Ellen Burstyn
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Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women in dramas, she has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards, making her one of the few performers to achieve the "Triple Crown of Acting". She has also received a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award. Burstyn made her acting debut on Broadway in Fair Game in 1957 before winning the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for Same Time, Next Year (1975). She earned the Academy Award for Best Actress as the widow Alice Hyatt in Martin Scorsese's romantic drama Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974). Her other Oscar-nominated roles were in The Last Picture Show (1971), The Exorcist (1973), Same Time, Next Year (1978), Resurrection (1980), and Requiem for a Dream (2000). Her other notable films include Harry and Tonto (1974), How to Make an American Quilt (1995), Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002), W. (2008), Interstellar (2014), The Age of Adaline (2015), and Pieces of a Woman (2020). She won Primetime Emmy Awards for her guest role in the NBC legal drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2009) and supporting role in the USA Network political miniseries Political Animals (2013). Her other Emmy-nominated roles include Pack of Lies (1988), Mrs. Harris (2005), Big Love (2008), Draft Day, Flowers in the Attic (both 2014), and House of Cards (2016). Since 2000, she has been co-president of the Actors Studio, a drama school in New York City. In 2013, she was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame for her work onstage.
Known for
Credits
Interstellar (2014)
as Murph (older)
The Exorcist (1973)
as Chris MacNeil
The Exorcist: Believer (2023)
as Chris MacNeil
The Age of Adaline (2015)
as Flemming
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
as Sara Goldfarb
The Fountain (2006)
as Dr. Lillian Guzetti
Flowers in the Attic (2014)
as Grandmother
The Last Picture Show (1971)
as Lois Farrow
The Wicker Man (2006)
as Sister Summersisle
When a Man Loves a Woman (1994)
as Emily
The Yards (2000)
as Val Handler
Draft Day (2014)
as Barb Weaver
Pieces of a Woman (2020)
as Elizabeth Weiss
Dying Young (1991)
as Mrs. O'Neil
W. (2008)
as Barbara Bush
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)
as Alice Hyatt
The Calling (2014)
as Emily Micallef
The Tale (2018)
as Nettie
Playing by Heart (1998)
as Mildred
Petals on the Wind (2014)
as Olivia Foxworth
How to Make an American Quilt (1995)
as Hy Dodd
Breakdown: 1975 (2025)
as Self
The House of Tomorrow (2019)
as Josephine Prendergast
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002)
as Vivi
Deceiver (1997)
as Mook
Two Men in Town (2014)
as Mère Garnett
Lucy in the Sky (2019)
as Nana Holbrook
Wiener-Dog (2016)
as Nana
The Baby-Sitters Club (1995)
as Mrs. Haberman
Custody (2016)
as Beatrice Fisher
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood (2003)
as Self
The Velveteen Rabbit (2009)
as Swan (voice)
According to Greta (2009)
as Katherine
Mother, Couch (2024)
as Mother
The Spitfire Grill (1996)
as Hannah Ferguson
Another Happy Day (2011)
as Doris Baker
Same Time, Next Year (1978)
as Doris
Red Dragon (2002)
as Grandma Dolarhyde (voice) (uncredited)
Lovely, Still (2009)
as Mary
All I Wish (2018)
as Celia Berges
Unity (2015)
as Narrator (voice)
Resurrection (1980)
as Edna
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam (1987)
as Mrs. Stocks (voice)
Harry and Tonto (1974)
as Shirley
Three Months (2022)
as Valerie
Love, Marilyn (2013)
as Self
Main Street (2010)
as Georgiana Carr
Our Fathers (2005)
as Mary Ryan
Queen Bees (2021)
as Helen Wilson
The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond (2008)
as Miss Addie
A Decade Under the Influence (2003)
as Self
Twice in a Lifetime (1985)
as Kate MacKenzie
People vs. Jean Harris (1981)
as Jean Harris
Wish You Well (2013)
as Louisa Mae Cardinal
Act of Vengeance (1986)
as Margaret Yablonski
The Stone Angel (2007)
as Hagar
