Elizabeth McGovern Biography
A large-eyed, slightly baby-faced stage and screen performer McGovern first gained attention as Conrad Jarrett’s (Timothy Hutton) supportive and understanding girlfriend in the Oscar-winning “Ordinary People” (1980). The willowy actress followed with a stunning turn as Evelyn Nesbit in Milos Foreman’s adaptation of the E.L. Doctorow novel “Ragtime” (1981) netting a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination. While subsequent projects found her working with a number of top film directors, she failed to find roles that utilized her unique beauty and challenged her range and talent. She appeared as the object of Robert De Niro’s obsession in Sergio Leone’s “Once Upon a Time in America” (1984) and as Kevin Bacon’s pregnant wife in John Hughes’ “She’s Having a Baby” (1988). In 1989, McGovern offered two diverse performances as Mickey Rourke’s sympathetic girlfriend in Walter Hill’s “Johnny Handsome” (1989) and as a rebellious lesbian in Volker Schlondorf’s nonsensical thriller “The Handmaid’s Tale” (1989). McGovern fared better in the little seen romantic comedy-drama “The Favor” (1994) and was featured in the groundbreaking “Wings of Courage” (1995), Jean-Jacques Annaud’s period adventure, the first dramatic film shot in the IMAX 3-D format.