Editing Sigourney Weaver (section)

=== 1970s: Initial work and breakthrough ===
Weaver performed in the first production of the [[Stephen Sondheim]] musical ''[[The Frogs (musical)|The Frogs]]'' while at Yale in 1974, alongside [[Larry Blyden]] and fellow students [[Meryl Streep]] and Durang.<ref>{{cite web|last=Rothstein|first=Mervyn|date=July 22, 2020|title=Flashback to When Nathan Lane Resurrected Stephen Sondheim's The Frogs|url=https://www.playbill.com/article/flashback-to-when-nathan-lane-resurrected-stephen-sondheims-the-frogs-com-120649|access-date=January 2, 2021|website=Playbill}}</ref> She was briefly an understudy in a [[John Gielgud]] production of ''[[Captain Brassbound's Conversion]]'' thereafter.<ref name="INT2012" /> She also acted in numerous original plays by Durang.<ref name="INT2012" /> In 1974 she made her [[Broadway (theatre)|Broadway]] debut in the [[William Somerset Maugham]] play ''[[The Constant Wife]]'' acting opposite [[Ingrid Bergman]].<ref>{{cite web|url= https://playbill.com/production/the-constant-wife-shubert-theatre-vault-0000010470|title= The Constant Wife (Broadway, 1974)|website= Playbill|access-date= July 23, 2024}}</ref> Before her on-screen breakthrough, she had appeared only in commercials, a few television roles (including an appearance in the soap opera ''[[Somerset (TV series)|Somerset]]''), and had a small part in the [[Woody Allen]]-directed romantic comedy-drama ''[[Annie Hall]]'' (1977).<ref name="InterviewMarch2015">{{cite journal|last=Curtis|first=Jamie Lee|author-link=Jamie Lee Curtis|date=March 2015|title=Sigourney Weaver profile|url=https://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/sigourney-weaver/#_|url-status=live|journal=Interview|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150226113122/http://www.interviewmagazine.com/film/sigourney-weaver#_|archive-date=February 26, 2015|access-date=February 27, 2015}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Lack|first=Hannah|date=May 13, 2020|title=From the Archive: Sigourney Weaver on Her Most Iconic Roles|url=https://www.anothermag.com/fashion-beauty/12511/from-the-archive-sigourney-weave-on-her-most-iconic-roles|access-date=January 2, 2021|website=Another Magazine}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last=Levine|first=Stuart|date=March 6, 2012|title=Sigourney Weaver set for 'Animals'|url=https://variety.com/2012/tv/news/sigourney-weaver-set-for-animals-1118051137/|access-date=January 2, 2021|website=Variety}}</ref> Her originally more substantial ''Annie Hall'' role was scaled back due to her commitment to the Durang play ''[[Titanic (play)|Titanic]]''.<ref>{{cite web|last=Shaw|first=Dorsey|date=September 28, 2010|title=Last Night on Late Night: Sigourney Weaver Turned Down Woody Allen To Hide a Hedgehog in Her Vagina|url=https://www.playbill.com/article/flashback-to-when-nathan-lane-resurrected-stephen-sondheims-the-frogs-com-120649|access-date=January 2, 2021|website=Vulture}}</ref> {{quote box
| quote = "One of the real pleasures of ''Alien'' is to watch the emergence of both Ellen Ripley as a character and Sigourney Weaver as a star."<!-- https://www.newspapers.com/article/the-boston-globe-alien/135280951/ -->
| source = - Ty Burr, ''The Boston Globe'', 29 October 2003
| align = right
| width = 25em
}}

Weaver appeared two years later as Warrant Officer / Lieutenant [[Ellen Ripley|Ripley]] in [[Ridley Scott]]'s [[Blockbuster (entertainment)|blockbuster]] film ''[[Alien (film)|Alien]]'' (1979), in a role initially designated to co-star British-born actress [[Veronica Cartwright]] until a late change in casting. Cartwright stated to World Entertainment News Network (WENN) that she was in England ready to start work on ''Alien'' when she discovered that she would be playing the navigator Lambert in the project, and Weaver had been given the lead role of [[Ellen Ripley]].<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.newshub.co.nz/home/syspages/--headline--.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161215121757/http://www.newshub.co.nz/home/syspages/--headline--.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 15, 2016 |title=Veronica Cartwright still puzzled about Alien snub |newspaper=[[Newshub]] |date=July 8, 2011 |via=www.newshub.co.nz}}</ref> Reviews of the film were initially mixed, but it has since been ranked among the greatest science fiction horror films and is Weaver's first film to be inducted into the [[National Film Registry]] by the [[Library of Congress]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Critic |first=Peter Howell Movie |date=2015-09-03 |title=Why Alien is one of the most influential movies ever made: Howell |url=https://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/why-alien-is-one-of-the-most-influential-movies-ever-made-howell/article_9ec668ca-a15f-5bb9-893a-10c36fdff6b3.html |access-date=2024-08-17 |website=Toronto Star |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=Librarian of Congress Adds 25 Films to National Film Registry |url=https://www.loc.gov/item/prn-02-176/librarian-of-congress-adds-25-films-to-national-film-registry/2002-12-17/ |access-date=2024-08-17 |website=Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. 20540 USA}}</ref> Film critic [[Gene Siskel]] called Weaver "an actress who should become a major star,"<ref>[[Gene Siskel|Siskel, Gene]] (May 25, 1979). "Faint praise: Alien' succeeds in the scare department". ''[[Chicago Tribune]]''. Section 3, p. 2.</ref> and [[Peter Bradshaw]] of ''[[The Guardian]]'' said that Weaver "begins the action looking girlish and serious, but changes into the toughly self-reliant woman who defined her subsequent roles. Her career evolves before our very eyes."<ref>{{Cite news |last=Bradshaw |first=Peter |date=2019-03-01 |title=Alien review – Ridley Scott's masterpiece is lethally contemporary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2019/mar/01/alien-review-ridley-scott-lethally-contemporary-masterpiece |access-date=2024-08-17 |work=The Guardian |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref> Among other accolades, she was nominated for [[BAFTA Award for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles|Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles]] at the [[33rd British Academy Film Awards]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Film in 1980 {{!}} BAFTA Awards |url=https://awards.bafta.org/award/1980/film/ |access-date=2024-08-17 |website=awards.bafta.org}}</ref>