Daryl Christine Hannah was born on December 3rd, 1960, in Chicago, Illinois, USA, to Don Hannah and Susan Wexler. She was diagnosed as almost autistic when she was a child. In highschool, she played football. Her friends on the team said that when she got into the football court with her shorts and extremely long legs, they knew they had at least one goal in advance. The niece of cinematographer Haskell Wexler, athletic blonde leading lady Darryl Hannah trained for the ballet before switching to acting at the Goodman Theatre. She appeared in the Brian DePalma film The Fury (1978) at age 18, then completed her theatrical training under the guidance of Stella Adler. After delivering a remarkable performance as a literally inhuman hardcase in Blade Runner (1982), Hannah achieved full stardom with her winsome (and wholly believable) portrayal of a mermaid in Splash (1983). In her twenties she lived and performed with Jackson Browne. She also had a long going romance with John F. Kennedy, Jr., which has recently ended with his marriage.

Not all of her subsequent film assignments nor her performances have been as successful, though she was highly praised for her interpretation of a nerdish hairdresser in Steel Magnolias and was treated kindly by the press and public for her characterization of the title character in the made-for-TV Attack of the 50 Foot Woman (1992). Hannah's often turbulent private life achieved an even keel with her long-term relationship with lawyer/ publisher John F. Kennedy Jr. Darryl Hannah is the older sister of actress Page Hannah.