Frances Conroy
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This biographical article needs additional citations for verification. (March 2013) |
| Frances Conroy | |
|---|---|
| Born | November 13, 1953 Monroe, Georgia, U.S. |
| Education | Juilliard School (1977) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1978–present |
Frances Conroy (born November 13, 1953) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Ruth Fisher on the television series Six Feet Under. Her work on the show won her acclaim and several awards, including a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Award. She is also known for playing Moira O'Hara on the television mini-series American Horror Story, which garnered Conroy her first Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television nomination, and as well an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.
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Early life [edit]
Conroy was born in Monroe, Georgia to a business executive father and a mother who also worked in business.[1] During the 1971-1972 school year she was a student at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where she was a member of the Mermaid Players and appeared in college theatrical productions. She moved to New York City to study drama at the Neighborhood Playhouse and the Juilliard School. She was a member of Juilliard's Drama Division Group 6 (1973–1977)[2] which also included Kelsey Grammer, Harriet Sansom Harris, and Robin Williams.[3]
Career [edit]
During the 1970s, she performed regularly with regional and touring theatrical companies (most notably The Acting Company), and appeared as Desdemona at the Delacorte Theatre in a production of Othello with Richard Dreyfuss and Raul Julia. One of her first film appearances was as a Shakespearean actress in Woody Allen's 1979 classic, Manhattan. In 1980, she made a very well received Broadway debut in Edward Albee's The Lady From Dubuque. She focused primarily on her stage career for the next two decades, appearing in such productions as Our Town, The Little Foxes, and The Ride Down Mt. Morgan, receiving one Tony and four Drama Desk Award nominations (including a Drama Desk win for The Secret Rapture). Conroy had a small role in the 1984 movie Falling in Love, as a waitress in a swanky restaurant.
In 1992, Conroy became friends with playwright Arthur Miller, which led to her involvement in many of his productions on both stage and screen. During this period, she also appeared on television shows, miniseries, and made-for-TV movies, and met and married fellow actor Jan Munroe.
She is best known for her critically acclaimed work on HBO's original drama series Six Feet Under, which started in 2001 and ended in 2005, playing the emotional family matriarch Ruth Fisher. For her work on the series, Conroy was nominated for four Emmy Awards (one for every year she was eligible) and won a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.
In 2008, she landed a guest role in ABC's Desperate Housewives as Virginia Hildebrand, a rich woman who tries to buy the Solis family's love. But Eva Longoria's character, Gabrielle Solis, declines Virginia's motives, despite being open to receiving her entire fortune.
In 2010, Conroy played Madylyn, the wife of Robert De Niro's character Jack Mabrey, in the John Curran thriller Stone. In the same year, Conroy played the recurring role of Peggy Haplin in the short-lived ABC drama series Happy Town created by Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, and Scott Rosenberg.
Conroy appeared in the first season of American Horror Story as one of two actresses - the other being Alexandra Breckenridge - playing the housekeeper Moira O'Hara. For Conroy's performance, she was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. Conroy returned to the series in the second season playing The Angel of Death.
Filmography [edit]
Film [edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Falling in Love | Waitress | |
| 1988 | Dirty Rotten Scoundrels | Lady from Palm Beach | |
| 1988 | Another Woman | Lynn | |
| 1989 | Crimes and Misdemeanors | House Owner | |
| 1991 | Billy Bathgate | Mary Behan | |
| 1992 | Scent of a Woman | Christine Downes | |
| 1993 | Sleepless in Seattle | Irene Reed | |
| 1993 | The Adventures of Huck Finn | Scrawny Shanty Lady | |
| 1995 | The Neon Bible | Miss Scover | |
| 1995 | Angela | Anne's mother | credited as Francis Conroy |
| 1996 | The Crucible | Ann Putnam | |
| 2002 | Maid in Manhattan | Paula Burns | |
| 2003 | Die, Mommie, Die! | Bootsie Carp | |
| 2004 | Catwoman | Ophelia | |
| 2004 | The Aviator | Mrs. Hepburn | |
| 2005 | Shopgirl | Catherine Buttersfield | |
| 2005 | Broken Flowers | Dora | |
| 2006 | Ira and Abby | Lynn Willoughby | |
| 2006 | The Wicker Man | Dr. T.H. Moss | |
| 2006 | A Perfect Day [4] | Camille Bailey | |
