Rebecca Pidgeon - Biography

Rebecca Pidgeon (born October 10, 1965) is a British actress and singer-songwriter. She has maintained a recording career while also acting on stage and in feature films. She is married to the American writer and director David Mamet.

Early life

Pidgeon was born to English parents in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, while her father was a visiting professor at MIT. Her family moved to Edinburgh, Scotland in 1970. She thus holds dual American/British citizenship. Growing up in Edinburgh, she was a teenage friend of singer Shirley Manson.

Pidgeon attended drama college and graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London alongside Clive Owen, Liza Tarbuck and Serena Harragin. After some promising work as an actress in the UK, she moved back to the US.

Career

From 1986 to 1990, Pidgeon was the lead singer of the British folk/pop band Ruby Blue. Pidgeon left Ruby Blue shortly after the band signed a major record label and was beginning to gather both commercial and critical success. She appeared in her first feature film in 1988, The Dawning. She then decided to concentrate on her acting career, starring in David Mamet's plays and films, initially in the movie Homicide, then in the play Oleanna, a part written for her by Mamet. Pidgeon composed the music for the film version which starred Debra Eisenstadt in her role.

Returning to music in 1994, she released the solo album The Raven, followed by New York Girls' Club. A further album, The Four Marys, a collection of traditional Celtic folk songs, followed in 1998. In October 2005, she released Tough on Crime, which featured Walter Becker on guitar and the late Billy Preston on keyboards. Her most recent album, Behind the Velvet Curtain: Songs from the Motion Picture Redbelt, includes a cover version of the Beach Boys song, "Wouldn't It Be Nice?" and a duet with Luciana Souza.

Pidgeon has had starring roles in several of Mamet's films, including The Spanish Prisoner (1997), The Winslow Boy (1999) and Heist (2001). She had a small role in the 2008 movie Redbelt written and directed by Mamet, and also performed the music in it. Her most recent major film appearance was in the 2010 action-comedy Red.

She appeared in the U.S. television series The Unit, playing Charlotte Ryan. She also had a role opposite Tom Selleck in the CBS TV movie Jesse Stone: Sea Change (2007) where she played the role of Leeann Lewis, a murder-bank robbery suspect.

Personal life

Pidgeon is married to the American writer and director David Mamet. She met Mamet while acting in his play Speed-the-Plow during its run at the National Theatre, London. Though he was married at the time to actress Lindsay Crouse, Mamet began a relationship with Pidgeon. In 1990, Mamet divorced Crouse and he married Pidgeon in 1991. She and Mamet have two children, Clara and Noah. Pidgeon, who was born to a non-practicing Christian family, has converted to Mamet's Jewish faith.

Discography

• The Raven (1994)
• The New York Girl's Club (1996)
• The Four Marys (1998)
• Tough on Crime (2005)
• Behind the Velvet Curtain (2008)

Filmography

• 1987: Bust as Sarah (2 episodes)
• 1988: The Dawning as Nancy Gulliver
• 1988: Campaign as Sally Byfleet
• 1989: Screen One: She's Been Away as Young Lillian (1 episode)
• 1991: Uncle Vanya as Sonya
• 1991: Homicide as Miss Klein
• 1992: The Water Engine as Connie
• 1997: The Spanish Prisoner as Susan Ricci
• 1999: The Winslow Boy as Catherine Winslow
• 2000: Catastrophe as The Director's Assistant
• 2000: State and Main as Ann
• 2001: Heist as Fran Moore
• 2002: Advice and Dissent as Ellen Goldman
• 2004-2005: The Shield as Joanna Faulks (3 episodes)
• 2005: Shopgirl as Christie Richards
• 2005: Edmond as Wife
• 2006: Provoked as Miriam
• 2006: In Justice as Charlotte Conti (3 episodes)
• 2006-2009: The Unit as Charlotte Ryan (14 episodes)
• 2007: Jesse Stone: Sea Change as Leeann Lewis
• 2008: Redbelt as Zena Frank
• 2008: How to Be as Mother
• 2008: Cat City as Victoria Compton
• 2009: The Lodger as Dr. Jessica Westmin
• 2010: Glenn Martin DDS as Unknown (1 episode, voice)
• 2010: Red as Cynthia Wilkes
• 2012: Come Back to Sorrento as Unknown (pre-production)

External links