Acting
Ellen Burstyn
EN, IT, FR, HU cinema · 148 credits
Born
7 December 1932 (age 93)
Birthplace
Detroit, Michigan, USA
Also known as Ellen McRae · Edna Rae Gilhooley
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
Filmography
Bathing Flo
Bathing Flo
Actor, Director
Place to Be
as Brooke
Flesh Impact
as Marilyn Monroe
Breakdown: 1975
as Self
This Ordinary Thing
as Self (voice)
Mother, Couch
as Mother
E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump
as E. Jean Carroll
The Exorcist: Believer
as Chris MacNeil
Three Months
as Valerie
Queen Bees
as Helen Wilson
Pieces of a Woman
as Elizabeth Weiss
Delphine and Carole
as Self (archive footage)
The House of Tomorrow
as Josephine Prendergast, Executive Producer
Lucy in the Sky
as Nana Holbrook
American Woman
as Miss Dolly
The Tale
as Nettie
Nostalgia
as Helen Greer
All I Wish
as Celia Berges
Friedkin Uncut
as Self
Wiener-Dog
as Nana
Custody
as Beatrice Fisher
The Age of Adaline
as Flemming
About Scout
as Gram
Unity
as Narrator (voice)
Interstellar
as Murph (older)
Draft Day
as Barb Weaver
Flowers in the Attic
as Grandmother
River of Fundament
as Hathfertiti
And the Oscar Goes To...
as Self - Interviewee
The Calling
as Emily Micallef
Two Men in Town
as Mère Garnett
Petals on the Wind
as Olivia Foxworth
Love, Marilyn
as Self
Wish You Well
as Louisa Mae Cardinal
The Mighty Macs
as Mother St. John
Another Happy Day
as Doris Baker
Main Street
as Georgiana Carr
America Lost and Found: The BBS Story
2010
America Lost and Found: The BBS Story
as Self
According to Greta
as Katherine
The Velveteen Rabbit
as Swan (voice)
Lovely, Still
as Mary
PoliWood
as Self
W.
as Barbara Bush
The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond
as Miss Addie
Mitch Albom's For One More Day
as Pauline "Posey" Benetto
The Stone Angel
as Hagar
The Fountain
as Dr. Lillian Guzetti
The Wicker Man
as Sister Summersisle
The Elephant King
as Diana Hunt
30 Days
as Maura
Our Fathers
as Mary Ryan
Mrs. Harris
as Former Tarnower Steady
Brush with Fate
as Rika
Red Dragon
as Grandma Dolarhyde (voice) (uncredited)
Within These Walls
as Joan Thomas, Executive Producer
Requiem for a Dream
as Sara Goldfarb
The Yards
as Val Handler
Mermaid
as Trish
Walking Across Egypt
as Mattie Rigsbee
Night Ride Home
as Maggie
Playing by Heart
as Mildred
The Patron Saint of Liars
as June Clatterbuck
The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist
as Self - Chris MacNeil
You Can Thank Me Later
as Shirley Cooperberg
Deceiver
as Mook
Flash
as Laura Strong
A Deadly Vision
as Yvette Watson
The Spitfire Grill
as Hannah Ferguson
Timepiece
as Maud Gannon
The Baby-Sitters Club
as Mrs. Haberman
Roommates
as Judith
Follow The River
as Gretel
Getting Gotti
as Jo Giacalone
Trick of the Eye
as Frances Griffin
Getting Out
as Arlie's Mother
The Cemetery Club
as Esther Moskowitz
Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story
as Joan Delvecchio
Roots of Roe
1993
Roots of Roe
as Letters of Margaret Sanger (voice)
Earth and the American Dream
as Reader (voice)
When It Was a Game 2
as Passage Narrator (voice)
Dying Young
as Mrs. O'Neil
Grand Isle
as Mademoiselle Reisz
Picture This
as Self
Mrs. Lambert Remembers Love
as Lillian "Lil" Lambert
When You Remember Me
as Nurse Cooder
The Color of Evening
as Kate O'Rielly
Hanna's War
as Katalin
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam
as Mrs. Stocks (voice)
Pack of Lies
as Barbara Jackson
Act of Vengeance
as Margaret Yablonski
Something in Common
as Lynn Hollander
Twice in a Lifetime
as Kate MacKenzie
The Ambassador
as Alex Hacker
Surviving
as Tina Brogan
Into Thin Air
as Joan Walker
People vs. Jean Harris
as Jean Harris
Silence of the North
as Olive Frederickson
Resurrection
as Edna
Same Time, Next Year
as Doris
A Dream of Passion
as Brenda Collins
Providence
as Sonia Langham
Harry and Tonto
as Shirley
The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute
1974
The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute
as Self (archive footage)
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
as Alice Hyatt
Thursday's Game
as Lynne Evers
The Exorcist
as Chris MacNeil
The Last Picture Show
as Lois Farrow
Alex in Wonderland
as Beth Morrison
Tropic of Cancer
as Mona (uncredited)
Pit Stop
as Ellen McCleod
Goodbye Charlie
as Franny Salzman
For Those Who Think Young
as Dr. Pauline Swenson
Ricochet
as Rose Maxon
Easy Out?
as Mary