Night of 100 Stars II (1985)
as Self
Night of 100 Stars (1982)
as Self
Taking Back My Life: The Nancy Ziegenmeyer Story (1992)
as Wilma
Hello Actors Studio (1988)
as Self
Earth and the American Dream (1992)
as Reader (voice)
This Ordinary Thing (2025)
as Self (voice)
Place to Be (2026)
as Brooke
The King of Marvin Gardens (1972)
as Sally
Flesh Impact (2026)
as Marilyn Monroe
And the Oscar Goes To... (2014)
as Self - Interviewee
The Mighty Macs (2011)
as Mother St. John
Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre (1989)
as Self
The Ambassador (1985)
as Alex Hacker
River of Fundament (2014)
as Hathfertiti
Be Pretty and Shut Up! (1981)
as Self
Picture This (1991)
as Self
Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You (2012)
as Nanette
Goodbye Charlie (1964)
as Franny Salzman
Nostalgia (2018)
as Helen Greer
Into Thin Air (1985)
as Joan Walker
Friedkin Uncut (2018)
as Self
Alex in Wonderland (1970)
as Beth Morrison
Hanna's War (1988)
as Katalin
Thursday's Game (1974)
as Lynne Evers
Roommates (1995)
as Judith
The Five People You Meet In Heaven (2004)
as Ruby
The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute (1974)
as Self (archive footage)
Hubert Selby Jr: It/ll Be Better Tomorrow (2006)
as Self
Mrs. Harris (2005)
as Former Tarnower Steady
Grand Isle (1991)
as Mademoiselle Reisz
Providence (1977)
as Sonia Langham
Getting Gotti (1994)
as Jo Giacalone
PoliWood (2009)
as Self
The Patron Saint of Liars (1998)
as June Clatterbuck
I Love Liberty (1982)
as Self
When You Remember Me (1990)
as Nurse Cooder
Follow The River (1995)
as Gretel
Walking Across Egypt (1999)
as Mattie Rigsbee
The Cemetery Club (1993)
as Esther Moskowitz
Night Ride Home (1999)
as Maggie
Pack of Lies (1987)
as Barbara Jackson
A Deadly Vision (1997)
as Yvette Watson
My Brother's Keeper (1995)
as Helen
The Elephant King (2006)
as Diana Hunt
You Can Thank Me Later (1998)
as Shirley Cooperberg
The Last Picture Show: A Look Back (1999)
as Self
The Madam's Family: The Truth About the Canal Street Brothel (2004)
as Tommie
When It Was a Game 2 (1992)
as Passage Narrator (voice)
The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist (1998)
as Self - Chris MacNeil
About Scout (2015)
as Gram
Flash (1997)
as Laura Strong
Mermaid (2000)
as Trish
Tropic of Cancer (1970)
as Mona (uncredited)
Duse, the Greatest (2025)
Actor
American Woman (2019)
as Miss Dolly
BBStory: An American Film Renaissance (2010)
as Self
Paul Newman, Behind Blue Eyes (2021)
as Herself
The Color of Evening (1990)
as Kate O'Rielly
The Making of Requiem for a Dream (2001)
as Self
30 Days (2006)
as Maura
Ricochet (1961)
as Rose Maxon
Brush with Fate (2003)
as Rika
Surviving (1985)
as Tina Brogan
Second Chances: The Making of "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" (2004)
as Self
Mitch Albom's For One More Day (2007)
as Pauline "Posey" Benetto
For Those Who Think Young (1964)
as Dr. Pauline Swenson
Mrs. Lambert Remembers Love (1991)
as Lillian "Lil" Lambert
The Christmas Tree (1958)
as Elizabeth
Within These Walls (2001)
as Joan Thomas
Silence of the North (1981)
as Olive Frederickson
Getting Out (1994)
as Arlie's Mother
Trick of the Eye (1994)
as Frances Griffin
Stardust: The Bette Davis Story (2006)
as Self
Delphine and Carole (2020)
as Self (archive footage)
Something in Common (1986)
as Lynn Hollander
Marilyn in Manhattan (1998)
as Self
Pit Stop (1969)
as Ellen McCleod
Fear and Love: The Story of The Exorcist (2024)
as Self
Timepiece (1996)
as Maud Gannon
America Lost and Found: The BBS Story (2010)
as Self
Watch on the Rhine (2021)
as Fanny
Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story (1993)
as Joan Delvecchio
Reflections of a Philosopher King (2010)
as Self
A Dream of Passion (1978)
as Brenda Collins
Roots of Roe (1993)
as Narrator (voice)
Easy Out? (1948)
as Mary
Marilyn Monroe: Auction of a Lifetime (2017)
as Self
E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump (2024)
as E. Jean Carroll
Bathing Flo (—)
Actor
Steven Arnold: Heavenly Bodies (2019)
as Self
Memories, Dreams & Addictions (2001)
as Self