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Kim Basinger

Kim BasingerAKA Kimila Ann Basinger

Born: 8-Dec-1953
Birthplace: Athens, GA

Gender: Female
Race or Ethnicity: White
Sexual orientation: Straight
Occupation: Actor, Model

Nationality: United States
Executive summary: L.A. Confidential

As a child, Kim Basinger seemed so withdrawn her parents asked doctors if she had autism or some other psychiatric disorder, but tests revealed nothing. By high school, she had developed a self-deprecating sense of humor that helped her make friends. At 16, Basinger won the Athens Junior Miss contest, singing "Wouldn't It Be Loverly" in the talent competition. She was later crowned Junior Miss Georgia, and traveled to New York City to compete for the national crown. She didn't win, but returned to New York after graduating from high school to pursue a modeling career.

She was quickly signed by the Ford Modeling Agency, and over several years Basinger appeared on dozens of magazine covers and in hundreds of ads. She decided to try acting, moved to L.A., and lived in a low-rent apartment with a view of the neighboring freeway. For six months, she lived on her savings, before finally getting some work as an actress.

She appeared in such mid-1970s staples as The Six Million Dollar Man, McMillan and Wife, and the original Charlie's Angels. She starred in a cop show called Dog and Cat that lasted six episodes (Basinger was the rookie female cop, "Cat", partnered with a gruff old-fashioned cop, "Dog"). She had the title role in a schlocky 1978 teleflick, Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold, and later, Basinger did a nude pictorial in Playboy.

In her first feature film, a low-budget 1981 drama called Hard Country, she starred opposite 1970s pretty boy Jan-Michael Vincent. During filming, she married Ron Britton, a worker on the film's make-up crew. Basinger did good work in more B-movies before finding success as a Bond girl in Sean Connery's final outing as 007, Never Say Never Again. In other memorable roles, ruined Robert Redford's batting average in The Natural, endured repeated boinkings by Mickey Rourke in 9½ Weeks, and fell for Michael Keaton in Batman.

She divorced Britton in 1989, and the following year she met Alec Baldwin on the set of The Marrying Man. After several proposals, she agreed to marry him in 1993. They were famous photo fodder for the tabloids, even guest-voicing together on The Simpsons, but finally divorced in 2002.

In her mid-40s, Basinger won the 1997 Oscar playing a hooker in L.A. Confidential. Hollywood generally has little interest in women past menopause, but she has kept busy since winning her statuette. Her recent roles include Eminem's trailer trash mom in 8 Mile, and a grieving mother and unfaithful wife in The Door in the Floor.

In 1989 she paid $20 million to buy the entire town of Braselton, Georgia, about 60 miles from Atlanta. Four years later, she was sued for backing out of a film she had agreed to star in, and was forced to sell Braselton for just $1 million. During that media ruckus, then-husband Baldwin angrily defended Basinger to the media: "The trial is a good example of people assuming 'glamorous movie actress, self-involved bitch, $100 million bank account'. That sells papers, not 'shy and quiet, very private, animal lover'. That stuff's boring. She knows she could paint her body on the cover of Vanity Fair [as Demi Moore did] and reap the benefits. What that has to do with a movie career, I don't know."

Court documents from that case show that Basinger's monthly expenses for clothing tallied $6,100. She was also spending $7,000 a month for "pet care and other personal expenses". She is an activist for animal rights, and a member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA). Basinger remains shy, susceptible to panic attacks and agoraphobia.

Father: Don Basinger (jazz musician and loan company manager)
Mother: Ann Basinger (model, swimmer, water ballet performer)
Brother: Mick Basinger (works in marketing)
Brother: Skip Basinger
Sister: Ashley Basinger
Sister: Barbara Basinger
Boyfriend: Prince (1988)
Husband: Ron Britton (makeup artist, m. 1980, div. 1989)
Husband: Alec Baldwin (actor, m. 19-Aug-1993, div. Feb-2002)
Daughter: Ireland Eliesse Baldwin (b. 23-Oct-1995)
Boyfriend: Jon Peters (ex)

    High School: Athens High School, Athens, GA (1971)

    Oscar for Best Supporting Actress 1998 for L.A. Confidential
    Hollywood Walk of Fame 7021 Hollywood Blvd.
    Beauty Contest Junior Miss Athens
    Beauty Contest Junior Miss Georgia
    Bankruptcy (1993)
    Contempt of Court violation of custody agreement (charged 4-Oct-2006)
    People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals
    Bond Girls Domino Petachi in Never Say Never Again
    Posed Naked for Playboy (1983)
    Endorsement of Merrill Lynch
    Endorsement of Pepsi 2003
    Risk Factors: Agoraphobia, Vegetarian

    FILMOGRAPHY AS ACTOR
    Fifty Shades Darker (7-Feb-2017)
    The Nice Guys (15-May-2016)
    4 Minute Mile (5-Jun-2014)
    Grudge Match (16-Dec-2013)
    Third Person (9-Sep-2013)
    Charlie St. Cloud (30-Jul-2010) · Claire St. Cloud
    The Informers (22-Jan-2009) · Laura Sloan
    While She Was Out (18-Sep-2008) · Della
    The Burning Plain (29-Aug-2008) · Gina
    The Mermaid Chair (9-Sep-2006)
    The Sentinel (19-Apr-2006)
    Even Money (Mar-2006)
    Cellular (10-Sep-2004) · Jessica
    Elvis Has Left the Building (27-Aug-2004) · Harmony Jones
    The Door in the Floor (18-Jun-2004) · Marion Cole
    People I Know (11-Oct-2002) · Victoria Gray
    8 Mile (8-Sep-2002) · Stephanie
    Bless the Child (11-Aug-2000) · Maggie O'Connor
    I Dreamed of Africa (5-May-2000) · Kuki Gallmann
    L.A. Confidential (19-Sep-1997) · Lynn Bracken
    Prêt-à-Porter (25-Dec-1994) · Kitty Potter
    The Getaway (11-Feb-1994) · Carol McCoy
    Wayne's World 2 (10-Dec-1993) · Honey Hornée
    The Real McCoy (10-Sep-1993) · Karen McCoy
    Cool World (10-Jul-1992) · Holli Would
    Final Analysis (7-Feb-1992) · Heather Evans
    The Marrying Man (5-Apr-1991)
    Batman (23-Jun-1989) · Vicki Vale
    My Stepmother is an Alien (9-Dec-1988)
    Nadine (7-Aug-1987) · Nadine Hightower
    Blind Date (27-Mar-1987) · Nadia Gates
    No Mercy (19-Dec-1986)
    Fool for Love (14-May-1986)
    Nine 1/2 Weeks (21-Feb-1986) · Elizabeth
    The Natural (11-May-1984) · Memo Paris
    The Man Who Loved Women (16-Dec-1983)
    Never Say Never Again (7-Oct-1983) · Domino
    Mother Lode (15-Oct-1982) · Andrea Spalding
    Hard Country (Apr-1981)
    From Here to Eternity (14-Feb-1979)
    Katie: Portrait of a Centerfold (23-Oct-1978)
    The Ghost of Flight 401 (18-Feb-1978)


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