Susan Sarandon Biography 2026: Age, Height, Net Worth, UN Arrest, Oscar Career & Facts

Susan Sarandon is an American actress and activist whose career spans more than half a century, from cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show to her Academy Award-winning turn in Dead Man Walking. At 79, she remains as newsworthy as ever: Sarandon was arrested on September 24, 2026, during a protest against Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu outside the United Nations in New York, and earlier that month made headlines at the Venice Film Festival for revealing that industry agencies have pressured clients not to hire her.

This Susan Sarandon biography covers her age, height, family, Oscar-winning career, activism, net worth, and the latest developments in 2026, including her legal case and new film work.

Quick Facts

Full Name	Susan Abigail Tomalin
Nick Name	Susie
Profession	Actress, Activist, Producer
Birth Date	October 4, 1946
Age	80 years old
Birth Place	Queens (Jackson Heights), New York City, USA
Nationality	American
Known For	Dead Man Walking, Thelma & Louise, The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Bull Durham
Ethnicity	English, French and Welsh descent
Zodiac Sign	Libra
Height & Weight	5 feet 4 inches (163 cm), approx. 58 kg (128 lbs)
Hair Color	Blonde (naturally light brown)
Eye Color	Green
Qualification	Studied drama at Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C.
Religion	Roman Catholic (progressive views)
Marital Status	Divorced (1979); currently private
Relationships	Ex-husband Chris Sarandon (1967-1979); partners Franco Amurri, Tim Robbins (1988-2009), Jonathan Bricklin
Children	3: Eva Amurri (b. 1985), Jack Henry Robbins (b. 1989), Miles and Henry Robbins
Family Tree	Father: Phillip Tomalin; Mother: Mary Eleanor Tomalin; siblings: 4 brothers and sisters
Hobbies	Activism, Reading, Fashion, Travel
Current Work	Film, Television, Activism (anti-death-penalty, progressive causes)
Years Active	1970–present
Net Worth (2026)	Estimated $50-60 Million

If you follow Susan Sarandon, you likely also follow actresses and personalities from her circle such as Geena Davis, Tim Robbins, Eva Amurri, Jessica Lange, Cher, Jane Fonda, Maria Shriver, and fellow activists who have merged Hollywood careers with political causes.

Early Life & Education

Susan Abigail Tomalin was born on October 4, 1946, in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens, New York, the eldest of nine children of Phillip and Mary Eleanor Tomalin. She grew up in a tight-knit, upper-middle-class household and attended Catholic schools before enrolling at Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., where she studied drama and met fellow student Chris Sarandon, an aspiring actor whom she married in 1967 – and whose surname she kept for the rest of her career, even after their divorce.

After graduating, Sarandon worked odd jobs, including stints as a house painter and waitress, while auditioning for stage and screen roles. The break came quickly: within a few years of her 1970 film debut, she was a working actress, and by the middle of the decade she had become a fixture of American cinema’s most ambitious era.

Career Journey and Recent Activity in 2026

Sarandon’s career is a rare blend of commercial hits, prestige dramas, and cultural milestones, sustained across five decades and now extending into a legally eventful 79th year.

Rise to Fame (1970-1990)

Sarandon made her film debut in Joe (1970) and spent the 1970s in a mix of television and film work before landing the role that made her a cult icon: Janet Weiss in The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975), the camp musical that still packs midnight screenings half a century later. The 1980s brought steadily bigger parts – Louis Malle’s Atlantic City (1980) earned her first Academy Award nomination, followed by The Witches of Eastwick (1987) and the baseball romance Bull Durham (1988), which made her a mainstream star and led to her second nomination for White Palace (1991).

Oscar Glory and Peak Stardom (1991-1999)

The early 1990s were Sarandon’s imperial phase. She earned back-to-back-to-back nominations for Thelma & Louise (1991), Lorenzo’s Oil (1992) and The Client (1994) – winning the BAFTA for the last – while also playing Marmee in Little Women (1994). In 1995 she starred as Sister Helen Prejean in Tim Robbins’ Dead Man Walking, a performance that won her the Academy Award for Best Actress in March 1996, along with the Screen Actors Guild Award. She and Robbins were together from 1988 until 2009, one of Hollywood’s most prominent couples, and she continued with hits like Stepmom (1998).

