A note from Sean
Hello, and welcome to this little corner of the site. What follows is four decades’ worth of scrapbook — clippings, quotes, snapshots, and moments, pinned up oldest to newest. You have been the constant through all of it.
— Sean
For Fans
Notes · Photos · Letters
A scrapbook of four decades — clippings, quotes, snapshots, and moments, pinned up oldest to newest. Keep scrolling; the board runs deep.
From the mailbag
Every letter gets read — the long ones, the drawings, the ones that took courage to send. For mail, signed photos, and appearance requests, the contact page is the surest route.
1959 · Where it began
Mary Sean Young is born in Louisville, Kentucky, to a journalist-producer father and a screenwriter mother — a storytelling household from day one.
Wikipedia1978 · A dancer first
Before Hollywood, Mary Sean Young trained at Michigan's Interlochen Arts Academy and then studied at the School of American Ballet in New York — the dancer's poise that would later define Rachael's silhouette.
Wikipedia1980 · Film debut
After training in dance at Interlochen Arts Academy and the School of American Ballet and modeling in New York, she makes her film debut as Ariadne in Merchant Ivory's Jane Austen in Manhattan, directed by James Ivory and sharing the screen with Anne Baxter.
Wikipedia; TCM1981 · Reporting for duty
Her first big studio spotlight came as MP Louise Cooper in Ivan Reitman's Stripes — shot with the Army's blessing at Fort Knox, where real soldiers filled out the ranks as extras.
Mental Floss, 20151981 · Casting Rachael
After elaborate screen tests for the role of Rachael, Ridley Scott chose the little-known Sean Young because she reminded him of Vivien Leigh — "acerbic, tough, quirky, intelligent."
Future Noir (Paul M. Sammon)1981 · Breakthrough hit
Stripes opens in theaters, with Young as MP Louise Cooper opposite Bill Murray and John Candy. Empire later noted that filming began on her 21st birthday.
Empire, 20161982 · Building Rachael
Costume designers Michael Kaplan and Charles Knode built Rachael's wardrobe on the tailored 1940s suits Adrian made for Joan Crawford, layering grey and beige wools shot with metallic thread and exaggerating the shoulders into "a whacked-out take that pushed the clothes into the future."
AnOther Magazine1982 · Scott's finishing touch
Ridley Scott modeled Rachael's look on golden-age star Hedy Lamarr, whose "severity was spectacular" — reworking the hair on set himself and even applying Young's lipstick with his own hand.
SlashFilm, 20221982 · Old Hollywood style
Rachael's sculpted hairdo "took a long time" every morning, Young recalled — and between takes, her suits were so immaculately tailored that she rested on a leaning board, "just like Bette Davis and Joan Crawford" did.
Daedalus Howell interview, 20071982 · The Voight-Kampff test
Rachael's smoke-wreathed interrogation in Tyrell's office is Ridley Scott's own favorite scene in Blade Runner — and the eerie glint in her eyes was done in-camera, with a half-mirror rig Scott devised with Douglas Trumbull to bounce golden light off the replicants' pupils.
Open Culture, 20171982 · Light through smoke
Those famous shafts of light slicing across Rachael's scenes came from smoke Ridley Scott and cinematographer Jordan Cronenweth pumped into the sets; Cronenweth joked that the perfect density was "just before I lose consciousness."
American Cinematographer / ASC1982 · At Deckard's piano
The tender moment when Rachael lets her hair down at Deckard's piano is scored with Vangelis' "Memories of Green" — a piece the composer loved enough to bring over from his own 1980 album See You Later.
Off-world: The Blade Runner Wiki
Awards night
1982 · Polaroids from 2019
Young kept a Polaroid camera on the Blade Runner set and spent downtime snapping candid shots of Ridley Scott, Rutger Hauer and a bemused Harrison Ford — an intimate scrapbook she later shared with fans, like selfies decades before selfies.
Screen Rant1982 · Premiere night
Blade Runner opens in 1,290 theaters, introducing the world to Rachael — Young's luminous replicant opposite Harrison Ford in Ridley Scott's future-noir, now regarded as one of the greatest science-fiction films ever made.
Wikipedia1982 · Style icon
Rachael's sculpted 1940s-inspired suits and rolled hair, created with costume designers Charles Knode and Michael Kaplan, become one of science-fiction cinema's most imitated looks — still referenced by fashion editors and cosplayers decades on.
Wikipedia1982 · Comedy turn
Just three weeks after Blade Runner, Young stars in Young Doctors in Love — Garry Marshall's feature directing debut — proving she could headline a studio comedy in the same summer she became a sci-fi icon.
Wikipedia1982 · On playing Rachael
“The funny thing is that my character Rachael is absolutely possible by the year 2020... That's what made it very easy to play the character, because it is possible.”
John C. Tibbetts interview, 19821982 · On building a character
“As an actress you mull around for a long time trying to find who your character is, and you do that by yourself... when you wash the dishes... it's just peace time with your own character.”
John C. Tibbetts interview, 19821982 · A dancer's ambition
“I am studying dance and singing and things like that in New York City. Musical comedies are an ambition of mine.”
John C. Tibbetts interview, 19821982 · Imagining the future
“I'm going to be alive in the year 2020, and I just hope that I'm not living in a place like that when I finally get to the year 2020.”
John C. Tibbetts interview, 19821982 · On landing Rachael
“It was really frightening for me to think... I'm going to have to cry, I'm going to have to actually do that. And when it actually came to pass, it wasn't so bad.”
Bobbie Wygant Archive (NBC), 19821982 · Comedy vs. drama
“Now I've come to the conclusion that it's a lot harder to do comedy than it is to do drama... the timing of comedy is much more difficult.”
Bobbie Wygant Archive (NBC), 19821982 · Wrapping Blade Runner
“We had some really funny moments on the last day of shooting, because we were four months ragged and we were finally finishing the film.”
Bobbie Wygant Archive (NBC), 19821982 · Designing Rachael
“The fashion of my character was definitely 1940-ish… it's as if fashion has made a figure 8, starting in the 1940s, going to 1980 and then going to 2020.”
TV interview, 1982 (Reelin' In The Years Archives)
Somewhere in Nashville — Gone Country, 2008
1982 · Armor, then heart
“The big shoulders and the big red lips… made my character appropriately awesome in the beginning of the film… as the film progresses you see my character transform into a much more vulnerable character.”
