Wikipedia / Tess Harper
Wikipedia / Tess Harper
Tessie Jean Harper (; born August 15, 1950) is an American actress. She was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for her first film role in 1983's Tender Mercies, and for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1986 film Crimes of the Heart. Her other film appearances include Amityville 3-D (1983), Flashpoint (1984), Ishtar (1987), Far North (1988), and No Country for Old Men (2007). She also had a recurring role on the first three seasons of Breaking Bad (2008–2010) as Jesse Pinkman’s mother, as well as reprising her role in El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie (2019).
Early life
Harper grew up in Mammoth Spring, Arkansas, the daughter of Rosemary and Ed Washam, who operated Washam's Hardware. Harper has a brother and sister. She graduated from Mammoth Spring High School and attended Arkansas State University-Beebe, earning an associate degree in Fine Arts, before transferring to Southwest Missouri State University (now Missouri State University) in Springfield, Missouri, graduated with a degree in education, and taught ninth-grade English in Springfield, Missouri.
Career
Harper began acting in theater productions, theme parks (including Dogpatch, USA and Silver Dollar City), dinner theater, and children's theater. She moved to Texas in order to appear in television commercials. The institution wanted to produce a TV spot and asked her to be in the spot, which she accepted. In a twist of fate, a casting person with Tender Mercies had to spend the night in Dallas and saw Harper's spot on TV. She called Robert Duvall and arranged an audition. Director Bruce Beresford was impressed with Harper and cast her in the lead female role of Rosa Lee, the young widow and mother who marries country singer Mac Sledge. Beresford said that Harper brought a kind of rural quality to the role without coming across as simple or foolish. He said of Harper, "She walked into the room and even before she spoke, I thought, 'That's the girl to play the lead.'" Harper did not realize this, and recalled shortly after the film's release, "After I did the final screen test, I went to see Breaker Morant and started sobbing uncontrollably halfway through it. A friend had to take me home, and I kept crying, 'You don't understand! They're not gonna let me do this part!'"
Tender Mercies was Harper's feature film debut. She earned a Golden Globe Award nomination for the role.
Harper appeared in the TV mini-series Chiefs (1983) and Celebrity (1984), as well as many television movies including Starflight: The Plane That Couldn't Land (1983) and Reckless Disregard (1985). In 1983, she appeared in the full-length feature Silkwood. In 1986, Harper was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her work as Chick Boyle in Crimes of the Heart, which was directed by her Tender Mercies director Bruce Beresford. She later played parts in Ishtar (1987), Far North (1988), The Man in the Moon (1991), The Jackal (1997) and Loggerheads (2005). She also took part in Michael Jackson's music video "Black or White" (1991), playing the mother.
From 1994 to 1995 Harper had a regular role on the CBS series Christy, playing mountain woman Fairlight Spencer. She also had a recurring role on another CBS television series, Early Edition, from 1996 to 2000. She portrayed the mother of lead character Gary Hobsen. Harper shared a Screen Actors Guild Award (in the Best Ensemble Cast category) with her fellow cast members in the Oscar-winning film No Country for Old Men, in which she played the wife of Tommy Lee Jones's character.
She had the recurring role of Mrs. Pinkman on Breaking Bad, appearing in the first three seasons, as well as the sequel Netflix movie El Camino: A Breaking Bad Movie.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1983 | Rosa Lee | ||
1983 | Nancy Baxter | ||
1983 | Linda Dawson | ||
1984 | Ellen | ||
1986 | Chick Boyle | ||
1987 | Willa Rogers | ||
1988 | Rita | ||
1988 | Det. Stillwell | ||
1989 | Sally Blackwood | ||
1990 | Sara Lee Turnover | ||
1991 | Cheryl Dalton-Hornby | ||
1991 | Abigail Trant | ||
1991 | Pretty Hattie's Baby | Maya | |