Later Career: Television, Franchises and Prestige Work (2000-2025)

Sarandon stayed busy through the 2000s and 2010s with films such as Igby Goes Down (2002), Alfie (2004), Enchanted (2007), The Lovely Bones (2009) and Cloud Atlas (2012), and pivoted successfully to television: her turn as Bette Davis in Ryan Murphy’s Feud: Bette and Joan (2017) brought Golden Globe and Emmy nominations a full four decades into her career. She has also become a go-to narrator and supporting presence in streaming series and independent films.

2026: Venice Film Festival and UN Protest Arrest

Sarandon’s 2026 has been dominated by activism and its consequences. At the Venice Film Festival in September 2026 – where her project The Echo Chamber was presented – she told reporters, “I found my family, I found my people and I’m OK,” and disclosed that “I’ve still had movies taken away recently because there are agencies that are telling people not to hire me still,” reigniting the debate about whether her political views have cost her work. On September 24, 2026, she was arrested at a protest against Netanyahu’s visit to the United Nations in New York, along with fellow activists and public figures. Her case remains pending as of mid-October 2026.

Career Stats

• Academy Award nominations: 5 (Atlantic City, Thelma & Louise, Lorenzo’s Oil, The Client, Dead Man Walking) – 1 win
• BAFTA Award: Best Actress for The Client (1995)
• Screen Actors Guild Award: Outstanding Actress for Dead Man Walking (1996)
• Golden Globe nominations: 10, including Bull Durham, Thelma & Louise, Dead Man Walking and Feud
• Notable films: The Rocky Horror Picture Show, Bull Durham, Thelma & Louise, The Client, Little Women, Dead Man Walking, Stepmom, Igby Goes Down, Enchanted, The Lovely Bones

Personal Life

Sarandon’s personal life has been defined by long partnerships rather than marriages – she has been divorced once and has never remarried – and by three children who have grown up in the public eye.

Family and Children

Her first marriage, to actor Chris Sarandon, lasted from 1967 to 1979 and gave her the professional name she still uses. With Italian filmmaker Franco Amurri she had her first child, daughter Eva Amurri, born in 1985; Eva has become an actress and writer in her own right. Sarandon’s longest partnership was with director and actor Tim Robbins, from 1988 to 2009, with whom she had two sons: Miles (born 1992) and Henry (born 1994). She also has a son, Jack Henry Robbins, born in 1989. Sarandon has said that remaining a partner rather than a wife was a deliberate philosophical choice, and she has spoken openly about preferring egalitarian relationships to traditional ones.

Dating History and Relationships

After her marriage to Chris Sarandon ended in 1979, Sarandon was briefly involved with filmmaker Franco Amurri, followed by the two-decade partnership with Tim Robbins, which ended in 2009. She later dated businessman Jonathan Bricklin in the mid-2010s. As of 2026, she has not publicly confirmed a romantic partner and prefers to keep that part of her life private; any claims about her current relationship status should be treated as speculation until confirmed by Sarandon herself.

Controversies

The 2023 rally remarks: In November 2023, comments Sarandon made at a pro-Palestinian rally in New York were widely criticized as antisemitic; she issued a public apology, saying the remarks had caused pain, and the episode led to industry fallout that she discussed publicly a year later.

The 2026 arrest and alleged blacklisting: Sarandon’s September 24, 2026, arrest during the UN protest drew both support and condemnation, with critics arguing celebrities should not be politicizing diplomatic events and supporters calling the arrest an overreaction. Her Venice statements about agencies steering work away from her added fuel to a long-running argument about whether outspoken progressive actors face quiet blacklists in Hollywood.

Sarandon has never shied away from the resulting debate; she has argued repeatedly that silence on political issues is itself a form of complicity, a stance that has cost her work, she says, but never her conviction.

