#MacabroCoven: Sigourney Weaver, the Queen of Science Fiction

By Casandra Vicario

Today, April 26, is “Alien Day”, and so we dedicate a few lines to the “queen of science fiction”, Sigourney Weaver, who brought Lieutenant Ellen Ripley to life in this film saga — one of our favorites.

The “Alien Day” is a new celebration that began officially in 2016 and falls on the 26th day of the 4th month, a reference to Planet Archeron, the place where our xenomorph friend was found — the planet was called LV-426.

Ellen Ripley, our favorite heroine, is played by Sigourney Weaver, born October 8, 1949. Her “real” name is Susan Alexandra Weaver, she was born in Manhattan, New York, and holds a Guinness World Record as one of the tallest actresses in Hollywood, standing an impressive 1.82 m (5'11")!

She studied English Literature at Stanford, then went on to enroll at the Yale School of Drama in New York. Her film debut came in “Annie Hall,” directed by Woody Allen, in 1977; two years later, she would bring to life the character that marked not only her but many of us, Lieutenant Ellen Ripley, a role that also earned her the satisfaction of an Oscar nomination.

Within the saga, Sigourney Weaver played Ripley on four occasions, “Alien” (1979), “Aliens” (1986), “Alien 3 (1992)”, for this installment she also served as producer and “Alien Resurrection” (1997).

Ellen Louise Ripley is one of the greatest female characters in film history, defying traditional gender roles and inspiring generations of women to be themselves.

Today there is an entire universe built around this franchise, from collectible toys, sneakers, books, clothing, and, of course, film prequels and extended versions of what already exists.

Weaver also appeared in other films such as “Ghostbusters” (1984), “Gorillas in the Mist” (1988), “Ghostbusters 2” (1989) “Copycat” (1994) and “Avatar” (2009), to name a few.

Here are a few things you might not know about her: she holds a black belt in karate, speaks French and German, in 2014, she lent her voice to the video game “Alien: Isolation.”

More recently, in 2019, students at Bergen High School in New Jersey staged a play inspired by “Alien”, and it was such a success that one day they got a surprise, Sigourney Weaver, was in the audience. Talk about a fairy godmother!