TV interview, 1982 (Reelin' In The Years Archives)1982 · Engineering Mr. Right
“If I could genetically engineer my own man… well, let's see — Clark Gable would do.”
TV interview, 1982 (Reelin' In The Years Archives)1982 · Anything is possible
“For me anything is possible — if I want something bad enough, it's going to work out for me… My need to do my career is very important to me and my need to have a family is important to me, and I don't feel that one eliminates the other.”
TV interview, 1982 (Reelin' In The Years Archives)1983 · Super-8 on Arrakis
Young brought a Super-8 camera to the Mexico City set of David Lynch's Dune and filmed her own making-of diary — Sting at lunch with the cast, crewmates goofing around, actors dancing in their desert stillsuits — later sharing it set to "The Entertainer."
Gizmodo, 20121983 · Life in a stillsuit
Chani's iconic stillsuit was as intense to wear as it looked — under the desert lights, Young laughed, "we would die in that thing."
Far Out Magazine1984 · Gala premiere
Dune holds its world premiere at the Kennedy Center's Eisenhower Theatre in Washington, D.C., with more than 1,000 guests and the atrium dressed as a palace from a far-off planet. Young stars as Chani in David Lynch's epic, which opened nationwide December 14.
The Washington Post, 19841985 · Adventure lead
Young leads Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend as paleontologist Susan Matthews-Loomis, discovering a living brontosaurus family in Africa in the Touchstone adventure scored by Jerry Goldsmith.
Wikipedia1985 · Literary leading lady
She stars as Fitzgerald's scheming flapper Myra Harper in Under the Biltmore Clock, PBS's American Playhouse adaptation of "Myra Meets His Family," filmed on location in Chicago.
Christian Science Monitor, 19851985 · Fitzgerald on film
Sean played rising screen star Rosemary Hoyt in Tender Is the Night, the six-part BBC/Showtime adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald's novel scripted by legendary writer Dennis Potter, opposite Peter Strauss and Mary Steenburgen.
IMDb1986 · Two nights in paradise
For the sweeping CBS miniseries Blood & Orchids, aired February 23-24, 1986, Sean filmed on location in Hawaii as Leonore Bergman, sharing the screen with Kris Kristofferson and Jane Alexander in a drama set in 1930s Honolulu.
Wikipedia1987 · A perfect nailbiter
As Susan Atwell in No Way Out, Young lit up the limousine ride past the Washington Monument that became one of the decade's most famous movie openings; Roger Ebert awarded the thriller four stars, calling it "a perfect nailbiter."
RogerEbert.com, 19871987 · Box-office smash
No Way Out opens, with Young unforgettable as Susan Atwell opposite Kevin Costner and Gene Hackman in Roger Donaldson's Pentagon thriller — one of the defining suspense films of the decade.
Wikipedia
On the ice — Skating with the Stars, 2010
1987 · Oscar-season release
Oliver Stone's Wall Street reaches theaters, with Young as Kate Gekko alongside Michael Douglas's Oscar-winning Gordon Gekko — her second major studio release of 1987.
Wikipedia1987 · On preparing a role
“I had read the script and I really, really felt strongly about the part, and I had written in my journal just pages about what I thought of Susan, because I thought she was very complex.”
Bobbie Wygant Archive (NBC), 19871987 · On No Way Out
“Certainly it'll start a whole new conception of how people are used to seeing me... I'm pretty subdued in a lot of roles, and I'm definitely laughing my way through the film.”
Bobbie Wygant Archive (NBC), 19871989 · Romantic comedy
Cousins opens on February 10, 1989, with Young starring alongside Ted Danson and Isabella Rossellini in Joel Schumacher's warm remake of the French classic Cousin Cousine.
Wikipedia1989 · Cover girl
“Ah, fabulous! You should put me on the next cover.”
Empire, 2016 — on gracing the cover of Empire's first-ever issue (June/July 1989)1990 · Charity benefit
A board member of the American Tap Dance Orchestra, Sean joined the great Gregory Hines in guest performances at the company's benefit night at Woodpeckers Tap Dance Center in New York City.
American Tap Dance Foundation archives, 19901990 · Action hero
In Fire Birds, Young flies as Apache helicopter pilot Billie Lee Guthrie alongside Nicolas Cage and Tommy Lee Jones in the military action film released Memorial Day weekend 1990.
Wikipedia1991 · Twice the work
In James Dearden's Ira Levin adaptation A Kiss Before Dying, Young pulled double duty as identical twins Dorothy and Ellen Carlsson — playing both the victim and the sister who unravels the mystery, distinguished through subtle shifts in carriage and voice.
Wikipedia1992 · Leading the case
In Lizzie Borden's thriller Love Crimes (1992), Sean carried the film as Atlanta assistant district attorney Dana Greenway opposite Patrick Bergin, with cinematography by Clint Eastwood's longtime collaborator Jack N. Green and a score by Graeme Revell.
Wikipedia1992 · Caper in Monte Carlo
Once Upon a Crime (1992) sent Sean to Monte Carlo as Phoebe, tangled up with Richard Lewis, John Candy, James Belushi and Cybill Shepherd in Eugene Levy's big-screen directing debut — a remake of the 1960 Italian comedy Crimen.
Wikipedia1992 · Spying with Caine
In the London-set spy tale Blue Ice (1992), directed by Russell Mulcahy for HBO Pictures, Sean starred as the mysterious Stacy opposite Michael Caine's jazz-club-owning ex-spy — and Rolling Stones drummer Charlie Watts sat in with the club's band.
Wikipedia1992 · An heiress named Twinkle
Joel Hershman wrote his cult indie Hold Me Thrill Me Kiss Me in just ten days and shot it in eighteen, with Sean gleefully playing the dominating heiress Twinkle alongside Adrienne Shelly, Diane Ladd and Timothy Leary — and the film drew largely positive reviews.
Wikipedia
Between takes
1992 · Showtime mystery
Sean starred as Rayanne Whitfield in Sketch Artist, a stylish Showtime mystery that premiered June 27, 1992, alongside Jeff Fahey and a young Drew Barrymore.
