TMS Muse of the Week: Lisa Marie
(Warner Bros)
While we’re still recovering from one of the most sensationalized celebrity divorce battles in recent history [Johnny Depp and Amber Heard], I’m reminded of an adjacent, messy break-up from years and years ago: Tim Burton and Lisa Marie Smith (known professionally as simply Lisa Marie). In the 1990s, Tim and Lisa were to the goth scene what Judd Apatow & Leslie Mann are to the comedy community. You couldn’t escape the former as a pair in Hollywood for pretty much the whole decade. Much like fellow Burton muse, Winona Ryder, Lisa’s gothic makeover affected the subgenre and movement’s aesthetic at the end of the 20th century. Though she was on the way to becoming a supermodel in the late ‘80s, and her stint as an actress ended up being short-lived through Tim’s hits, Lisa still made a mark on the entertainment history.
Born a New Jersey native, Lisa tried a hand at everything from dance to music to photography to film directing after moving to NYC in 1986; before becoming a favorite of photographer Bruce Weber and designer Calvin Klein. While living it up as a fashion model, Lisa was associated with a lot of hip people, such as former punk band manager Malcolm McLaren, who recruited Lisa to sing back up for his own 1989 new wave single ‘Something’s Jumpin’ in Your Shirt.’ Not long after, the socialite made her acting debut on a 1988 episode of NBC’s “Miami Vice” and had a bit part in Woody Allen’s fantasy-comedy Alice (1990). New Year’s Eve in 1991 was when Lisa met Tim while partying at the same club, and by Valentine’s Day 1992, they were already engaged. It’s probably no shock at all the two hit it off when they discovered their shared fascination with UFOs. What’s more surprising is that while the duo quickly became engaged and moved in together for the next nine years, they never actually made it down the aisle.
(Barry King)
Anyone who’s ever enjoyed Tim’s movies will know his dark, Halloween friendly tones include a very specific look for his female characters, which is basically a walking porcelain doll. You’ll find that pale, slim, raven haired, wide eyed appearance with the likes of Winona, Eva Green, Michelle Pfeiffer, Christina Ricci, Helena Bonham Carter, Krysten Ritter and naturally, Lisa, in all of his movies. Some sources cite Lisa as the physical inspiration for Sally the Ragdoll in Tim and Henry Selick’s stop-motion musical The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993). But it’s hard to tell how accurate that might be since Tim began designing the characters before he met the magazine model. Either way, you can behold Lisa in all her glory as Vampira in Ed Wood (1994), the Martian Girl in Mars Attacks! (1996), Ichabod Crane’s mother in Sleepy Hollow (1999) and Nova in Tim’s version of Planet of the Apes (2001). When they weren’t making hit movies and cult classics together, Tim and Lisa were hitting the town and night life at parties, premieres, events and shows. Though the relationship was ultimately childless, that little Chihuahua attached to Sarah Jessica Parker’s side in Mars Attacks! was actually the couple’s pet at the time.
With all the success, fame, fortune and glamour, what could possibly go wrong for two people seemingly perfect for each other? Well, underwhelmingly, it’s a little cliché. During the making of Planet of the Apes, English cinema star Helena Bonham Carter was cast opposite Lisa as one of the female apes. Most Americans first heard about Helena when she was very publicly exposed as the other woman in Kenneth Branagh and Emma Thompson’s divorce in 1995. On screen, you’d probably recognize her most as Marla in David Fincher’s Fight Club (1999); if her costume dramas like James Ivory’s A Room With a View (1985), Ivory’s Howards End (1992) and Iain Softley’s The Wings of a Dove (1997) weren’t your thing. Now, you would think one affair scandal might be enough for Helena to not make the same mistake twice. But bafflingly, she did just that and was in between Tim and Lisa’s relationship too. For years, Tim and Helena tried to downplay their relationship origin story, but pundits and fans weren’t buying it. Not only was it especially obvious all three people were colleagues during 2000-01, but Lisa did not bother to hide how bitter she felt when she and Tim parted ways. Even though they were never legally married, she tried to take as much as she could from their home as a statement, which I can’t really say I blame her for.
(Frank Micelotta)
Amazingly, despite coming across incredibly bad in both of her affairs, Helena got off the easiest of everyone. While Lisa slid into obscurity once leaving Tim, Helena never lost work and just switched from fancy period pieces to Tim’s schtick for the next decade. Tim got his share of karma through his poor relationship judgment though, and experienced his first huge critical and box-office flop with Planet of the Apes. It’s funny, but it wasn’t until I started writing this piece that I realized pretty much everyone in this Hot Topic-lite circle has completely moved on from that period [including the fans]. Lisa now lives a lowkey life in Paris and NYC, Helena’s back to costume dramas, Tim is still doing his usual thing, as is his favorite composer Danny Elfman, and Johnny—well, we all know what he’s been up to lately. Lisa might have gotten the short end of the stick, but, in my opinion, she got the better films out of Tim. I’d rather watch Ed Wood, Mars Attacks! and Sleepy Hollow over Charlie & the Chocolate Factory (2005), Sweeney Todd (2007) or Dark Shadows (2012) any day.
Like my previous MOTW subject, Meg White, Lisa’s moment in the sun was brief, and arguably only because of her past significant other. But the inspiration and effort are timeless.