Anjelica Huston’s transformation from teen model to ultra-private icon as she turns 75

Born to director and actor John Huston and prima ballerina Enrica “Ricki” Soma, Anjelica was thrust into the spotlight from a young age. In fact, at just age 17, she and her mother were photographed for Vogue by family friend Arnaud De Rosnay, her early introduction to the world.

She made her screen debut at 18 in her father’s film A Walk with Love and Death the year after, although her performance received negative reviews. Anjelica was originally intending to star in Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 version of Romeo & Juliet, but was pulled out due to John’s casting, causing friction during production between them.

Shortly after her mother’s death, Anjelica moved to New York City, where she was introduced to Vogue’s Diana Vreeland. She then began working as a runway and print model for Ford Models, and was especially a muse for both Halston and photographer Bob Richardson. She began dating the latter when she was 17 and he was 41, living together until 1973.

Shortly after her split from Bob, she met actor Jack Nicholson. The pair dated on and off for nearly two decades, and also worked together several times. She returned to acting alongside him in 1976’s The Last Tycoon.

She once again reunited with both Jack and her father John to star in the satirical crime film Prizzi’s Honor in 1985. Despite initial hesitance over her casting due to her “nepo baby” status, she won critics and audiences over, plus several accolades, culminating in the 1986 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She became the third generation of Hustons to win an Oscar (following dad John and grandfather Walter Huston).

Throughout the ’90s, Anjelica proved that she was not one to be typecast, especially with transformative performances in films like The Witches, The Grifters (both 1990), and The Addams Family (1991), all of which earned her cult status (and a second Oscar nomination).

By the 21st century, Anjelica had already established herself as a Hollywood mainstay, not only then venturing into directing by the end of the decade, but also gaining a whole new fanbase through her work with Wes Anderson in films like The Royal Tenenbaums (2001) and The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004) that relied on her mysterious and sarcastic charm.

Anjelica took a short break following the heartbreaking loss of her longtime husband Robert Graham in 2008. She appeared in several films with mixed critical and commercial fortunes, and worked more extensively in voiceover territory, before finding success once again in the TV series Smash. At the time, she also went public with a botched botox procedure, fiercely advocating for no more plastic surgery.

Over the next few years, the star leaned into her status as a dark comedy icon with several movie and TV projects, ending the decade with action-packed franchise turns like John Wick: Chapter 3 — Parabellum in 2019. She later also revealed that 2019 was the year she’d been diagnosed with cancer, although she has been cancer free since 2022.

Now, Anjelica prefers to lead her life out of the spotlight, spending much of her time in her Three Rivers, California estate when not on set. Her most recent appearance as of writing was in March 2026 at the Vanity Fair Oscars Party.