Born in Cloquet, MN; educated at the University of Minnesota, Guthrie Theater Drama School. Successfully outgrew the image established by her screen debut -- as the scantily clad playmate of KING KONG (1976) -- to emerge as one of the finest Hollywood actresses of the 1980s. Lange proved her versatility with two 1982 roles: as 1930s actress Frances Farmer in FRANCES and as Dustin Hoffman's love interest in TOOTSIE; the first won her an Oscar nomination for best actress and the second, the award for best supporting actress. She has subsequently racked up four more nominations, most recently with another Oscar, this time as Best Actress, for BLUE SKY (released in 1994). Other notable (non-nominated) screen credits include ALL THAT JAZZ (1979), THE POSTMAN ALWAYS RINGS TWICE (1981), CRIMES OF THE HEART (1986), FAR NORTH (1988), MEN DON'T LEAVE (1990), CAPE FEAR (1991), ROB ROY (1995), A THOUSAND ACRES (1997), HUSH and COUSIN BETTE (both 1998), TITUS (1999), PROZAC NATION (2001), MASKED & ANONYMOUS and BIG FISH (both 2003), BROKEN FLOWERS, DON'T COME KNOCKING and NEVERWAS (all 2005), BONNEVILLE (2006), GREY GARDENS (2008), and ONE MORE RIVER (announced for 2009). Lange has three children, one by Mikhail Baryshnikov and two by Sam Shepard. She and Shepard lived in Minnesota for a few years, but they now reside in New York.  Supporting Actress 1982: TOOTSIE  Nominated for Actress 1982: FRANCES  Nominated for Actress 1984: COUNTRY  Nominated for Actress 1985: SWEET DREAMS  Nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role 1989: MUSIC BOX  Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role 1994: BLUE SKY 6 nominations, 2 Awards