Rebecca De Mornay
Biography
Rebecca De Mornay, born Rebecca Jane Pearch on August 29, 1959, is an American film and television actress. She was born in Santa Rosa, California, United States. De Mornay’s breakthrough came in 1983 when she portrayed Lana opposite Tom Cruise in the film Risky Business. She later appeared as Sara in the 1985 movie Runaway Train, as Helen McCaffrey in the 1991 thriller Backdraft, and as the nanny Peyton Flanders in the 1992 thriller The Hand That Rocks the Cradle. According to The Movie Database she has seventy credited roles across film and television. She is identified as female and is known primarily for her work as an actress.
Career overview
Rebecca De Mornay, born Rebecca Jane Pearch on August 29, 1959 in Santa Rosa, California, is an American actress whose career spans film and television. She entered the industry under the name Rebecca De Mornay and quickly gained recognition for her breakthrough performance in the 1983 film Risky Business, in which she portrayed Lana opposite Tom Cruise. The role established her as a notable presence in Hollywood during the early 1980s.
Following that success, De Mornay continued to take on prominent supporting parts. In 1985 she appeared as Sara in Runaway Train, and a few years later, in 1991, she played Helen McCaffrey in the thriller Backdraft. Her portrayal of the unsettling nanny Peyton Flanders in the 1992 thriller The Hand That Rocks the Cradle further cemented her reputation for delivering compelling, often intense characters. These performances contributed to a body of work that includes a variety of genres and showcases her versatility on screen.
Across her career, De Mornay has accumulated roughly seventy credited roles, reflecting a sustained presence in both film and television. Her contributions have been recognized within industry databases, where she is listed under both her professional name and her birth name. The breadth of her filmography underscores her long‑standing involvement in the entertainment field.
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Frequent co-stars
Career timeline
Full filmography
- Saint Clare (2025) as Arlene 'Gigi' Newberry
- Off the Record (2025) as Kate
- Peter Five Eight (2024) as Brenda
- Angel Baby (2023) as Maggie
- She Ball (2020) as Aggie
- Periphery (2018) as Vi Warner
- Lucifer (2016) as Penelope
- Lucifer (2016) as Penelope Decker
- I Am Wrath (2016) as Vivian Hill
- Marvel's Jessica Jones (2015) as Dorothy Walker
- Collar (2015) as Ramona Billingsley
- Running on Empty: An Interview with Andrei Konchalovsky (2013) as Sara (archive footage)
- American Reunion (2012) as Finch's Mom (uncredited)
- Apartment 1303 3D (2012) as Maddie Slate
- Hawaii Five-0 (2010) as Barbara Cotchin
- Flipped (2010) as Patsy Loski
- Mother's Day (2010) as Natalie 'Mother' Koffin
- Celebrity Ghost Stories (2009) as Self
- The Dream Is Always the Same: The Story of Risky Business (2008) as Self
- John from Cincinnati (2007) as Cissy Yost
- Music Within (2007) as Richard's Mom
- American Venus (2007) as Celia
- Wedding Crashers (2005) as Mrs. Kroeger
- Lords of Dogtown (2005) as Philaine
- Raise Your Voice (2004) as Nina Fletcher
- NCIS (2003) as Carla Marino
- Identity (2003) as Caroline Suzanne
- Salem Witch Trials (2003) as Elizabeth Parris
- A Girl Thing (2001) as Kim McCormack
- The Right Temptation (2000) as Derian McCall
- Lost On Everest (2000)
- Range of Motion (2000) as Lainey Berman
- Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (1999) as Tessa McKellen
- Thick as Thieves (1999) as Petrone
- Wicked Ways (1999) as Ruth Draper
- Wicked Ways (1999) Co-Executive Producer
- Night Ride Home (1999) as Nora Mahler
- The Con (1998) as Barbara Beaton / Nancy Thoroughgood
- The Practice (1997) as Hannah Rose
- The Shining (1997) as Wendy Torrance
- The Winner (1996) as Louise
- The Winner (1996) Executive Producer
- The Outer Limits (1995) as Woman
- The Outer Limits (1995) Director
- Lo + plus (1995) as Self - Guest
- Never Talk to Strangers (1995) as Dr. Sarah Alison Taylor
- Never Talk to Strangers (1995) Executive Producer
- ER (1994) as Elaine Nichols
- Getting Out (1994) as Arlene Holsclaw
- The Three Musketeers (1993) as Milady de Winter
- Guilty as Sin (1993) as Jennifer Haines
- Blind Side (1993) as Lynn Kaines
- The Hand That Rocks the Cradle (1992) as Mrs. Mott / Peyton Flanders
- Backdraft (1991) as Helen McCaffrey
- An Inconvenient Woman (1991) as Flo
- By Dawn's Early Light (1990) as Moreau
- Dealers (1989) as Anna Schuman
- Tanner '88 (1988) as Self
- And God Created Woman (1988) as Robin Shea
- Feds! (1988) as Ellis DeWitt
- Beauty and the Beast (1987) as Beauty
- Pecos Bill (1986) as Rose 'Slew Foot Sue' Peasley
- The Murders in the Rue Morgue (1986) as Claire Dupin
- Tall Tales & Legends (1985) as Rose 'Slew Foot Sue' Peasley
- Runaway Train (1985) as Sara
- The Trip to Bountiful (1985) as Thelma
- The Slugger's Wife (1985) as Debby Palmer
- Risky Business (1983) as Lana
- Testament (1983) as Cathy Pitkin
- American Playhouse (1982) as Cathy Pitkin
- One from the Heart (1982) as Understudy
- Spinal Tap: The Final Tour (1981) as Hot Tub Groupie
- NOVA (1974) as Narrator
- The Up and Comer
- Giving Thanks as Aunt Theodora