Christine Ebersole
Encyclopedia
Christine Ebersole is an American
actress and singer.
, where she attended New Trier High School
. She attended MacMurray College
in Jacksonville, Illinois
and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts
.
She met Marc Shaiman
when he was 19 and the musical director of her first club act.
in 1977 and 1980, and was part of the cast of Saturday Night Live
in the 1981-1982 season,acting as Weekend Update co-anchor with Brian Doyle-Murray
and at times impersonating Mary Travers
, Cheryl Tiegs
, Barbara Mandrell
, Diana, Princess of Wales
, and Rona Barrett
. Following SNL, she appeared in One Life to Live
and Valerie. She costarred with Barnard Hughes
on the sitcom The Cavanaughs
, played the title role in the short-lived television series Rachel Gunn, R.N. and has guest-starred on Will & Grace
, The Nanny
, Dolly!
, Just Shoot Me, Murphy Brown
, Ally McBeal
, Samantha Who, Boston Legal
, The Colbert Report, and Royal Pains
, among others. She also appeared in the 1993 television movie adaptation of Gypsy
starring Bette Midler
.
In 2011, she had a recurring role on the TV Land
sitcom Retired at 35
.
Ebersole's films have included Amadeus
(1984), Mac and Me
(1988), My Girl 2
(1994), Richie Rich (1994), Black Sheep (1996), 'Til There Was You
(1997), and My Favorite Martian
(1999).
Ebersole has found considerable success on stage. She was in Going Hollywood, a musical by David Zippel
and Jeremy Shaeffer. She was in the chorus in 1983 with Jerry Mitchell
. They were both excited about the possibility of going to Broadway, but it never made it. She also was featured in Paper Moon by Larry Grossman
and Ellen Fitzhugh and Carol Hall, which ran at the Paper Mill Playhouse
(Millburn, New Jersey) in September 1993. Off-Broadway
she has appeared in Three Sisters
and Talking Heads
, and her Broadway
credits include On the Twentieth Century
, the 1979 revival of Oklahoma!
(as Ado Annie), the 1980 revival of Camelot
and the 2000 revival of Gore Vidal's The Best Man
.
In 2001 she appeared in the Broadway revival of 42nd Street
as Dorothy Brock, for which she won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical
, She next appeared in the 2002 Broadway revival of Dinner at Eight
as Millicent Jordan for which she was nominated for the Tony Award, Featured Actress in a Play. In 2005 she played M'Lynn in the Broadway production of Steel Magnolias.
In 2006, Ebersole took the dual roles of Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale
("Big Edie") and Edith Bouvier Beale
("Little Edie") in Grey Gardens
, a musical based upon the film of the same name
. After a sold-out off-Broadway run, Ebersole remained with the roles when the production moved to Broadway in November 2006, and remained with the show through its closing in July 2007. For this role, she won her second Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical
. She appeared as Elvira in the 2009 Broadway revival of the Noël Coward
comedy Blithe Spirit
.
at his club, Feinstein’s at Loews Regency, (New York City) in a cabaret titled "Good Friends". In 2011 she was one of the performers on the Playbill Cruise in September 2011. In November 2011 she performs for two sold-out nights at Birdland
in New York City with jazz violinist Aaron Weinstein and his trio.
concept album. She also recently released an album of Noel Coward songs after browsing through them for scene change music for Blithe Spirit.
and to her present spouse Bill Moloney, with whom she has adopted three children, Elijah, Mae Mae, and Aron. She is the aunt of actress Janel Moloney
through marriage. She currently lives in Maplewood, New Jersey
, with her family.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress and singer.
Early life
Ebersole was born in Winnetka, IllinoisWinnetka, Illinois
Winnetka is an affluent North Shore village located approximately north of downtown Chicago in Cook County, Illinois. Winnetka was featured on the list of America's 25 top-earning towns and "one of the best places to live" by CNN Money in 2011...
, where she attended New Trier High School
New Trier High School
New Trier High School is a public four-year high school , with its major campus located in Winnetka, Illinois, USA, and a second campus in Northfield, Illinois, with freshman classes and district administration...
