Theresa Russell, born Theresa Lynn Paup on March 20, 1957, in San Diego, California, is an American actress whose career spans over four decades. She began her career as a model at the age of 12 after being discovered by a photographer, which led to her film debut in Elia Kazan's "The Last Tycoon" (1976) opposite Robert De Niro, Jack Nicholson, and Robert Mitchum.

Raised in the Los Angeles suburb of Burbank, she had a turbulent upbringing marked by poverty, and she dropped out of high school at age 16. Despite these challenges, she pursued her passion for acting and studied at the Lee Strasberg Institute in Hollywood.

Her personal life has seen its share of ups and downs. She was married to English filmmaker Nicolas Roeg, with whom she collaborated on several projects, including "Bad Timing" (1980), "Eureka" (1983), and "Insignificance" (1985).

The couple had two sons, Statten Roeg and Maximillian Roeg, before eventually divorcing in the late 1990s.

Throughout her career, Theresa Russell has appeared in over 50 feature films, ranging from mainstream to independent and experimental films. Some of her notable works include "Straight Time" (1978) opposite Dustin Hoffman, "Black Widow" (1987) with Debra Winger, and "Kafka" (1991) directed by Steven Soderbergh.

She also had a supporting role in the commercially successful neo-noir "Wild Things" (1998) and the critically-acclaimed drama "The Believer" (2001). Her television work includes roles in the HBO miniseries "Empire Falls" (2005) and the Lifetime television film "Liz & Dick" (2012).

Despite her extensive filmography, Theresa Russell has not won an Oscar, but her contributions to cinema have been widely recognized.