Wikipedia1993 · Spoofing the femme fatale
For Carl Reiner's Fatal Instinct, Young gleefully parodied the smoldering thriller sirens of the era as Lola Cain — sending up the very genre her own films helped define, and earning notices as "very funny" in the role.
Moria review1993 · Comedy chops
Young goes full femme-fatale-spoof as Lola Cain in Carl Reiner's Fatal Instinct, sending up the very thriller genre she helped define — a playful showcase for her comic timing.
Wikipedia1993 · Toronto with Gus
Sean joined Gus Van Sant's starry adaptation of Tom Robbins' Even Cowgirls Get the Blues as Marie Barth, premiering at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 13, 1993, in an ensemble that included Uma Thurman, Keanu Reeves and John Hurt — with a soundtrack written and performed by k.d. lang.
Wikipedia1994 · Her own camera again
True to form, Young shot her own home-video footage on the Ace Ventura set — chatting to camera about what it was like working with Jim Carrey, with co-star Tone Loc happily hopping into frame.
TVOvermind, 20181994 · Number-one opening
Ace Ventura: Pet Detective storms to number one at the box office with a $12.1 million opening weekend. Young's Lieutenant Lois Einhorn, opposite Jim Carrey, becomes one of 90s comedy's most quoted characters.
Wikipedia1994 · Network newsroom drama
As ambitious TV executive Jessica Traynor in NBC's Witness to the Execution (February 13, 1994), Sean anchored a thought-provoking media drama opposite Tim Daly that critics compared to Network and Broadcast News.
Wikipedia1994 · Comic-book camp
In Fox's comic-book romp Model by Day (1994), Sean played a sharp-tongued modeling agent in a cast that featured future X-Men star Famke Janssen as the crime-fighting Lady X.
IMDb1995 · Blade Runner reunion
The thriller Mirage (1995) reunited Sean with her Blade Runner castmate Edward James Olmos — he played the detective, she the enigmatic Jennifer Gale — and Entertainment Weekly cheerfully deemed the ride "worth the rental fee."
Wikipedia / Entertainment Weekly, 19951995 · Double the fun
In the comedy Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde (1995), Sean played Helen Hyde, the impeccably ruthless alter ego who springs to life when Tim Daly's perfume chemist tinkers with his great-grandfather's famous formula.
Wikipedia1996 · Merchant Ivory moment
Ismail Merchant himself directed Sean as Virginia Kelly in The Proprietor (1996), a bilingual French-American production starring the legendary Jeanne Moreau, with Sam Waterston and Nell Carter rounding out the cast.
Wikipedia1996 · Sketching justice
Sean led the USA Network thriller Evil Has a Face (March 20, 1996) as police sketch artist Gwen McGerrall, whose gift for faces helps crack a difficult case.
IMDb
Off duty
1996 · Bradford bestseller
Sean starred as Mallory Ashton Jordan Keswick in Everything to Gain (CBS, October 13, 1996), the very first in CBS's series of telefilms adapted from Barbara Taylor Bradford's bestselling novels, filmed in Montreal with Jack Scalia.
Wikipedia1997 · Rachael speaks again
Fifteen years after the film, Young returned to record Rachael's voice for Westwood Studios' acclaimed Blade Runner PC game, reuniting with original cast members Brion James, James Hong, William Sanderson and Joe Turkel.
Wikipedia1997 · Rachael returns
Young reprises Rachael for Westwood Studios' Blade Runner PC game (November 1997), joining fellow original cast members. The game sold over a million copies and won the Interactive Achievement Award for PC Adventure Game of the Year.
Wikipedia1997 · Chef at the center
Sean took the lead in the indie drama Men (1997) as Stella James, a New York chef starting over in Los Angeles — a film directed by Zoe Clarke-Williams, co-written by the great Karen Black (who also co-starred), and scored by Devo's Mark Mothersbaugh.
Wikipedia1997 · Sci-fi romance
In The Invader (1997), Sean played small-town schoolteacher Annie Nilssen, who finds unexpected love with Ben Cross's stranded alien while Daniel Baldwin gives chase — a gentle sci-fi twist on the star-crossed romance.
Wikipedia1997 · Thriller trio
Exception to the Rule (1997) put Sean in glamorous company: she starred as Angela Bayer opposite Kim Cattrall, a pre-Will & Grace Eric McCormack, and screen veteran William Devane in David Winning's jewel-heist thriller.
Wikipedia1997 · Top-secret scientist
In Motel Blue (1997), Sean played Lana Hawking, a scientist whose top-secret clearance draws the attention of Soleil Moon Frye's rookie investigator — with genre favorites Robert Vaughn and Friends' James Michael Tyler in support, directed by action veteran Sam Firstenberg.
Wikipedia1997 · Lending her voice
For the English version of Nippon Animation's lovely feature The Dog of Flanders (1997), based on Ouida's classic 1872 novel, Sean voiced the adult Sister Alois — the story's tender narrator — alongside Robert Loggia as Grandpa Jehan.
Wikipedia1997 · Directed by Altman
Robert Altman himself directed Sean in "All the President's Women" (May 10, 1997), his episode of the ABC anthology series Gun — a starry hour that also featured Randy Quaid, Jennifer Tilly and her Blade Runner castmate Daryl Hannah.
AllMovie1998 · A star named Sean
In the 1998 TV romance The Cowboy and the Movie Star, Sean played a glamorous actress who shares her own first name — Sean Livingston — falling for Perry King's rancher on a cattle drive.
IMDb2000 · Festival win
Young wins Best Actress at the Cleveland Film Festival for her fearless comic turn as Linda Bronco in Poor White Trash.
Queer Forty, 20232000 · An issue drama
Sean took on the heartfelt role of Joyce Cottrell in USA Network's Secret Cutting (May 30, 2000), an awareness-raising drama based on Steven Levenkron's novel The Luckiest Girl in the World, co-starring Rhea Perlman.
Wikipedia
Premiere cover — May 1989
2001 · Double honors
For The Amati Girls, an ensemble family drama with Cloris Leachman, Mercedes Ruehl and Lee Grant, Young takes home the Scarlett Award at the Marco Island Film Festival and Best Actress at the Sarasota Film Festival.
