Her parents divorced in 1960, and she took the surname of her stepfather, Richard De Mornay, after her mother married him in 1961. She spent her early years in Pasadena, California, until her stepfather died of a stroke on March 2, 1962, aged 48.[12] After his death, De Mornay and her half-brother Peter were raised by her mother, who relocated the family to Europe, where they lived in several different locations.[13] She attended the independentSummerhill School in Leiston, Suffolk, England[14] before completing her studies at a private high school in Germany.[13]
In 2003, she guest-starred as primary antagonist in the first two episodes of season 2 of Boomtown. In 2004, she guest-starred as attorney Hannah Rose for the last few episodes of The Practice and the following year, had a brief role alongside Owen Wilson and Vince Vaughn in Wedding Crashers. De Mornay also starred in the 2007 drama American Venus.[4]
In 2012, De Mornay played the role of Finch's mom in the movie American Reunion where she portrayed an attractive older woman and a love interest of Stifler. From 2015 to 2019, she appeared in Jessica Jones as Trish Walker's abusive mother.[20]
De Mornay married writer Bruce Wagner on December 16, 1986; they divorced in 1990.[23]
De Mornay subsequently dated and was briefly engaged to singer Leonard Cohen.[24][25] She co-produced Cohen's 1992 album The Future, which is also dedicated to her.
De Mornay was in a relationship with actor turned sportscaster Patrick O'Neal. They have two daughters together.[3][26]
Kiehn, David (2003). Broncho Billy and the Essanay Film Company. Berkeley, California: Farewell Books. ISBN978-09729-2265-4.
Thomson, David (2010). The New Biographical Dictionary of Film: Completely Updated and Expanded. New York City, New York: Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN978-0-3075-9461-7.
Further reading
"The Key to Rebecca". Saturday Review. 12 (1): 30–34. January–February 1986.
Tykus, Michael J. (2000). "Rebecca de Mornay". Contemporary Theatre, Film, and Television. Vol. 29. Gale Research Co. p. 135. ISBN978-0-7876-3188-8.
Room, Adrian (2010). "Rebecca de Mornay". Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins (5th ed.). McFarland. p. 141. ISBN978-0-7864-4373-4.
Aylesworth, Thomas G.; Bowman, John S.; Fairbanks, Douglas (1992). "De Mornay, Rebecca". World Guide to Film Stars. Great Pond. p. 69. ISBN978-1-56657-007-7.
Sleeman, Elizabeth (2001). "De Mornay, Rebecca". The International Who's Who of Women 2002 (3rd ed.). Routledge. p. 131. ISBN978-1-85743-122-3.
Riggs, Thomas, ed. (2005). "De MORNAY, Rebecca". Contemporary Theatre, Film and Television: A Biographical Guide. Vol. 64. Gale / Cengage Learning. ISBN978-0-7876-9037-3.