Issue Date: January 22, 2006
Commanding Performance
Geena Davis, TV's "Commander in Chief," is hot -- again. But early success also included career and personal failures. Find out how this Oscar winner rebounded in every area of her life.
By Michele Hatty
"I really am, in many ways, living the life I always wanted."
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"My motto is, if a person can do it, I can do it," Geena Davis explains matter-of-factly.
This does not surprise those who know the Oscar-winning actress. After all, this is a woman who has had several career-making roles in iconic films such as "Thelma & Louise" and "A League of Their Own." She's known for her smarts (she's a member of Mensa). She qualified for the semifinal Olympic trials in archery when she was in her 40s. (She turns 50 this Saturday.) During her storied life, she has learned to ice-skate, fence, ride horses, shoot pistols, practice tae kwon do, even train dogs. And now, as she portrays Mackenzie Allen, the first female president, on ABC's hit drama "Commander in Chief" (Tuesdays, 9 p.m. ET), the actress has taken up rowing.
"We were trying to think of an interesting sport for the president to have, and I thought of rowing," she says. "I suggested it to the writers, and they said, 'Fantastic! Learn it.' So I started rowing three hours a day out in the marina and got pretty good at it."
Still, the 6-foot-tall Davis recounts, "It's not like I was very adventurous as a kid. Coaches were desperately trying to get me to join the basketball team because I was so tall. But I was afraid to try physical challenges because I was really sure I was uncoordinated and unathletic. As an adult, I have been increasingly drawn to challenge myself."
Being a risk-taker means encountering failure as well as success. Take her love life: By 1998, she had been married and divorced three times -- first to a restaurant manager, then to actor Jeff Goldblum (her co-star in 1986's The Fly), then to Finnish director Renny Harlin (her partner on 1995's disastrous pirate flick, Cutthroat Island).
She also has had ups and downs as an actress. She won an Academy Award for "The Accidental Tourist" in 1988 and drew worldwide buzz in 1991's "Thelma & Louise" and 1992's "A League of Their Own." But her 20-plus-year career has included such duds as Cutthroat Island and the short-lived 2000 sitcom "The Geena Davis Show." And although she was a hot property in Hollywood in the late 1980s and early '90s, the number of quality film scripts sent her way dwindled after she turned 40.
Davis' strong characters
On ABC's "Commander in Chief," Davis plays the first female U.S. president. She was free spirit Thelma in 1991's "Thelma & Louise." And as a quirky dog trainer in 1988's "The Accidental Tourist," she won an Oscar.
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That, however, was then. Now, a decade later, Davis is back on top -- in every area of her life.
Her career is in great shape: "Commander in Chief" has become the only new show this year to consistently rank in the top 10, and Davis is earning kudos from critics.
"When I heard the concept last spring, I thought, 'Geena Davis as the president? That can't possibly work.' She'd had a couple of missteps on TV in comedy. But she's been great in the role," says Mike Duffy, TV critic for the Detroit Free Press. "She'll be an Emmy contender for sure."
Davis also has sorted out her personal life, finding what she believes will be lasting love -- with a much younger man, no less. To hear her tell the story of how she met her fourth husband, surgeon Reza Jarrahy, 35, one can't help but think it would make the perfect setup for a charming romantic comedy:
"We had never met but had a friend in common. I was visiting my friend one day and stashed my dog in his house. While we were out, Reza dropped by and walked in like he always did. My dog chased him out of the house, across the yard, and bit him on the butt as he was jumping over the fence to get away from her. I met him later that day, and I thought, 'Who's this cute guy who might sue me?' "
Instead of resorting to litigation, the two began dating and, in September 2001, tied the knot.
Davis acknowledges that marrying a fourth time seems over the top. "I've said to Reza a couple of times, 'How can you be crazy enough to marry somebody who's been married three times? What are the odds?' '' she says with a laugh. "He said, 'I just knew it would work out.' And that speaks to his innate self-confidence. It doesn't occur to him to say, 'Now wait a minute. She's been married three times, and I'm going to be the idiot that's the fourth husband?' "
In 2002, at 46, she became a mother for the first time, giving birth to their daughter, Alizeh. Then, a little more than two years later, she delivered fraternal twin boys, Kian and Kaiis.
Davis says she was not nervous about being an older parent. "My mother was 36 and my dad 42 when I was born, and that was considered older to have kids. My dad always said he was really happy about that, that when all of his friends' kids were leaving, he still had little kids at home," she says. "I really think I'm a much better parent than I would have been 10 to 20 years ago."
Ever Carradine, who plays the president's press secretary on "Commander in Chief," says watching Davis interact with her little ones is telling. "She's an incredibly hands-on, present mom. Between every take, she's running off to the side to give her daughter a hug or to play with her sons. And her face lights up when they come in the room."
Carradine, who says she and her college pals watched "Thelma & Louise" repeatedly, also reveals Davis' latest passion: solving the number puzzles known as su-doku. Admits Davis: "I'm a little obsessed. I just found something on the Internet called monster sudoku, and they're bigger and harder. So now I'm doing those. I love it."
Sudoku breaks aside, Davis doesn't have much time to spare. As she looks to the big 5-0, she is circumspect: "I have one of the most challenging jobs I've ever had, and I find it incredibly fulfilling. I have this wonderful family that needs so, so much of me. And I've accomplished a lot. I really am, in many ways, living the life I always wanted."
Photograph by Robert Sebree for USA WEEKEND
Hair by Robert Hallowell, The Kitchen Beautician; makeup by Bonita DeHaven; styling by Robyn Goldberg, Celestine
Dress by Ghost; jewelry by Platt Boutique Jewelry; page 6: dress by BCBG; jewelry by Platt Boutique Jewelry; shoes by Salvatore Ferragamo
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Geena Davis Makes a Difference
Last year, Davis teamed up with the non-profit group Dads and Daughters to launch See Jane (seejane.org), a venture dedicated to balancing the number of male and female characters in children's TV and movie programming.
"It sprang out of watching preschool kids' programs with my daughter and noticing how imbalanced the ratio of male to female characters is, still, on shows. The ratio seemed to be 3-to-1 or 4-to-1, and the female character -- usually there was one -- would be very stereotyped," Davis says. "So I started to think, what is the message we're still sending to kids? That boys' stories are more interesting, more prevalent and significant, and that girls, if they are there at all, are peripheral and acting stereotypically girlie."
Through See Jane, Davis has commissioned a study to examine gender equity in kids' programming. When armed with the results, See Jane hopes to work with movie and TV program creators to balance out the sexes.
"I think it would be hard to argue that kids are better off if characters in movies and TV shows they watch are predominantly male," Davis says. "For boys to see girls taking up half the space on the planet is a really good thing. And for girls to see themselves taking up half the space is a good thing."
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