Diane Venora (born August 10, 1952) is an American stage, television, and film actress.
Venora was born Diana Venora in East Hartford, Connecticut, the daughter of Marie and Robert Venora, who owned a dry cleaning establishment. She left Connecticut for a scholarship at Juilliard School. After graduation, she performed extensively on the stage, particularly in Shakespearean plays.
Venora made her film debut alongside Albert Finney and Gregory Hines in "Wolfen" (1981). In 1983, she starred in Joseph Papp's production of Hamlet at the New York Shakespeare Festival in the lead role, the first woman to play the role at the prestigious showcase. She has a remarkable history with Hamlet, having played the title role, having played Ophelia opposite Kevin Kline, and having played Gertrude onscreen opposite Ethan Hawke.
She was married to cinematographer Andrzej Bartkowiak, but later divorced him. After the divorce, she lived in New York with her daughter, Madzia, traveling often for work. She quit show business when Madzia was eight to spend more time with her daughter. During her seven-year hiatus, Venora stayed close to home, teaching disadvantaged children and acting in an occasional play. When Madzia was 15, Venora took her to Los Angeles and soon landed a starring role in the ABC TV series Thunder Alley (playing Ed Asner's character's daughter), and a recurring role as plastic surgeon Geri Infante in the Emmy-winning TV series Chicago Hope.
In 1988, her critically acclaimed performance in Clint Eastwood's biographical feature of jazz great Charlie Parker, Bird, as Chan Parker, his wife, earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination and the New York Film Critics Circle Award.
In 1995, she starred opposite Al Pacino and Robert De Niro in Heat, earning high regard from both critics and audiences for her role of Justine Hanna, the Pacino character's troubled wife. That performance and her follow-up as Juliet's mother, Gloria Capulet, in Romeo + Juliet (1996) earned her supporting roles in The Jackal (1997) and The 13th Warrior (1999).
