Jessica Harper, a multi-talented American actress-author-composer, was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Eleanor (Emery),a writer, and Paul Church Harper, Jr., a painter who served as the chairman of the Needham Harper Worldwide advertising agency in New York. After graduating from Sarah Lawrence, Harper launched her professional acting career, drawing on her impressive singing skills.
As an understudy in the Broadway production of the rock musical "Hair" (1979),Harper shared the stage with notable actors such as Diane Keaton, Melba Moore, Keith Carradine, Meat Loaf, and Cliff De Young, who would later co-star with her in "Shock Treatment" (1981),showcasing her musical talents.
Throughout the 1970s and 1980s, Harper established herself as a cult actress, known for her wide-eyed, fresh-faced beauty and melancholic air. Her notable film appearances include "Inserts" (1975),"Phantom of the Paradise" (1974),"Suspiria" (1977),and two Woody Allen films, "Love and Death" (1975) and "Stardust Memories" (1980).
After appearing in the American remake of "Pennies from Heaven" (1981) and "My Favorite Year" (1982),Harper's film career slowed down, likely due to directors' uncertainty about how to utilize her unique talent. However, she continued to work steadily in film and television.
Since the 1990s, Harper, the wife of motion picture executive Tom Rothman, has developed a successful career as an author of children's books and a composer of music for children. She has written four picture books in collaboration with her sister, Lindsay Harper DuPont, including her most recent, "A Place Called Kindergarten". Harper's debut music CD, "A Wonderful Life" (1994),won both a Parent's Choice Gold Award and a National Association of Parenting Publications Award, praised for the lyrics written by Harper. Her other five children's music CDs include "Inside Out" and "Hey, Picasso".