Queer Forty, 20232001 · Cheer squad mom
Sean played Mrs. Hill, mother to Mena Suvari's Kansas, in the cheerleader-heist comedy Sugar & Spice (2001) — a film Roger Ebert awarded three stars and praised as "alive and risky and saucy."
Wikipedia / Roger Ebert, 20012001 · Award-winning drama
In Mockingbird Don't Sing (2001), the fact-based drama about the famous "Genie" case, Sean played special-education teacher Dr. Judy Bingham — and the film won first prize for best screenplay at the Rhode Island International Film Festival.
Wikipedia2002 · Riding along
Sean joined NBC's acclaimed first-responder drama Third Watch for a two-episode arc in 2002, playing a character named Nancy.
IMDb2003 · Moscow meets L.A.
In a wonderfully international turn, Sean starred as Rachael Somov in eight episodes of Russians in the City of Angels, a 12-part detective series created by Rodion Nahapetov that premiered on Russia's Channel One in January 2003.
IMDb2003 · Prestige crime saga
Sean appeared as Lorelei Klein in "Black Magic Woman," an episode of NBC's ambitious 2003 crime miniseries Kingpin, created by The Wire writer David Mills.
TMDB2003 · Higgins Clark heroine
Sean carried the 2003 PAX-TV mystery Before I Say Goodbye as Nell MacDermott, the resourceful heroine of Mary Higgins Clark's bestselling suspense novel.
IMDb2003 · Patterson premiere
Sean played Joanna Wade in 1st to Die (NBC, 2003), the first screen adaptation of James Patterson's Women's Murder Club series, directed by Russell Mulcahy in an ensemble with Tracy Pollan and Pam Grier.
Wikipedia2003 · Father's Day premiere
Sean played Sandy in Hallmark Channel's The King and Queen of Moonlight Bay, which debuted on Father's Day 2003 — filmed in Lake Havasu, Arizona with Tim Matheson, Ed Asner and a pre-Veronica Mars Kristen Bell.
Rotten Tomatoes2003 · Back to school
Sean guest-starred as Candy Sobell in "Chapter Sixty-Eight," a 2003 episode of David E. Kelley's Fox drama Boston Public.
IMDb2004 · Indie company
Sean appeared as Cosma in Gregory Hatanaka's moody Los Angeles drama Until the Night (2004), sharing the screen with Norman Reedus and Kathleen Robertson.
Wikipedia2004 · Reno's new recruit
Showing off her comedy chops, Sean guest-starred in the season-two finale of Comedy Central's Reno 911! (2004) as one of the mock-documentary's hilarious "replacement deputies" brought in to take over the department.
IMDb
Entertainment Weekly — February 1992
2005 · International role
Young spends four months filming in Russia to portray legendary dancer Isadora Duncan in the miniseries Yesenin — a role that reunited her acting career with her first love, dance.
Wikipedia2005 · Horror royalty
The supernatural chiller Headspace (2005) placed Sean in a genre-lover's dream cast alongside Olivia Hussey, Udo Kier and William Atherton — and the script even sneaks in a nod to H.P. Lovecraft's "Pickman's Model."
Wikipedia2005 · Strachey mystery debut
Sean played Ann Rutka in Third Man Out (2005), the very first film adaptation of Richard Stevenson's beloved Donald Strachey detective novels, starring Chad Allen for the here! network.
Wikipedia2005 · Holiday warmth
In the 2005 holiday movie Home for the Holidays, Sean starred as the loving Aunt Martha who opens her home to four orphaned children — and reunited with her Cowboy and the Movie Star co-star Perry King.
TMDB2006 · Gala evening
Among the stars at Norby Walters' 16th Annual Night of 100 Stars Oscar viewing gala at the Beverly Hills Hotel, celebrating Academy Awards night in classic Hollywood style.
Getty Images, 20062006 · Fan convention regular
A warm and welcome fixture on the convention circuit for years, meeting fans across the United States at autograph shows and film events — the meetings she has often called the best part of the job.
Official bio2006 · Vegas case file
Sean guest-starred as Dusty in "Built to Kill, Part 2" (2006), part of the two-part season-seven opener of CBS's ratings juggernaut CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
TMDB2006 · Madison Avenue thriller
Sean headlined the 2006 TV thriller A Job to Kill For as Jennifer Kamplan, a top advertising executive whose new protégée proves to be far more than she bargained for.
TMDB2007 · Telling the story
For the definitive Blade Runner documentary Dangerous Days, Young sat for one of its 80 interviews, helping piece together the film's making for its 25th-anniversary Final Cut release.
Dangerous Days: Making Blade Runner, 20072007 · County General call
Sean guest-starred as patient Anna Hayes in "Crisis of Conscience" (February 15, 2007), a season-13 episode of NBC's landmark medical drama ER.
IMDb2007 · Visit to Tree Hill
Sean stopped by The WB-turned-CW favorite One Tree Hill as Hope Brown in the season-four episode "The Runaway Found" (2007).
TMDB2007 · Paradise with Selleck
Sean joined Tom Selleck's beloved CBS mystery-movie franchise in Jesse Stone: Sea Change (2007), playing yacht passenger Sybil Martin in a film shot in Halifax, Nova Scotia.
Wikipedia
Movieline — the summer crime issue
2008 · Riding into history
In Glen Pitre's western The Man Who Came Back (2008), inspired by the real 1887 Thibodaux sugar-cane strike, Sean played Kate in a rugged ensemble with Eric Braeden, Billy Zane, Armand Assante and George Kennedy.
Wikipedia2008 · Screamfest premiere
William Malone's dream-logic thriller Parasomnia, featuring Sean as Madeline Volpe alongside Jeffrey Combs and Timothy Bottoms, premiered at Screamfest in Los Angeles on October 17, 2008 — shot on the very stage where Malone had made House on Haunted Hill.
Wikipedia2008 · Demolition derby queen
During CMT's Gone Country 2 (2008), Sean won her celebrity heat in a demolition derby at the Henry County Fairgrounds in Paris, Tennessee — then placed an amazing fourth against 21 professional derby drivers.
Wikipedia2009 · Convention stop
Met New York fans at the Big Apple Comic Con at Pier 94 in Manhattan, signing autographs and posing for photos on the show floor.
Getty Images, 20092010 · Fan signing
Teamed up with author Paul M. Sammon for a California book signing celebrating Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner, greeting collectors and Blade Runner devotees.
