After more than 15 years of work in mostly forgettable films, the attractive, dark-haired whispery-voiced Anne Archer rejuvenated her career as the sexy and sympathetic wife of Michael Douglas in Adrian Lyne's "Fatal Attraction" (1987), which earned her a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination. She had landed her first screen lead in "Lifeguard" (1976), opposite Sam Elliott, and continued to work, alternating between TV and film, but it wasn't until "Attraction" that things began to change. Archer subsequently began appearing, usually as the steadfast spouse, in big-budget high-profile Hollywood features including "Patriot Games" (1992), "Body of Evidence" (1993) and "Clear and Present Danger" (1994). A change of pace role was her turn as Angelina Jolie's alluring mother in the independent feature "Mojave Moon" (1996), followed by a pair of thankless roles in the military legal drama "Rules of Engagement" (2000) opposite Tommy Lee Jones, and the action thriller "The Art of War" (2000) opposite Wesley Snipes. After appearing in a series of lower profile indies, Archer resurfaced as Tommy Lee Jones' college professor love interest in the comedy "Man of the House" (2005).
On the small screen, Archer began with a guest appearance on "The Storefront Lawyers" (CBS) and was cast as one of the title foursome in the short-lived sitcom version of Paul Mazursky's feature "Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice" (ABC, 1973). She went on to amass a string of credits, mostly in run-of-the-mill fodder. After her big screen success, her TV roles improved. She appeared in several longforms inspired by true accounts, including the superior "Leap of Faith" (CBS, 1988), as a woman coping with a fatal illness, "Jane's House" (CBS, 1994), as the new wife of a widower, and "The Man in the Attic" (Showtime, 1995), as a married woman who enslaves a young man in her home. Further telepics, including "Indiscretion of an American Wife" (1998), "My Husband's Secret Life" (1998) and "Night of the Wolf" (2002).