---
title: 'Citizen Ruth (1996)'
type: 'film'
director: 'Alexander Payne'
released: '1996-01-24'
runtime_minutes: 101
genres:
  - 'Drama'
  - 'Comedy'
countries:
  - 'United States'
canonical: 'https://cinepixo.com/movies/citizen-ruth-1996'
review_count: 0
imdb: 'https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115906/'
publisher: 'CinePixo'
---

# Citizen Ruth (1996)

1996 · 101 min · Drama, Comedy · United States


## Synopsis

Citizen Ruth is a 1996 American satirical black comedy film directed by Alexander Payne, in his feature film directorial debut, and starring Laura Dern, Swoosie Kurtz, Kelly Preston, Burt Reynolds, Kurtwood Smith, Mary Kay Place, Kenneth Mars, and Tippi Hedren. The film follows a poor, drug-addled, irresponsible pregnant woman who unexpectedly attracts national attention from those involved in the abortion debate. The story was inspired by the case of Martina Greywind, a homeless, unmarried mother from North Dakota who was offered $15,000 to carry what would have been her fifth child to term. This film marked Kenneth Mars’ final theatrical film role.

## Credits

- **Director:** [Alexander Payne](https://cinepixo.com/people/alexander-payne)
- **Screenplay:** [Alexander Payne](https://cinepixo.com/people/alexander-payne), [Jim Taylor](https://cinepixo.com/people/jim-taylor)
- **Original Music Composer:** [Rolfe Kent](https://cinepixo.com/people/rolfe-kent)
- **Producer:** [Cary Woods](https://cinepixo.com/people/cary-woods), [Cathy Konrad](https://cinepixo.com/people/cathy-konrad)
- **Director of Photography:** [James Glennon](https://cinepixo.com/people/james-glennon)
- **Editor:** [Kevin Tent](https://cinepixo.com/people/kevin-tent)

## Cast

- [Diane Ladd](https://cinepixo.com/people/diane-ladd)
- [M.C. Gainey](https://cinepixo.com/people/m-c-gainey)
- [Kurtwood Smith](https://cinepixo.com/people/kurtwood-smith)
- [Kelly Preston](https://cinepixo.com/people/kelly-preston)
- [Alicia Witt](https://cinepixo.com/people/alicia-witt)
- [Kenneth Mars](https://cinepixo.com/people/kenneth-mars)
- [David Graf](https://cinepixo.com/people/david-graf)
- [Tippi Hedren](https://cinepixo.com/people/tippi-hedren)
- [Laura Dern](https://cinepixo.com/people/laura-dern)
- [Swoosie Kurtz](https://cinepixo.com/people/swoosie-kurtz)
- [Mary Kay Place](https://cinepixo.com/people/mary-kay-place)
- [Burt Reynolds](https://cinepixo.com/people/burt-reynolds)

## Criticism on CinePixo

No reviews published yet.

Official site: https://www.miramax.com/movie/citizen-ruth/
Source: https://cinepixo.com/movies/citizen-ruth-1996
Film facts: Wikidata (Q797834); synopsis from Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Reviews, themes and notes are the work of this site's members.