Dan's Papers - October 12, 2007 - Susan Sarandon

Throughout her career, Susan Sarandon has continuously demonstrated an ideal balance of beauty and brains. The former Ford model and award-winning actress has shared her mastery of arts with the world while remaining firm in her beliefs, and always seems to display a sense of warmth and charm.

As the eldest of nine children, Sarandon grew up in New Jersey, but after high school she headed south to Washington, DC to study drama at Catholic University. Shortly after college graduation, she made her on-screen debut in the 1970 film Joe, playing the role of a troubled teenager named Melissa Compton. But it wasn't until 1975 when Sarandon starred in the cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show that she became recognizable to audiences worldwide. In 1982, she received her first Academy Award nomination for the role of Sally Matthews in Atlantic City, but her breakthrough performance arguably came in 1988 with her role in the critically acclaimed film Bull Durham, which co-starred Kevin Costner and grossed over $50 million in the United States. During the early 1990s Sarandon received three more Academy Award nominations for roles in Thelma and Louise, Lorenzo's Oil and The Client, but it wasn't until 1996 that she won the Oscar for Best Actress in a Leading Role for her performance in Dead Man Walking. In the last decade, Sarandon has starred in a slew of box office hits including Stepmom, The Banger Sisters, Shall We Dance and Alfie. But the award-winning actress' talents aren't limited to the silver screen, as Sarandon has appeared in more than a dozen television shows including "Rescue Me," "Malcolm in the Middle" and "Friends," and has lent her voice to episodes of "The Simpsons," the popular children's cartoon "Rug Rats," the animated film James and the Giant Peach and has narrated several documentaries. The multi-talented Sarandon has even showed off her vocal chords, singing in The Rocky Horror Picture Show and recording a duet with Pearl Jam's frontman Eddie Vedder, which played during the end credits of the film Cradle Will Rock.

Next week, the 15th Annual Hamptons International Film Festival kicks off opening night with the film Bernard and Doris, starring Sarandon as billionaire heiress Doris Duke, the daughter of tobacco tycoon James Buchanan Duke. The film portrays the relationship Duke had with her gay butler, Bernard Lafferty who is played by Ralph Fiennes, to whom she left control of an approximate $1.3 billion fortune upon her death in 1993. But this isn't the first time Sarandon has been on hand for the film festival, as she has attended several screenings in recent years and in 2004 HIFF hosted "An Evening with Susan Sarandon."

Born Susan Tomalin, Sarandon got her current last name from her ex-husband, actor Chris Sarandon, to whom she was married in the 1970s. In 1985 she had daughter Eva with then boyfriend actor Franco Amurri, but Sarandon's current relationship with actor Tim Robbins, whom she met while filming Bull Durham, has lasted for twenty years, which she claims equals 45 in Hollywood years. Although the couple is not married, they have two children together, and Robbins is often alongside Sarandon supporting liberal causes. In reference to how they make their relationship last, she was quoted as saying, "I think the key is just focusing on this one person and not keeping one eye on the door to see who might be better."

Sarandon and Robbins have frequented the East End for many years, often attending benefits and fundraisers throughout the summer months including Art for Life, which is hosted annually by Russell and Kimora Lee Simmons at their home in East Hampton. The 2007 Dan's Papers They Made the Move Here Film Festival held at Westhampton Beach Performing Arts Center last April featured the film Compromising Positions, which starred Sarandon as a Long Island housewife and former Newsday reporter who becomes involved in a local murder investigation.

Although best known for her film career, Sarandon has built an equally impressive resume as a social and political activist. She serves as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF, promoting the advancement of global advocacy for children, and has long been involved with MADRE, an international organization supporting women's human rights and Heifer International, a non-profit organization dedicated to the relief of global hunger and poverty. Over the years, she has spoken out against the war in Iraq and has participated in several anti-war demonstrations, while also promoting the acceptance of homosexuality through various media outlets. In an interview last month, when asked if activism was as important to her as a good script, Sarandon replied, "You know, in my job it's all about imagination - imagination leads to empathy and empathy leads to activism." Sarandon partially credits her strong involvement in certain issues to the years she spent attending college in Washington, DC, explaining that in the 60s, "if you had half a brain in your head and half a heart, you were active."

As Sarandon continues to portray strong, independent women, age gracefully without the assistance of plastic surgery and remain true to her personal beliefs, she is truly redefining Hollywood's image of beauty, and making 61 years old look pretty damn good.