Ione Skye

This dark-haired attractive actor began her career in juvenile parts and made the transition to more adult roles. The daughter of 1960s folk singer Donovan, Skye was raised by her mother in California and Connecticut. She began as a child model. Director Tim Hunter saw her in a fashion layout and cast her as Clarissa in "River's Edge" (1986). Skye went on to appear as a female friend of River Phoenix's title character in "A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon" (1988) and gave a winning performance as high school heartthrob Diane Court in Cameron Crowe's fine, bittersweet love story, "Say Anything" (1989). She shone as the surly older daughter in Allison Anders' "Gas Food Lodging" (1992), which also co-starred her brother, actor-producer Donovan Leitch. Skye appeared as a coven member in Anders' "Strange Brew" segment of "Four Rooms" (1995) and made her directorial debut with the short comedy "Bed, Bath and Beyond" (1996), co-directed with Andrew Durham and Sofia Coppola. Skye portrayed an aspiring actress in the romantic comedy "Dream for an Insomniac" (filmed in 1996; released in 1998).

In 1992, Skye married musician-actor Adam Horovitz, the son of playwright-director Israel Horovitz. The pair appeared together in small roles in "CITYSCRAPES los angeles" (lensed in 1994; shown at festivals in 1996) but have since divorced. Meanwhile, Skye made appearances on the small screen. She made her television debut as the Emperor's younger sister in the miniseries "Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story" (ABC, 1987), was a regular on the short-lived medieval adventure "Covington Cross" (ABC, 1992) and co-starred in the 1994 Showtime remake of the 50s drama "Girls in Prison.” After portraying a newlywed forced to deal with a possessive and controlling mother-in-law in the TV movie “The Perfect Mother” (CBS, 1997), Skye went back to film, playing the ex-girlfriend of a young man (Rick Stear) whose financial problems and descent into alcoholism ended their relationship in the independently released “Went to Coney Island on a Mission from God…Be Back by Five” (1998).

Skye made a small appearance in the little-seen and critically panned “But I’m a Cheerleader” (2000), a teen black comedy about a seemingly perfect high school student (Natasha Lyonne) who is sent to a rehabilitation camp because her parents think she’s a lesbian. She then starred in an episode of the revamped “Twilight Zone” (UPN, 2002-2003) as a woman whose brush with death from a speeding car unravels her once happy life. After playing Blythe Danner’s daughter in the made-for-TV movie “Back When We Were Grownups” (CBS, 2004), Skye went to bat in “Fever Pitch” (2005) as the friend of a corporate executive (Drew Barrymore) whose developing relationship with a rabid Boston Red Sox fan (Jimmy Fallon) begins to deteriorate when the season begins.

  • Also Credited As:
    Ione Skye Leitch
  • Born:
    Ione Skye Leitch on September 4, 1970 in Hertfordshire, England, United Kingdom
  • Job Titles:
    Actor, Model
Family
  • Brother: Donovan Leitch. Born in 1968; singer of Camp Freddy and former member of Nancy Boy
  • Daughter: Goldie Priya Lee. Born Sept. 24, 2009; father, Ben Lee
  • Daughter: Kate Netto. Born in 2001; father, David Netto
  • Father: Donovan Leitch. Divorced from Skye s mother
  • Half-sister: Astrella Leitch. Born c. 1972; daughter of Donovan Leitch and Linda Lawrence; formed band Echolalia with sister Oriole
  • Half-sister: Oriole Leitch. Born c. 1973; daughter of Donovan Leitch and Linda Lawrence; formed band Echolalia with sister Astrella
  • Mother: Enid Karl. Divorced from Skye s father
  • Step-mother: Linda Lawrence. Had a long-term relationship and two children with Donovan Leitch
Significant Others
  • Husband: Ben Lee. Australian; married Dec. 29, 2008 in an intimate Hindu ceremony at the Narayani Peedam in Vellore, India
  • Companion: David Netto. together from c. 2000
  • Companion: Jenny Shimizu. reportedly dated in 1999
Education
  • Hollywood High School, Los Angeles, CA, 1987
Milestones
  • 1986 Screen acting debut in Tim Hunter s River s Edge
  • 1987 TV-movie debut in Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story (ABC)
  • 1988 Cast as a spoiled rich girl, opposite River Phoenix, in A Night in the Life of Jimmy Reardon
  • 1989 Breakthrough role as Diane Court, opposite John Cusack, in the Cameron Crowe-directed Say Anything
  • 1990 Had a significant role in the drama Mindwalk, starring Sam Waterston
  • 1992 Appeared opposite Drew Barrymore in Guncrazy
  • 1992 Co-starred with brother, Donovan Leitch, in the independent Gas Food Lodging
  • 1992 Made TV series debut in the short-lived ABC show Covington Cross
  • 1995 Cast in Allison Anders segment of Four Rooms about a coven of witches
  • 1996 Co-directed first short film, Bed, Bath and Beyond ; collaborated with Sofia Coppola and Andrew Durham
  • 1998 Starred in the independent comedy drama Went to Coney Island on a Misson From God... Be Back by Five
  • 1998 Starred in the independent film Dream for an Insomniac (filmed in 1996)
  • 2005 Played Drew Barrymore s friend in the Farrelly brother s comedy Fever Pitch
  • 2007 Had a small role in the David Fincher film Zodiac
  • Began modeling at age two
  • Raised in San Francisco, Connecticut and Los Angeles

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