Swoosie Kurtz
Encyclopedia
Swoosie Kurtz is an American actress. She began her career in theater during the 1970s and shortly thereafter began a career in television, garnering ten nominations and winning one Emmy Award
. Her most famous television project was her role on the 1990s NBC drama Sisters
. She has also appeared somewhat sporadically in films from the late 1970s up until today, including prominent roles in such films as Dangerous Liaisons
, Citizen Ruth
, and Liar Liar
among others. Throughout her career she has remained active in theater, earning five Tony Award
nominations and winning two over the last three decades. Kurtz currently portrays Joyce Flynn on the hit CBS
sitcom Mike and Molly.
, the only child of author Margo (née
Rogers) and Air Force
Colonel Frank Kurtz
, Jr., a much-decorated WWII American bomber pilot. She got her unique first name "Swoosie" (which rhymes with Lucy, rather than woozy) from her father. It is derived from the sole surviving example, at the National Museum of the United States Air Force
, of the B-17D Flying Fortress airplane, named "The Swoose" or simply "Swoose"—half swan, half goose—which her father piloted during World War II
. As a military brat
, Kurtz moved frequently. Kurtz attended the University of Southern California
where she majored in drama
. She then attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
.
at age eighteen, introducing her father and two impostors. Kurtz began her career in theater, making her Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of Ah, Wilderness!
. She first gained wide recognition in 1978 for two theatrical productions, Uncommon Women and Others
, the breakthrough play by Wendy Wasserstein
in which she appeared in a 1977 workshop at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center
and then Off-Broadway, and the musical A History of the American Film for which she won a Drama Desk Award
. Kurtz was soon awarded Broadway
's "triple crown" (the Tony
, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle
awards) for her portrayal of Gwen in Lanford Wilson
's Fifth of July
. She won a second Tony for her performance as Bananas in a 1986 revival of The House of Blue Leaves by John Guare
. She starred as playwright Lillian Hellman
in the 2002 Nora Ephron
play Imaginary Friends
.
In 1978, Kurtz was part of the ensemble cast of Mary Tyler Moore
's short lived variety series Mary, that also included David Letterman
and Michael Keaton
. In 1981, Kurtz began two seasons alongside Tony Randall
in the sitcom Love, Sidney
, in a role that earned her the first of her 10 Emmy Award
nominations. In 1990, she won her first Emmy for a guest-starring role on Carol Burnett
's comedy series Carol & Company
.
From 1991 to 1996, Kurtz had her longest-running television role, starring as wealthy divorcee Alex Reed Halsey on the NBC drama Sisters
, a role that earned her two more Emmy Award nominations.
In recent years, Kurtz has guest-starred on the hit shows ER
and Lost
and Desperate Housewives, and has also had recurring roles as Valerie on the drama That's Life
, as Judy's mother Helen on the sitcom Still Standing
, as Madeleine Sullivan on the Showtime drama series Huff
, and most recently as part of a lesbian married couple with Blythe Danner
in the TV drama Nurse Jackie
.
Although her main focus has been television, Kurtz has starred in several major Hollywood films including the Agatha Christie drama Caribbean Mystery in 1983, Dangerous Liaisons
in 1988, its 1999 remake Cruel Intentions
, as a lesbian activist in the acclaimed indie film Citizen Ruth
, and perhaps most notably, alongside Jim Carrey
in 1997's Liar Liar
.
She starred in the ABC
television series, Pushing Daisies
as Lily Charles.
Kurtz can be currently seen in CBS sitcom Mike & Molly
as Joyce Flynn, mother of Molly (Melissa McCarthy
) and Victoria (Katy Mixon
).
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
. Her most famous television project was her role on the 1990s NBC drama Sisters
Sisters (TV series)
Sisters is a television drama which aired on NBC for six seasons, from 1991 to 1996. The series was created by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, who also created the Showtime series Queer as Folk and wrote the acclaimed Emmy and Peabody Award winning drama An Early Frost, also for NBC...
. She has also appeared somewhat sporadically in films from the late 1970s up until today, including prominent roles in such films as Dangerous Liaisons
Dangerous Liaisons
Dangerous Liaisons is a 1988 drama film based upon Christopher Hampton's play, Les liaisons dangereuses, which in turn was a theatrical adaptation of the 18th-century French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos....
, Citizen Ruth
Citizen Ruth
Citizen Ruth is a 1996 film that tells a story of a poor, irresponsible and pregnant woman who unexpectedly attracts attention from those involved in the debate about the morality and legality of abortion. The film stars Laura Dern, Swoosie Kurtz, Mary Kay Place, Kurtwood Smith and Kelly Preston,...
