Biography of Alicia Silverstone
Alicia Silverstone is an American model and actress. Her career took off in the 1990s. She received the American Comedy Awards for "Funniest Actress" and multiple MTV Movie Awards for her leading role in "Clueless" (1995) and appeared in music videos for the American rock band Aerosmith. In the 2000s, she acted in films less frequently, but in the 2020s, she gained attention again after starring in the films "The Lodge" and "Reptile."
Childhood, Youth, Family
Alicia Silverstone was born in the fall of 1976 in San Francisco, California. She became the youngest of three children in the family of Didi Radford, a former flight attendant, and Monty Silverstone, a real estate investor.Her half-brother and half-sister were named David (who later became a set designer in Hollywood) and Kezi (who moved to London and became a rock singer).
Her father, a native of Britain, came from a very religious Jewish family. Her mother was born in Scotland and converted to Judaism before becoming Mrs. Silverstone.
Shortly before Alicia's birth, the family moved from Britain to the USA. As a child, Alicia constantly corrected people on how to pronounce her name, especially at San Mateo High School where she studied.
Strict upbringing in the Jewish faith did not stop Alicia Silverstone from dreaming about an acting career. At the age of five, she convinced herself that her real mother was pop star Olivia Newton-John.
One day, she climbed onto the coffee table and started dancing extravagantly to Olivia's song "Physical" in front of her family. Her parents didn't approve of such antics, but Alicia simply said, "You're aliens."
After that, her parents decided to channel her energy into creative pursuits. Alicia's career began at the tender age of six. Her father took some of her photos, sent them to agents, and soon she began appearing in commercials.
At 11, Silverstone consciously became a vegetarian, explaining her decision:
A boy at my school tried to kill creatures in the pond. When I tried to stop him, he said, 'You eat animals,' as if that meant I had no right to try to save something that might end up on my plate later. The hypocrisy of my actions became crystal clear at that moment. I decided—no more meat. When I first started working with two organizations supporting anti-factory farming, vegan advocacy, and humane education, my choice to become a vegan became even more apparent. I realized that veganism is the only diet that can change the world.
Acting Career
After her tiny debut role as Jessica in the TV series "The Wonder Years," which premiered in 1988, Silverstone began appearing in films.In 1993, Alicia landed the lead role of Adrian Forrester in the psychological thriller "The Crush," where she portrayed a troubled young girl obsessed with an adult man. Her character did not impress critics but captivated her target audience—teenagers. The role earned her the 1994 MTV Movie Award for "Best Villain" and "Breakthrough Performance."
During the film's production, Alicia became an emancipated minor to bypass child labor laws that could have hindered her work. At 15, she gained financial independence and freedom from her parents.
"The Crush" also caught the attention of Aerosmith, and she was invited to star in their music video for the song "Cryin'," recognized as MTV's number one video of all time. She then appeared in the videos for "Crazy" and "Amazing."
Due to her burgeoning career, she never finished school, especially since her leading role in Amy Heckerling's "Clueless" took her fame to new heights. Her character, Cher, was the complete opposite of her role in "The Crush"; this time, she played a wealthy, naive, but sweet girl from Beverly Hills looking for love. The film was a huge box office success and impressed both audiences and critics, showcasing Alicia's star power and financial clout.I don't feel like a dream girl, but I think it's really cute. Part of me probably wishes I got that kind of attention in real life. Because in real life, I'm a weird, goofy girl who just hangs out with her dog. I hate being called 'that Aerosmith chick'!
She was hailed as Woman of the Year and a standout representative of the young generation of actors. She signed a contract with Columbia TriStar worth $10 million and landed the coveted role of Batgirl in "Batman & Robin" (1997). Additionally, as part of the package, she secured a three-year first-look deal for her production company, First Kiss Productions.
The first film released by First Kiss was the 1997 action film "Excess Baggage," starring Silverstone alongside Benicio Del Toro and Christopher Walken. The film did not achieve the expected success, but her leading role in the comedy "Blast from the Past," opposite Brendan Fraser, temporarily improved her standing before her career began to wane.
Silverstone's name resurfaced in the 2010s, with leading roles in the horror comedy "Vamps," the dramedy "Butter," the fantasy "Gods Behaving Badly," and the family comedy "Who Gets the Dog?" with Ryan Kwanten, where they "shared custody" of a beloved pet. She also teamed up with Sam Worthington in the thriller "The Killing of a Sacred Deer," where they exposed contract killers.
