Ann Magnuson
Biography
Ann Magnuson is an American performer who works as an actress, performance artist and nightclub entertainer. Born in Charleston, West Virginia, she graduated from Denison University in 1978 and settled in New York City, where she spun records and performed at the Mudd Club and Club 57, the downtown basement venue she ran and which drew Keith Haring and Kenny Scharf. Her first screen part came in Vortex in 1981, and she built a following as a cigarette girl in Desperately Seeking Susan (1985), then starred in Making Mr. Right (1987) for Susan Seidelman. She also founded the band Bongwater and sang lead in it during the 1980s. On television she played Catherine Hughes in the sitcom Anything but Love from 1989 to 1992. Her films include The Hunger (1983), Tequila Sunrise (1988), Love at Large (1990), Clear and Present Danger (1994), Tank Girl (1995), Small Soldiers (1998), Panic Room (2002) and One More Time (2015).
70years old
Turns 71 on January 4in 84 days
- Born Charleston
- Star sign: CapricornThe sign runs December 22 to January 19
Movie Career
- Films
- 25
- Career span
- 32 years1983 to 2015
First and latest
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Behind the camera
Magnuson self-produced the 15-minute video piece "Made for Television" in 1981. In it she took on close to 50 roles for a satiric, channel-hopping parody of television programming, and it ran on the WNET-PBS series Alive from Off-Center.
Beyond film
Magnuson was the lead vocalist of Bongwater, an underground band she started with producer-musician Mark Kramer in 1985. The group put out a debut EP and four avant garde albums before splitting up in 1992.
Beyond film
As part of a Club 57 project, Magnuson gave a "Tribute to Muzak" performance, singing continuously for five hours inside the Whitney Museum's elevator.
Big break
A fixture of Manhattan's downtown club scene in the 1980s, Magnuson drew notice as a snarky cigarette girl in Susan Seidelman's 1985 independent hit Desperately Seeking Susan, a film that also helped launch singer Madonna's acting career.
Beyond film
Magnuson invented characters including Anoushka, a Soviet lounge singer. She wore a wig backwards and sang mock-Russian lyrics set to pop music standards.
Behind the camera
Magnuson spent eight years writing a monthly column, "LA Woman", for the magazine Paper, and she also kept a blog alongside it.
Ann Magnuson movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Most often with
Susan Seidelman directed two of these films. Seven actors appear in two of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Willem Dafoe's page
Alfred Molina's page
Robert Downey Jr.'s page
Anne Archer's page
Laurie Metcalf's page
Susan SeidelmanDirector, 2 films, 1985 to 1987
All films by Susan Seidelman
Also two films together1 more actor
- Anne CarlisleDesperately Seeking Susan (1985) and Perfect Strangers (1984)
When several people share the same number of films, the ones with the most films on Netflix are in the chart.
Box office
What Ann Magnuson's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$643 million
17 of the 25 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 25 films: 17 worldwide figure; 4 us gross only; 1 never in cinemas; 3 figure not found.
- 17Worldwide figure
- 4US gross only
- 1Never in cinemas
- 3Figure not found
Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 97% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$216M33.6% of the total
- 2$197M30.7% of the total
- 3$106M16.5% of the total
- 4$55M8.5% of the total
- 5$27M4.3% of the total
- 6$10M1.6% of the total
- 7$8.8M1.4% of the total
- 8$6.3M1.0% of the total
$16.3 millionfrom the other 9 films with a worldwide figure, 3% of the total
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.