Ellen Burstyn

An Academy Award-winning actress and former President of Actors' Equity, Burstyn lectures on a variety of topics.

Travels From:  New York

ABOUT Ellen Burstyn

Ellen Burstyn's illustrious career has encompassed the stage, film and television. Born Edna Rae Gillooly in Detroit, Michigan, Burstyn spent her early years as a model and actress, appearing regularly on "The Jackie Gleason Show" and other television shows, including "The Doctors," "Ben Casey" and "Iron Horse." Debuting on Broadway in 1957 in "Fair Game," it was her starring role in "Same Time, Next Year" in 1975 that garnered Burstyn a Tony Award as Best Actress, as well as The Drama Desk and Outer Circle Critics Award. In 1978, she created the role in the film version and received a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination.

A long-standing star of theater, Burstyn's stage credits include the Broadway production of "84 Charing Cross Road," "Park Your Car in Harvard Yard," "Driving Miss Daisy," the one-woman play "Shirley Valentine," "Shimada," and "Sacrilege." In the 1990's she starred in two plays by Horton Foote, "The Trip to Bountiful" and "Death of Papa." She also starred in Eugene O'Neill's "Long Day's Journey Into Night" at Houston's Alley Theatre and at Hartford Stage in Connecticut.

Burstyn's film career began with her portrait of an ex-housewife turned waitress/singer trying to support herself and her 12-year old son in "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore," for which she won the 1974 Oscar for Best Actress, as well as a Golden Globe and the British Academy Award. She has been nominated for Oscars in four other film roles, including "The Last Picture Show," "The Exorcist," "Resurrection" and "Requiem for a Dream." Her latest starring role was in the film "Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood," and she's currently filming "Down in the Valley."

On television, Burstyn received an Emmy nomination for her title role in "The People vs. Jean Harris." She also starred in "Act of Vengence," "When You Remember Me," "Getting Out," "My Brother's Keeper," and Showtime's "Mermaid." She received a second Emmy nomination for her starring role in "Pack of Lies," a 1987 Hallmark Hall of Fame television production. In 1988, Burstyn narrated a segment of "Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam" on HBO. Most recently, Burstyn starred in the series "That's Life." She has recorded many books-on-tape, and in 1996, she was nominated for a Grammy in the Best Spoken Work category as the narrator of "Grow Old Along With Me, The Best is Yet To Be." She is in the process of writing her autobiography.

The first woman to be elected President of Actors' Equity Association, Burstyn served as the Artistic Director of the Actors Studio for six years. She continues to be active as Co-President with Al Pacino and Harvey Keitel. Academically, Burstyn holds three doctorates: one in Fine Arts from the School of Visual Arts, a Doctor of Humane Letters from Dowling College, as well as one from the New School for Social Research, where she teaches in the Actors Studio/New School M.F.A. program. Burstyn also lectures throughout the country on a wide range of topics.