She has show biz in her blood. Martha Plimpton was born November 16,
1970, in New York City to two actors: Keith Carradine and Shelley Plimpton. Martha began
her career at age 8, when her mom had a friend of hers, composer
Elizabeth Swados, enroll her in an actors' workshop. At age 10, she got a small
part in Das Rollover-Komplott (1981), and also made a series of Calvin Klein commercials.
Her first substantial film role was as a tomboy in Nur der Tod ist umsonst (1984); the
following year, Steven Spielberg cast her in Die Goonies (1985). Martha met River Phoenix while
they were both filming Mosquito Coast (1986), but since she was only 15 at the time,
she did not go out with him. Even though she had a small part in the
movie, it established her as a serious actress. Martha appeared in
movies such as the screwball comedy Stars and Bars - Der ganz normale amerikanische Wahnsinn (1988) and, that same year, she
was paired again with Phoenix in Die Flucht ins Ungewisse (1988). They dated for a while and
then broke up. For a while, she was engaged to actor Jon Patrick Walker.
As if making movies didn't keep her busy enough, Martha frequently
worked at theaters and made her Chicago debut with the Steppenwolf
Theatre Company Ensemble in "The Libertine" in 1996. As a member of
that ensemble, she received a National Medal of Arts award in the
autumn of 1998. As for movies, Colin Fitz (1997) and Das Auge Gottes (1997) in which she plays
the starring role, have been run at the Sundance Film Festival.
Although some recent movies have had low box office (Der Pecker (1998) $2.1
million, and Eine Nacht in New York (1999) $6.8 million), Martha's performances shine and she
often rises above her material.
Perhaps recalling how important acting lessons were to her as a child,
she donates her time and efforts to the "52nd Street Project" which is
a not-for-profit organization dedicated to matching the inner-city
children with professional theater artists to create original theater,
by writing, directing and performing their own plays. Perhaps one of
the inner-city kids she is coaching will be the next famous actress in
Hollywood.