. She attended MacMurray College
MacMurray College
MacMurray College is a career-directed liberal arts college located in Jacksonville, Illinois. Its enrollment in fall 2011 was 548. It is from Springfield and from Chicago....
in Jacksonville, Illinois
Jacksonville, Illinois
Jacksonville is a city in Morgan County, Illinois, United States. The population was 18,940 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Morgan County....
and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts
American Academy of Dramatic Arts
The American Academy of Dramatic Arts is a fully accredited two-year conservatory with facilities located in Manhattan, New York City – at 120 Madison Avenue, in a landmark building designed by noted architect Stanford White as the original Colony Club – and in Hollywood, California...
.
She met Marc Shaiman
Marc Shaiman
Marc Shaiman is an American composer, lyricist, arranger, and performer for films, television, and theatre. He is perhaps best known for writing the music and co-writing the lyrics for the Broadway musical version of the cult John Waters film Hairspray, for which Shaiman won Tony and Grammy...
when he was 19 and the musical director of her first club act.
Career
She appeared in Ryan's HopeRyan's Hope
Ryan's Hope is an American soap opera, revolving around 13 years of trials and tribulations within a large Irish American family in the Riverside district of New York City. It aired from July 7, 1975 to January 13, 1989 on ABC...
in 1977 and 1980, and was part of the cast of Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live
Saturday Night Live is a live American late-night television sketch comedy and variety show developed by Lorne Michaels and Dick Ebersol. The show premiered on NBC on October 11, 1975, under the original title of NBC's Saturday Night.The show's sketches often parody contemporary American culture...
in the 1981-1982 season,acting as Weekend Update co-anchor with Brian Doyle-Murray
Brian Doyle-Murray
Brian Doyle-Murray is an American comedian, screenwriter, actor and voice artist. He is the older brother of actor/comedian Bill Murray and has acted together with him in several films, including Caddyshack, Scrooged, Ghostbusters II, The Razor's Edge and Groundhog Day...
and at times impersonating Mary Travers
Mary Travers (singer)
Mary Allin Travers was an American singer-songwriter and member of the folk music group Peter, Paul and Mary, along with Peter Yarrow and Noel Stookey...
, Cheryl Tiegs
Cheryl Tiegs
Cheryl Rae Tiegs is an American model and actress.- Early years :Tiegs was born in Breckenridge, Minnesota but raised in Alhambra, California, and she graduated from Alhambra High School in 1965. She also attended the California State University, Los Angeles and became a little sister to the Sigma...
, Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Mandrell
Barbara Ann Mandrell is an American country music singer best known for a 1970s–1980s series of Top 10 hits and TV shows that helped her become one of country's most successful female vocalists of the 1970s and 1980s...
, Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales
Diana, Princess of Wales was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales, whom she married on 29 July 1981, and an international charity and fundraising figure, as well as a preeminent celebrity of the late 20th century...
, and Rona Barrett
Rona Barrett
Rona Barrett is an American gossip columnist and businesswoman. She currently runs the Rona Barrett Foundation, a non-profit organization in Santa Ynez, California, dedicated to the aid and support of senior citizens in need.-Career and personal life:As a teenager, Barrett overcame a degenerative...
. Following SNL, she appeared in One Life to Live
One Life to Live
One Life to Live is an American soap opera which debuted on July 15, 1968 and has been broadcast on the ABC television network. Created by Agnes Nixon, the series was the first daytime drama to primarily feature racially and socioeconomically diverse characters and consistently emphasize social...
and Valerie. She costarred with Barnard Hughes
Barnard Hughes
Bernard Aloysius Kiernan “Barnard” Hughes was an American actor of theater and film. Hughes became famous for a variety of roles; his most notable roles came after middle age, and he was often cast as a dithering authority figure or grandfatherly elder.-Personal life:Hughes was born in Bedford...
on the sitcom The Cavanaughs
The Cavanaughs (TV series)
The Cavanaughs was an American television situation comedy, broadcast on CBS from 1986 to 1989.The series revolved around Francis "Pop" Cavanaugh , a 71-year-old, blue-collar Irish Catholic man living in South Boston with his daughter Kit and son Chuck , as well as Chuck's sons and daughter...
, played the title role in the short-lived television series Rachel Gunn, R.N. and has guest-starred on Will & Grace
Will & Grace
Will & Grace was an American television sitcom that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 21, 1998 to May 18, 2006 for a total of eight seasons. Will & Grace remains the most successful television series with gay principal characters...
, The Nanny
The Nanny
Nanny may refer to:* Nanny, a child's caregiver* A grandmother * A Cajun word for godmother * A female goat* Nanny , a 1981–83 British drama series starring Wendy Craig* Nanny of the Maroons...
