Mercedes Ruehl
Mercedes Ruehl | |
|---|---|
 Ruehl in East Hampton, New York in October 2009 | |
| Born | Mercedes J. Ruehl February 28, 1948 Jackson Heights, Queens, New York, United States |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Years active | 1976–present |
| Spouse | David Geiser |
| Children | 2 |
Mercedes J. Ruehl (born February 28, 1948) is an American theater, television, and film actor. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1992 for The Fisher King and a Tony Award for her performance in Lost in Yonkers in 1991.
Personal life
Ruehl was born in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City,[1] the daughter of Mercedes J. Ruehl, a school teacher, and Vincent Ruehl, an FBI agent.[2][3] She was raised Catholic.[4] Her father was of German and Irish descent and her mother was of Cuban and Irish ancestry.[5][6] Ruehl attended College of New Rochelle[7] and graduated in 1969. She is married to painter David Geiser, with whom she adopted a son, Jake (born 1995).[8] She had another son, Christopher, whom she placed in adoption in 1976; he later became Jake's godfather.[8]
Her brother, Peter Ruehl, moved to Australia in 1987 where he was a popular newspaper columnist until his death in 2011.[9]
Career
Ruehl began her career in regional theatre with the Denver Center Theatre Company, taking odd jobs between engagements. Her first starring role on Broadway came in 1984's I'm Not Rappaport. She then went on to win the 1984 Obie Award for her performance in The Marriage of Bette and Boo and twenty years later, an Obie for Woman Before a Glass. She also received a 1991 Tony Award as Best Actress (Play) for Neil Simon's Lost in Yonkers and continued her role in the show during its tour with co-star Mercedes McCambridge. Her performances in two other plays earned her two other Tony nominations: in 1995, as Best Actress (Featured Role – Play) for a revival of The Shadow Box; and in 2002, as Best Actress (Play) for Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?.[10]
Her most acclaimed film role was in The Fisher King; her performance in the film earned her the 1991 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as an American Comedy Award, a Boston Society of Film Critics Award, a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, and a Golden Globe. Earlier she had won the 1989 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Married to the Mob. She played KACL station manager Kate Costas in five episodes of Frasier, and had a major role in the made-for-TV film All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story. She is the first Cuban-American female Academy Award winner. In 2005, she (along with Esai Morales) received the Rita Moreno HOLA Award for Excellence from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors. She later played the mother of main character Vincent Chase in HBO's Entourage.
In 2009, Ruehl returned to the Broadway stage in Manhattan Theater Club's production of Richard Greenberg's The American Plan playing the role of Eva Adler.[11] The production opened at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre and the limited engagement ran From January 22 until March 22.[12] In his rave review in The New York Times, Ben Brantley called Ruehl's performance "masterly".[13] Ruehl next appeared in the drama/horror film What Ever Happened to Barker Daniels?, which was released in 2009. In January 2012, Ruehl starred in Sarah Treem's play The How and The Why, directed by Emily Mann at McCarter Theatre of Princeton University.[14]
Music
Though not a singer herself, Ruehl was involved in the production of the album Haunted by Poe; she also reads passages from the book House of Leaves by Poe's brother Mark Z. Danielewski on the CD Don't be Scared, issued to cross-promote both projects.
