Sean Young

Mary Sean Young (born November 20, 1959) is an American actress.

She is particularly known for working in sci-fi films, although she has performed roles in a variety of genres.

Young's early roles include the independent romance Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980) and the comedy feature Stripes (1981), the latter being a commercial success.

Young began her film career in Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980), followed by a role in the film Stripes (1981).

Her breakthrough role was that of Rachael in the sci-fi Blade Runner (1982).

She then played the female lead, Rachael, alongside Harrison Ford in the classic science fiction film Blade Runner (1982).

She then portrayed the character of Chani in the sci-fi Dune (1984), led the neo-noir No Way Out (1987), played Kate in Wall Street (1987), and had starring roles in the comedies Fatal Instinct (1993) and Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994).

Young was born in Louisville, Kentucky, the daughter of Donald Young Jr., a television producer and journalist, and Lee Guthrie (born Mary Lee Kane), a screenwriter, public relations executive, and journalist Young attended Cleveland Heights High School in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, but did not graduate.

This was followed by the Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan.

She also attended the School of American Ballet in New York City.

Before becoming an actress, Young worked as a model and ballet dancer.

Her other credits include Dune (1984) (playing Paul Atreides's love interest Chani), Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (1985) and Fatal Instinct (1993).

On television, Young played the female lead opposite Lenny Von Dohlen in Under the Biltmore Clock (1986), based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's story Myra Meets His Family.

The following year, she had a small role in the film Wall Street (1987) as the wife of Michael Douglas's character, Gordon Gekko.

Her role was originally intended to be larger, but was significantly reduced due to clashes with Oliver Stone.

One of Young's most prominent roles was as the lover of a ruthless Washington politician (Gene Hackman) in No Way Out (also 1987), alongside Kevin Costner.

Young appeared in The Boost (1988), with James Woods.

She was next cast as Vicki Vale in Tim Burton's film Batman (1989), but during rehearsals, she broke her arm after falling off a horse and was replaced by Kim Basinger.

Young was cast as Tess Trueheart in the movie Dick Tracy (1990).

However, she was dismissed in favor of Glenne Headly for not appearing maternal in the role.

Young later said her dismissal was punishment for her having rebuffed Warren Beatty's advances, a statement Beatty denies.

During most of the 1990s, she resided in Sedona, Arizona, and her career cooled.

In 1991, she was awarded the Worst Actress and the Worst Supporting Actress Razzies for her roles in A Kiss Before Dying.

In an unsuccessful attempt to win the role of Catwoman (which was originally offered to Annette Bening but, after Bening became pregnant, Michelle Pfeiffer was cast) in the sequel Batman Returns (1992), Young constructed a homemade Catwoman costume and attempted to contact Burton and actor Michael Keaton during production.

She appeared on The Joan Rivers Show in character as the Catwoman, campaigning for the role and making a plea to Tim Burton.

She played the main antagonist in the comedy Ace Ventura: Pet Detective (1994).

She also played Helen Hyde in the comedy Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde (1995).

Young reprised her role as Rachael in the Blade Runner video game released in 1997.

Young has appeared in independent films, including roles in Poor White Trash (2000), Mockingbird Don't Sing (2001), and Sugar & Spice (also 2001).

She spent four months in Russia filming the miniseries Yesenin (2005), in which she portrayed the dancer Isadora Duncan.

In 2008, Young competed in the television program Gone Country 2, which included a competition in a celebrity demolition derby at the Henry County Fairgrounds in Paris, Tennessee.

Young went on to win the celebrity derby heat and then went on to compete against 21 professional demolition derby drivers.

Young finished in fourth place.

Young appeared on The Young and the Restless in June 2010 as Canadian barmaid Meggie McClain, alongside good friend Eric Braeden.

In 2010, she was cast on the first season of the ABC series Skating with the Stars as a celebrity contestant who skated with professional skater Denis Petukhov, but she was the first celebrity to be eliminated.

She returned to the show on July 14 in a recurring role, which lasted through February 2011.

In October 2011, Young appeared on Late Show with David Letterman.

During the interview, she described how she was now looking for movie work after raising her two sons, and produced a short video clip promoting her job search which Letterman played.

She was subsequently cast in a film about Nikola Tesla, titled Fragments From Olympus: The Vision of Nikola Tesla (still in development as of August, 2023).

In October 2013, Young played the role of Dr. Lucien in Star Trek: Renegades, a fan project to create a pilot for a new Star Trek series (released in August 2015) where several former Star Trek actors appeared, including Tim Russ (who also directed the pilot) as well as Walter Koenig, Garrett Wang and J. G. Hertzler.