, Dolly!
Dolly (TV series)
Dolly is a television variety show that ran on ABC during the 1987-1988 season featuring Dolly Parton.-Overview:The show was an attempt at a traditional variety show, featuring music, comedy skits and various guest stars...
, Just Shoot Me, Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown
Murphy Brown is an American situation comedy which aired on CBS from November 14, 1988, to May 18, 1998, for a total of 247 episodes. The program starred Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for FYI, a fictional CBS television...
, Ally McBeal
Ally McBeal
Ally McBeal is an American legal comedy-drama series which aired on the Fox network from 1997 to 2002. The series was created by David E. Kelley, who also served as the executive producer, along with Bill D'Elia...
, Samantha Who, Boston Legal
Boston Legal
Boston Legal is an American legal dramedy created by David E. Kelley, which was produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for the ABC...
, The Colbert Report, and Royal Pains
Royal Pains
Royal Pains is a USA Network television series that premiered on June 4, 2009, starring Mark Feuerstein, Paulo Costanzo, Jill Flint and Reshma Shetty. The series is based in part on actual concierge medicine practices of independent doctors and companies...
, among others. She also appeared in the 1993 television movie adaptation of Gypsy
Gypsy (1993 film)
Gypsy is a 1993 musical television film directed by Emile Ardolino. The teleplay by Arthur Laurents is an adaptation of his book of the 1959 stage musical Gypsy: A Musical Fable, which was based on Gypsy: A Memoir by Gypsy Rose Lee....
starring Bette Midler
Bette Midler
Bette Midler is an American singer, actress, and comedian, also known by her informal stage name, The Divine Miss M. She became famous as a cabaret and concert headliner, and went on to star in successful and acclaimed films such as The Rose, Ruthless People, Beaches, and For The Boys...
.
In 2011, she had a recurring role on the TV Land
TV Land
TV Land is an American cable television network launched on April 29, 1996. It is owned by MTV Networks, a division of Viacom, which also owns Paramount Pictures, and networks such as MTV and Nickelodeon...
sitcom Retired at 35
Retired at 35
Retired at 35 is an American sitcom currently airing on TV Land starring George Segal, Jessica Walter, Johnathan McClain, Josh McDermitt, Marissa Jaret Winokur and Ryan Michelle Bathe. The series premiered on January 19, 2011...
.
Ebersole's films have included Amadeus
Amadeus (film)
Amadeus is a 1984 period drama film directed by Miloš Forman and written by Peter Shaffer. Adapted from Shaffer's stage play Amadeus, the story is based loosely on the lives of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart and Antonio Salieri, two composers who lived in Vienna, Austria, during the latter half of the...
(1984), Mac and Me
Mac and Me
Mac and Me is a 1988 sci-fi fantasy film co-written and directed by Stewart Raffill about a "Mysterious Alien Creature" escapes from nefarious NASA agents and is befriended by a young boy who uses a wheelchair. Together, they try to find MAC's family, from whom he has been separated...
(1988), My Girl 2
My Girl 2
My Girl 2 is a 1994 comedy-drama film starring Anna Chlumsky, Dan Aykroyd, Christine Ebersole, Jamie Lee Curtis, Richard Masur, Austin O'Brien, and Roland Thomson. This was a sequel to 1991's My Girl.-Plot:...
(1994), Richie Rich (1994), Black Sheep (1996), 'Til There Was You
'Til There Was You
'Til There Was You is a 1997 American romantic drama film directed by Scott Winant. The screenplay, written by Winnie Holzman, traces thirty-odd years in the parallel lives of two people whose intertwined paths finally converge when their mutual interest in a community project brings them...
(1997), and My Favorite Martian
My Favorite Martian
My Favorite Martian is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 29, 1963 to May 1, 1966 for 107 episodes...
(1999).
Ebersole has found considerable success on stage. She was in Going Hollywood, a musical by David Zippel
David Zippel
David Joel Zippel is an American musical theatre lyricist.-Biography:Zippel was born in Easton, Pennsylvania. He is a 1976 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania. While there, he wrote a "bizarre political musical" called Rotunda...
and Jeremy Shaeffer. She was in the chorus in 1983 with Jerry Mitchell
Jerry Mitchell
Jerry Mitchell is an American theatre director and choreographer.-Early life and education:Born in Paw Paw, Michigan, Mitchell later moved to St. Louis where he pursued his acting, dancing and directing career in theatre. He graduated from the Fine Arts college at Webster University in St. Louis. ...
