Ellen Latzen

Ellen Hamilton Latzen's first screen role might be her best-known. In 1987, she appeared in the suspense-drama "Fatal Attraction," about a troubled woman who has a one-night stand with a married man, and subsequently stalks and tries to destroy his family in order to make him her own. Latzen was cast as Ellen Gallagher, the daughter of the adulterous husband (played by Michael Douglas) who finds herself caught in the crossfire between him, her mother (played by Anne Archer), and his ex-lover (Glenn Close). The film was a huge commercial hit and tapped into the zeitgeist of its time, and Latzen followed it up with more appearances on television series and movies. She had a small role in the '88 comedy "Mr. North," and closed out the decade in "Christmas Vacation," the third in the popular "National Lampoon's Vacation" series starring Chevy Chase and Beverly D'Angelo. As Ruby Sue, the daughter of the family's cousin Eddie (played by Randy Quaid), she got to embody the childlike innocence that eludes most grown-ups during the holiday season. In 1990, Latzen had a supporting role in an episode of "ABC Afterschool Specials" dedicated to drunk driving, but her career began to slow during this time, with only two more credits through the rest of the decade.