Susan Alexandra "Sigourney" Weaver (born October 8, 1949) is an American actress perhaps best remembered for her portrayal of Ripley in Alien (1979) and its sequels.

She began using the name Sigourney in 1963, after a character in F. Scott Fitzgerald's The Great Gatsby. During the 1970s Weaver studied theater at Yale University, where she appeared in original plays by friend and classmate Christopher Durang.

Her part in Ridley Scott's 1979 film Alien as the sole survivor, Lieutenant Ripley, ensured her role in the sequels Aliens, Alien3 and Alien: Resurrection ... (read more )