. They were both excited about the possibility of going to Broadway, but it never made it. She also was featured in Paper Moon by Larry Grossman
Larry Grossman (composer)
Larry Grossman is a composer of Broadway musicals, as well as scores for film and television, notably the The Muppet Show.-Career:...
and Ellen Fitzhugh and Carol Hall, which ran at the Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse
Paper Mill Playhouse is a regional theatre with approximately 1200 seats, located in Millburn, New Jersey, less than 25 miles from Manhattan. Due to its location, it can draw from the pool of actors who live in New York City. Its location, as well as its focus on producing large-scale shows, makes...
(Millburn, New Jersey) in September 1993. Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
she has appeared in Three Sisters
Three Sisters (play)
Three Sisters is a play by Russian author and playwright Anton Chekhov, perhaps partially inspired by the situation of the three Brontë sisters, but most probably by the three Zimmermann sisters in Perm...
and Talking Heads
Talking Heads (play)
Talking Heads is a stage adaptation of the BBC series of the same title created by Alan Bennett. It consists of six monologues presented in alternating programs of three each.-Program A:The Hand of God...
, and her Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
credits include On the Twentieth Century
On the Twentieth Century
On the Twentieth Century is a musical with book and lyrics by Betty Comden and Adolph Green and music by Cy Coleman. Part operetta, part farce, part screwball comedy, the story involves the behind-the-scenes relationship of a temperamental actress and a director.-Background:Comden and Green based...
, the 1979 revival of Oklahoma!
Oklahoma!
Oklahoma! is the first musical written by composer Richard Rodgers and librettist Oscar Hammerstein II. The musical is based on Lynn Riggs' 1931 play, Green Grow the Lilacs. Set in Oklahoma Territory outside the town of Claremore in 1906, it tells the story of cowboy Curly McLain and his romance...
(as Ado Annie), the 1980 revival of Camelot
Camelot (musical)
Camelot is a musical by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe . It is based on the King Arthur legend as adapted from the T. H. White tetralogy novel The Once and Future King....
and the 2000 revival of Gore Vidal's The Best Man
The Best Man (play)
The Best Man is a 1960 play by American playwright Gore Vidal. The play premiered on Broadway at the Morosco Theatre on March 31, 1960, and ran for 520 performances before closing on July 8, 1961.Vidal adapted it into a film with the same title in 1964....
.
In 2001 she appeared in the Broadway revival of 42nd Street
42nd Street (musical)
42nd Street is a musical with a book by Michael Stewart and Mark Bramble, lyrics by Al Dubin, and music by Harry Warren. The 1980 Broadway production, directed by an ailing Gower Champion and orchestrated by Philip J. Lang, won the Tony Award for Best Musical and became a long-running hit...
as Dorothy Brock, for which she won the Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical
Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical
The Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical is the Tony Awards award given to the actress who was voted as the best leading actress in a musical, whether a new production or a revival...
, She next appeared in the 2002 Broadway revival of Dinner at Eight
Dinner at Eight (play)
Dinner at Eight is a play by George S. Kaufman and Edna Ferber.-1932 Original Production:Dinner at Eight opened October 22, 1932 at the Music Box Theatre. It closed after 232 performances in May 1933. The play was produced by Sam H. Harris, staged by George S. Kaufman; Assistant Director: Robert B...
as Millicent Jordan for which she was nominated for the Tony Award, Featured Actress in a Play. In 2005 she played M'Lynn in the Broadway production of Steel Magnolias.
In 2006, Ebersole took the dual roles of Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale
Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale
Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale , aunt of Jacqueline Bouvier Kennedy Onassis, was an American amateur singer, known for her eccentric lifestyle, and part of the New York high society...
("Big Edie") and Edith Bouvier Beale
Edith Bouvier Beale
Edith Bouvier Beale was an American socialite, fashion model and cabaret performer. She was a first cousin of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis and Lee Radziwill...
("Little Edie") in Grey Gardens
Grey Gardens (musical)
Grey Gardens is an American musical with book by Doug Wright, music by Scott Frankel, and lyrics by Michael Korie, based on the 1975 documentary of the same title about the lives of Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale and her daughter Edith Bouvier Beale by Albert and David Maysles. The Beales were...
