Jessica Lange Honoured With Visionary Award at Virginia Film Festival
Two-time Oscar winner Jessica Lange received the Visionary Award at the Virginia Film Festival in October, where she also brought her film adaptation of Long Day's Journey Into Night.
The 39th annual festival ran from October 21 to 25, 2026, in Charlottesville, Virginia. Virginia Film Festival announced the honour on October 27. Ben Mankiewicz, the primetime host of Turner Classic Movies, moderated a discussion with Lange during the event.
The film is based on Eugene O'Neill's Pulitzer Prize-winning play about a troubled family over a single summer day. Lange worked with writer David Lindsay-Abaire to bring it to the big screen. It was shot in 2022 and opened in theatres in September, according to Variety. An earlier film version, starring Katharine Hepburn, came out in 1962.
Lange has played the lead role, Mary Tyrone, for a long time. She first performed it on the London stage in 2000, becoming the first American actress to receive an Olivier Award nomination. She returned to the part on Broadway in 2016 and won a Tony Award for it.
Speaking on The Hollywood Reporter's Awards Chatter podcast, Lange said she would not mind ending her career with the role of Mary Tyrone. The remark has drawn attention because of questions about whether she is stepping back from acting.
Her record across screen and stage is long. She has won two Oscars, three Emmys and one Tony. That places her among 24 people who have won what is called the triple crown of acting: an Oscar, an Emmy and a Tony, each awarded to the same performer. She won an Emmy for the HBO limited series Grey Gardens in 2009. She also appeared in four seasons of American Horror Story, from 2011 to 2015, and won Emmys for two of them.
Her film career began in 1976 with producer Dino De Laurentiis's remake of King Kong. She had been working part-time as a model when she was discovered for the role.
The Visionary Award adds a new honour to that list, and the festival's tribute came as her latest film was in cinemas. Lange's next project has not been announced.
