A tough, no-nonsense blonde of the Barbara Stanwyck school, Bronx-born Ellen Barkin made her belated acting debut at the age of 26 in a 1980 New York stage production of “Irish Coffee” and later appeared in the original off-Broadway presentation of “Extremities”. She learned the “on camera” ropes as a cast member of the soap opera “Search for Tomorrow” before making her feature debut as the unappreciated wife who misfiles her husband’s records in Barry Levinson’s ensemble film “Diner” (1982). Roles as Robert Duvall’s headstrong daughter in “Tender Mercies” and Timothy Hutton’s wife in “Daniel” (both 1993) followed, but it would not be until “Desert Bloom” (1986) that she opened Hollywood’s eyes to her sultry potential, delivering a wonderfully splashy turn as an unlucky but resilient sexpot and enlivening the picture whenever on screen. Barkin had never looked better, and she soon capitalized on her sexy new image by breaking into leading roles.