Convention Scene, 20092010 · Fan signing
Met fans at a California signing event for her ghost-story drama Haunted Echoes, timed to the film's DVD release.
Convention Scene, 20102010 · Daytime debut
Young debuts as Meggie McClaine on CBS's The Young and the Restless. Planned as a five-episode arc, the role proved so popular the show kept writing for her — she ultimately appeared in some 45 episodes into 2011.
Soap Central, 20112010 · On the ice
Young laces up for ABC's Skating with the Stars, paired with professional skater Denis Petukhov — gliding to Colbie Caillat's "Bubbly" in week one and a swing routine to "Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy" in week two.
Figure Skaters Online, 20102010 · Energy and charm
“Working fast and being present and bringing a lot of energy and charm to my work is actually pretty easy for me. That's the easy part.”
The Young and the Restless official site (CBS), 20102010 · Working is golden
“I think for most actors, working is golden.”
The Young and the Restless official site (CBS), 20102010 · Sultry? Just me
“Maggie's not very sophisticated. She wears an apron and a plaid shirt… "Sultry" was their description. [Laughs] I just call it me!”
TV Guide Magazine, 20102010 · Watching a master
“Eric memorizes his lines at Y&R by going into a kind of trance state. He's like the Cyborg in Star Trek… he throws the script pages away and he's ready to work. It was really wild to watch.”
TV Guide Magazine, 2010
Harper’s Bazaar cover
2011 · Late Show charm
In October 2011, Sean visited Late Show with David Letterman and delighted the audience with a playful self-produced video clip announcing she was ready for new movie roles after years devoted to raising her two sons.
Wikipedia2012 · Dance kept me grounded
“I continued to dance just because it was something that I found grounding, and I needed to be grounded — show business has a kind of ungrounding effect on you.”
SuperMegaFest panel, 20122012 · Making peace
“There were different levels of what you get to do in show business, and you have to make peace with that — you don't always get to do Blade Runner every year.”
SuperMegaFest panel, 20122012 · Guard your enthusiasm
“I just encourage them to be enthusiastic about it, and not to let anybody steal your enthusiasm.”
SuperMegaFest panel, 20122012 · Betting on youth
“I'm encouraged by younger people in general, because the rate at which they can learn is greater than the rate at which us older people learn.”
SuperMegaFest panel, 20122012 · Hard-won wisdom
“I guess I've learned enough over the years that if I can't say anything wonderful, I should just shut up.”
SuperMegaFest panel, 20122012 · Corman in 3D
Sean played Brenda Stratford in Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader (2012), Roger Corman's first-ever 3D production — and Corman told her, "Sean, you were great in the picture but you were miscast. You look too good to be the mother!"
Wikipedia2013 · Charity ice show
A lifelong figure skater, Sean laced up for an Ice Theatre of New York benefit, skating in a celebrity competition alongside Olympic fencing medalist Tim Morehouse and YouTube host Michael Buckley.
Wikipedia2013 · Convention stop
Greeted fans at Wizard World Chicago Comic Con at the Donald E. Stephens Convention Center in Rosemont, Illinois, sitting for portraits and interviews between signings.
HollywoodChicago.com, 20132013 · Gala supporter
Saluted among the friends and supporters in the journal of Ice Theatre of New York's 2013 Benefit Gala at Sky Rink at Chelsea Piers, honoring skating greats Kurt Browning and Sonia Rodriguez.
Ice Theatre of New York gala journal, 20132013 · Premiere night
Stepped out for the New York premiere of Philomena, joining fellow actors and film lovers for an elegant Manhattan evening.
Getty Images, 20132013 · Festival premiere
Indie horror gem Jug Face, with Young starring alongside Larry Fessenden and Lauren Ashley Carter, holds its world premiere at the Slamdance Film Festival in Park City.
Wikipedia
Detour — “Young Gun”
2013 · On making Blade Runner
“I thought we were doing something pretty unusual... just the sets alone were like, 'Holy cow!' ... It's not likely you'll ever see a movie of that scale again.”
Entertainment Tonight, 20132013 · On Harrison Ford
“He had a great sense of humor, and he'd been in the business for quite a long time by then... He's a professional, he knows his stuff.”
Entertainment Tonight, 20132013 · A Spielberg prank
“I do remember when I first met him, I went into his trailer and there was an IV that had a little bag hanging down from it that Steven Spielberg had sent over as a joke.”
Entertainment Tonight, 2013 — on meeting Harrison Ford2013 · On filming Dune
“It was a very unique experience, and we all stayed in the Zona Rosa Hotel there and it was just fantastic... we would go out to eat and drink... and that's pretty much what everyone would do for four months. It was great.”
Entertainment Tonight, 20132013 · A favorite shoot
“It was very heart-warming picture, and I think the reason that it's my favorite is because everybody had the best time making that movie in Vancouver.”
Entertainment Tonight, 20132013 · What matters on set
“What's meaningful to me on a picture is... how well we honor each other. I really like it when actors treat each other well and with respect.”
Entertainment Tonight, 20132013 · On versatility
“I like playing characters that nobody would suspect me to play, and I think I'm pretty versatile that way.”
Entertainment Tonight, 20132013 · Dance discipline
“Once you've danced for four hours a day at Interlochen, everything else is easy.”
HollywoodChicago.com, 20132013 · Spiderwoman says hello
In the Hungarian creature comedy Gingerclown (2013), shot at the old Budapest Amusement Park with practical puppet monsters, Sean voiced Nelly the Spiderwoman in a voice cast for the ages: Tim Curry, Brad Dourif, Lance Henriksen and Michael Winslow.
Wikipedia2013 · Lifting a newcomer
“I really had a gratifying experience being a support to her and being an encouragement, because she's a newcomer and an up-and-comer.”
Diabolique Magazine, 2013 — on her Jug Face co-star2013 · Our little community
“We were all dressed in the same kind of genre… you could tell that we were our own little community.”
Diabolique Magazine, 2013 — on the Jug Face cast2013 · Stage dreams
“The stage is something that's very exciting for me to start working on.”
Diabolique Magazine, 2013
With her dog
2014 · Festival honor
The 31st Oldenburg International Film Festival in Germany honored Sean with the eighth star on its OLB Walk of Fame, unveiled September 12, 2014, as she shone as a special guest of the fest.
