Cristi Lea Conaway (born August 14, 1964) is an American

actress An actor (masculine/gender-neutral), or actress (feminine), is a person who portrays a character in a production. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. ...

and

fashion designer Fashion design is the Art (skill), art of applied arts, applying design, aesthetics, clothing construction, and natural beauty to clothing and its Fashion accessory, accessories. It is influenced by diverse cultures and different trends and has va ...

Early life and education

Conaway was raised in

Lubbock, Texas Lubbock ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the county seat of Lubbock County. With a population of 272,086 in 2024, Lubbock is the 10th-most populous city in Texas and the 84th-most populous in the United States. The city is in the ...

. Her father was a car dealer and her mother is a real estate agent. She had attended

Southern Methodist University Southern Methodist University (SMU) is a Private university, private research university in Dallas, Texas, United States, with a satellite campus in Taos County, New Mexico. SMU was founded on April 17, 1911, by the Methodist Episcopal Church, ...

, where she had studied

acting Acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode. Acting involves a broad range of sk ...

Career

Conaway moved from

Dallas Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...

to start acting where she began as a catalog model. She made her

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

debut on the 1990

television film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie, telefilm, telemovie or TV film/movie, is a film with a running time similar to a feature film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a Terrestr ...

, ''Children of the Bride'', and her film debut in the 1991 film, ''

Doc Hollywood ''Doc Hollywood'' is a 1991 American romantic comedy film directed by Michael Caton-Jones and written by Daniel Pyne along with Jeffrey Price and Peter S. Seaman, based on Neil B. Shulman's book ''What? Dead...Again?'' The film stars Michael J. F ...

'' in a minor role. In 1992, Conaway appeared in the film, ''

Batman Returns ''Batman Returns'' is a 1992 American superhero film directed by Tim Burton and written by Daniel Waters (screenwriter), Daniel Waters. Based on the DC Comics character Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman (1989 film), Batman'' (1989) and th ...

'', as the Ice Princess. After ''Batman Returns'', she worked in various roles in TV shows and films, including ''

Tales from the Crypt Tales from the Crypt may refer to: * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (album), by American rapper C-Bo * ''Tales from the Crypt'' (comics), published by EC Comics during the 1950s ** ''Tales from the Crypt'' (film), a 1972 Amicus film starring Ralph Ric ...

''. She also had played the " other woman", Honey Parker in the 1993 remake of '' Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman''. In 1997, she co-starred in the short-lived TV series, ''

Timecop ''Timecop'' is a 1994 American science fiction action film directed by Peter Hyams and co-written by Mike Richardson (publisher), Mike Richardson and Mark Verheiden. Richardson also served as executive producer. The film is based on ''Timecop ( ...

'', based on the 1994 film, as Claire Hemmings. In 2002, Conaway left her acting career to become a fashion designer. She had started with scarves, but later on, she had expanded her line to, include sweaters and silk dresses, and in 2004, she had added a men's collection.

Filmography

Film

*''

'' (1991) - Receptionist at Halberstrom Clinic *''

'' (1992) - Ice Princess *''

Husbands and Wives ''Husbands and Wives'' is a 1992 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. The film stars Allen, Mia Farrow, Sydney Pollack, Judy Davis, Lysette Anthony, Juliette Lewis, Liam Neeson and Blythe Danner. The film debuted sho ...

'' (1992) - Shawn Grainger *'' Nina Takes a Lover'' (1994) - Friend *''

Underworld The underworld, also known as the netherworld or hell, is the supernatural world of the dead in various religious traditions and myths, located below the world of the living. Chthonic is the technical adjective for things of the underworld. ...

'' (1996) - Julianne *'' My Brother's War'' (1997) - Kelly Hall *''

Joe Somebody ''Joe Somebody'' is a 2001 American comedy-drama film written by John Scott Shepherd and directed by John Pasquin. The film stars Tim Allen as an ordinary man forced into violence by a workplace bully. Julie Bowen, Kelly Lynch, Greg Germann, Hay ...

'' (2001) - Abby Manheim

Television

*''Children of the Bride'' (1990) - Lydia *'' Attack of the 50 Ft. Woman'' (1993) - Louise "Honey" Parker *''

'' (1995) - Willa Sandelton ("99 & 44/100% Pure Horror") *''

'' (1997) - Claire Hemmings

Video games

*'' Loadstar: The Legend of Tully Bodine'' (1994) - News Anchor (voice)

Personal life

Conaway is married to Mark Murphy. The couple have two children together and live in

Santa Monica, California Santa Monica (; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Santa Mónica'') is a city in Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, situated along Santa Monica Bay on California's South Coast (California), South Coast. Santa Monica's 2020 United Sta ...

. She was previously married to actor Salvator Xuereb in 1991.

References

External links

Cristi Conaway Los Angeles (''archived'')Cristi Conaway Design (''archived'')Suede Box (''archived'')
* 1964 births Actresses from Texas American fashion designers American women fashion designers American film actresses American television actresses Living people Actors from Lubbock, Texas Southern Methodist University alumni 21st-century American women {{fashion-designer-stub