, a musical based upon the film of the same name
Grey Gardens
Grey Gardens is a 1975 documentary film by Albert and David Maysles, with Susan Froemke, Ellen Hovde, and Muffie Meyer. The film depicts the everyday lives of two reclusive socialites, a mother and daughter both named Edith Beale, who lived at Grey Gardens, a decrepit mansion at 3 West End Road in...
. After a sold-out off-Broadway run, Ebersole remained with the roles when the production moved to Broadway in November 2006, and remained with the show through its closing in July 2007. For this role, she won her second Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical
Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical
The Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical is the Tony Awards award given to the actress who was voted as the best leading actress in a musical, whether a new production or a revival...
. She appeared as Elvira in the 2009 Broadway revival of the Noël Coward
Noël Coward
Sir Noël Peirce Coward was an English playwright, composer, director, actor and singer, known for his wit, flamboyance, and what Time magazine called "a sense of personal style, a combination of cheek and chic, pose and poise".Born in Teddington, a suburb of London, Coward attended a dance academy...
comedy Blithe Spirit
Blithe Spirit (play)
Blithe Spirit is a comic play written by Noël Coward which takes its title from Percy Bysshe Shelley's poem "To a Skylark" . The play concerns socialite and novelist Charles Condomine, who invites the eccentric medium and clairvoyant, Madame Arcati, to his house to conduct a séance, hoping to...
.
Concerts
Ebersole appears in concerts and cabaret engagements at venues such as the Cinegrill and Cafe Carlyle. She won the 2010 Nightlife Award for Outstanding Cabaret Vocalist in a Major Engagement for her 2009 Café Carlyle cabaret. In 2009 she performed with Michael FeinsteinMichael Feinstein
Michael Jay Feinstein is an American singer, pianist, and music revivalist. He is an interpreter of, and an anthropologist and archivist for, the repertoire known as the Great American Songbook. In 1988 he won a Drama Desk Special Award for celebrating American musical theatre songs...
at his club, Feinstein’s at Loews Regency, (New York City) in a cabaret titled "Good Friends". In 2011 she was one of the performers on the Playbill Cruise in September 2011. In November 2011 she performs for two sold-out nights at Birdland
Birdland (jazz club)
Birdland is a jazz club started in New York City on December 15, 1949. The original Birdland, which was located at 1678 Broadway, just north of West 52nd Street in Manhattan, was closed in 1965 due to increased rents, but it re-opened for one night in 1979...
in New York City with jazz violinist Aaron Weinstein and his trio.
Recording
She also has worked on numerous albums. She was featured on the Bright Lights, Big CityBright Lights, Big City (musical)
Bright Lights, Big City is a musical with music lyrics and book written by Paul Scott Goodman and is based on the novel by Jay McInerney. It follows a week in the life of Jamie, an aspiring writer in his mid 20s who loses himself in the chaos of 1980s New York City.-Plot:Jamie, a...
concept album. She also recently released an album of Noel Coward songs after browsing through them for scene change music for Blithe Spirit.
Personal life
Ebersole has been married twice, to Peter BergmanPeter Bergman
Peter Bergman is an American soap opera actor best known for his portrayals as Dr. Cliff Warner on All My Children, as well as Jack Abbott on The Young and the Restless.-Biography:...
and to her present spouse Bill Moloney, with whom she has adopted three children, Elijah, Mae Mae, and Aron. She is the aunt of actress Janel Moloney
Janel Moloney
Janel Moloney is an American actress, best known for her role as Donnatella "Donna" Moss on the television series The West Wing.-Personal life:...
through marriage. She currently lives in Maplewood, New Jersey
Maplewood, New Jersey
Maplewood is a township in Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 23,867.-History:...
, with her family.
External links
- Christine Ebersole official website
- Production: Grey Gardens Working in the Theatre by the American Theatre WingAmerican Theatre WingThe American Theatre Wing is a New York City-based organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre," according to its mission statement...
, November 2006 - Performance Working in the Theatre video from the American Theatre WingAmerican Theatre WingThe American Theatre Wing is a New York City-based organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre," according to its mission statement...
, September 2001 - Star File: Christine Ebersole at Broadway.com
- TonyAwards.com Interview with Christine Ebersole
- BroadwayWorld.com interview with Christine Ebersole, August 16, 2007