Moore, Demi (1962—)

Irrespective of her professional accomplishments, film actress Demi Moore rocketed herself into international controversy in 1991 when she appeared—nude, radiant, and heavy with child—on the cover of Vanity Fair. She thus became an iconic symbol of female liberation to those who admired the exposure and a figure of shameless immodesty to those who were offended by the gesture. Either way, her fame was assured, and she went on to produce as well as star in a series of largely successful films, some of which served to fan the flames of disapproval while making her a very rich woman.

Born Demi Guynes in Roswell, New Mexico, she went to Los Angeles at age 15 and found work in modeling and television. An ongoing role on the popular daytime soap General Hospital, in which she appeared from 1981 to 1983, led her into feature films; however, her first four attempts on the big screen gave her little to do and made no impression. She won her first lead in No Small Affair (1984), as an aspiring singer, performing in tacky clubs, who becomes the love object of teenager Jon Cryer. She came across as an attractive, girl-next-door brunette, with a pleasingly husky voice and the ability to invest in a role with matter-of-fact conviction. The film led to a role in the following year's ensemble piece about college graduates, St. Elmo's Fire (1985). She gave a standout performance as the glamorous, wealthy, and suicidally unhappy member of the group, and Moore became identified as a member of the youthful acting fraternity dubbed the Brat Pack. Also during the 1980s, she made an occasional foray into live theater and won a Theater World award in 1987 for her performance in The Early Girl off-Broadway.

Moore graduated to full adult status in 1990, co-starring with Patrick Swayze and Whoopi Goldberg in the hit romance Ghost, and by 1991, married to star Bruce Willis, she became not only a mother but also a producer, co-starring with her husband in her own production, Mortal Thoughts. The 1990s saw her perform respectably in the military courtroom drama A Few Good Men (1992) with Jack Nicholson and Tom Cruise and, brilliantly, as Woody Allen's Jewish sister in Deconstructing Harry (1997). She also gave the voice to Esmeralda in Disney's animated feature, The Hunchback of Notre Dame in 1996, but the decade marked the emergence of a different direction for Demi Moore.

It became clear that the actress was developing a sharp nose for profitably controversial material. She enhanced her bank balance and raised her profile—though not necessarily the esteem in which she was held—by starring in such highly successful but faintly dubious films as Adrian Lyne's Indecent Proposal (1993) and Barry Levinson's Disclosure (1994). In the former, she was the young wife who, when she and her husband (Woody Harrelson) lose their money in Las Vegas, sells her sexual favors for one night to a millionaire (Robert Redford) in exchange for $1 million; in Levinson's film, based on Michael Crichton's bestseller, she was a driven, manipulative and scheming executive who sexually harasses her subordinate (Michael Douglas). Striptease (1996) lured millions of voyeuristic cinemagoers worldwide with the promise of seeing Demi as they'd never seen her before. Their expectations were disappointed, but the movie made its star a very rich woman indeed. Attempts to redeem her growing image as a sex symbol by playing the title role in GI Jane (1997) misfired; Ridley Scott's film was a failure and Demi took a lot of the critical flak.

Some commentators believe that Demi Moore's success has rested on her making full use of the opportunities to exploit her body for the titillation of audiences. Whether or not this has been the case, by the late 1990s she had proven her credentials as an intelligent and talented actress, and survived controversy and a notoriously stormy marriage (ended in 1998) with every indication that, nearing 40 and possessing the courage to break taboos, she could anticipate a successful continuance of her career.

—Sara Martin

Further Reading:

Bennetts, L. "Demi's State of Grace." Vanity Fair. December,1993, 176-181.

Collins, N. "Demi's Big Moment." Vanity Fair. August, 1991, 96-101.

Conant, J. "Demi's Body Language." Vanity Fair. August,1992, 112-119.

Friend, T. "Demi-tough." Vogue. October, 1995, 278-287.

Heller, Z. "Demi: One of the Boys." Harper's Bazaar. August,1997, 148-155.

Udovitch, M. "Demi Moore." Rolling Stone. February 9, 1995, 38-41.