- Robin Wright (Penn), The Princess Bride, 1987. Apart from the future Twin Peaks TV star, director Rob Reiner thumbed through a veritable little black book of Hollywood’s new young hotties! Suzy Amis, Valerie Bertinelli, Yasmine Bleeth, Phoebe Cates, Courteney Cox, Kim Delaney, Rebecca de Mornay, Cathryn de Prume, Jennifer Grey, Anne Heche, Marg Helgenberger, Lauren Holly, Patsy Kensit, Juliette Lewis, Carey Lowell, Kelly Lynch, Virginia Madsen, Mary Stuart Masterson, Sarah Jessica Parker, Alexandra Paul, Amanda Pays, Meg Ryan, Mia Sara, Greta Scacchi, Annabella Sciorra, Kyra Sedgwick, Tori Spelling, Catherine Mary Stewart, Brenda Strong, Courtney Thorne-Smith, Uma Thurman, Meg Tilly, Charlene Tilton, Nancy Travis, Amy Yasbeck, Sean Young.
- Julia Roberts, Hook, 1990. On Steven Spielberg’s short list (with Rebecca De Mornay, Carrie Fisher and Samantha Mathis) for Tinkerbell in his Peter Pan update.Fennwould have been easier to deal with thanRoberts.The crew called her Tinkerhell.
- Jennifer Connelly, The Rocketeer, 1990. A lucky escape from the… Disney-we-have-a-problem… movie. Diane Lane, Elizabeth McGovern, Penelope Ann Miller and Kelly Preston were also in the frame for the hero’s gal, Jenny Blake, projecting, said Chicago critic Roger Ebert, “the same innocent sensuality of the classic B-movie sexpots – an ability to seem totally unaware, for example, that she is wearing a low-cut dress.”
- Laura Dern, Jurassic Park, 1992
- Amy Irving, Benefit of the Doubt, 1993. Donald Sutherland wreaking vengeance on his daughter for sending him to jail.
- Cynthia Gibb, Gypsy, TV, 1993. OK she lostGypsy Rose Lee (with BetteMidler was the awful stage mother) but two year later, Fenn wonthe lead (and much bigger ratings) in TV’s Liz: The Elizabeth Taylor Story, 1995.
- Geena Davis, Angie, 1993. The official reason was Madonna wasbooked for Abel Ferrara’sDangerous Game, 1992.Then, one of heremails was leaked – furious with the head Fox, Joe Roth, for dumping her for a non-Italian in the titular role.In truth, she fled after hearing Roth didn’t want her because she couldn’t carry a movie. (Not that this one did any better without her). Her director, Jonathan Kaplan, also quit and Martha Coolidge took over with her 1991 Rambling Rose star – after some thoughts about a dozen others, fromHalle Berryto Meryl Streep.Very Italian!
- Sean Young, Fatal Instinct, 1993. Veteran comedy auteur Carl Reiner asked Finn to be the femme fatale Lola. She preferred being Armand Assante’ssecretary (lovesick, of course). And she recommended Young forLola.
- Bridget Fonda, Touch, 1997. Set to co-star with Mick Jagger in a 1993 version of the Elmore Leonard book.
- Lauren Graham, Gilmore Girls, TV, 2000-2007. From the very beginning, creator Amy Sherman-Palladino wanted the Twin Peaks alum for the lead role of Lorelai Gilmore – but she was tied to another series, as the alcoholic hasbeen star Billie Frank in Rude Awakenings. When that wrapped in 2001, Fenn was selected for Windward Circle, a Gilmore spin-off that never spun (too pricey). Amy came to the rescue with a new character called Anna Nardini in the Gilmore set-up.
- Mia Sara, Birds of Prey, TV, 2002-2003. And so the former daughter-in-law of Sean Connery became the first live-action DC heroine, Harley Quinn. Mia was wed to Jason Connery, during 1996-2002; they had a son in 1997, Dashiell – the third acting Connery.
- Elizabeth McGovern, Three Moons Over Milford, TV, 2006. Fenn and Jill Shackner were the Davis sisters in the never seen pilot about the quirky folk of a small Vermont town. McGovern and Teresa Celentano replaced them in the series. Not for long. The plug as pulled after the eighth episode.
Birth year: Death year: Other name: Casting Calls: 12