1992 | Martha Harnish | ||
1992 | Kimmy Hayes | ||
1996 | Beth Greene | ||
1997 | The First Lady | ||
2000 | Dr. Amanda Giles | ||
2001 | Rebecca Hodge | ||
2001 | Morning | Margaret | |
2003 | Studio City | Linda Little | Short |
2005 | Elizabeth | ||
2005 | Jesus, Mary and Joey | Liz O'Callahan | |
2006 | Molly Czehowicz | ||
2006 | Ruby | ||
2006 | Dixie Rose Delton | ||
2006 | Clare | ||
2007 | Loretta Bell | ||
2007 | Barbara | ||
2007 | Miriam Esh | ||
2009 | Fatal Secrets | Naomi | |
2013 | Kathleen | ||
2014 | Aunt Flossie | ||
2014 | Frank's mum | ||
2015 | Surprise | Linda | Short |
2015 | Mrs. McCarthy | ||
2018 | Hazel Griffin | ||
2019 | |||
2020 | Dorothy Freeman | ||
2023 | Loretta Hillhouse |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
1983 | Lorna Whateley | TV film | |
1983 | Janet Briggs | TV film | |
1983 | Carrie Lee | TV miniseries | |
1984 | Susan French | TV miniseries | |
1985 | Jeannie Wyler | TV film | |
1985 | Promises to Keep | Gwen Palmer | TV film |
1986 | Sarah | Episode: "Quarantine" | |
1986 | Meredith Craig | TV film | |
1987 | Irene Rutledge | Episode: "Simon Says, Color Me Dead" | |
1987 | Patricia Pittman | Episode: "Sparky Brackman R.I.P. ????-1987" | |
1987 | Daddy | Ann Burnette | TV film |
1988 | Clara Brady | TV film | |
1989 | Mary Flowers | TV film | |
1989 | Incident at Dark River | Betty McFall | TV film |
1990 | Deborah | Episode: "Post-Op" | |
1992 | In the Line of Duty: Siege at Marion | Vickie Singer | TV film |
1992 | Verna Heath | TV film | |
1993 | Dede | Episode: "After the Crash" | |
1994–95 | Fairlight Spencer | Main role | |
1995 | Asst. D.A. Jerri Sims | TV film | |
1996 | Julia Archer | TV film | |
1996 | Linda Grant | TV film | |
1997 | Tina De Capprio | TV film | |
1997 | Joan | Episode: "Matthew's Old Lady" | |
1997 | Joanna Chandler | TV film | |
1997 | Virginia | Episode: "Ricochet" | |
1997 | Katie Malloy | Episode: "Sons of Thunder" | |
1997 | Lea Ann Garner | Episode: "An American Dream" | |
1998–2000 | Lois Hobson | Recurring role | |
1999 | Narrator / Older Laura Ingalls Wilder | TV film | |
2000 | Betsy Baxter | Episode: "The Empty Chair" | |
2001 | Julia Barrett | Episode: "Bully for You" | |
2002 | Narrator / Older Laura Ingalls Wilder | TV film | |
2003 | Polly Danko | Episode: "Oh Mother, Who Art Thou?" | |
2004 | May Scott | Episode: "Crash Course in Polite Conversations" | |
2004 | Karen Carmichael | Episodes: "Pilot", "An Innocent Man" | |
2004 | Angel in the Family | Mrs. Nelly Tomkins | TV film |
2005 | Barbara Nissman | Episode: "Sorry I Missed You" | |
2007 | Mrs. Spade | Episode: "At Rest" | |
2007 | Beth Ridge | Episode: "History Repeating" | |
2007 | Judy's Got a Gun | Susan Lemen | TV film |
2008 | Ellen Wilkins | Episode: "Stranglehold" | |
2008–10 | Recurring role | ||
2009 | Mrs. Hallander | Episode: "Stranger" | |
2009 | Sharon Lertola | Episode: "November 22" | |
2009 | Wendy Olinville | Recurring role | |
2010 | Proposition 8 Trial Re-Enactment | Sandy Stier | TV documentary |
2010 | Pam Nelson | Episode: "Perfect Little Accident" | |
2010 | A.U.S.A. Rolly | Episode: "Coma Chameleon" | |
2011 | Augusta King | Episode: "Something Old, Something New" | |
2011 | Trudy Willis | TV film | |
2012 | Carole Miller | Episodes: "Absolution", "Grief" | |
2012 | Elizabeth | TV film | |
2014 | Mrs. Kelly | Episode: "Seeing Things" | |
2014 | Nikki & Nora: The N&N Files | Mary Delaney | 2 episodes |
2015 | Dinah Troy | Episode: "Rock Creek Park" | |
2019 | Sheila Miller | Episode: "We Know Everything" |
Awards and nominations
Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result |
1984 | Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture | Tender Mercies | ||
1987 | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Crimes of the Heart | ||
1994 | Actress in a Dramatic Series | The Hidden Room | ||
2004 | Method Fest | Best Actress in a Short Film | Lonely Place | |
2007 | Best Acting by an Ensemble | No Country for Old Men | ||
2008 | Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | |||
2008 | Gold Derby Awards | Ensemble Cast | ||
2011 | California Independent Film Festival | Lifetime Achievement Award |
References
External links