Oldenburger Onlinezeitung, 20142015 · Out west
On the Bone Tomahawk set, the producers described Young — playing frontier wife Mrs. Porter — as "a hoot," taking lots of photos and "enjoying every second," one of the screen legends who came out to support S. Craig Zahler's western.
Birth.Movies.Death., 20152015 · Fan-film premiere
Walked the red carpet at the world premiere of Star Trek: Renegades at the Crest Theatre in Westwood, celebrating the fan-supported production in which she plays Dr. Lucien.
ScienceFiction.com, 20152015 · Closing-night premiere
Bone Tomahawk, with Young in the cast alongside Kurt Russell, Patrick Wilson and Richard Jenkins, closes Fantastic Fest 2015 in Austin with its world premiere — the film went on to become a modern cult western.
IndieWire, 20152015 · Fantastic Fest bow
Mickey Keating's stark black-and-white psychological horror Darling premiered at Fantastic Fest on September 26, 2015, with Sean as the elegant Madame who hires Lauren Ashley Carter to watch over one of New York's oldest houses.
Wikipedia2015 · Twelve-day wonder
Darling was shot in New York City in just twelve days as Keating's love letter to Polanski classics like Repulsion — and it earned a fresh 71% from critics, with one calling it "unsettling, distressing and mesmerizing."
Wikipedia / Rotten Tomatoes2015 · Doctor in the Delta Quadrant
Sean beamed into the Star Trek universe as Dr. Lucien in Star Trek: Renegades (2015), directed by Voyager's Tim Russ, joining franchise legends Walter Koenig and Robert Picardo in a fan-funded film that raised over $375,000 and passed a million YouTube views within months.
Wikipedia2015 · Street verdict
“If you go ask any normal person walking the street they will most often say: "I LOVE her."”
The Guardian, 20152015 · Sweetness test
“I'm sweeter than my dog.”
The Guardian, 20152015 · Home in Astoria
“Happily avoiding the world's problems in Astoria with my family and my dog.”
The Guardian, 20152016 · Code name: Rita
Rachael's return in Blade Runner 2049 was so secret the crew referred to her only as "Rita," and Denis Villeneuve's first instruction to the effects team was: "This cannot be discussed with anyone."
Inverse / IndieWire, 20172016 · Passing the torch
Young came to the Blade Runner 2049 set and personally helped the hair and makeup team recreate her 1982 look — the sculpted hair and "classic red lip" — on Loren Peta, the young actress doubling as Rachael.
Inverse (Donald Mowat interview), 2017
An evening out
2016 · A secret session
On a hush-hush weekend in Budapest, Young and body double Loren Peta both performed Rachael's scene in a DI4D facial-capture rig, take for take, giving MPC's animators two living references for every line.
fxguide, 20172016 · Family on set
Young's son worked on Blade Runner 2049 as a production assistant — so mother and son were both on set the day Rachael walked out of the shadows to meet Deckard again.
fxguide, 20172016 · Learning by the camera
“I was very young and had to do a lot of learning on my feet. Whenever I was on set I was always by the camera, which is the area that always interests me.”
Empire, 20162016 · On co-star Sting
“Yes, all the girls were quite impressed. I mean, who's not impressed with Sting? Everyone loves Sting.”
Empire, 20162016 · Is Deckard a replicant?
“I always believed that he was because that's what Ridley's always said.”
Empire, 20162016 · A role called Sweetness
In Ante Novakovic's Italian-American drama Leaves of the Tree (2016), about a dying man's search for a mystical tree's healing leaves, Sean played a character warmly named Sweetness, opposite Eric Roberts and Armand Assante.
Letterboxd2017 · The irreplaceable original
In the end, MPC hand-animated the new Rachael frame by frame from Young's own 1982 performance — her wry smile, the little tilt of her head — after VFX supervisor John Nelson concluded of any substitute: "We just couldn't transfer the soul behind her eyes into digital."
Screen International, 20182017 · Scanned for science
To rebuild young Rachael, Young sat for a present-day Light Stage scan at USC's ICT lab; artists then hand-modeled an anatomically accurate skull, reasoning that bone structure barely changes — her 1982 photographs did the rest.
fxguide, 20172017 · Premiere night
Blade Runner 2049 premieres at the Dolby Theatre in Los Angeles — and audiences discover that Rachael returns, with Young's likeness recreated on screen 35 years after the original, a moment kept secret until opening.
Wikipedia2017 · Behind the scenes
For Rachael's return in Blade Runner 2049, Young worked on set as acting coach and advisor to Loren Peta, the performer whose scenes were transformed with Young's 1982 likeness — a collaboration hailed as a landmark of digital character work.
Screen Daily, 20182017 · Slamdance screwball
Future '38, a screwball sci-fi romance filmed as if Hollywood had made it in 1938, premiered at the Slamdance Film Festival on January 24, 2017 with Sean in the cast as Mabel — and none other than Neil deGrasse Tyson introduces the picture on screen.
Wikipedia2017 · Critics tip their hats
Jamie Greenberg's Future '38 charmed reviewers on its 2017 release, landing a fresh 75% on Rotten Tomatoes for its retro time-travel wit, with Sean sharing the frame with Betty Gilpin and Star Trek's Ethan Phillips.
Rotten Tomatoes / Wikipedia
A day by the ocean
2017 · Queens neighborhood tale
In the neighborhood comedy Lost Cat Corona (2017), shot on location in Corona and Whitestone, Queens, Sean played Roxie in a delightful ensemble around Ralph Macchio's cat-hunting everyman — with Gina Gershon, Paul Sorvino and Tom Wopat along for the search.
Wikipedia2017 · Family business
The indie comedy The Networker (2017) cast Sean as Margie Mangano, matriarch of a family printing firm, opposite William Forsythe and Stephen Baldwin under director John A. Gallagher.
Letterboxd2017 · Film is community
“Film is a community of people who work together, and they try to put the best thing together.”
Blade Runner 2049 Q&A, Alamo Drafthouse, 20172017 · That's not CGI
“The scene with Jared Leto with the pyramid and all of the reflections on the wall — those aren't special effects, that's lighting… one of the most sophisticated lighting rigs I had ever seen.”
