All About Shar Simpson, Sigourney Weaver’s Child
The child of «Alien» actress Sigourney Weaver and her spouse was born in 1990.
Sigourney Weaver has consistently stated that her greatest role is being a mother to her only child, Shar Simpson, regardless of how many science fiction series she stars in or how many awards she receives.
«The most important thing to me is my child, Shar,» the Golden Globe-winning actress stated in an interview with The Guardian in 2010. «My family comes first, and I’m incredibly appreciative that they allow me to pursue my career as a filmmaker. You know, though, I really struggle to leave them. I detest it. I’ve been in therapy, and it’s helped me deal with my feelings of remorse about leaving them.
I nearly died when I traveled to New Zealand to create Avatar during my child’s college application process.»In 1983, Weaver met her husband, theater director Jim Simpson, in a bar where she was drinking with actor friend Christopher Walken.
In 2023, the actress from Alien, in an interview with The Sunday Times, said that she took him out to dinner and later invited him to a party after he stayed late to help her clean up. Three months later, on October 1, 1984, the couple tied the knot.
Three months later, on April 13, 1990, in New York City, they welcomed Shar, their only child. Weaver disclosed her child’s nonbinary status to The Sunday Times in 2023.
Shar, an interactive writer, professor, and creative producer, has a far lower profile than their mother, who has been in the public eye for decades. Here’s everything you need to know about Shar Simpson, Sigourney Weaver’s child.
NYC is where they were born.
Shar, like their mother, was born in New York City. Jim, their father, left his position as a co-founder of The Flea Theater in lower Manhattan in 2015.
When asked where her family was quarantined during the COVID-19 pandemic, Weaver told Edge Magazine, «I’m a New Yorker, so we stayed in New York City.» «New Yorkers really do watch out for each other — even though it may not look like it.» Shar calls themself a «nyc based shrimp» and states in their Instagram bio that they are still a city dweller.
They are a single child.
Shar is the lone child in her family. Weaver stated to The Guardian that she waited until she was 34 to be married and that she didn’t want children right away. The actress also stated in an article published in Esquire in 2007 that it took her and her spouse «a while» to have children.
«By the time [Shar] arrived 11 years ago, [they were] so welcome,» Weaver stated. «They have brought us a great deal of happiness. If there’s anything I regret, it’s that I wish I could have had more kids. You can’t, however, have everything. It makes me incredibly happy to have [them].»
They work as a professor.
Shar is an adjunct assistant professor at Columbia University School of the Arts’ Digital Storytelling Lab right now. Weaver stated to The Sunday Times that her child is «someone who is excited about AI and not frightened about it» and that they teach «digital storytelling, bots, misinformation.»
In 2019, Shar obtained a dual master’s degree in interactive media and writing from the California Institute of the Arts, according to an interview she did with Parade. «Bless their hearts, [they] aren’t in the industry,» Weaver remarked. «When a child says, ‘I want to be in show business,’ parents in the industry have nightmares because we really know what it entails.»
In addition, Shar has authored two Choose Your Own Adventure books under the pen name C.E. Simpson: Eighth Grade Witch and Brooklyn Mermaid, according to their university bio. In 2021, they revealed to VoyageLA that they have also worked together on immersive artificial intelligence experiences and created extremely scary dwellings.
Shar stated, «I feel like my work is about those in-betweens, the hazy, chaotic, and frazzled parts of existence.» The fragility and tenderness of ambiguity are just two of the many layers and complexities of the unknown. For a very long period, I denied myself that space in terms of my identity and my career.
Their roles in Weaver’s films
Shar may not have gone to Hollywood in their parents’ footsteps, but they did get a role in one of their films. According to a 2003 Playbill article, Weaver and Simpson included their child in The Guys, a movie based on a play by Anne Nelson about an editor who assists a fire captain in writing eulogies for his firefighters who perished in the 9/11 attacks.
Simpson portrayed Weaver’s husband, while Shar portrayed her on-screen child in the film. Simpson, who also directed the drama, told IndieWire in 2003, «We don’t usually work together, so we can take turns with our [child] because it was a very short shoot.»
«We also like to complain about whom we’re working with when we get home, and you can’t do that when you’re working together because you’re looking at ’em.»
They’re not scared off by Weaver’s achievements
Although having a mother as successful as Weaver could be challenging, the actress maintains that Shar is unfazed.
«Years after the success of Alien, I remember a friend saying to my [child]: ‘Don’t you know that your mom is a huge feminist icon for all women?'» Weaver disclosed to The Guardian. ‘That belongs in the small box of things I don’t need to know,’ they said. It is the way things should be in our family. A secondary hobby of mine is acting.»
Weaver has acknowledged that she experiences working mom guilt. The Ghostbusters actress said to ABC News in 2008 that the guilt she felt from balancing her career as a mother and her career was «enormous.» She also maintains a reasonably active filming schedule.
«To actually be able to work and not feel that tug all the time, would be great,» Weaver stated. «It affects me more than it does her. She does well without me.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Weaver and Shar were able to spend some quality time together. During lockdown, the actress revealed to The Sunday Times that her youngster took on the role of her hair stylist.
