Biography
Movie critic Rex Reed acerbically described the characters in Jennifer Jason Leigh's gallery as a collection of "sluts and nuts." The soft-spoken actress affectionately referred to the hookers, drug addicts and head cases she often played as a group of vulnerable, injured women she was thrilled to get to know on-screen, but grateful she didn't encounter in real life. From her breakthrough role in the early '80s teen comedy-drama "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" (1982) through career highlights including the gritty "Last Exit to Brooklyn" (1990), period drama "Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle" (1994), Jane Campion's dark thriller "In the Cut" (2003) and Quentin Tarantino's gory western "The Hateful Eight" (2015), Leigh matured from a versatile ingénue into an actress of subtlety and range. Leigh's intelligence and candor made her one of the leading talents of her generation.