---
name: "Ellen Barkin"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/ellen-barkin"
fi1m_id: "ellen-barkin"
imdb_id: "nm0000289"
tmdb_id: 6913
wikidata_id: "Q229234"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "16 April 1954"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 7
average_fi1m_score: 79
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 6
updated: "2026-10-04T21:00:45.271790+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Ellen Barkin

## Identity

Ellen Barkin

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/ellen-barkin
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** ellen-barkin
- **IMDb ID:** nm0000289
- **TMDB ID:** 6913
- **Wikidata ID:** Q229234
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Barkin, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q229234, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000289/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/6913

Actor. Born 16 April 1954 in New York City, New York, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 16 April 1954, New York City, New York, USA
- **Active:** 1982–2007
- **Also known as:** Ellen Rona Barkin, الن بارکین
- **Titles on Fi1m:** 7: 6 acting, 1 other
- **Frequently works with:** [Al Pacino](https://film.one/person/al-pacino.md), [Jerry Weintraub](https://film.one/person/jerry-weintraub.md)
- **Primetime Emmy Awards:** 2 Emmys (2 won)
- **Average Fi1m score:** 79, as actor, over 6 titles
- **Fi1m score by decade:** 1970s 56 (1), 1980s 82 (4), 1990s 82 (1), 2000s 63 (1)
- **Fi1m against the critics:** 79 to 75 across 6 titles
- **Score spread:** 4 at 80+, 2 at 60–79, 0 under 60
- **Lead roles:** 1 of 5 acting credits billed first or second
- **Genres:** Drama 4, Comedy 3, Crime 3, Romance 2, Animation 1, Family 1
- **Screen time:** 9 hours of reviewed films
- **Box office:** $446m across 5 films with figures
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ellen_Barkin, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q229234, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000289/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/6913

## Streaming the US now

- **Amazon Prime Video:** [*Tender Mercies*](https://film.one/film/tender-mercies.md) (86)
- **HBO Max:** [*Down by Law*](https://film.one/film/down-by-law.md) (83)

For United States; add `?region=XX` for another country.

## Fi1m on Ellen Barkin

> Ellen Barkin’s narrowed eyes and lopsided grin give toughness a welcome trace of humour. We rate her blunt persuasiveness, and wish more of her films gave her as much room as the men.

In *Diner* (1982), Ellen Barkin makes Beth Schreiber seem worth far more attention than the film gives her. Barry Levinson lets the men be funny, selfish and reluctant to grow up, and Barkin is equally persuasive with less space. We recommend it warmly, though Levinson is sometimes too content to enjoy the male selfishness he notices. Barkin gives us a reason to mind the imbalance.

Her squint and lopsided grin suit the tough, sexually assertive parts that became familiar during the 1980s, including Helen Cruger opposite Al Pacino in *Sea of Love* (1989). The useful thing is how readily humour or vulnerability can complicate that toughness. The casting could be limiting, and being repeatedly asked to play sexual confidence does not give an actor much chance to surprise us. Caroline, her maternal role in *This Boy’s Life* (1993), offered a different sort of part.

*Ocean’s Thirteen* (2007) makes the limitation harder to overlook. As Abigail Sponder, Bank’s right hand, Barkin is the only woman with a substantial part, and Soderbergh mainly needs her to be made a fool of. She plays broadly and earns the laughs, but we laughed with some embarrassment because the joke falls on her while the men escape it. It takes comic judgement to get a laugh out of such a thankless assignment. The film passes pleasantly enough, but we would not choose it as an introduction to her.

Television gave her a lead as Smurf, the crime-family matriarch in *Animal Kingdom* (2016–2019). Her account of the work is practical: “My job is to make the whole picture look better, not jam all my acting chops into the few scenes I’ve got.” That approach helps explain why she remains worth watching in a supporting part that gives her too little. Start with *Diner*, and pay Beth the attention the film cannot always spare.

