In April 1995, a striking photo of Julia Ormond graced the cover of the New York Times Magazine, next to the words, “When Hollywood needs a new star, it makes one.”
Inside, a profile compared the then-30-year-old actress’ meteoric rise to that of Audrey Hepburn four decades earlier. Ormond recently starred in “Legends of the Fall,” with Brad Pitt, “First Knight,” with Sean Connery and Richard Gere, and “Sabrina,” with Harrison Ford.
The “Hollywood machine” is “determined to make her a star,” said the piece, which included a favorable quote from disgraced Hollywood mogul Harvey Weinstein.
But suddenly and sharply, Ormond, now 59, disappeared from the Hollywood elite as quickly as she rose into it. News articles and gossip columns occasionally wondered why, with no answer, until Ormond eventually fell out of the spotlight entirely.
Now, nearly thirty years after the New York Times Magazine profile, the apparent cause of her downfall has been revealed: Ormond was sexually assaulted by Weinstein eight months after its publication, and her career was derailed after she confronted him, a newly filed case. lawsuit claims.
Ormond was one of Hollywood’s biggest talents in the mid-1990s, appearing alongside Brad Pitt in the 1995 film Legends of the Fall (pictured)
Ormond, pictured on stage at the 1995 Academy Awards, has claimed in a newly filed lawsuit that she was sexually assaulted by Harvey Weinstein in 1995 and that her career was derailed after she reported the assault to her agents.
British actress Julia Ormond is suing Harvey Weinstein for sexual assault in a lawsuit describing her as “yet another victim of his depravity.” They are pictured with Tim Robbins and Dr. Mathilde Krim at a dinner at the 2001 Cannes Film Festival
Weinstein is currently serving a 23-year prison sentence for rape in New York and has also received a 16-year sentence in Los Angeles. His behavior, once an open secret among fellow Hollywood executives, was publicly exposed during the #MeToo movement in 2017.
Ormond, who is also suing the CAA, The Walt Disney Company and Miramax, claims she was attacked after a work dinner. He lured her into giving him a massage before forcing her to perform oral sex, the complaint alleges.
She confronted Weinstein about the alleged assault and reported it to her agents, but instead of receiving support, Ormond “soon felt the wrath of Weinstein,” according to the lawsuit.
Her meteoric rise to fame was undone and, in the words of Ormond’s legal filing, “the damage… was both personally and professionally catastrophic.” She has “almost disappeared from the public eye,” it adds.
At the time, Ormond earned $3.5 million per film after a meteoric rise from TV roles in her native Britain to Hollywood films.
Ormond’s first notable role was in Traffik, a 1989 British series in which she played the drug-addicted daughter of a government minister. Two years later she had the leading role opposite Dame Vanessa Redgrave in Young Catherine, about Catherine II of Russia.
In 1993, she played her first leading role in a major film, The Baby Of Macon, which also starred Ralph Fiennes.
Ormond also starred with Harrison Ford in the 1995 film Sabrina and was touted as one of Hollywood’s biggest talents.
Ormond opposite Sean Connery in the 1995 film First Knight
But the following year it was Legends of the Fall that sealed her place as the future queen of Hollywood. Although reviews from critics were mixed, the film grossed $160 million at the box office and Ormond’s performance was praised. Steven Spielberg called her “amazing” and said, “It’s like watching Audrey Hepburn first burst onto the scene.”
Ormond proved himself several more times alongside other leading actors of the day, including with roles in First Knight and Sabrina.
She also made an impression as an aspiring producer – and it was this that Weinstein is said to have used as an excuse for the meeting that preceded the attack.
Several months earlier, in August 1995, Ormond’s agents negotiated a two-year deal between her production company and Miramax, the company founded by Weinstein.
But during the December dinner, which was ostensibly to discuss business, Weinstein “said he would only discuss the project at (Ormond’s) apartment,” which was provided to her by Miramax, the lawsuit said. It was there that Ormond says he attacked her.
She confronted Weinstein and reported the attack to her agents, who reportedly urged her not to speak out and warned it could damage her career. She was later transferred by CAA to a less experienced agent and her career took a turn for the worse.
The lawsuit filed by Ormond, pictured at the 65th Taormina Film Fest on June 30, 2019, said she “felt the wrath of Weinstein” after confronting him about the alleged assault.
The lawsuit said “the harm… was both personally and professionally catastrophic” after she raised the alarm about Weinstein. She has “almost disappeared from the public eye,” it adds
The lawsuit goes on to talk about her agents, continuing: “Not only did CAA fail to meet those basic obligations, but it compounded the harm when Ormond told her CAA agents, Bryan Lourd and Kevin Huvane, what Weinstein had done to her.
“Rather than siding with Ormond and representing her interests, they suggested that if she reported Weinstein to the authorities, she would not be believed and he would seriously damage her career. Worse, not long after Weinstein’s attack on Ormond and her reporting of the attack to them, CAA lost interest in representing her, and her career suffered dramatically.”
The lawsuit adds, “CAA, Miramax and Disney continued to benefit from their close association with Harvey Weinstein for years after Ormond was attacked by him and subsequently sidelined by Hollywood.”
Ormond’s credits since the aftermath of the attack and her complaints largely include roles in TV series and independent films. In 2010, she received a Primetime Emmy Award for her role in Temple Grandin.
Ormond said Varietywho first reported the lawsuit, said she kept the attack a secret — other than reporting it to her officers — until the #MeToo movement emerged and she confided in her family.
She said: “I’m coming forward with my story publicly now because I feel like we still need systemic change, and I think we need accountability from those who make this possible to get there. I feel like this is what happened to me.”