Faye Dunaway

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Last Updated: 4/25/25
Real Name: Dorothy Faye Dunaway
Born: January 14, 1941
Height: 5' 7"

Grade: A
Actress/Movie Star: 80%-20%
Prime Years: 1967-69, 1974-76, 1981, and 1986-87
Most Famous Films: Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Most Infamous Film: Mommie Dearest (1981)
Masterpiece: Bonnie and Clyde (1967), Chinatown (1974), Network (1976), and Mommie Dearest (1981)
Outstanding: None
Honorable: Beverly Hills Madam (1986) and Don Juan DeMarco (1994)

Opinion: A perfectionist at heart, Faye Dunaway can thank her blond and tanned model looks for coming across the screen as one of the most beautiful women during the 60's and 70s. She also had great acting chops, earning her chance to appear opposite some of the most esteemed actors: Warren Beatty, Steve McQueen, Kirk Douglas, Dustin Hoffman, Jack Nicholson, Paul Newman, Robert Redford, and William Holden.

Unfortunately, Faye Dunaway's chemistry with leading male stars is more of a miss than a hit. When it happens, she's rendered ineffective. The three times that worked, Faye gave the best performance of her career with one of them resulting in her lone Oscar win for Network. Cult classic or not, Mommie Dearest did unfairly ruin Faye's career, but it remains an outstanding piece of work that should've saw her receiving acting accolades because she finally let herself go like how Marlon Brando did in Last Tango in Paris. Faye made a small comeback when she appeared alongside Mickey Rourke in Barfly, but her days of being an A-list actress were clearly over. Part of the problem, aise from age, is how guarded Faye could be.

Confirmed: Born of Ulster Scottish, Irish, and German descent. Was an army brat who traveled all over the world. Completed high school in Tallahassee, Florida, and did some acting in theatrical plays. Went to Florida State University and then the University of Florida in the hopes of becoming a teacher but shifted her course by attending Boston University for a bachelor's degree of fine arts in theatre (1962). Spent a lot of time studying acting and working through various plays before being spotted by a talent scout. Credits her success to Harvard Professor William Alfred who wrote a play called Hogan's Goat that saw her off to Hollywood which began in 1967.

Made a huge impression to take the mantle of the "it" girl when she appeared in Bonnie and Clyde, thanks to Burnett Guffey's cinematography. Before that, was destroyed by Otto Preminger during the making of Hurry Sundown, forcing her to pay the money to get out of the six-picture contract with him. Helped discover Al Pacino when he was performing in an off Broadway play called The Indian Wants the Bronx by directing her manager's (Martin Bregman) attention to him.

After a forgettable series of hits and misses for seven years, got everybody attention when she appeared in Chinatown as the tragic Evelyn Mulwray. During the filming, developed a reputation of being difficult to work with. Once urinated in a cup during a scene and threw it in Roman Polanski's face after being denied a bathroom break. A strand of Faye's hair by Roman Polanski without her permission because it was "catching the light," infuriating her before she stormed off the set.

Gave the greatest performance of her career when she played Diana Christensen in Network. Famously photographed sitting by the pool with her Oscar on the table the next morning. Afterwards, her career started to fall off slowly, and it wasn't until Mommie Dearest that she, for good or bad, went further than ever. Wire hangers would never be viewed the same way again after her unbelievable batshit crazy scene. It's a movie she'll never talk about for the rest of her life. Continued to act but was never relevant again.

Appearing with Warren Beatty during 2017 Oscars, Faye Dunaway announced the wrong winner for Best Picture (La La Land instead of Moonlight) which wasn't her fault because that's what it said on the envelope. What happened is that Warren was inadvertently handed the envelope for Best Actress which was "Emma Stone, La La Land" and that when he opened it, he got confused for a second, checking for anything else in the envelope, but decided to hand it to Faye.

Made news in 2019 for being fired from a broadway play after slapping some of the crew members in the face and throwing things at them. Took work very seriously all of her career because she wanted to be 100% immersed into her character yet was never fully satisfied. Obsessed with makeup to make sure she looked perfect all times. Would yell at people and throw stuff, usually food, at them in public and urinate in trash cans while making movies. Bette Davis called Faye as one of the worst people she worked with in Hollywood. Had a meltdown at a hotel after being given a room that's meant for the disabled. Her face had been greatly altered by either Botox, fillers, and/or plastic surgery.

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