Diane Court, a beautiful, independent, gifted scholar, is portrayed by Ione Skye. Chosen high-school valedictorian of her graduating class, she is universally perceived as unobtainable, whe in reality she has been isolated by a focused dedication to her studies and an over-protective father. Then, the summer before her departure for England, where she has received a coveted fellowship, she falls in love with the unlikely Lloyd Dobler and learns that her father is not the man she thought he was.
"Whenever I am performing a role, I always think I'm exactly like my character," notes Skye. "Then as soon as I step away from the role, I realize I'm not. Diane is a bit more trusting than I am. I understand that people will let you down. It isn't that I am hardened -- I'm very open to loving people and having people love me. I'm just a bit more cautious. I wasn't as academically oriented as Diane. However, like Diane, by choice, I was very much a loner at school. I've also always been comfortable with adults, because when I was little my mother would have guests over, and as they sat around and talked, I was always in the room listening or writing.
"Diane is also stronger than I am. She makes her decisions independent of other people. It isn't that she doesn't care about others, but she trusts her own instincts. As I grow older, I feel I'm getting stronger. Maybe I've learned something from playing this role.
"Diane is rather isolated. People treat her differently -- because she is so gifted and focused, they tend to view her as being unavailable. Her father reinforces this as well. However, Diane doesn't think she's better than her classmates. She's just busy with other things. She is close to her father, studies, spends a lot of time working with the elderly at the senior home her father runs, and usually goes out with older college boys. Whe she starts seeing Lloyd, he's a catalyst. He brings her into another world. He's also a true friend who makes her incredibly happy and makes her realize she has the ability to love."
At sixteen, Skye made and impressive film debut in Tim Hunter's controversial "River's edge" as Clarissa, a girl who defies pressure and seeks her own path. For her second film, "A Night In The Life Of Jimmy Reardon," she portrayed Denis, a wealthy, snobby, manipulative tease who regularly spends Saturday afternoon trysting with Jimmy, played by River Phoenix. In "Stranded," she plays Maureen O'Sullivan's granddaughter, a girl who befriends extraterrestrials and tries to protect them from a hostile community. She has also appeared in the miniseries "Napoleon and Josephine: A Love Story," as Napoleon's youngest and favorite sister Pauline. Last September, she filmed "The Rachel Papers," in which she plays the title role, in London with Damian Harris directing.
The daughter of folksinger Donovan Leitch and a former model, the eighteen-year-old actress was born in London and lived in San Francisco and Connecticut before moving to Los Angeles Immaculate Heart High School, where she excelled in science and history. Whe she's not busy performing, she enjoys writing short stories and draws.
There was a time in Skye's childhood when she recalls coming hom from school and repeatedly listening to and singing the lyrics from "West Side Story." "Although I imagined I would love to act or sing or dance, I never pursued it," she says. Then a friend of her mother's invited her to pose for a fashion spread that ran in the L.A. Weekly. Director Tim Hunter noticed her in the lay-out, and she was soon cast in "River's Edge," her first acting experience.
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