Rebecca Pidgeon

Rebecca Pidgeon
Pidgeon at the premiere of Redbelt, April 2008
Born	(1965-10-10) October 10, 1965 Cambridge, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupation	Actress/Singer-songwriter
Years active	1986–present
Spouse(s)	David Mamet (m. 1991)
Children	2

Rebecca Pidgeon (born October 10, 1965) is a British-American actress and singer-songwriter. She has maintained a recording career while also acting on stage and in feature films. She is married to the American writer and director David Mamet.

Early life

Pidgeon was born to English parents in Cambridge, Massachusetts, while her father, Carl R. Pidgeon, was a visiting professor at MIT. Her mother, Elaine, is a yoga teacher. Her paternal grandmother, Monica Pidgeon, the editor of Architectural Design, was the sister of artist Olga Lehmann and academic Andrew George Lehmann. She moved to Edinburgh, Scotland in 1970, with her parents. She holds dual American/British citizenship. She attended drama college and graduated from the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London alongside Clive Owen, Liza Tarbuck and Serena Harragin. After some promising work as an actress in the UK, she moved back to the U.S.

Career

From 1986 to 1990, Pidgeon was the lead singer of the British folk/pop band Ruby Blue. Pidgeon left Ruby Blue shortly after the band signed to a major record label and was beginning to gather both commercial and critical success. She appeared in her first feature film in 1988, The Dawning. She then decided to concentrate on her acting career, starring in David Mamet's plays and films, first Homicide, then Oleanna onstage, a part Mamet wrote for her; Pidgeon composed the music for the film version, which starred Debra Eisenstadt in her role.

Returning to music in 1994, she released the solo album The Raven, followed by New York Girls' Club. Another album, The Four Marys, a collection of traditional Celtic folk songs, followed in 1998. In October 2005, she released Tough on Crime, which featured Walter Becker on guitar and the late Billy Preston on keyboards. Her 2008 album, Behind the Velvet Curtain: Songs from the Motion Picture Redbelt, includes a cover version of the Beach Boys song "Wouldn't It Be Nice?" and a duet with Luciana Souza. On March 12, 2012 she released the album Slingshot.

Pidgeon has had starring roles in several of Mamet's films, including The Spanish Prisoner (1997), The Winslow Boy (1999), State and Main (2000), and Heist (2001). She had a small role in Mamet's 2008 movie Redbelt and performed the music in it and also in his 2013 movie Phil Spector where she sings Spanish Harlem over the closing credits. Her most recent major film appearance was in 2010's Red. Pidgeon appeared in the U.S. television series The Unit, playing Charlotte Ryan, and in the 2007 film Jesse Stone: Sea Change she played Leeann Lewis, a murder-bank robbery suspect.

Personal life

Pidgeon is married to the American writer and director David Mamet. She met Mamet while acting in his play Speed-the-Plow during its run at the National Theatre, London.

Although married at the time to actress Lindsay Crouse, Mamet began a relationship with Pidgeon. Mamet divorced Crouse in 1990 and married Pidgeon in 1991. Pidgeon and Mamet have two children, Clara and Noah. Pidgeon, who was born to a non-practicing Christian family, has converted to Mamet's Jewish faith.

Discography

• The Raven (1994)
• The New York Girl's Club (1996)
• The Four Marys (1998)
• Retrospective (2003)
• Tough on Crime (2005)
• Behind the Velvet Curtain (2008)
• Slingshot (2012)
• Blue Dress On (2013)
• Bad Poetry (2014)

Filmography

• Bust (1987) as Sarah (2 episodes)
• The Dawning (1988) as Nancy Gulliver
• Campaign (1988) as Sally Byfleet
• Screen One: She's Been Away (1989) as Young Lillian (1 episode)
• Uncle Vanya (1991) as Sonya
• Homicide (1991) as Miss Klein
• The Water Engine (1992) as Connie
• The Spanish Prisoner (1997) as Susan Ricci
• The Winslow Boy (1999) as Catherine Winslow
• Catastrophe (2000) as The Director's Assistant
• State and Main (2000) as Ann
• Heist (2001) as Fran Moore
• Advice and Dissent (2002) as Ellen Goldman
• The Shield (2004-2005) as Joanna Faulks (3 episodes)
• Shopgirl (2005) as Christie Richards
• Edmond (2005) as Wife
• Provoked (2006) as Miriam
• In Justice (2006) as Charlotte Conti (3 episodes)
• The Unit (2006-2009) as Charlotte Ryan (14 episodes)
• Jesse Stone: Sea Change (2007) as Leeann Lewis
• Redbelt (2008) as Zena Frank
• How to Be (2008) as Mother
• Cat City (2008) as Victoria Compton
• The Lodger (2009) as Dr. Jessica Westmin
• Glenn Martin DDS (2010) as Unknown (1 episode, voice)
• RED (2010) as Cynthia Wilkes
• Two Painters (short) (2010) as Announcer
• Phil Spector (TV Movie) (2013) as Dr. Fallon
• Come Back to Sorrento (2013)

External links

• Official website
• Rebecca Pidgeon at the Internet Movie Database