Sean Young

Young attending the 60th Academy Awards in 1988

Young began her film career in the film Jane Austen in Manhattan (1980), followed by a role in the film Stripes (1981). She then played the female lead, Rachael, alongside Harrison Ford in the classic science fiction film Blade Runner (1982). On television, Young played the female lead opposite Lenny Von Dohlen in Under the Biltmore Clock (1986), based on F. Scott Fitzgerald's story Myra Meets His Family. The following year, she had a small role in the film Wall Street (1987) as the wife of Michael Douglas's character, Gordon Gekko. Her role was originally intended to be larger, but was significantly reduced due to clashes with Oliver Stone.[6]

One of Young's most prominent roles was as the lover of a ruthless Washington politician (Gene Hackman) in No Way Out (also 1987), alongside Kevin Costner. Her other credits include Dune (1984), Baby: Secret of the Lost Legend (1985) and Fatal Instinct (1993).

Young appeared in The Boost (1988), with James Woods. Woods later sued her for harassing him and his then-fiancée, alleging that, in addition to other disruptive behavior, Young left a disfigured doll on his doorstep. Young denied the allegations and claimed that Woods filed the lawsuit out of spite. Young stated, "It was a crush being turned down, that's all .... So sue me! And he [Woods] did." The suit was settled out of court in 1989.[6] Young was awarded $227,000 to cover her legal costs.[7]

Young was next cast as Vicki Vale in Tim Burton's film Batman (1989), but during rehearsals, she broke her arm after falling off a horse and was replaced by Kim Basinger. In an unsuccessful attempt to win the role of Catwoman (which was originally offered to Annette Bening but, after Bening became pregnant, Michelle Pfeiffer was cast) in the sequel Batman Returns (1992), Young constructed a homemade Catwoman costume and attempted to contact Burton and actor Michael Keaton during production.[6] She appeared on The Joan Rivers Show in character as the Catwoman, campaigning for the role and making a plea to Tim Burton.

Young was cast as Tess Trueheart in the movie Dick Tracy (1990). However, she was dismissed in favor of Glenne Headly for not appearing maternal in the role. Young later claimed her dismissal was punishment for her having rebuffed Warren Beatty's advances, a claim Beatty denies.[6] In 1991, she was awarded the Worst Actress and the Worst Supporting Actress Razzies for her roles in A Kiss Before Dying.[8] She played a supporting role in the 1994 comedy Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. She also played Helen Hyde in the comedy Dr. Jekyll and Ms. Hyde (1995), in which she performed the first two-way footsie (foot-in-crotch) scene in cinema.

During most of the 1990s, she resided in Sedona, Arizona, and her career cooled.[6] Young reprised her role as Rachael in the Blade Runner video game released in 1997. Her face was scanned and reproduced in three dimensions, one of the earliest times such technology was used in a game.

Young has appeared in independent films, including roles in Poor White Trash (2000), Mockingbird Don't Sing (2001), and Sugar & Spice (also 2001). She spent four months in Russia filming the miniseries Yesenin (2005), in which she portrayed the dancer Isadora Duncan. Young had roles in two films, The Man Who Came Back and Haunted Echoes (both 2008).

In 2008, Young competed in the television program Gone Country 2, which included a competition in a celebrity demolition derby at the Henry County Fairgrounds in Paris, Tennessee. Young went on to win the celebrity derby heat and then went on to compete against 21 professional demolition derby drivers. Young finished in fourth place.

Young appeared on The Young and the Restless in June 2010 as Canadian barmaid Meggie McClain, alongside good friend Eric Braeden.[9][10] She returned to the show on July 14 in a recurring role, which lasted through February 2011.[11]

In 2010, she was cast on the first season of the ABC show Skating with the Stars as a celebrity contestant who skated with professional skater Denis Petukhov,[12][13] but she was the first celebrity to be eliminated.

In October 2011, Young appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman.[14] During the interview, she described how she was now looking for movie work after raising her two sons, and produced a short video clip promoting her job search which Letterman played. She was subsequently cast in a film about Nikola Tesla, slated for release in 2013, titled Fragments From Olympus: The Vision of Nikola Tesla (unreleased as of September 2017).

In October 2013, Young played the role of Dr. Lucien in Star Trek: Renegades, a fan project to create a pilot for a new Star Trek series (released in August 2015) where several former Star Trek actors appeared, including Tim Russ (who also directed the pilot) as well as Walter Koenig, Garrett Wang and J. G. Hertzler.

In June 2013, Young performed in a benefit skating event at the Ice Theater of New York., competing in a Celebrity Skating competition against YouTube personality Michael Buckley, and US Olympic Fencing silver medalist Tim Morehouse.

Young reprised her 1982 role of Rachael for Blade Runner 2049 (2017), portraying both the original (using archival footage from the first film) and a brand new cloned version of the character. This was achieved through the use of CGI facial de-aging to match her 1982 appearance, as well as the use of another actress as a body double. Sean Young was also credited in the new film as acting coach to the actress portraying her character.[15]

On February 26, 2012 during an after party for the 84th Academy Awards, Young was placed under citizen's arrest. It was alleged that she was asked to leave since she had not possessed a ticket to enter. An argument ensued and resulted in Young slapping the security guard. Young stated she was not intoxicated and was well behaved, and that the security guard was the aggressor.[20] The charges were later dropped.[21]

In August of 2018, Young and her son were identified on surveillance video removing two MacBook laptops from the Astoria, Queens, production office for the film Charlie Boy. She was originally set to direct the film but was replaced by Timothy Hines, with co-writer Greg Kritikos saying "she was out of her depth." The laptops and production software on them were valued at $12,000, and the New York City Police Department sought her for questioning. The two laptops that Young was accused of stealing were returned a few days later, on August 14, through her attorney. No charges were filed. Young claimed it was a misunderstanding and she had permission to enter the offices to retrieve personal property that had been left there.[22][23] Young released a statement the day after initial reports were posted, saying that she "gathered what I believed to be my property but later discovered I was mistaken" and had contacted members of the office to return the items. Those involved with the production denied Young had contacted them.[23]