Dianne Wiest, a two-time Oscar winner, revealed in a recent interview that she struggles to pay her rent due to limited roles for women.

Dianne Wiest Says She Can’t Afford To Pay Rent

Wiest, 66, has been nominated for three Academy Awards throughout her decades-long career and won twice, first in 1987 for her role in Hannah and Her Sisters, and again in 1995 for Bullets Over Broadway – both directed by Woody Allen. Most recently, Wiest was praised for her performance in HBO’s In Treatment, for which she won an Emmy in 2008. Despite her success, Wiest’s career opportunities have been limited due to typecasting.

Now preparing for the opening of the play Rasheeda Speaking, co-starring Tonya Pinkins and directed by Cynthia Nixon, Wiest says she can barely afford to pay her rent, telling The New York Times, “I have to move out of my apartment soon.”

As for why jobs have been hard to come by, Wiest said that she was constantly being offered the role of the smiling mother. “A nice mom and that’s it. That’s all that ever came, except in theater.” Wiest said, adding that as a female, she has felt silenced where her male peers are encouraged to speak their minds.

The New Group’s production of Rasheeda Speaking opens Tuesday, Jan. 27 in New York City, and Wiest will next appear on the big screen in The Humbling.

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