Rene Marie Russo was born on February 17, 1954 in Burbank, California, USA. She is an American film actress and former fashion model.

Russo shifted to acting in the late 1980s and made a strong debut as the catcher's ex-girlfriend in the cult baseball comedy Major League (1989). Her heyday was the early 1990s, when she co-starred with a glamour lineup of leading men in quick succession: Mel Gibson (Lethal Weapon III, 1992), Clint Eastwood (In the Line of Fire, 1993), John Travolta (Get Shorty, 1995) and Kevin Costner (Tin Cup, 1996).

She had the leading role in the strange zoological biopic Buddy (1997), then matched chiseled forty-something physiques with Pierce Brosnan in the 1999 remake of The Thomas Crown Affair. She rang in the new century by playing nefarious Natasha Fatale in The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000). In 2005 she co-starred with Al Pacino in the sports gambling drama Two For the Money.

Russo has been married to screenwriter Dan Gilroy since 1992.

Filmography

• Yours, Mine and Ours (2005)
• Two for the Money (2005)
• Big Trouble (2002)
• Showtime (2002)
• The Adventures of Rocky & Bullwinkle (2000)
• The Thomas Crown Affair (1999)
• Lethal Weapon 4 (1998)
• Buddy (1997)
• Ransom (1996)
• Tin Cup (1996)
• Get Shorty (1995)
• Outbreak (1995)
• Major League II (1994)
• In the Line of Fire (1993)
• Lethal Weapon 3 (1992)
• Freejack (1992)
• One Good Cop (1991)
• Mr. Destiny (1990)
• Major League (1989)
• Meanwhile in Santa Monica (1988)
• "Sable" (1987)