Jessica Harper

Jessica Harper
Harper in Little Women (1977)
Born	(1949-10-10) October 10, 1949 (age 67) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Alma mater	Sarah Lawrence College
Occupation	Actress, producer, singer, author
Spouse(s)	Tom Rothman (1989–present; 2 children)

Jessica Harper (born October 10, 1949) is an American actress and producer, as well as a singer. Harper made her feature film debut in Inserts (1974), followed by a starring role in Brian De Palma's Phantom of the Paradise (1974). She played the lead role in Dario Argento's horror cult classic Suspiria (1977), for which she is best remembered. Other films include Shock Treatment (1981), The Blue Iguana (1988), Safe (1995), and Minority Report (2002). In addition to acting, Harper is also an author of children's music and books.

Harper was born in Chicago, Illinois, the daughter of Eleanor (née Emery), a writer, and Paul Church Harper, Jr., a painter and the former chairman of the Needham Harper Worldwide advertising agency in New York. She attended the North Shore Country Day School and Sarah Lawrence College. She has three brothers, including a twin brother, William Harper, a composer, Sam Harper, a screenwriter and director, Charles Harper, and two sisters, Lindsay Harper duPont and Diana Harper.

Harper has appeared in more than twenty motion pictures, most notably in My Favorite Year, alongside Peter O'Toole and Mark Linn-Baker; and costarring with Steve Martin and Bernadette Peters in Pennies from Heaven. Woody Allen featured her in his films Stardust Memories and Love and Death. She appeared in the fourth season of It's Garry Shandling's Show and in the Steven Spielberg/Tom Cruise film Minority Report. She was seen in a 2005 episode ("Forget Me Not") of the television series Crossing Jordan.