, and Liar Liar
Liar Liar
Liar Liar is a 1997 American comedy film written by Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur, directed by Tom Shadyac and starring Jim Carrey. Carrey was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical...
among others. Throughout her career she has remained active in theater, earning five Tony Award
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
nominations and winning two over the last three decades. Kurtz currently portrays Joyce Flynn on the hit CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
sitcom Mike and Molly.
Early life
Kurtz was born in Omaha, NebraskaOmaha, Nebraska
Omaha is the largest city in the state of Nebraska, United States, and is the county seat of Douglas County. It is located in the Midwestern United States on the Missouri River, about 20 miles north of the mouth of the Platte River...
, the only child of author Margo (née
Married and maiden names
A married name is the family name adopted by a person upon marriage. When a person assumes the family name of her spouse, the new name replaces the maiden name....
Rogers) and Air Force
United States Air Force
The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
Colonel Frank Kurtz
Frank Kurtz
Col. Frank Allen Kurtz is known as an Olympic diver, as an aviator, the United States Army Air Force being awarded the Croix de Guerre, 3 Distinguished Flying Crosses, 3 Silver Stars, 3 Air Medals, 5 Presidential Citations...
, Jr., a much-decorated WWII American bomber pilot. She got her unique first name "Swoosie" (which rhymes with Lucy, rather than woozy) from her father. It is derived from the sole surviving example, at the National Museum of the United States Air Force
National Museum of the United States Air Force
The National Museum of the United States Air Force is the official museum of the United States Air Force located at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base northeast of Dayton, Ohio. The NMUSAF is the world's largest and oldest military aviation museum with more than 360 aircraft and missiles on display...
, of the B-17D Flying Fortress airplane, named "The Swoose" or simply "Swoose"—half swan, half goose—which her father piloted during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
. As a military brat
Military brat
A military brat describes people who spend their childhood or adolescence while a parent serve full-time in the armed forces, and can also refer to the unique subculture and lifestyle of American military brats, the term refers to both current and former children of such families.Lifestyle: The...
, Kurtz moved frequently. Kurtz attended the University of Southern California
University of Southern California
The University of Southern California is a private, not-for-profit, nonsectarian, research university located in Los Angeles, California, United States. USC was founded in 1880, making it California's oldest private research university...
where she majored in drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
. She then attended the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art
The London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art is a leading British drama school in west London. LAMDA's president is Timothy West and its new principal is Joanna Read, who recently succeeded Peter James...
.
Career
Kurtz's first television appearance was on To Tell the TruthTo Tell the Truth
To Tell the Truth is an American television panel game show created by Bob Stewart and produced by Goodson-Todman Productions that has aired in various forms since 1956 both on networks and in syndication...
at age eighteen, introducing her father and two impostors. Kurtz began her career in theater, making her Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of Ah, Wilderness!
Ah, Wilderness!
Ah, Wilderness! is a comedy by American playwright Eugene O'Neill that premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on 2 October 1933.-Plot summary:...
. She first gained wide recognition in 1978 for two theatrical productions, Uncommon Women and Others
Uncommon Women and Others
Uncommon Women and Others , is the first play by noted 20th century American playwright Wendy Wasserstein.-1977 Off-Broadway debut:...
, the breakthrough play by Wendy Wasserstein
Wendy Wasserstein
Wendy Wasserstein was an American playwright and an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University...
in which she appeared in a 1977 workshop at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center
Eugene O'Neill Theater Center
The Eugene O'Neill Memorial Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut is a 501 not-for-profit theater company founded in 1964 by George C. White. The O'Neill is the recipient of the . The O'Neill is home to the National Theater Institute , and several major theater conferences including the...
and then Off-Broadway, and the musical A History of the American Film for which she won a Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
. Kurtz was soon awarded 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...
's "triple crown" (the Tony
Tony Award
The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Theatre, more commonly known as a Tony Award, recognizes achievement in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual ceremony in New York City. The awards are given for Broadway...
, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle
Outer Critics Circle Award
The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets...
awards) for her portrayal of Gwen in Lanford Wilson
Lanford Wilson
Lanford Wilson was an American playwright who helped to advance the Off-Off-Broadway theater movement. He received the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1980, was elected in 2001 to the Theater Hall of Fame, and in 2004 was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Letters...
's Fifth of July
Fifth of July
Fifth of July is a 1978 play by American playwright Lanford Wilson. Set in rural Missouri in 1977, it revolves around the Talley family and their friends, and focuses on the disillusionment with America in the wake of the Vietnam War...
. She won a second Tony for her performance as Bananas in a 1986 revival of The House of Blue Leaves by John Guare
John Guare
John Guare is an American playwright. He is best known as the author of The House of Blue Leaves, Six Degrees of Separation, and Landscape of the Body...
