Faye Dunaway, superstar of yesteryear, notorious for being difficult, has a documentary out. Made with her approval it is a ‘misty-eyed homage’ according to one reviewer, though it does admit to her alcoholism and bi-polar disorder. According to Bette Davis she was one of the worst people in Hollywood. Jack Nicholson referred to her as “the Dreaded Dunaway”. Steve McQueen was unflattering and Roman Polanski after Chinatown described her as ‘a gigantic pain.’ Though others talk with praise about her devotion to detail and serious approach.
No one doubted she was talented with top notch performances in Bonnie and Clyde, The Thomas Crown Affair, Chinatown, the Network and Mommie Dearest. Her beauty and sheer will-driven ambition brought her success as did her infamously high standards though they did not make her popular. Most recently she was fired from a Broadway production because of crew complaints.
Born 14 January 1941 8.15pm Bascom, Florida with a distant military father she was brought up by a single mother, started first on Broadway and then graduated to movies. She has had several liaisons – with Lenny Bruce, Marcello Mastroianni, married a musician, then married Terry O’Neill the photographer – all short lived.
She has an ambitious and upfront, attention-demanding Sun, Mercury in Capricorn in her performing 5th house in an Earth Grand Trine to Neptune in Virgo in a creative trine to Uranus in Taurus – a hard worker, goal-oriented and a builder in life. Her Pluto is prominent being trine an argumentative 4th house Mars, making her home life heated; and her Pluto is also square Jupiter Saturn in Taurus which is extremely Fixed, stubborn and inflexible. Her Leo Moon in her hidden 12th house squares Uranus and trines Mars – emotionally excitable and irritable. She says her first passion was always work and her emotional life would be unsettled with her Sun/Moon midpoint being square her controlling Pluto; her Moon in aspect to her needs-space Uranus and her 4th house Mars making her home life argumentative. Her Venus in Capricorn was also inconjunct Pluto for additional strain and intensity.
Bette Davis, 5 April 1908 9pm Lowell, MA, was no slouch in the difficult personality stakes with her attention-demanding 5th house Aries Sun square a can-be-fanatical/excitable Uranus opposition Neptune. With a controlling, stubborn Moon Pluto in her 8th square her Mercury. Their relationship chart had a hostile and competitive Sun Mars trine Pluto; a needs-space Venus Uranus square Pluto and a beyond chilly Moon Pluto square Saturn.
Jack Nicolson, 22 April 1937 11am Neptune, NJ, has a Taurus Sun conjunct Uranus in his 10th house which collides with Faye’s Jupiter Saturn, equally would not find her an easy colleague on set. His forcefully confident Pluto in Cancer opposition Jupiter in Capricorn clashed with Faye’s Capricorn Sun Mercury. Two Titans.
Steve McQueen, 24 March 1930 12.15pm Indianapolis, IN, had his Aries Sun exactly conjunct Faye’s South Node testing her ability to cooperate; with his North Node square her Pluto and conjunct her Jupiter Saturn – quite a fated match.
How directors and producers ever managed to get movies made with the giant egos and volatile creative temperaments clashing on set is astonishing.
There were always temperamental items abt Faye. But thinking of it now, Jack was J a c k and all those boys could do no wrong. Perhaps she was really one of boys all along and they just couldn’t handle it ( Mars! Uranus! Pluto! O My)
Venus is surprisingly underemphasized given her famous beauty (Four Musketeers memorably presenting her visage with a full frame widescreen shot.)
Since you’re a fan, too, Jody I wonder if you’ve seen her Columbo episode – a charming Faye fest, if ever.
Chinatown isn’t Chinatown without Faye (all due props to legendary JN, but still). I’m glad she got a doc, and sorry to hear she got ditched from B’way. Good on her for showing up, and so many home runs along the way.
Thanks, Marjorie. Faye Dunaway is one of my all time favorite actresses. She was great in the Four Musketeers with Michael York. Oh, and not to forget Network, Bonnie and Clyde and Three Days of the Condor, with Robert Redford . I always thought she was really beautiful too. But I do recall reading that she could be difficult on the set.
Hi Jody – Comment above meant for you, btw.