work in the entertainment industry beyond acting in front of the camera to also produce and direct. She even sang in some projects. Sedgwick is an incredibly versatile storyteller.
Sedgwick has an expansive career but has balanced having a family by splitting her time between Hollywood and the family farm in Connecticut. Sedgwick and actor Kevin Bacon met while working together in the late 1980s and married. One of their children also became an actor, Sosie Bacon, so the whole family is well-known in entertainment. These roles encompass some of Sedgwick’s best work.
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10
Hearts and Souls (1993)
Like Julia
Heart and soul is one of the earliest movies in Sedgwick’s career. At the time, she was auditioning for movies, television and theater projects, keeping herself very busy, so she could easily have completed a project like this that many modern audiences will see as a product of its time.
The 90s saw a lot of movies about ghosts with unfinished business. Heart and soul Just happens to have four ghosts. All four ghosts were killed in a trolley accident in 1959 at the same time a baby was born. Their souls are attached to him, and they see him grow up, initially appearing to him as friends when he is a child, not realizing their relationship with him is meant to help them complete their unfinished business.
Sedgwick is one of the ghosts, a woman who turned down her boyfriend’s proposal right before she died. She is, perhaps, the most sentimental of the ghosts And gets to do the most work opposite the lead – a young Robert Downey Jr.
Heart and soul Received 10 Saturn Award nominations, including one for Sedgwick for Best Supporting Actress.
9
Justice League: The New Frontier (2008)
Like Lewis Lane
Justice League: The New Frontier Sees a being known as the center decide to eradicate the human race. It introduces Martian Manhunter to DC’s animated movie slate and, finally, sees the Justice League form. In many animated Justice League Movies, the voice actors for the roles change from movie to movie, and that’s the case for this one too.
Here, Sedgwick voices Lewis Lane. Lois isn’t a huge part of the movie, as much of the focus is on Martian Manhunter’s fight against the Center and Flash deciding to retire. Sedgwick, however, doesn’t do a lot of voice roles despite being prolific on the big and small screen as well as the stage, so it’s a rare animated gem in her catalog.
The movie was nominated for an Annie Award for Best Home Entertainment Production and an Emmy for Outstanding Animated Program.
8
The Summer I Turned Beautiful (2023)
Like Julia
The Summer I Turned Beautiful, based on Jenny Hahn’s novel, is a coming-of-age romantic drama series centered on Isabel “Belly” Conklin, played by Lola Tung. The story unfolds as Belle spends her summers at a beach house with her family and longtime friends, exploring themes of love, friendship, and discovery amid the transformative times of adolescence. The series premiered in 2022 and captures the essence of youth and summer.
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Lola Tung, Christopher Briney, Gavin Caselegno, Jackie Chung
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June 17, 2022
Sedgwick was one of the biggest names to be a part of it.
Sedgwick has actually been in a lot of modern television over the past 20 years. Most of that was on network TV, however The summer I turned beautiful is one of her few streaming projects. She joined the series in season 2.
The series is inspired by Jenny Han’s trilogy of novels with each season of the show primarily adapting one novel. Centered on belly (Lola Tung), The summer I turned beautiful Follows Belle through several summers of her life and chronicles her relationships with a pair of brothers. Sedgwick plays the brothers’ aunt, their mother’s estranged sister, who enters their lives when the beach house is left to her after their mother’s death.
Although the second season may not have been as well received as the first, Sedgwick was one of the biggest names to be a part of it. What most critics loved about the season was its exploration of grief, and Sedgwick’s character was a big part of that. The series is the No. 2 streamed property on Amazon Prime, only behind Rings of power.
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Something to Talk About (1995)
Like Emma Rae King
Something to talk about is one of many Julia Roberts starring vehicles from the ’90s. Although it initially received mixed reviews from critics, it definitely made an impression on audiences, and part of that is Sedgwick’s supporting role as Emma Ray King.
Roberts stars as Grace, a woman who finds out her husband has been cheating on her. She takes her daughter and returns home to her parents horse farm in the hope of getting some breathing space and understanding from her family. What she finds instead is that her family thinks she and her husband are both to blame for allowing themselves to drift out of their relationship.
Sedgwick’s Emma Rae is Grace’s big sister. When she finds out that her little sister has been cheated on, she is momentarily violent with the man, but she also offers Grace another perspective on the relationship. Sedgwick was nominated for a Golden Globe for her role in the movie.
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Miss Rose White (1992)
Like Rose White
Miss Rose White is one of several period movies Sedgwick has starred in as well as one of several made-for-television movies she has directed. While made-for-television movies are often looked down upon for those who primarily made theatrical releases in the ’90s, this was an award show expensive. It earned three Golden Globe and 10 Emmy nominations, winning four.
Sedgwick stars in the film as a young woman focused on her post-World War II career in New York. Because of the life she led and how her family suffered, she hid her Jewish heritage from those around her. When she discovers that her sister somehow survived the Holocaust in Europe, unlike the rest of their family, their reunion is complicated by the very different lives they’ve led.
This movie provides a snapshot of what happens when someone is able to escape a traumatic event and someone else has to endure it.
5
Cavedweller (2004)
Kadila Bard
Cavedweller is one of several projects that features both Sedgwick and real-life husband Kevin Bacon. Bacon plays Sedgwick’s boyfriend at the beginning of the movie. They are both musicians, but Sedgwick’s role sees her return from her free-spirited life to the hometown she left behind after her boyfriend’s death.