Silverstone starred with Diane Keaton and Jane Fonda in the comedy "Book Club," and with Riley Keough and Richard Armitage in the film about religious fanatics, "The Lodge." In 2017, she appeared in the independent drama "The Killing of a Sacred Deer," directed by Yorgos Lanthimos, partnering with Barry Keoghan.
In 2020, the remake of the cult classic 1983 teen musical "Valley Girl" and the melodrama "Sister of the Groom" were released, where Alicia played the lead roles of Julia Richman and Audrey. That same year, she starred in the film "Bad Therapy."
In 2023, the actress played Hildy in the mystical horror film "Perpetrator." Working with Benicio Del Toro and Justin Timberlake in the detective thriller "Reptile" was an interesting experience, although it received mixed reviews.
Personal Life of Alicia Silverstone
In 1995, Alicia admitted she had a crush on actor and musician River Phoenix: "I never met him, but I wanted to marry him. So if we ever got stuck in an elevator, all I would want to do is make him fall in love with me," she confessed.In 1996, there were rumors about Alicia's relationship with Leonardo DiCaprio. The actor denied everything, but the rumors spread quickly.
In 2005, Silverstone married her longtime friend, Christopher Jarecki, the lead singer of the punk band STUN. Before their wedding, the couple lived together for about eight years, sometimes breaking up but always returning to each other. They lived together and started a garden to grow organic produce and a whole menagerie of stray dogs at their Los Angeles home.
During the modest wedding, Silverstone and Jarecki exchanged vows while standing barefoot on the beach, and at midnight, the couple's friends and family gathered around a bonfire to celebrate the happy day by singing The Beatles songs and eating vegan burgers.
In May 2011, Alicia gave birth to her only son, whom they named Bear Blu.
In 2018, Alicia filed for divorce.
They still deeply love and respect each other and remain very close friends, but mutually decided to separate after 20 years together. They have a son, whom they will continue to co-parent, said Silverstone's representative when they announced their split in February.
Alicia Silverstone Now
In 2024, the horror comedy film "Krazy House" was released. Alicia's partner on set was comedian Nick Frost. Besides that, Silverstone was involved in the fantasy comedy "Y2K," where the lead roles were played by young actors Jaeden Martell and Rachel Zegler.Interesting Facts
- Her contract includes a strict no-nudity clause. For nude scenes, she requires a body double. Moreover, when she starred in the stage version of "The Graduate," she insisted on wearing underwear for the famous scene. The producers had to allow it because otherwise, she would have left the show. However, when asked, "Is it true you like gardening in the nude?" in the British magazine Radio Times, she said, "Yes, it's true. It's very hot in Los Angeles. I also love swimming and jumping on the trampoline naked."
- Thanks largely to the actress, belly button piercing became popular in the '90s: in the "Cryin'" music video, her character gets her belly button pierced. This was actually done on set.
- The first commercial young Alicia appeared in was for Domino's Pizza.
- In 2000, the Plain English Campaign awarded Alicia Silverstone the annual Foot in Mouth Award for her "baffling verbal statement":
I think the film Clueless was very deep. I think it was deep in the way that it was very light. I think lightness has to come from a very deep place if it's true lightness.
- During the filming of "Clueless," she adopted an old stray dog, named him Samson, and kept him on set.
- Sometimes Alicia turned down offered roles, and sometimes she was rejected. For instance, in 1994, she could have played Valerie Malone in "Beverly Hills, 90210" but declined, and the role went to Tiffani Thiessen. She was turned down for the lead role in "My Father the Hero." Producers said she was "too heavy" for the role. The part eventually went to Katherine Heigl.
- By the time filming of "Excess Baggage" wrapped up, Alicia was six months pregnant.
- Her favorite film, she said, was "Love's Labour's Lost," where she played the Princess who dances all the time:
What touches and excites me won't necessarily be a box-office hit all the time. ...I think, in terms of box office, barely one person watched it. But I still believe it's the greatest movie, and I don't care if anyone likes it. I watched it in seven different countries, and audiences left the theater dancing. I think that's an amazing thing.
- As a vegetarian and eco-activist, Alicia participated in campaigns. For example, she protested against the release of the Dolls of the World Spanish Barbie, launched in 2000. The doll was dressed in a toreador costume and accused of justifying animal cruelty. Mattel relented and discontinued the doll.
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