What Ever Happened to: Linda Fiorentino

Back in the early 90’s, I was on an Alan Rudolph kick. I went back and rented all of his films. For a while, he was one of my favorite directors.

In watching them, I saw THE MODERNS, his 1988 film. A good film, but I was particularly struck by Linda Fiorentino. In the film, she gave one of her best performances.

So, that Rudolph kick transformed into a Fiorentino kick, and I started watching her films as well.


I knew who she was, of course. I had seen VISION QUEST,GOTCHA, and of course AFTER HOURS.

At that time, ACTING ON IMPULSE had just come out on VHS. While I don’t remember much about the film today, I remember loving her in it.


This was a good time to be a fan of hers though, because right after seeing that, THE LAST SEDUCTION came out. John Dahl’s amazing noir film, with a performance by Fiorentino that was so good that critics were quite upset that, since the film had premiered on cable before being released theatrically, it was ineligible for Oscar consideration.


Unfortunately, her next big film was the infamous JADE, the William Friedkin, Joe Eszterhaus, Robert Evans production that was a disaster. But, David Caruso is blamed more than Fiorentino.

She reteamed with John Dahl for UNFORGETTABLE with Ray Liotta. Not to make a joke, but I really have forgotten the film, even though I remember seeing it.

And then there was the Kevin Smith film DOGMA. Even though I have to some extent liked Smith’s early films, I hated this one. A lot of it had to do with Fiorentino’s character, who just stood around giving religious lectures. Apparently, she was not happy making the film. Rumor is, she wouldn’t talk to Smith on the set at times. And, you can see as this is not one of her best roles or performances.

There would be a few more movies after that, ORDINARY DECENT CRIMINAL with Kevin Spacey, Mike Nichols’ WHAT PLANET ARE YOU FROM?, WHERE THE MONEY IS with Paul Newman, and her final credit, 2002’s Wesley Snipes film LIBERTY STANDS STILL.

And that is all.


So, what ever happened to her?

Well, this may be a first. It doesn’t look like it was to raise a family, as she is not married, and she doesn’t have any kids. She does have stepchildren from a previous marriage though.

She is living on the East Coast, and active in political groups. She has made appearances at political fundraisers and events, but has not made a film in almost five years.

There is an IMDB listing that she will be a voice in the MADAGASCAR sequel, due next year. She will play a giraffe.

It would be great to see her return, in a role that she can do something with. There is always hope.