Sedgwick’s Delia runs away from an abusive husband, leaving her two young daughters in the care of a family member. When her abusive ex is dying and her last boyfriend dies, Delia brings her youngest daughter home, wanting to reunite her daughters and gain redemption from the family. She agrees to be her ex’s caregiver so she can build a relationship with her older daughters again.
Inspired by the novel of the same name, Cavedweller is an exploration of how relationships affect people, the unhappy, the complicated and the loving.
4
The Edge Of Seventeen (2016)
Like Mona
The Edge of Seventeen is a 2016 coming-of-age story starring Hailee Steinfeld, Woody Harrelson, Kyra Sedgwick and Haley Lu Richardson. Steinfeld stars as Nadine Franklin, who struggles her way through high school as a 17-year-old. But things get more complicated when her best friend starts dating her older brother.
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Kelly Fremon Craig
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November 18, 2016
- Writers
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Kelly Fremon Craig
- runtime
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104 minutes
One of Sedgwick’s most critically acclaimed movies is The Edge of Seventeen. She is not the star. The honor goes to Hallie Steinfeld. Sedgwick plays her mother.
The film follows Steinfeld as Nadine, a young woman who does not see eye-to-eye with her appearance-focused mother and finds herself at odds with her older brother, who is more popular than her. Her world falls apart when she finds out that her best friend and her brother are seeing each other after her father dies.
The focus of the movie is firmly on Steinfeld’s Nadine, but without the talent of the heavyweights around her, like Haley Lou Richardson as her best friend, Harrelson as her teacher, and Sedgwick as her mother, the movie wouldn’t feel like it. Real. They all deliver grounded performances as Nadine’s world disintegrates around her.
The movie and Steinfeld received a lot of nominations from different critical societies.
3
Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
Like Donna
Driven by a strong sense of patriotism, Ron Kovic enlisted in the Marine Corps and was deployed to Vietnam. His life takes a drastic turn when he sustains a severe injury, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. Returning to a nation divided over the war, Ković struggled with his newfound disability and the dissolution of his former beliefs. His path to recovery and self-discovery leads him to become a passionate anti-war activist, using his voice to advocate for peace and the rights of veterans, redefining his purpose and legacy.
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Oliver Stone
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December 20, 1989
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Ron Kovic, Oliver Stone
- runtime
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145 minutes
Born on the Fourth of July is often mentioned as one of Tom Cruise’s best projects, but he is not the only actor to find his name put on the map because of the drama. The film sees Cruise as a soldier who returns home with serious injuries and PTSD after the Vietnam War, only to find how poorly veterans are treated. Throughout his journey, he becomes firmly anti-war, speaks at protests and appeals to Congress.
Sedgwick plays Donna, his childhood friend. Growing up while at war, Donna moves to New York and becomes involved in anti-war protests herself. It’s a great early role for Sedgwick that helps show her range, even if she doesn’t appear in much of the movie.
Born on the Fourth of July Was nominated for eight Oscars, winning two of them, and five Golden Globes, winning four.
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Brooklyn Nine-Nine (2014-2020)
As Deputy Chief Madeline Wunsch
From the creative minds of Dan Goor and Michael Schur comes Brooklyn Nine-Nine, a police comedy series set in the NYPD’s fictional 99th precinct. Led by the comedically serious Captain Raymond Holt and protagonist Jake Peralta, the detectives of the 99 deal with burglaries, drug deals, and oddities in New York City, occasionally steering into real-world issues surrounding police perception and social concerns in the 2010s and earlier. Each detective has their own unique personality that makes them stand out, creating likable dynamics that have helped the show thrive for eight seasons.
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September 17, 2013
Wish is a very different role for Sedgwick.
Brooklyn no-no is one of the most loved comedy series of recent years. With its Halloween heists, its heartfelt relationships and its impressive comedic ensemble, it’s easy to see why audiences love the show. Sedgwick is not a regular member of the cast, but she has been recurring throughout the series as the nemesis of Captain Holt (Andre Braugher).
Wish is a very different role for Sedgwick. Fans are used to seeing her as empathetic women, those who support the characters around them. Desire is the antithesis of this How she makes life difficult. She’s unethical, but she’s also incredibly fun to watch. Even when her character was written out of the show, the writers made sure that Sedgwick left her mark by having Holt plan the memorial service for the character.
While Sedgwick was never nominated for her work on the show itself, the series has 81 nominations and 15 wins at award shows.
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The Closer (2005-2012)
Like Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson
The Closer was a popular crime drama that ran for seven seasons between 2005 and 2012. The series is centered on the Priority Hamid Division in Los Angeles. Working as the Deputy Police Chief, Brenda Johnson has the unique skill of getting confessions from suspects. Kyra Sedgwick stars as Brenda Leigh Johnson alongside JK Simmons and Corey Reynolds.
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June 13, 2005
The closer is the project for which Sedgwick has received the most accolades.
Sedgwick’s most famous role is likely The closer. This is also her best project. Crime procedurals can start to feel the same after watching a dozen of them on TV at any given time, but Sedgwick’s role as Brenda kept the show interesting and entertaining.
What is unique about the series is that despite Brenda being a deputy police chief, she is trained in interrogation by the CIA. This makes every interrogation scene in the series a nail-biter. Set in Los Angeles, the series does a good job of intertwining cultural aspects of different Los Angeles neighborhoods in the cases of the week. It also led to a spinoff series called Major crimes.
The closer is the project for which Sedgwick has received the most accolades. She was nominated more than 30 times in various award shows for her role in the series. Kira Sedgwick Won both a Golden Globe and an Emmy for the series.