Awards & Achievements

• Academy Award for Best Actress – Dead Man Walking (1996 ceremony)
• BAFTA Award for Best Actress – The Client (1995)
• Screen Actors Guild Award – Outstanding Actress in a Leading Role, Dead Man Walking
• 5 Oscar nominations overall and 10 Golden Globe nominations
• Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for Feud: Bette and Joan (2017-2018)
• Recognized internationally for humanitarian and anti-death-penalty advocacy

Physical Statistics

Susan Sarandon stands 5 feet 4 inches (163 cm) tall and weighs approximately 58 kg (128 lbs). She has blonde hair (naturally a light brown) and green eyes, and is regularly cited as one of Hollywood’s most ageless stars – in her late 70s, she continues to appear on magazine covers and festival red carpets. Sarandon has credited an active lifestyle and good genes for her vitality, and she remains known for her bold fashion choices, from statement gowns at Cannes to casual looks at New York protests.

Quotes

• “I found my family, I found my people and I’m OK.” – Venice Film Festival, September 2026
• “I’ve still had movies taken away recently because there are agencies that are telling people not to hire me still.” – Venice Film Festival press conference, 2026
• “I think that this has exorcised every last bit of nun out of me.” – on winning Harvard’s Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year honor, 1996

Favorites

• Favorite role: Sister Helen Prejean in Dead Man Walking – the performance she won her Oscar for
• Close friend and inspiration: Sister Helen Prejean, the death-penalty activist portrayed in the film
• Political causes: Death-penalty abolition, refugee rights, gender equality, LGBTQ+ advocacy
• Candidate she has endorsed: Bernie Sanders (2016 and 2020 presidential campaigns)
• Favorite city: New York, her lifelong home base
• Favorite things: Reading, travel, vintage fashion, and marching in protests

Earnings and Net Worth in 2026

As of 2026, Susan Sarandon’s estimated net worth is in the range of $50-60 million, according to celebrity net-worth trackers. Her wealth comes from more than 50 years of film and television salaries, backend profits from hits like Thelma & Louise and Dead Man Walking, residual income from cult classics, and occasional endorsement work.

While the alleged slowdown in her casting may have reduced her recent income, Sarandon continues to earn from film festivals, narration, producing, and her long catalog of licensed work. Her financial picture is typical of a durable A-list career: not the biggest fortune in Hollywood, but an enviable, self-made one accumulated over five decades.

Interesting Facts

• Her professional surname comes from her first husband, actor Chris Sarandon – they married in 1967 and divorced in 1979, but she kept the name.
• She was one of nine children growing up in Queens.
• Her cult classic The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) is still screened at midnight around the world.
• Daughter Eva Amurri followed her into acting, making them one of Hollywood’s mother-daughter pairs.
• She won the 1996 Oscar for Dead Man Walking – the same role that deepened her real-life friendship with anti-death-penalty activist Sister Helen Prejean.
• At 79, she was arrested while protesting at the United Nations in September 2026.
• She played Marmee in the 1994 adaptation of Little Women opposite Winona Ryder.

Did You Know Already?

• Did you know Susan Sarandon has been nominated for five Oscars and won once?
• Did you know she was arrested on September 24, 2026 outside the United Nations?
• Did you know her first screen credit was in the 1970 film Joe alongside Peter Boyle?
• Did you know she won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress for The Client?
• Did you know she and Tim Robbins were together for more than 20 years without marrying?
• Did you know she has said agencies are still telling people not to hire her because of her politics?

Social Media Links

• Instagram: @susansarandon – Verified
• X (Twitter): @SusanSarandon – Verified
• Facebook: Susan Sarandon – Official Page

Frequently Asked Questions

Conclusion

Susan Sarandon’s biography is the rare story of a star whose offscreen convictions have been as consequential as her roles: an Oscar winner, a cult-film queen, a mother of three, and – at 79 – a protester still willing to be arrested for her beliefs. From Queens to Hollywood to the steps of the United Nations in 2026, she has never played it safe. If you found this Susan Sarandon biography helpful, please share it with fellow fans and explore more celebrity biographies on our site.