## Biography

Ellen Barkin is an American actress. Born on 16 April 1954 in the Bronx, New York, she trained at the High School of Performing Arts and Hunter College before beginning her career on stage and in television.

Her breakthrough came with the 1982 film *Diner*. Subsequent roles include *Tender Mercies* (1983), *The Big Easy* (1986), *Sea of Love* (1989), *This Boy's Life* (1993), *Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas* (1998) and *Ocean's Thirteen* (2007), in which she played Abigail Sponder. She has also appeared in the series *Modern Family* and *Animal Kingdom*.

Barkin received a Primetime Emmy Award for the television film *Before Women Had Wings* (1997) and a Tony Award for her Broadway debut in *The Normal Heart* (2011).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (7)

### Performed in (6) — the average rests on these

- *Ocean's Thirteen* (2007), Fi1m 63, as Abigail Sponder — [page](https://film.one/film/oceans-thirteen.md)
- *King of the Hill* (1997), Fi1m 82, as Lenore (voice) — [page](https://film.one/tv/king-of-the-hill-1997.md)
- *Sea of Love* (1989), Fi1m 75, as Helen Cruger — [page](https://film.one/film/sea-of-love.md)
- *Down by Law* (1986), Fi1m 83, as Laurette — [page](https://film.one/film/down-by-law.md)
- *Tender Mercies* (1983), Fi1m 86, as Sue Anne — [page](https://film.one/film/tender-mercies.md)
- *Diner* (1982), Fi1m 84, as Beth Schreiber — [page](https://film.one/film/diner.md)

### Also credited (1) — thanks, archive footage, uncredited

- *Up in Smoke* (1978), Fi1m 56, as Woman Playing Guitar (uncredited) — [page](https://film.one/film/up-in-smoke.md)