Filmography
Film
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Mom's on Strike | Sandy | |
| 1985 | Our Family Honor | Louise Taylor | Episode: "Homecoming" |
| 1986 | Kate & Allie | Millie | Episode: "Late Bloomer" |
| 1990 | The Cosby Show | Bernadette Foley | Episode: "The Moves" |
| 1995 | Indictment: The McMartin Trial | Lael Rubin | Nominated — CableACE Award for Actress in a Movie or Miniseries |
| 1995–1996 | Frasier | Kate Costas | 5 episodes |
| 1997 | SUBWAY Stories: Tales from the Underground | Leyla | Segment: "Underground" |
| North Shore Fish | Florence | ||
| 1998 | Gia | Kathleen Carangi | |
| 2000 | All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story | Jane Newhall | |
| The Lost Child | Rebecca | Hallmark Hall of Fame | |
| 2001 | Mr. Life | ||
| 2002 | Guilt by Association | Susan Walker | |
| Widows | Dolly Rawlins | Miniseries | |
| 2004 | 1-800-Missing | Emanuelle Baker | Episode: "These Dreams Before Me" |
| Bad Apple | Lorraine Gibbons | ||
| Law & Order | Zina Rybakova | Episode: "All in the Family" | |
| 2005 | Mom at Sixteen | Terry Jeffries | Nominated — Prism Award Performance in a TV Movie or Miniseries |
| 2006 | Entourage | Rita Chase | Episodes: "Aquamom" and "Return To Queens Blvd" |
| A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story | Sylvia Guerrero | Nominated — Imagen Award for Best Actress - Television | |
| 2007 | Psych | Detective Goochberg | Episode: "Scary Sherry: Bianca's Toast" |
| 2009 | Law & Order | Judge Clara Lloyd | Episode: "By Perjury" |
| 2015 | Law & Order: SVU | Lucia Barba | Episode: "December Solstice" |
| 2016 | Life in Pieces | Mia | Episode: "Hair Recital Rainbow Mom" |
Theater
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1985 | I'm Not Rappaport [15] | Clara | Nov. 19, 1985 - Jan. 17, 1988 |
| 1989 | Other People's Money | Kate Sullivan | Clarence Derwent Awards for Most Promising Female Performer |
| 1991 | Lost in Yonkers | Bella | Feb. 21, 1991 - Jan. 3, 1993 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Play Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play |
| 1994 | The Shadow Box | Beverly | Nov. 20, 1994 - Jan. 1, 1995 Nominated - Tony Award for Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play |
| 1995 | The Rose Tattoo | Serafina Delle Rose | Apr. 30, 1995 - Jul. 2, 1995 Nominated - Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play |
| 2002 | The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? | Stevie | Mar. 10, 2002 - Dec. 15, 2002 Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Actress in a Play Nominated - Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play Nominated - Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play |
| 2005 | Woman Before a Glass | Performer | Nominated - Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Solo Performance |
| 2009 | The American Plan | Eva Adler | Jan. 22, 2009 - Mar. 22, 2009 |
References
- ^ Trescott, Jacqueline (26 March 1992). "Mercedes Ruehl, Driven; The Manic Actress On the Road to Oscar". The Washington Post. HighBeam Research. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
- ^ "Mercedes Ruehl biography (1948?- )". Film Reference.com. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
- ^ Stark, John; Hutchings, David (5 September 1988). "Playing a Gangster's Spitfire Wife, Mercedes Ruehl Heists the Spotlight in Married to the Mob". People. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
- ^ Ruehl, Mercedes. Casting a new light on a dark subject - novelist Cynthia Ozick - Interview. Interview. August 1994. FindArticles.com.[dead link]
- ^ Corliss, Richard (6 April 2002). "That Old Feeling: The Oscar Race". Time. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
- ^ Buckley, Michael. "STAGE TO SCREENS: Mercedes Ruehl, the Macy-Mamet Connection and Remembering Brad Sullivan". Playbill. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
- ^ "About CNR". College of New Rochelle. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
- ^ a b "Mercedes Ruehl". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
- ^ "Newspaper columnist Peter Ruehl dies". The Sydney Morning Herald. 12 April 2011. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
- ^ "Biography: Mercedes Ruehl". American Theatre Wing. February 2005. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
- ^ Jones, Kenneth (22 January 2009). "Ruehl & Rabe Are Mother and Daughter in Broadway's American Plan, Opening Jan. 22". Playbill. Playbill.com. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
- ^ Jones, Kenneth (19 February 2009). "Broadway's American Plan Is Extended to March 22". Playbill. Playbill.com. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
- ^ "Rapunzel in the Catskills". The New York Times. NYTimes.com. 22 January 2009. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
- ^ Filichia, Peter (18 January 2011). "'The How and the Why' review: Princeton play premiere proves to be all-inclusive success". The Star-Ledger. Newark, New Jersey: nj.com. Retrieved 2013-10-25.
- ^ http://www.playbillvault.com/Person/Detail/92914/Mercedes-Ruehl
External links
- Mercedes Ruehl at the Internet Broadway Database
- Mercedes Ruehl at IMDb
- Ruehl Rules, a May 2005 Playbill article
- Brief Encounter with Mercedes Ruehl, a May 2002 Playbill interview
- 1948 births
- Living people
- 20th-century American actresses
- 21st-century American actresses
- Actresses from New York City
- Alumni of women's universities and colleges
- American entertainers of Cuban descent
- American film actresses
- American people of German descent
- American people of Irish descent
- American stage actresses
- American television actresses
- Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winners
- Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (film) winners
- College of New Rochelle alumni
- Drama Desk Award winners
- Hispanic and Latino American actresses
- People from Jackson Heights, Queens
- Tony Award winners
- People from the Bronx
- People from Queens, New York