. She starred as playwright Lillian Hellman
Lillian Hellman
Lillian Florence "Lily" Hellman was an American playwright, linked throughout her life with many left-wing causes...
in the 2002 Nora Ephron
Nora Ephron
Nora Ephron is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, novelist, playwright, journalist, author, and blogger.She is best known for her romantic comedies and is a triple nominee for the Academy Award for Writing Original Screenplay; for Silkwood, When Harry Met Sally... and Sleepless in...
play Imaginary Friends
Imaginary Friends (play)
Imaginary Friends is a play by Nora Ephron. It includes songs with music by Marvin Hamlisch and lyrics by Craig Carnelia.-Plot:The play focuses on writers Lillian Hellman and Mary McCarthy, who reunite in hell and reflect on their decades-long antagonistic relationship...
.
Mary Tyler Moore
Mary Tyler Moore is an American actress, primarily known for her roles in television sitcoms. Moore is best known for The Mary Tyler Moore Show , in which she starred as Mary Richards, a 30-something single woman who worked as a local news producer in Minneapolis, and for her earlier role as...
's short lived variety series Mary, that also included David Letterman
David Letterman
David Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
and Michael Keaton
Michael Keaton
Michael John Douglas , better known by the stage name Michael Keaton, is an American actor known for his early comedic roles, most notably his performance as the title character of Tim Burton's Beetlejuice . Keaton is also famous for his dramatic portrayal of Bruce Wayne/Batman in Tim Burton's...
. In 1981, Kurtz began two seasons alongside Tony Randall
Tony Randall
Tony Randall was a U.S. actor, comic, producer and director.-Early years:Randall was born Arthur Leonard Rosenberg to a Jewish family in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the son of Julia and Mogscha Rosenberg, an art and antiques dealer...
in the sitcom Love, Sidney
Love, Sidney
Love, Sidney was an American situation comedy television series about a gay man, Sidney Shorr, and his relationship with a single mother and her five year-old daughter whom he invites to live with him...
, in a role that earned her the first of her 10 Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
nominations. In 1990, she won her first Emmy for a guest-starring role on Carol Burnett
Carol Burnett
Carol Creighton Burnett is an American actress, comedian, singer, dancer and writer. Burnett started her career in New York. After becoming a hit on Broadway, she made her television debut...
's comedy series Carol & Company
Carol & Company
Carol & Company is a comedy program airing on NBC-TV in the United States during 1990 and 1991.Carol & Company applied an unusual repertory approach to television comedy. Every week, Carol Burnett and her fellow players performed a different half-hour comedy playlet...
.
From 1991 to 1996, Kurtz had her longest-running television role, starring as wealthy divorcee Alex Reed Halsey on the NBC drama Sisters
Sisters (TV series)
Sisters is a television drama which aired on NBC for six seasons, from 1991 to 1996. The series was created by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, who also created the Showtime series Queer as Folk and wrote the acclaimed Emmy and Peabody Award winning drama An Early Frost, also for NBC...
, a role that earned her two more Emmy Award nominations.
In recent years, Kurtz has guest-starred on the hit shows ER
ER (TV series)
ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
and Lost
Lost (TV series)
Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island...
and Desperate Housewives, and has also had recurring roles as Valerie on the drama That's Life
That's Life (2000 TV series)
That's Life is an American dramedy series created by Diane Ruggiero, that was broadcast on CBS from October 1, 2000 to January 26, 2002.-Synopsis:...
, as Judy's mother Helen on the sitcom Still Standing
Still Standing (TV series)
Still Standing is an American sitcom television series. It debuted on CBS on September 30, 2002, and ended March 8, 2006. Lifetime obtained the United States syndication rights to the show in February 2005 and aired it until 2009...
, as Madeleine Sullivan on the Showtime drama series Huff
Huff (TV series)
Huff is an American television dramedy series produced by Sony Pictures Television for Showtime. The series was created by Bob Lowry and features Hank Azaria as Dr. Craig "Huff" Huffstodt, a psychiatrist whose life changes abruptly when a 15-year-old client commits suicide in his office...
, and most recently as part of a lesbian married couple with Blythe Danner
Blythe Danner
Blythe Katherine Danner is an American actress. She is the mother of actress Gwyneth Paltrow and director Jake Paltrow.-Early life:...
in the TV drama Nurse Jackie
Nurse Jackie
Nurse Jackie is an American series that premiered on June 8, 2009, on Showtime, Movie Central and The Movie Network.The series stars Edie Falco as the title character Jackie Peyton, an emergency room nurse at All Saints' Hospital in New York City...
.
Although her main focus has been television, Kurtz has starred in several major Hollywood films including the Agatha Christie drama Caribbean Mystery in 1983, Dangerous Liaisons
Dangerous Liaisons
Dangerous Liaisons is a 1988 drama film based upon Christopher Hampton's play, Les liaisons dangereuses, which in turn was a theatrical adaptation of the 18th-century French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos....
in 1988, its 1999 remake Cruel Intentions
Cruel Intentions
Cruel Intentions is a 1999 American drama film starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, and Selma Blair. The film is an adaptation of the 18th-century French epistolary novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Laclos and is set among wealthy teenagers living in modern New York...
