Veteran actress Julianne Nicholson has been giving “Performance” for decades. The fact that she was recognized with IndieWire’s Performance Honor on June 5 feels like an overdue given. With her delicious antagonist role as Samantha “Sinatra” Redmond in “Paradise,” it seems like Nicholson is finally gaining the higher profile she has so long deserved. But, during her acceptance speech, Nicholson used her time to expand on her love for IndieWire.
“Thank you to IndieWire for this recognition and being a champion of me and my work over the years,” Nicholson said. “I believe in trying to find roles that defy stereotypes, that try to show life as it really is, not as we wish it were. I’m from Boston, but my formative years were in New York, and I’ve always cared for the underdog — for the scrappy, the perverse, the weird, the unorthodox — and I think by and large, IndieWire does, too.”
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The ‘20s, so far, have brought a fascinating diversity in Nicholson’s credits, which have also included an Emmy-winning turn as Kate Winslet’s best friend in “Mare of Easttown” and a hilarious send-up of viral TikTokers on “Hacks.” On “Paradise,” her villainous Sinatra has clear, unapologetic drive, informed by a background of unimaginable loss, making her one of the most relatable baddies in recent history.
Nicholson made her television debut in 1997, her film debut in 1998, and her professional theater debut in 2000. Her filmography boasts regular roles on “Ally McBeal,” “Masters of Sex,” and “Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.” In movies, she was in the SAG-nominated, all-star ensemble of “August: Osage County,” part of the indie darling “Tully,” and co-starred in 2025’s thriller “The Amateur” alongside Rami Malek and Laurence Fishburne. While she is famously choosey with her roles, there’s almost nothing Nicholson hasn’t done.
“[IndieWire’s] support of me over the years in film and now in television has always made this job feel a little less lonely and some of the choices I’ve made less marginal. It felt like there’s a community of artists and writers and journalists who are broadly working towards the same goal. And so for me and many other artists who feel the same way about you — who just want to do good work in a medium that we cherish — I want to thank you,” she said.
“Paradise” creator Don Fogelman recently pinned an article for IndieWire saying working with Nicholson was exactly like the title of his series.
“She’s a woman at the very top of her craft, who is kind and generous to boot,” he said.
Nicholson told IndieWire in an interview that she often sees herself as “the heart of a show[s]” in which she’s cast.
“I keep putting one foot in front of the other, and I keep showing people what I can do,” she said. “And it might take a minute, but their eyes are open that I can do more.”
