Ellen Barkin was born on April 16, 1954, in the Bronx, New York, to Evelyn Rozin, a hospital administrator, and Sol Barkin, a chemical salesman, both from Russian Jewish families. Raised in the South Bronx and Queens, New York area, she wanted to be an actress as early as her teens and was eventually accepted into Manhattan's High School of the Performing Arts.
Barkin then attended Hunter College and received her degree after double majoring in history and drama. She studied acting for seven years before landing her first audition. While continuing her studies, she worked as a waitress at the avant-garde Ocean Club. She performed off-Broadway in plays such as "Shout Across the River," "Extremities," "Fool for Love," and "Eden Court."
She was applauded for her first film lead in "Diner" opposite Mickey Rourke and Daniel Stern. She pursued sexy, tough-cookie status with quirky roles in "The Big Easy" starring Dennis Quaid and "Siesta" with Irish actor Gabriel Byrne, whom she married in 1987 and separated from in 1993 after producing a son and daughter. They divorced in 1999.
With her trademark squinting eyes and slightly off-kilter facial features, Barkin continued to fascinate audiences with her seamy/steamy girl-from-the-wrong-side-of-the-tracks status. She was well-cast in roles such as "Sea of Love" opposite Al Pacino, "This Boy's Life" with Robert De Niro, and "Wild Bill" with earnest.
Barkin won an Emmy award for her gripping performance in "Before Women Had Wings" opposite Oprah Winfrey. She was also well-cast in the mini-movie "Blood Money" and appeared in films such as "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas," "Drop Dead Gorgeous," and "Mercy."
In 2000, Barkin married billionaire Ronald O. Perelman, eleven years her senior and chairman of the Revlon company, and put her career relatively on hold. She appeared sporadically in edgy films like "She Hate Me" and "Palindromes."
Barkin ventured into independent film production with Applehead Pictures, a company she set up with her brother George Barkin, a scriptwriter and former editor-in-chief of National Lampoon and High Times, and former Independent Film Channel executive Caroline Kaplan. She co-starred in "Ocean's Thirteen" with George Clooney, Matt Damon, Brad Pitt, and former co-star Al Pacino.
She followed up "Ocean's" with a supporting role in "Brooklyn's Finest" and appeared in "Happy Tears" with Parker Posey and Demi Moore, and "Twelve." Barkin has produced features over time, including "Letters to Juliet" and "Another Happy Day," in which she also starred.
On the small screen, she appeared in an episode of "Modern Family" and her new NBC show, "The New Normal," got a sneak peek during the Olympics. More recent sightings have included the films "The Chameleon," "Very Good Girls," "The Cobbler," "Hands of Stone," and "Active Adults."
