Sigourney Weaver turned the Venice International Film Festival into a family affair as she walked the red carpet with her daughter, Shar Simpson.
The Alien actress, 74, attended the premiere of Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice with Shar, 34, at the glittering film festival on Wednesday.
The duo held hands as they posed beautifully, dressed to the nines from head to toe.
Sigourney stunned in a black sequined top and flared skirt, while Shar, who is non-binary and uses they/them pronouns, opted for something a little more classic.
Shar wore an elegant one-shoulder black dress paired with beaded earrings and a bold red lipstick.
Sigourney Weaver turned the Venice International Film Festival into a family event when she walked the red carpet with her daughter, Shar Simpson, on Wednesday.
The duo posed alongside filmmaker Nemo Allen on the red carpet, with Shar holding hands with her mother and Allen during group poses.
Sigourney has been married to Shar’s father, Jim Simpson, since 1984. They welcomed Shar in 1990.
Unlike her famous mother, Shar has pursued a career in education: she works as an adjunct professor at the Digital Storytelling Lab at Columbia University’s School of the Arts.
This comes after the actress broke down in tears earlier in the day when asked about Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris’ electoral prospects during a press conference in Venice.
“Just thinking for a moment that my work has anything to do with his promotion makes me very happy,” he said.
The Alien star added: “I actually have so many women who come up to me and thank me…” before trailing off, unable to complete her sentence.
When offered a drink of water to help her gather her thoughts, she joked: “Sorry, I need my vodka!”
Weaver will tonight receive the Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion, its highest honour, after a career that has seen her play Ripley in the Alien films, as well as appearing in Ghostbusters, Avatar, Working Girl and many more.
Shar posed in the center, with her mother to her right and filmmaker Nemo Allen to her left.
Shar wore an elegant one-shoulder black dress paired with beaded earrings and a bold red lipstick.
Shar held hands with her mother and Nemo on the red carpet.
Sigourney has been married to Shar’s father, Jim Simpson, since 1984. They welcomed Shar in 1990.
Weaver looked glamorous in an all-black sequin ensemble as she attended the premiere of the Beetlejuice sequel during the Venice Film Festival.
She reflected on her good fortune in playing “strong women,” a role she had begun in 1979 with Ridley Scott’s Alien.
“Why do I play strong women? I just play women and women are strong. You know why? Because we don’t give up, because we don’t have the opportunity. We do,” she said.
He added: “What I liked most about what Water Hill and David Giler wrote and how Ridley Scott put it together was that my character in Alien was a person, not a woman. There are very few screenwriters who can write a script and have it be just a person.
“You don’t see her having to be girly or feminine – look, it’s great and women can be anything – but I had to play an ‘everyday person’ role. She’s all of us. That’s what you become when you have to find your wits and you don’t even have time to be brave or anything else.”
Weaver revealed that her original costume for the role was sky blue with pink trim, but that director Ridley Scott had told her, “You look like a fucking Jackie O in space!” and she insisted on wearing an authentic space flight suit.
Weaver added: “Women are on the front lines of climate change and crises. They are the women who care for their families and their children, and they often do jobs that put them on the front lines.”
Kamala Harris pictured above on July 25
Weaver, 74, will tonight receive the Venice Film Festival’s Golden Lion, its highest honour, after a career that has seen her play Ripley in the Alien films, as well as appearing in Ghostbusters, Avatar, Working Girl and many more.
The acclaimed actress is best known for her heroics in acclaimed filmmaker Ridley Scott’s classic sci-fi horror film Alien.
“Why do I play strong women? I just play women and women are strong. You know why? Because we don’t give up, because we don’t have the opportunity. We do,” she said.
“I’m inspired by real women. For me, women have always been very capable and we are everything.”
She said the outlook for older women working in film and television has never been better. She is planning to work on two more Avatar films, having already filmed her roles in the first three.
She added: “I think I’m very lucky. I’ve always had a big appetite, I’ve always respected the job and I’ve loved it.”
“What happened was that they suddenly decided that older women could play interesting characters and they started writing about them. We went from being a joke, the mother-in-law and all that, to being real people.”
The actress has also not ruled out returning as Ellen Ripley in the Alien franchise.
She played the iconic heroine in the sci-fi series from the 1979 original through to its fourth instalment ‘Alien: Resurrection’ in 1997 and has now revealed she hasn’t completely closed the door on reprising her role in a future film, even if she feels it’s unlikely.
Talking with DeadlineWeaver said: ‘I feel like she’s never far from me, but on the other hand, I haven’t read a script yet that says ‘you have to do this.’
“For me, she’s in another dimension, safe from the alien for the moment. I don’t think about it too much, but it’s not completely impossible and certainly a lot of good filmmakers are inspired by this material.”
He added: “Actually, I have so many women who come up to me and thank me…” before trailing off, unable to complete his sentence.
During her illustrious career, Weaver also starred in three of the Alien sequels until 1997.
The actress has not ruled out returning as Ellen Ripley in the Alien franchise.
The actress admitted that she doesn’t often think about returning as the character, adding that she’s currently too “busy doing other things” that have prevented her from seriously considering playing Ripley again, such as her undisclosed role in the upcoming ‘Star Wars’ film ‘The Mandalorian and Grogu.’
She said: “How much does the public really need or want another Ripley movie? I don’t really sit down and think about it, but if it came up, I would consider it.”
“This topic has come up many times, but I’m also busy with other things. Ripley has earned her break.”
Reflecting on the heroine’s legacy, the ‘Ghostbusters’ star explained that she loved that Ripley was written as an ‘everyday character’ that everyone could relate to.
She said: ‘What I love about this, and I think that endures, is that Ripley’s character is almost a regular character.
“That freed me from having to act like a girl or dress like a girl. It was very clever on the part of the writers. At a certain point, you even forget that she’s a woman. You just know she’s Ripley and you hope she survives.”
When asked about the latest installment in the franchise, ‘Alien: Romulus,’ starring Cailee Spaeny, Isabela Merced, Archie Renaux and Aileen Wu, Weaver revealed that there was “no discussion” about Ripley being a part of the film, but stressed that she wishes the cast “all the best.”