At one point, Brooke Shields was cast as Catherine Sloper, but dropped out due to her commitment to the television series Suddenly Susan (1996).
As Catherine Sloper is supposed to be exceedingly plain, Jennifer Jason Leigh wore little or no make-up throughout the shoot.
Jennifer Jason Leigh stars as Catherine. Other actresses to play Catherine have included Olivia de Havilland in the 1949 movie version, Julie Harris in a 1961 television version, and on Broadway, Wendy Hiller in 1947, Jane Alexander in 1975, Cherry Jones in 1995, and Jessica Chastain in 2012.
Of all of the characters she's played, Jennifer Jason Leigh found Catherine Sloper to be closest to her own personality. When she heard that a re-adaptation was in the works, she met with director Agnieszka Holland and pleaded with her for the part.