Liv Tyler

Birthday: 1 July 1977, New York City, New York, USA

Birth Name: Liv Rundgren

Height: 177 cm

Liv Tyler was born in New York City, New York. She is the daughter of Steven Tyler of the band Aerosmith, and Bebe Buell, former model (and Playboy Playmate of the Month) and stalwart of the backstage rock scene of the 1970s. Liv grew up thinking that rock star Todd Rundgren was her father. But as she was growing up, Tyler began dropping by to visit, and Liv noticed that his daughter Mia Tyler looked enough like her to be her twin. She confronted her mother, and was told the truth; by the time she was 12, she had taken her father's name. At 14, she and her mother left Portland, Maine, for New York, where she got her start as a model. A year was enough of the modeling grind, and she decided to become an actress. She was offered the part of "Callie" in Heavy (1995) after a single reading and, only three weeks later, was cast in Silent Fall (1994); James Mangold, director of Heavy (1995), decided to delay shooting until Liv was available. With seven films in the 1993-96 period, her career took off.Liv's recent ancestry includes Italian, Polish, German, and English. Show less «

I don't live a very posh life. There are no drivers waiting or people doing everything for me. I pre...Show more »

I don't live a very posh life. There are no drivers waiting or people doing everything for me. I pretty much live like a normal person... It's not good to have a life without responsibilities, you know? Show less «

I'm not perfect at all.

I've been told that if I'd lose weight I'd have more work, but I refuse to submit myself to those st...Show more »

I've been told that if I'd lose weight I'd have more work, but I refuse to submit myself to those standards. To the rest of the world, I'm slim, and I like the way I am. Show less «

[on playing Arwen in The Lord of the Rings] It wasn't until I came back home after such a long time ...Show more »

[on playing Arwen in The Lord of the Rings] It wasn't until I came back home after such a long time away that I realized how much hype there was about this. I get to play someone 3,000 years old. I'm 23, so that's quite an acting challenge. Show less «

When I did Stealing Beauty (1996), I was just a kid. I'd done a couple of movies, but I'd never been...Show more »

When I did Stealing Beauty (1996), I was just a kid. I'd done a couple of movies, but I'd never been to an acting class in my life. But what I took away from it more than anything was the sense that, even though I was the central character, it was my job to get completely lost in the film. I had a real awareness of Bernardo Bertolucci as a filmmaker, not just a director, painting a canvas in which I was just one element. Show less «

[on Mary Helen Bowers] Mary Helen is wonderful! We train together using her Ballet Beautiful program...Show more »

[on Mary Helen Bowers] Mary Helen is wonderful! We train together using her Ballet Beautiful program doing leg work, butt lifts, and stretches. I love working out with her. Show less «

There were times when I would get mad at him (Viggo Mortensen) because he would push me harder. Ther...Show more »

There were times when I would get mad at him (Viggo Mortensen) because he would push me harder. There was a weekend when I got really sick and had a horrible flu, and that was my one and only day to sleep and recover and not work. We were supposed to go horseback riding together and I cancelled it because I wasn't feeling well, and Viggo gave me a really hard time about it. So I went, and it was one of the greatest days of my life. It was actually the one time, while I was riding, that I really broke through to the other side with the canter and becoming more comfortable on the horse. I had a beautiful day and am incredibly grateful to Viggo for pushing me further. He taught me so much about that, about really being willing to submit and submerge yourself into making the film and the character work. Show less «

I have these slumber parties with my father and when we can't sleep we stay up all night trading bea...Show more »

I have these slumber parties with my father and when we can't sleep we stay up all night trading beauty tips. He knows all about the good creams and masks. Show less «

I love observing people.

I was in New Zealand for a long time and preparing for fight sequences - all of these kind of elabor...Show more »

I was in New Zealand for a long time and preparing for fight sequences - all of these kind of elaborate things. And the more I did that stuff the further we were getting away from why they cast me and what was true of Arwen. And we all realized that. And we went back into the book and into the appendix. And... reshaped it. I think originally that, when they were looking at this character, they wanted her to be a strong character. She is a strong character, but... maybe they thought, "Oh, well if she's a fighter she's strong." And over time they realized that you don't have to put a sword in a woman's hand to make her seem tough. That's little actual makeup of who Arwen is, and her sheer will and strength and love for this man was strong enough. Show less «

It's cool to be compared to her [Elizabeth Taylor], but honestly, who gives a damn?

Life excites me. I'm not talking about appearing in movies or doing interviews, but just little, nor...Show more »

Life excites me. I'm not talking about appearing in movies or doing interviews, but just little, normal, everyday things. Getting out of bed. Getting dressed. Making food. I find it all exciting, you know? Show less «

My mom [Bebe Buell] was so amazing. She was a singer and she'd been a model so she had all these bea...Show more »

My mom [Bebe Buell] was so amazing. She was a singer and she'd been a model so she had all these beautiful clothes and makeup, and in the bathroom all her jewelry was pinned to the wall... it was more than a little girl could ever dream of! When she went out, she would always say, "Don't get into my stuff!" and the first thing I would do was go mad dressing up. Show less «

[on Edward Norton] Edward is the best! He is so sweet and wonderful and he did such a great job with...Show more »

[on Edward Norton] Edward is the best! He is so sweet and wonderful and he did such a great job with everything he did for this film (The Incredible Hulk (2008)) and everything he brought to it. I'm really grateful to have been in it. There were points when I was like, "Wait! We cannot do this love scene because his body looks so much more beautiful than mine!". Show less «

[on Ben Affleck] Ben is an angel! By some reason we have a special chemistry. I've worked with some ...Show more »

[on Ben Affleck] Ben is an angel! By some reason we have a special chemistry. I've worked with some of the world's most fantastic actors and actresses and I love them all, but I actually feel a special spark when we act together. It's easy for us to be very free together. Show less «

Clothes have become too important and films are saturated with fashion. So you find yourself wearing...Show more »

Clothes have become too important and films are saturated with fashion. So you find yourself wearing designer clothes that aren't relevant to your character. I'm always so intrigued by Christopher Guest and his movies, like Best in Show (2000) and A Mighty Wind (2003). He hires the actors and they all come up with the story and the concept, improvise. And they are all responsible for their own hair and make-up. They buy their own clothes, are in control of creating their characters. I would love to do that. Show less «

[on her favorite smell] Those smells that remind me of home. I can smell my dad [Steven Tyler] from ...Show more »

[on her favorite smell] Those smells that remind me of home. I can smell my dad [Steven Tyler] from a mile away. I can smell it whenever he's worn my clothes. He has this ambery smell that just melts into him. Show less «

Subtlety is my favourite thing in cinema. It lets you dream. When everything is on the nail and on s...Show more »

Subtlety is my favourite thing in cinema. It lets you dream. When everything is on the nail and on show, it leaves no questions in your mind. I find that so boring. Show less «

Liv Tyler

Liv Tyler's FILMOGRAPHY

Liv Tyler'S roles

Feedback about this page?