## Complete filmography (68)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The Out-Laws* (2023), as Lilly McDermott
- *Poker Face* (2023), series, as Kathleen Townsend — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/poker-face.md)
- *The Man from Toronto* (2022), as The Handler
- *Breaking News in Yuba County* (2021), as Debbie
- *Active Adults* (2017), as Lucy
- *The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks* (2017), as Sasha Walz
- *Hands of Stone* (2016), as Stephanie Arcel
- *Animal Kingdom* (2016), series, as Janine "Smurf" Cody
- *HAPPYish* (2015), series, as Dani Kirschenbloom
- *The Cobbler* (2014), as Elaine Greenawalt
- *Very Good Girls* (2013), as Norma Berger
- *The New Normal* (2012), series, as Jane Forrest
- *Another Happy Day* (2011), as Lynn · Producer
- *Twelve* (2010), as Jessica's Mother
- *Operation: Endgame* (2010), as Empress
- *The Chameleon* (2010), as Kimberly Miller
- *Shit Year* (2010), as Colleen West · Executive Producer
- *Letters to Juliet* (2010), Producer
- *Brooklyn's Finest* (2010), as Agent Smith
- *Happy Tears* (2009), as Shelly
- *Modern Family* (2009), series, as Mitzi Roth — Fi1m 77, [page](https://film.one/tv/modern-family.md)
- *Ocean's Thirteen* (2007), as Abigail Sponder — Fi1m 63, [page](https://film.one/film/oceans-thirteen.md)
- *Trust the Man* (2005), as Norah
- *Palindromes* (2005), as Joyce Victor
- *She Hate Me* (2004), as Margo Chadwick
- *Someone Like You...* (2001), as Diane Roberts
- *Crime + Punishment in Suburbia* (2000), as Maggie Skolnick
- *Mercy* (2000), as Det. Catherine Palmer
- *Drop Dead Gorgeous* (1999), as Annette Atkins
- *The White River Kid* (1999), as Eva Nell La Fangroy
- *Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas* (1998), as Waitress at North Star Cafe
- *Before Women Had Wings* (1997), as Glory Marie Jackson
- *King of the Hill* (1997), series, as Lenore (voice) — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/tv/king-of-the-hill-1997.md)
- *Mad Dog Time* (1996), as Rita Everly
- *E! True Hollywood Story* (1996), series, Actor
- *The Fan* (1996), as Jewel Stern
- *Wild Bill* (1995), as Calamity Jane
- *Bad Company* (1995), as Margaret Wells
- *This Boy's Life* (1993), as Caroline
- *Into the West* (1992), as Kathleen
- *Mac* (1992), as Oona Goldfarb
- *Man Trouble* (1992), as Joan Spruance
- *Switch* (1991), as Amanda Brooks
- *Sea of Love* (1989), as Helen Cruger — Fi1m 75, [page](https://film.one/film/sea-of-love.md)
- *Johnny Handsome* (1989), as Sunny Boyd
- *Clinton and Nadine* (1988), as Nadine Powers
- *Siesta* (1987), as Claire
- *Made in Heaven* (1987), as Lucille (uncredited)
- *The Big Easy* (1986), as Anne Osborne
- *Down by Law* (1986), as Laurette — Fi1m 83, [page](https://film.one/film/down-by-law.md)
- *Act of Vengeance* (1986), as Annette Gilly
- *The Princess Who Had Never Laughed* (1986), as Princess Henrietta
- *Desert Bloom* (1986), as Aunt Starr
- *Terminal Choice* (1985), as Mary O'Connor
- *The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension* (1984), as Penny Priddy
- *Terrible Joe Moran* (1984), as Ronnie
- *Harry & Son* (1984), as Katie Wilowski
- *Eddie and the Cruisers* (1983), as Maggie Foley
- *Daniel* (1983), as Phyllis Isaacson
- *Tender Mercies* (1983), as Sue Anne — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/tender-mercies.md)
- *Enormous Changes at the Last Minute* (1983), as Virginia
- *Faerie Tale Theatre* (1982), series, as Princess Henrietta
- *Parole* (1982), as Donna
- *Diner* (1982), as Beth Schreiber — Fi1m 84, [page](https://film.one/film/diner.md)
- *We're Fighting Back* (1981), as Chris Capoletti
- *Kent State* (1981), as Student (uncredited)
- *Up in Smoke* (1978), as Woman Playing Guitar (uncredited) — Fi1m 56, [page](https://film.one/film/up-in-smoke.md)
- *White Lies*, Actor

## Gallery

- ![Ellen Barkin](https://film.one/media/person/9669/gallery-cbf9d5e5e070.jpg) Ellen Barkin — Greg2600, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/76/Ellen_Barkin_%282018%29_%28cropped%29.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Ellen Barkin](https://film.one/media/person/9669/gallery-9208f1895bf2.jpg) Ellen Barkin — Image via TMDB
- ![Ellen Barkin](https://film.one/media/person/9669/gallery-7139207935a9.jpg) Ellen Barkin — Image via TMDB
- ![Ellen Barkin](https://film.one/media/person/9669/gallery-a5ab11423ca0.jpg) Ellen Barkin — Image via TMDB
- ![Ellen Barkin](https://film.one/media/person/9669/gallery-72a12bddf2b5.jpg) Ellen Barkin — Image via TMDB
- ![Ellen Barkin](https://film.one/media/person/9669/gallery-453b4affd258.jpg) Ellen Barkin — Image via TMDB
- ![Ellen Barkin](https://film.one/media/person/9669/gallery-6a0f32efbdae.jpg) Ellen Barkin — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Golden Globes — 0 won, 2 nominated

- 1998: Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film (nominated), for *Before Women Had Wings*
- 1992: Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy (nominated), for *Switch*

### Primetime Emmy Awards — 2 won

- 1998: Outstanding Actress in a Short Form Comedy or Drama Series (won)
- 1998: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie (won), for *Before Women Had Wings*

### Other awards — 2 won

- Theatre World Award 2011: Theatre World Award (won)
- Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play 2011: Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play (won)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/ellen-barkin