--- description: The actress turns 65 today, so revisit the characters she's most famous for playing title: Sigourney Weaver's Most Memorable Roles image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e293613895030de/6986a704169ab0d6b827b91f/aliens.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [movies](/tag/movies/) ## movies Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Happy Birthday, Sigourney Weaver: Her Most Memorable Roles by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/) and [Joseph C. Lin](/author/joseph-c-lin/) Oct 8, 2014 2:24 PM CUT  The tough-as-nails Ripley was a breakout role for Weaver, who recently revisited the character for a new Alien video game. The tough-as-nails Ripley was a breakout role for Weaver, who recently revisited the character for a new Alien video game.20TH CENTURY FOX by [Nolan Feeney](/author/nolan-feeney/) and [Joseph C. Lin](/author/joseph-c-lin/) Oct 8, 2014 2:24 PM CUT  The tough-as-nails Ripley was a breakout role for Weaver, who recently revisited the character for a new Alien video game. 20TH CENTURY FOX  Though Weaver's character, Dr. Grace Augustine, died at the end of 2009's Avatar, the actress will come back as a different character in the upcoming sequels. 20th Century Fox  In 1999's meta comedy Galaxy Quest, Weaver played actress Gwen DeMarco, who in turn played the not-so-bright Lt. Tawny Madison. Jerry Watson—Camera Press  As Dana Barrett in the Ghostbusters movies, Weaver knew who to call when paranormal forces set their sights on her apartment. Columbia  Weaver brought the true story of renowned primatologist Dian Fossey, who was mysteriously murdered in 1985, to the big screen in 1988's Gorillas in the Mist. Universal  As Katharine Parker, Weaver was the nightmare boss to Melanie Griffith's Tess McGill in 1988's Working Girl. 20th Century Fox  You wouldn't want to cross Warden Walker, the cruel authority figure in 2003's Holes who made nail polish with rattlesnake venom. Buena Vista ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3462166/sigourney-weaver-birthday-memorable-roles/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3462166/sigourney-weaver-birthday-memorable-roles/"},"headline":"Happy Birthday, Sigourney Weaver: Her Most Memorable Roles","datePublished":"2014-10-08T14:24:59.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T04:50:48.021Z","description":"The actress turns 65 today. Revisit the characters she's most famous for playing","url":"https://time.com/3462166/sigourney-weaver-birthday-memorable-roles/","keywords":["movies","celebrities"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e293613895030de/6986a704169ab0d6b827b91f/aliens.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nolan Feeney","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/nolan-feeney/"},{"@type":"Person","name":"Joseph C. Lin","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/joseph-c-lin/"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0e293613895030de/6986a704169ab0d6b827b91f/aliens.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"aliens","caption":"The tough-as-nails Ripley was a breakout role for Weaver, who recently revisited the character for a new Alien video game.","creditText":"20TH CENTURY FOX","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/movies/","name":"movies"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3462166/sigourney-weaver-birthday-memorable-roles/","name":"Happy Birthday, Sigourney Weaver: Her Most Memorable Roles"}}]}] ```