Daryl Hannah Biography Quotes 29 Report mistakes

Early Life and Family
Daryl Christine Hannah was born on December 3, 1960, in Chicago, Illinois. She grew up in a family that connected her to both business and the arts: her mother later married Chicago real-estate developer Jerrold Wexler, and through that marriage cinematographer Haskell Wexler became part of her extended family. Her father, Donald Hannah, worked in the shipping business. She was raised alongside siblings, including her sister Page Hannah, who would also become an actor and later a philanthropist known as Page Adler. From an early age Daryl described herself as painfully shy and has spoken publicly about being diagnosed with autism in childhood and struggling with insomnia, finding refuge in movies and storytelling.

Hannah attended school in Chicago and then moved to Los Angeles, where she studied at the University of Southern California. By her late teens she was auditioning and working in film, encouraged by mentors and friends in the industry while maintaining close ties to her family, especially Page, whose later marriage to producer and music impresario Lou Adler further tied the family to the entertainment world.

Breakthrough and 1980s Stardom
Hannah made an early screen appearance in Brian De Palma's The Fury (1978) and found steady work in the early 1980s. Her breakthrough came with Ridley Scott's Blade Runner (1982), in which she played the acrobatic replicant Pris opposite Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, and Sean Young. The role established her as a striking, physically inventive performer who could combine vulnerability with danger.

She followed with Ron Howard's Splash (1984), starring as the mermaid Madison opposite Tom Hanks, John Candy, and Eugene Levy. The film's popularity made her a household name. Subsequent starring roles included Legal Eagles (1986) with Robert Redford and Debra Winger, the prehistoric drama The Clan of the Cave Bear (1986), and Roxanne (1987), a modern Cyrano adaptation directed by Fred Schepisi and starring Steve Martin. She capped the decade with Oliver Stone's Wall Street (1987) and the ensemble comedy Steel Magnolias (1989), working alongside Sally Field, Julia Roberts, Dolly Parton, Shirley MacLaine, and Olympia Dukakis.

1990s to 2000s: Range, Setbacks, and Resilience
The 1990s brought varied projects. Hannah reunited with high-profile directors and stars in films such as Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992) with Chevy Chase and Sam Neill, and At Play in the Fields of the Lord (1991). She appeared in Grumpy Old Men (1993) and its sequel with Jack Lemmon and Walter Matthau, playing Melanie, and took on edgier parts including in the improvisational strip-club drama Dancing at the Blue Iguana (2000). Not every film drew praise, but she maintained a reputation for choosing offbeat material and committing fully to physical and character work.

A notable resurgence came with Quentin Tarantino's Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) and Vol. 2 (2004), where she portrayed the lethal Elle Driver opposite Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Michael Madsen, and Lucy Liu. The role reintroduced her to a new generation, highlighting the athleticism and icy wit that had marked her earliest successes.

Later Work and Direction
Hannah continued to balance film, television, and independent projects. She appeared in the Wachowskis' series Sense8 (2015, 2018) as the enigmatic Angelica, extending her genre legacy. She also moved behind the camera. After an earlier documentary short, Strip Notes (1998), she wrote and directed Paradox (2018), a music-infused feature set in the American West starring Neil Young and members of his band. Across these ventures she often collaborated with friends and partners who supported her creative shift into writing and directing.

Environmental and Social Activism
Parallel to her screen career, Hannah became an outspoken environmental advocate. She helped found the Sustainable Biodiesel Alliance to promote responsible biofuels and launched the DH Love Life online video series to share practical approaches to low-impact living, from solar energy to urban gardening. She supported organizations focused on ocean conservation and sustainable agriculture, and she frequently worked alongside grassroots activists rather than remaining a distant spokesperson.

Her activism led to high-profile civil disobedience. In 2006 she was arrested during the eviction of the South Central Farm in Los Angeles after climbing a walnut tree to protest the loss of the community garden. She participated in national climate actions, including protests against the Keystone XL pipeline in Washington, D.C., where she was again arrested during nonviolent demonstrations. These actions aligned her with environmental leaders and artists who used their platforms for climate and land-rights issues.

Personal Life
Hannah has been linked over the years to figures from music and public life, including a longtime relationship with John F. Kennedy Jr. and a prominent partnership with singer-songwriter Jackson Browne in the early 1990s. In 2018 she married musician Neil Young, with whom she has collaborated artistically as well as in environmental efforts. Family remains a throughline: she has publicly supported the philanthropic work of her sister Page Adler, who co-founded The Painted Turtle, a camp in the SeriousFun Children's Network launched by Paul Newman.

Hannah has spoken candidly about her neurodivergence and shyness, framing them as part of the perspective she brings to performance and activism. She has emphasized practical sustainability in her own life, including the use of renewable energy at home and eco-conscious travel, integrating personal choices with public advocacy.

Legacy
Daryl Hannah's career traces a distinctive path through American film: an early breakthrough in science fiction, mainstream stardom in romantic and character-driven comedies, and a later embrace of risk-taking roles and independent projects. Her collaborations with Ridley Scott, Ron Howard, Oliver Stone, and Quentin Tarantino positioned her at key moments in contemporary cinema, while ensembles with actors such as Tom Hanks, Steve Martin, and Uma Thurman showcased her tonal range. Offscreen, her sustained environmental engagement and willingness to risk arrest placed her among the most visible artist-activists of her generation. Through decades of work, the people around her, family like Page Adler and Jerrold Wexler, creative partners from Harrison Ford to Neil Young, and organizers on the front lines of environmental justice, have shaped a life that bridges Hollywood visibility with hands-on advocacy.

Our collection contains 29 quotes who is written by Daryl, under the main topics: Witty One-Liners - Justice - Live in the Moment - Nature - Pet Love.

Other people realated to Daryl: Brion James (Actor), Steve Guttenberg (Actor), Ivan Reitman (Actor), Peter Gallagher (Actor), Shane West (Actor), William Sanderson (Actor), James Hansen (Scientist), Tom Skerritt (Actor), Randal Kleiser (Director)