Susan Sarandon (born October 4, 1946) is an American actress. She has worked in films and television since 1970, and won an Oscar for her performance in the 1995 film, Dead Man Walking. She is also noted for her social and political activism for a variety of liberal causes.

Sarandon, the eldest of nine children, was born Susan Abigail Tomalin in New York City, the daughter of Lenora Marie (née Criscione) and Phillip Leslie Tomalin, who worked as an advertising executive, television producer, and nightclub singer during the big band era. Sarandon's father was of English, Irish, and Welsh ancestry and her mother was of Sicilian/Italian descent; the family was Roman Catholic. In 2006, Sarandon and 10 of her relatives (including her partner Tim Robbins and her son Miles) traveled to Wales to trace her family's Welsh genealogy. Their journey was documented by the BBC Wales programme, Coming Home: Susan Sarandon.

Sarandon graduated from Edison High School, in Edison, New Jersey, in 1964. She then attended The Catholic University of America from 1964 to 1968, earning a BA in drama, and working with noted drama coach and master teacher, Father Gilbert Hartke.