Sarandon, << suh RAN duhn, >> Susan (1946-…), is an American motion-picture actress known for her support of liberal political causes. She won an Academy Award as best actress for her portrayal of a nun who counsels a prisoner awaiting execution in Dead Man Walking (1995). Sarandon also won acclaim for her performances in Atlantic City (1980), Thelma & Louise (1991), Lorenzo’s Oil (1992), and The Client (1994).
Susan Abigail Tomalin was born in New York City on Oct. 4, 1946. She attended the Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where she earned a bachelor’s degree in drama and English in 1968.
Sarandon’s first film role was in the drama Joe (1970). Early in her career, Sarandon won fans for her performance in the musical horror spoof The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), which became a cult classic. She gained fame as the love interest of a minor league baseball player in the romantic drama Bull Durham (1988).
Sarandon’s other notable films include The Great Waldo Pepper (1975); The Hunger (1983); The Witches of Eastwick (1987); White Palace (1990); Little Women (1994); Stepmom (1998); Anywhere But Here and Cradle Will Rock (both 1999); Igby Goes Down and The Banger Sisters (both 2002); Romance & Cigarettes (2005); In the Valley of Elah and Enchanted (both 2007); The Greatest, The Lovely Bones, and Solitary Man (all 2009); the HBO cable television movie You Don’t Know Jack (2010); Jeff, Who Lives at Home (2011); Arbitrage, Cloud Atlas, The Company You Keep, and Robot and Frank (all 2012); The Big Wedding, Snitch, and The Last of Robin Hood (all 2013); Tammy (2014); and The Meddler (2015). In addition to her movies, Sarandon has appeared in a number of theatrical productions and television shows. In 2009, she starred on Broadway in Eugene Ionesco’s 1962 play Exit the King. In 2017, she starred in the cable television anthology miniseries Feud, in which she portrayed the American actress Bette Davis during the filming of the 1962 horror film Whatever Happened to Baby Jane?
Sarandon is also a political activist who has used her celebrity status to champion liberal and humanitarian causes. In 1999, she was appointed a goodwill ambassador for UNICEF, an agency of the United Nations. Sarandon was married to the American actor Chris Sarandon from 1967 to 1979. She had a relationship with the American motion-picture actor Tim Robbins from 1988 to 2009.
