Geena Davis Offers Rare Glimpse Inside Upbringing—and Wild Childhood Antics

Oscar-winning actress Geena Davis has opened up about the hilarious childhood pastime that left the residents of her quiet Massachusetts hometown so alarmed that they would regularly phone her mother to report her wild antics.

The “Thelma & Louise” star reflected on her humble upbringing in Wareham in a new interview with The Wall Street Journal, recalling how she often entertained herself by acting out elaborate scenarios while riding around her neighborhood on her bike.

According to Davis, her imagination frequently got so intense that nearby residents became genuinely concerned—largely because the “roles” she would play required her to yell and scream.

“On my bike, away from social constraints, I often pretended to be in a battle, yelling at my troops, or I sang at the top of my lungs,” she explained. “I assumed no one would hear me, but, of course, they did—and called my mother.”

The actress—who now resides in a stunning Spanish-style residence in Los Angeles—went on to describe her very humble childhood home and how it served as the backdrop for the earliest days of her acting dreams.

“My family lived in a two-story brown-shingled house in Wareham,” she recalled. “A wood stove heated our home, and we had kerosene lanterns at the ready in case of a power outage.”

Davis admitted that even from a young age, she dreamed of one day becoming a Hollywood actress—often immersing herself in television and imagining a life far bigger than the one she knew in suburban Massachusetts.

“At home, the TV was often on,” she said. “My parents said I was 3 when I first told them I’d be an actor. I think I saw acting as a way to be somebody who didn’t have to blend in.”

She added: “Sometimes I wore sunglasses while watching TV because actors wore them.”

The future Hollywood star also recalled spending much of her childhood with her best friend, Lucyann, who conveniently lived just across the street.

“My best friend, Lucyann, lived across the street, and was a year younger,” Davis shared. “During sleepovers, her mom, Lucia, let us watch ‘The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson.’ Lucia said, ‘Geena, if you’re ever on that show, you’ll know you’ve made it.’”

As it turns out, Davis would do just that—appearing on Johnny Carson‘s beloved late-night talk show for the first time in 1987, just a few months before she starred in “Beetlejuice.”

But during her childhood, the idea of reaching such dizzying heights was restricted to Davis’ imagination, which she allowed to run rampant by staging homemade productions with Lucyann, many of which were inspired by their favorite TV programs.

“Lucyann and I put on lots of silly plays, many based on TV shows,” Davis said.

Even while sick at home as a child, Davis found herself studying actors and practicing techniques that would later help shape her career.

“When I was 10, I was home with the flu for a week and noticed that TV soap-opera actors often raised one eyebrow at the end of a scene,” she revealed. “I taught myself how to do it.”

Although Davis enjoyed many aspects of her suburban upbringing, she admitted she often felt different from her peers and longed for a fresh start.

That opportunity arrived during her junior year of high school when her school introduced a foreign exchange program.

“My hand shot up,” she recalled. “I went off to a home in Sandviken, a small Swedish town, for my senior year. I was excited to go where nobody thought I was a weirdo.”

While living abroad, Davis attended high school in Sweden and even found herself swept up in a teenage romance.

“I had the cutest boyfriend,” she said. “His family sort of adopted me.”

However, spending her senior year overseas meant missing the audition for Boston University’s acting program.

Instead, Davis initially attended New England College before later transferring to Boston University after her freshman year.

Just two years later, she filmed her very first audition tape—a move that would ultimately launch her Hollywood career.

“Soon after I arrived, my agency called,” Davis recalled. “I got the part. The movie was ‘Tootsie.’”
The actress also revealed that producers became interested in her after seeing modeling photos from a Victoria’s Secret catalog.

“They liked my audition tape but asked about my bathing-suit photo,” she explained. “I was still in Paris, so my agency sent over photos of me from a Victoria’s Secret catalog, and I was cast.”

Today, Davis’ life looks dramatically different from the quiet suburban childhood she once knew.

“Today, I live in a Spanish-style house near Los Angeles that has a beautiful yard,” she said. “Home is elusive, since work keeps me busy traveling.”

Still, despite the glamorous lifestyle and decades-long Hollywood career, Davis says her favorite spot in the house remains surprisingly cozy and personal.

“My giant L-shaped pink-velvet couch that once belonged to Ozzy and Sharon Osbourne,” she said when asked about her favorite place at home. “I bought it at a vintage store in L.A.”