Susan Alexandra Sigourney Weaver born October 8 1949 is an American actress Weaver is considered to be a pioneer of action heroines in science fiction films She is known for her role as Ellen Ripley in the Alien franchise which earned her an Academy Award nomination in 1986 and is often regarded as one of the most significant female protagonists in cinema history A seventime Golden Globe Award nominee Weaver won both Best Actress in Drama and Best Supporting Actress in 1988 for her work in the films Gorillas in the Mist and Working Girl becoming the first person to win two acting Golden Globes in the same year She also received Academy Award nominations for both films For her role in the film The Ice Storm 1997 she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress ina Supporting Role She also received a Tony Award nomination for her work in the 1984 Broadway play Hurlyburly Weavers other film roles include Ghostbusters 1984 Ghostbusters II 1989 Dave 1993 Galaxy Quest 1999 Holes 2003 WALLE 2008 Avatar 2009 Prayers for Bobby 2009 Paul 2011 The Cabin in the Woods 2012 and A Monster Calls 2016 and the television miniseries Political Animals 2012 and The Defenders 2017 Description above from the Wikipedia article Sigourney Weaver licensed under CCBYSA full list of contributors on Wikipedia