| 2007 | The Seeker: The Dark is Rising | Miss Greythorne | |
| 2008 | Humboldt County | Rosie | |
| 2008 | The Tale of Despereaux | Antoinette | Voice role |
| 2009 | Love Happens | Eloise's mom | |
| 2009 | Waking Madison | Dolly | |
| 2009 | New in Town | Trudy Van Uuden | |
| 2009 | Stay Cool | Mrs. Leuchtenberger | |
| 2009 | Shelter | Mrs. Bernberg | |
| 2010 | Bloodworth | Julia Bloodworth | |
| 2010 | Stone | Madylyn Mabry | |
| 2011 | Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz | Aunt Em/Glinda | Voice role |
| 2011 | All-Star Superman | Martha Kent | Voice role (Direct-to-video) |
| 2012 | Beautiful People | Lydia | Television movie |
| 2013 | Superman: Unbound | Martha Kent | Voice role (Direct-to-video) |
| 2013 | Abby in the Summer | TBA | post-production |
Television [edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | American Playhouse | Mother | Episode: "Echoes and Silences" |
| 1984 | 3-2-1 Contact | Kate | Episode: "Earth: Building Models" |
| 1987 | Remington Steele | Gladys Lynch | Episode: "Steele Hanging in There: Part 1" |
| 1987 | Crime Story | Mrs. Jankowski | Episode: "The Battle of Las Vegas" |
| 1989 | Great Performances | Mrs. Gibbs | Episode: "Our Town" |
| 1990 | Law and Order | Elizabeth Hendrick | Episode: "Prisoner of Love" |
| 1998 | Cosby | Elizabeth | Episode: "Judgement Day" |
| 1999 | Law & Order | Rosa Halasy | Episode: "Disciple" |
| 2001-2005 | Six Feet Under | Ruth Fisher | 63 episodes Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2003-2004) Nominated-Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (2002-2003, 2005-2006) Nominated-Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2002, 2005-2006) |
| 2007-2008 | ER | Becky Riley | 2 episodes |
| 2008 | Desperate Housewives | Virginia Hildebrand | 3 episodes |
| 2009-2013 | How I Met Your Mother | Loretta Stinson | 5 episodes |
| 2010 | Nip/Tuck | Jane Fields | Episode: "Sheila Carlton" |
| 2010 | Happy Town | Peggy Haplin | 7 episodes |
| 2010 | Grey's Anatomy | Eleanor | Episode: "Can't Fight Biology" |
| 2010-2013 | Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated | Angie Dinkley | 15 episodes |
| 2011 | United States of Tara | Sandy Gregson | 2 episodes |
| 2011 | Love Bites | Faye Strathmore | Episode: "How To..." |
| 2011 | The Mentalist | Elspeth | Episode: "The Red Mile" |
| 2011 | American Horror Story | Moira O'Hara | 11 episodes Nominated-Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie Nominated-Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television |
| 2012-2013 | American Horror Story: Asylum | Angel of Death | 6 episodes |
| 2013 | American Horror Story: Coven | TBA | TBA |
Stage [edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1980 | Othello | Desdemona | Nominated-Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play |
| 1980 | The Lady from Dubuque | Jo | |
| 1988-1989 | Our Town | Mrs. Gibbs | |
| 1989 | The Secret Rapture | Marion French | Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play |
| 1990 | Some Americans Abroad | Frankie Lewis | |
| 1992 | Two Shakespearean Actors | Catherine Forrest | |
| 1993 | In the Summer House | Mrs. Constable | Nominated-Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play |
| 1994 | Broken Glass | Margaret Hyman | |
| 1996-1997 | The Rehearsal | The Countess | Nominated-Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play |
| 1997 | The Little Foxes | Birdie Hubbard | |
| 1999 | Ring Round the Moon | Capulat | |
| 2000 | The Ride Down Mt. Morgan | Theo | Nominated-Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play |
| 2010 | The Subject Was Roses | Nettie Cleary |
Awards and nominations [edit]
References [edit]
- ^ Frances Conroy Biography (1953-). filmreference.com
- ^ "Alumni News". The Juilliard School. October 2007. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
- ^ "Alumni News". The Juilliard School. September 2007. Retrieved April 8, 2012.
- ^ "A Perfect Day (TV 2006)". IMDb. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
External links [edit]
- Frances Conroy at the Internet Broadway Database
- Frances Conroy at the Internet Movie Database
- Frances Conroy at AllRovi
- Frances Conroy at Yahoo! Movies
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- 1953 births
- American film actresses
- American stage actresses
- American television actresses
- American voice actresses
- Actresses from Georgia (U.S. state)
- Best Drama Actress Golden Globe (television) winners
- Drama Desk Award winners
- Juilliard School alumni
- Living people
- Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners
- Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Screen Actors Guild Award winners
- People from Walton County, Georgia
- Ward Melville High School alumni
- 20th-century American actresses
- 21st-century American actresses
