Table of Biography
Tess Harper is a popular actress from the United States. Tess Harper’s role in 1983’s “Tender Mercies” earn her Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress nomination. As well as she earned the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in the 1986 film “Crimes of the Heart.”
Early Life
Tess Harper was born in Mammoth Spring, Arkansas, the United States, on the 15th of August 1950. Her full name is Tessie Jean Harper and holds American nationality. According to astrology, she has a birth sign of Leo and is currently 73 years old.
She was born to her father Ed Washman and her mother Rosemary. Meanwhile, her father operated Washam’s Hardware. Similarly, she grew up with her brother and sister whose identities are unknown.
Education
Harper attended Arkansas State University-Beebe, where she appeared in numerous plays. She then earned a degree in education from Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University) in Springfield, Missouri.
Professional Career
Tess Harper began acting in numerous plays, dinner theaters, children’s theaters, and amusement parks after graduating. Despite her efforts, she was unable to land a film part. After losing hope, she began working for a Texas-based financial firm.
She had the opportunity to pursue her acting career while working on the film “Tender Mercies.” Moreover, she was cast as Rosa Lee, the young widowed mother who marries country singer Mac Sledge. “Tender Mercies” was Harper’s feature film debut. She received a Golden Globe Award nomination for the performance.
Caption: The poster of the1983 film, Tender Mercies (Source: Amazon.com)
She starred in the TV miniseries “Chiefs” (1983) and “Celebrity” (1984), as well as other television films such as “Starflight: The Plane That Couldn’t Land” (1983) and “Reckless Disregard” (1985). “Silkwood,” a full-length film released in 1983, starred her.
She received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress in 1986 for her role as Chick Boyle in “Crimes of the Heart,” directed by Bruce Beresford, who also directed Tender Mercies. She later appeared in the films “Ishtar” (1987), “Far North” (1988), “The Man in the Moon” (1991), “The Jackal” (1997), and “Loggerheads” (2005).
She also appeared in Michael Jackson’s 1991 music video “Black or White” as the mother. Moreover, she was a regular on the CBS series “Christy” from 1994 to 1995, playing mountain lady Fairlight Spencer.
Continued her successful career
From 1996 to 2000, she also had a recurrent role on the CBS television series “Early Edition.” She played the mother of the major character, Gary Hobsen.
Moreover, she received a Screen Actors Guild Award (in the Best Ensemble Cast category) alongside her co-stars in the Academy Award-winning film “No Country for Old Men,” in which she portrayed Tommy Lee Jones’ wife. In the first three seasons of “Breaking Bad,” she played the recurrent character Mrs. Pinkman.
Some of her recent television works are “Grey’s Anatomy” (2010), “Revenge” (2012), “True Detective” (2014), “Criminal Minds” (2015), and “How to Get Away with Murder” (2019). Similarly, her recent big projects include “Hello, My Name Is Frank” (2014), “The Perfect Guy” (2015), “El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie” (2019), “The Evening Hour” (2020), and “American Outlaws” (2023).
Awards
To this day, this actress has earned five awards and three nominations. In 2004, she won the Best Actress in a Short Film for ‘Lonely Place’ in Method Fest. She earned the Best Acting by an Ensemble for her works in ‘No Country for Old Men’ in 2007 National Board of Review. In 208, she won the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for her works in ‘No Country for Old Men.’ That same year, she earned the Gold Derby Awards for Ensemble Cast. She earned the Lifetime Achievement Award in the 2011 California Independent Film Festival.
Net Worth
According to online reports, Harper’s net worth is estimated at around $4 million. However, she has not yet mentioned her salary and income. Primarly, the actress earns through her acting roles in TV series and movies.
Relationship Status
As per now, Tess Harper is currently single and is not dating anyone at the moment. However, she was previously married to Ken Harper in 1971 but they could not maintain a relationship and ended in divorce. The couple had no kids in their relationship. Meanwhile, she has managed to keep her profile low and she has not provided information about her present relationship and affair.
Body Measurement
Caption: Tess Harper posing for a photo (Source: www.nabchelny.ru)
This beautiful actress stands 5 feet 5 inches tall and weighs around 56 kg. Moreover, she has a pair of blue eyes with blonde hair colour and her body measurement is 35-23-36 inches.
Social Media
Harper prefers to keep her profile low. She does not appear to be active on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.