Ellen Burstyn

'Ellen Burstyn' (qv) was born in Detroit, Michigan, to Correine Marie (Hamel) and John Austin Gillooly. She is of Irish, French/French-Canadian, Pennsylvania Dutch (German), and Native American ancestry.. She worked a number of jobs before she became an actress. At 14, she was a short-order cook at a lunch counter. After graduating from Detroit's Cass Technical High School, she went to Texas to model and then to New York as a showgirl on _The Jackie Gleason Show (1952)_ (qv). From there, it was to Montreal as a nightclub dancer and then Broadway with her debut in "Fair Game (1957)". By 1963, she appeared on the TV series _The Doctors (1963)_ (qv), but she gained notice for her role in _Goodbye Charlie (1964)_ (qv). Ellen then took time off to study acting with 'Lee Strasberg' (qv) at the Actors Studio.Her big break came when she was cast as the female lead in _The Last Picture Show (1971)_ (qv). For this role, she received nominations for the Golden Globe and Academy Award. Next, she co-starred with 'Jack Nicholson' (qv) in _The King of Marvin Gardens (1972)_ (qv), giving a chilling performance. Then came _The Exorcist (1973)_ (qv). She was again nominated for the Golden Globe and Academy Award. In 1974, she starred in _Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)_ (qv), for which performance she won the Oscar and BAFTA awards as Best Actress. For the Golden Globe, she was nominated but lost to 'Marsha Mason' (qv). The same year, she made history by winning a Tony Award for the Broadway play "Same Time, Next Year". She won praise and award nominations for her performances in the film versions of _Same Time, Next Year (1978)_ (qv) and _Resurrection (1980)_ (qv).In "Resurrection", she played a woman with the power to heal. A succession of TV movies resulting in two Emmy nominations kept her going as did the series The 'Ellen Burstyn' (qv) Show (1986). The TV movies continued through the 1990s. Also in the 1990s, she was cast in the supporting role in such movies as _The Cemetery Club (1993)_ (qv), _How to Make an American Quilt (1995)_ (qv), _The Baby-Sitters Club (1995)_ (qv) and _The Spitfire Grill (1996)_ (qv). In addition to her acting, She was the first woman president of Actor's Equity (1982-85).::Tony Fontana <[email protected]>