Blade Runner 2049 Q&A, Alamo Drafthouse, 20172017 · Clone or original
“I remember thinking about that topic when we did the original Blade Runner — what's the difference between a clone and the original?”
Blade Runner 2049 Q&A, Alamo Drafthouse, 20172017 · Proud mom on set
“He was there all throughout principal photography… it was almost like a four-year college education.”
Blade Runner 2049 Q&A, 2017 — on her son working on the film2017 · Actors and immortality
“I think all actors are kind of somewhat concerned with our extinction… you don't really need actors at a certain point, because you have the ability to recreate them.”
Blade Runner 2049 Q&A, Alamo Drafthouse, 20172017 · What's really mine
“Sometimes I wonder what really belongs to me and what is actually what I've been conditioned to believe… where does it begin and where does it end? That's what I think the movie addresses.”
Blade Runner 2049 Q&A, Alamo Drafthouse, 20172018 · Academy celebration
On hand at the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences' 2018 New Members Party at Top of the Rock's 620 Loft and Garden in New York City.
Getty Images, 20182018 · Prestige television
Young appears as Mrs. Van Bergen in TNT's lavish Gilded Age mystery The Alienist, joining the acclaimed adaptation of Caleb Carr's bestseller for four episodes.
IMDb2018 · The secret of comedy
“You have to retain the energy and not give it away before they call action... comedy is much harder than drama in my opinion.”
Fatal Instinct screening Q&A, 20182019 · Convention stop
Guest at Fan Expo Boston at the Boston Convention & Exhibition Center, meeting New England fans for autographs and photo ops.
Roster Con, 2019
Women’s Image Network Awards
2019 · Blade Runner reunion
Represented Blade Runner at Fan Expo Canada at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre, sharing a lively Q&A panel with co-star Edward James Olmos.
NOW Toronto, 20192019 · Convention stop
Welcomed fans to her table at New York Comic Con at the Javits Center, signing and chatting with Blade Runner devotees all weekend.
Roster Con, 20192019 · Teleporting adventure
In David Giancola's throwback sci-fi adventure Axcellerator (2019), Sean played Amanda Graham in a cast that reunited 1980s favorites, including Flash Gordon himself, Sam J. Jones, and Dynasty's John James.
Letterboxd2019 · Loving direction
“Please tell me what you want, because then I can do it — I feel so capable of following instruction. That part seems so easy to me.”
Fan Expo Canada Q&A, 20192019 · Smudged into icon
“He just kind of came up to me and smushed my eyes… I was a bit taken aback, because most women want their makeup to look good — and I thought, what the heck.”
Fan Expo Canada Q&A, 2019 — on Ridley Scott perfecting Rachael's look2019 · Finding Rachael's voice
“He made me smoke cigarettes because he wanted to lower my voice, because I sounded too young.”
Fan Expo Canada Q&A, 20192019 · First entrance
“When I saw my face come up on the screen — the very first entrance shot of my character Rachael — I thought, damn, that's pretty amazing looking. It reminded me a lot of Joan Crawford.”
Fan Expo Canada Q&A, 20192020 · The Dune family
“It was an international crew, we all loved it, we were all happy.”
Her Super-8 Dune footage narration, via Far Out Magazine, 20202020 · With Ed Asner
The family drama Rain Beau's End (2020), directed by Tracy Wren, gave Sean the role of political consultant Nat Flickerman in a story about a prominent couple raising an adopted son — sharing billing with the beloved Ed Asner in one of his final films.
Letterboxd2020 · Cult film salute
Sean appears in Volume 2 ("Horror and Sci-Fi") of the 2020 documentary series Time Warp: The Greatest Cult Films of All Time, joining the celebration of the movies fans never stopped loving.
TMDB2020 · Film history voice
Sean sat down for director Danny Wolf's 2020 documentary Skin: A History of Nudity in the Movies, sharing her perspective as part of a sweeping oral history of Hollywood told by the actors who lived it.
Wikipedia2021 · Dr. Luna calling
Nearly forty years after Rachael, Young lent her voice to the indie horror game Happy's Humble Burger Farm as the scientist Dr. Rachelle Luna — a first name fans instantly recognized as a wink to her most famous role.
MobyGames credits, 2021
On the red carpet
2021 · On Jim Carrey
“He's the only leading man who ever did that for me. Jim came in and said, 'No, no, no. Whatever you're hearing is bullshit. She's great.'”
The Daily Beast, 20212021 · A lasting legacy
“People will be watching Blade Runner forever... they'll be able to find stuff I've done in my 20s, 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s — and maybe even my 70s.”
The Daily Beast, 20212021 · Back among sandworms
Thirty-seven years after playing Chani in David Lynch's Dune, Sean returned to a desert planet full of giant sandworms as Chase in The Asylum's Planet Dune (2021) — a wink-and-a-nod companion piece released alongside the blockbuster remake.
Letterboxd2021 · Dune remembered on film
Sean is featured in The Sleeper Must Awaken: Making Dune (2021), Ballyhoo Motion Pictures' feature-length documentary chronicling David Lynch's Dune through interviews and archival treasures alongside Lynch, Sting and Frank Herbert.
TMDB2022 · Festival guest
Headlined the celebrity guest list at the sixth annual Chandler International Film Festival in Arizona, walking the opening-night red carpet at LOOK Dine-In Cinema and taking questions from fans.
AZ Big Media, 20222022 · Classic-movie cruise
Sailed with movie lovers on the TCM Classic Cruise aboard the Disney Dream from Miami to Grand Cayman and Castaway Cay, joining screenings, fan events, and in-depth interviews at sea.
Fox News, 20222022 · Podcast tribute
Karina Longworth's acclaimed Hollywood history podcast You Must Remember This devotes an episode of its "Erotic 80s" season to Young and Kevin Costner's 1988 star moment, revisiting No Way Out for a new generation of fans.
You Must Remember This, 20222022 · On Harrison, later
“I had a great time working with Harrison Ford. He's mellowed out over the years.”
Fox News, 20222022 · First-day nerves
“I remember the first day on set, I was so nervous. I remember I had to say a line like 25 times until Ridley Scott finally said, 'Let's move on.'”
Fox News, 20222022 · Still working, still loving it
“It's been amazing to me that, at this age, I'm still working. And I feel really good about it.”
