Jessica Harper

Biography: Birdlike, wide-eyed, brunette American actress Jessica Harper headed for New York after graduation from Sarah Lawrence college; her first professional gig was an understudy in the "tribal love rock musical" Hair. It would be one of the few major financial successes that Harper would ever be associated with. The actress is considered the uncrowned queen of "cult" films, among them such esoterica as Phantom of the Paradise (1974), Inserts (1977), and The Blue Iguana (1988), in which she played a female Castro! Even when selecting a "mainstream" role, Harper's choices have been somewhat offbeat: as Steve Martin's put-upon wife in Pennies from Heaven (1981), she has a musical number in which he imagines hacking her husband to death with a knife! Harper was at her most normal, and most appealing, in the nostalgic comedy My Favorite Year (1982), in which she played the girlfriend of "Mel Brooks-ish" comedy writer Mark Linn Baker. In Stardust Memories (1980), she was one of manyBirdlike, wide-eyed, brunette American actress Jessica Harper headed for New York after graduation from Sarah Lawrence college; her first professional gig was an understudy in the "tribal love rock musical" Hair. It would be one of the few major financial successes that Harper would ever be associated with. The actress is considered the uncrowned queen of "cult" films, among them such esoterica as Phantom of the Paradise (1974), Inserts (1977), and The Blue Iguana (1988), in which she played a female Castro! Even when selecting a "mainstream" role, Harper's choices have been somewhat offbeat: as Steve Martin's put-upon wife in Pennies from Heaven (1981), she has a musical number in which he imagines hacking her husband to death with a knife! Harper was at her most normal, and most appealing, in the nostalgic comedy My Favorite Year (1982), in which she played the girlfriend of "Mel Brooks-ish" comedy writer Mark Linn Baker. In Stardust Memories (1980), she was one of many stellar contributors to Woody Allen's impressionistic vision of fame. Offscreen, Jessica Harper is the wife of motion picture executive Thomas E. Rothman. Expand

Jessica Harper's Scores

  • TV
Average career score: 76
Highest Metascore: 76 Ally McBeal: Season 2
Lowest Metascore: 76 Ally McBeal: Season 2
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
1 tv review
Title: Year: Credit: User score:
tbd Crossing Jordan: Season 4 Sep 26, 2004 Dorris tbd
76 Ally McBeal: Season 2 Sep 14, 1998 Sister Helen McCarthy tbd
tbd Tales from the Crypt: Season 2 Apr 21, 1990 Actor tbd
tbd It's Garry Shandling's Show: Season 4 Nov 10, 1989 Phoebe Bass tbd
tbd Wiseguy: Season 2 Oct 26, 1988 Jenny tbd
tbd The Equalizer: Season 2 Oct 8, 1986 Actor / Jessica Harper tbd
tbd Moonlighting: Season 3 Sep 23, 1986 Jeanine Dalton tbd