Fox News, 20222022 · Life today
“You know, I'm at peace. Life is very pleasant.”
Fox News, 20222022 · A true story of kindness
Sean starred with Dean Cain and T.C. Stallings in No Vacancy (2022), a Fathom Events release based on the true story of a Leesburg, Florida church that bought a motel and turned it into housing for homeless families — filmed in Leesburg with locals as extras.
Wikipedia
Festival night
2022 · Eighties sci-fi tribute
Sean appears in In Search of Tomorrow (2022), David A. Weiner's epic fan-funded documentary celebrating 1980s science-fiction cinema year by year — a genre she helped define with Blade Runner and Dune.
Wikipedia2023 · Dune, remembered
Young was among the nearly 30 voices — alongside Kyle MacLachlan and Virginia Madsen — who sat down for Max Evry's definitive oral history of Lynch's Dune, A Masterpiece in Disarray, sharing memories of the Mexico City shoot four decades on.
A Masterpiece in Disarray (Max Evry), 20232023 · Stage debut
Young opens off-Broadway in Ode to the Wasp Woman at New York's Actors Temple Theatre, playing 1950s B-movie star Susan Cabot in a 13-week run — the New York stage debut she had wanted, she said, since graduating from Interlochen Arts Academy.
Queer Forty, 20232023 · Festival honors
The Activated Man premieres as the Closing Night Film of Dances With Films NYC at Regal Union Square, and Young's turn as the hero's mother earns her a jury prize for Best Supporting Actress as the film collects some 30 awards on the festival circuit.
ScreenAnarchy, 2023; IMDb2023 · Her stage debut
“I'm ecstatic about coming to New York and working onstage. This is something I've wanted to do since graduating from Interlochen Arts Academy.”
Playbill, 20232023 · Knowing herself
“I've always known who I am, with or without it.”
Playbill, 20232023 · Learning her lines
“It only took a few days to get them into my head. I've taken Omega-3 for 30 years and it really helps my memory.”
TheaterMania, 20232023 · Freer than ever
“I am also in a place where I feel I can be freer when I act.”
TheaterMania, 20232023 · A musical someday
“I would love to do a stage musical. I might be scared at first, but my confidence explodes by the third and fourth day.”
TheaterMania, 20232023 · Her first inspiration
“I fell in love with Singin' in the Rain and I had a massive crush on Gene Kelly like a lot of people.”
The Motivation Show podcast, 20232023 · Gratitude every day
“I have a pretty much blissful life every single day I wake up. I appreciate things.”
The Motivation Show podcast, 20232023 · The town witch
In the supernatural tale Ouija Witch (2023), directed by Robert Michael Ryan, Sean took on the deliciously mystical role of Lilith, the local witch whose powers set the whole story in motion.
Letterboxd
On the road
2023 · Madam President
Sean was elected to the highest office at last in the Tubi Original disaster thriller DC Down (2023), playing President Powell — trapped beneath the White House rubble after an earthquake — with Eric Roberts as the scheming Speaker of the House.
Letterboxd2023 · Sci-fi scientist
In Dana Cowden's indie science-fiction film MY-01 (2023), about an android programmed to feel simulated emotions, Sean played Dr. Athena Bennett opposite Eric Roberts.
Letterboxd2023 · Mexico City auditions
“I auditioned with Val Kilmer, and I auditioned with Tom Cruise. I was there in Mexico City when they were there, and they were auditioning people.”
A Masterpiece in Disarray (MovieMaker excerpt), 20232023 · Turning down Val
“What for? You're dating Cher! Why would I need your number?”
A Masterpiece in Disarray (MovieMaker excerpt), 20232023 · Grateful for family
“I'm really grateful that I got to have a family.”
People, 20232023 · A great soldier
“I'm not really a great actor. I'm a great soldier. I know how to show up.”
People, 20232023 · Defining success
“I got offers… they gave me an income and they gave me a job and I never had to do any other job. So that, to me… that's success.”
People, 20232024 · Ballpark meet-up
In Ace Ventura's 30th-anniversary year, she did some fine detective work at Canal Park, meeting Akron RubberDucks fans at a special pregame VIP meet-and-greet on June 1.
MiLB.com, 20242024 · Screening Q&A
Joined the Olympia Film Society at the historic Capitol Theater in Olympia, Washington, on June 22 for Blade Runner: The Final Cut followed by a post-film audience Q&A.
Olympia Film Society, 20242024 · Kaiju admiral
Sean commanded the fleet as Admiral Lemuria in The Asylum's monster romp Ape x Mecha Ape: New World Order (2024), in which the giant ape and his mechanical rival must team up against a creature from beneath the ocean floor.
Letterboxd2024 · Indie thriller turn
In Anthony Repinski's tight 73-minute revenge thriller Heather (2024), Sean appeared as Caitlyn alongside Pooya Mohseni's title character, adding star wattage to the indie's small ensemble.
Letterboxd2025 · Festival screening
A guest of the TCM Classic Film Festival in Hollywood, attending opening night and introducing a packed midnight screening of Blade Runner: The Final Cut at the Egyptian Theatre.
Cinema Sentries, 20252025 · Convention stop
Crossed the Atlantic to meet UK fans at Showmasters' London Film & Comic Con at Olympia London, July 5-6, 2025.
Alamy Live News, 20252025 · Innkeeper of mystery
Sean checked into a classic Agatha Christie-style whodunit as innkeeper Harriet Hubbard — complete with a playful British accent — in The Dummy Detective (2025), Rob Margolies' comic mystery starring real-life ventriloquist Jonathan Geffner and his wooden partner.
Letterboxd2026 · Convention stop
Returned to Olympia London as a guest of Showmasters' London Comic Con Spring, February 28 to March 1, 2026, signing and meeting sci-fi fans.
London Comic Con Spring, 20262026 · Blade Runner reunion
Reunited with Blade Runner co-star Edward James Olmos as featured guests of Comicpalooza at Houston's George R. Brown Convention Center over Memorial Day weekend.
CultureMap Houston, 20262026 · Kentucky homecoming
The Kentucky-born star came home as a special guest of the Harry Dean Stanton Fest in Lexington, July 10-12, remembering her Young Doctors in Love co-star ahead of his 100th birthday.
WUKY, 2026