, as a lesbian activist in the acclaimed indie film Citizen Ruth
Citizen Ruth
Citizen Ruth is a 1996 film that tells a story of a poor, irresponsible and pregnant woman who unexpectedly attracts attention from those involved in the debate about the morality and legality of abortion. The film stars Laura Dern, Swoosie Kurtz, Mary Kay Place, Kurtwood Smith and Kelly Preston,...
, and perhaps most notably, alongside Jim Carrey
Jim Carrey
James Eugene "Jim" Carrey is a Canadian-American actor and comedian. He has received two Golden Globe Awards and has also been nominated on four occasions. Carrey began comedy in 1979, performing at Yuk Yuk's in Toronto, Ontario...
in 1997's Liar Liar
Liar Liar
Liar Liar is a 1997 American comedy film written by Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur, directed by Tom Shadyac and starring Jim Carrey. Carrey was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical...
.
She starred in the ABC
American Broadcasting Company
The American Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network. Created in 1943 from the former NBC Blue radio network, ABC is owned by The Walt Disney Company and is part of Disney-ABC Television Group. Its first broadcast on television was in 1948...
television series, Pushing Daisies
Pushing Daisies
Pushing Daisies is an American comedy-drama television series created by Bryan Fuller that aired on ABC from October 3, 2007 to June 13, 2009. The series stars Lee Pace as Ned, a pie-maker with the ability to bring dead things back to life with his touch, an ability that comes with stipulations...
as Lily Charles.
Kurtz can be currently seen in CBS sitcom Mike & Molly
Mike & Molly
Mike & Molly is an American sitcom created by Mark Roberts, which premiered on CBS on September 20, 2010. The series stars Billy Gardell and Melissa McCarthy as the title characters.-Premise:...
as Joyce Flynn, mother of Molly (Melissa McCarthy
Melissa McCarthy
Melissa McCarthy is an American actress and comedian.From 2000 to 2007, she portrayed Sookie St. James on the The WB television series Gilmore Girls. From 2007 to 2009, she portrayed Dena on the ABC sitcom Samantha Who? She currently stars in the CBS sitcom Mike & Molly, for which she...
) and Victoria (Katy Mixon
Katy Mixon
Katy Elizabeth Mixon is an American actress. She is best known for her role as April Buchanon on HBO's Eastbound & Down and Victoria Flynn on the CBS television series Mike and Molly.-Life and career:...
).
Filmography
| Year | Film/TV/Play | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1968 | The Firebugs | Ann | |
| 1970 | The Effect of Gamma Rays The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds is a 1964 play written by Paul Zindel, a playwright and science teacher. Zindel received the 1971 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and a New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for the work. The play's world premiere was staged in 1964 at the Alley Theatre... |
Tillie/Janice Vickery | |
| 1971 | As the World Turns As the World Turns As the World Turns is an American television soap opera that aired on CBS from April 2, 1956 to September 17, 2010. Irna Phillips created As the World Turns as a sister show to her other soap opera Guiding Light... |
Ellie Bradley | unknown episodes |
| 1975 | Ah, Wilderness! Ah, Wilderness! Ah, Wilderness! is a comedy by American playwright Eugene O'Neill that premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on 2 October 1933.-Plot summary:... |
Muriel McComber | |
| 1976 | Kojak Kojak Kojak is an American television series starring Telly Savalas as the title character, bald New York City Police Department Detective Lieutenant Theo Kojak. It aired from October 24, 1973, to March 18, 1978, on CBS. It took the time slot of the popular Cannon series, which was moved one hour earlier... |
Julie Di Nata | 1 episode |
| 1977 | Slap Shot Slap Shot (film) Slap Shot is a 1977 film comedy starring Paul Newman and Michael Ontkean directed by George Roy Hill. It depicts a minor league hockey team that resorts to violent play to gain popularity in a declining factory town.- Plot :... |
Shirley Upton | |
| First Love First Love (1977 film) First Love is a 1977 romance film. It stars Susan Dey and William Katt and was directed by Joan Darling. The movie is based upon the story Sentimental Education by Harold Brodkey... |
Marsha | ||
| Tartuffe Tartuffe Tartuffe is a comedy by Molière. It is one of his most famous plays.-History:Molière wrote Tartuffe in 1664... |
Mariane | Nominated - Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The award has been presented since 1947, and is for performance in new productions or revivals.-1940s:... |
|
| Uncommon Women and Others Uncommon Women and Others Uncommon Women and Others , is the first play by noted 20th century American playwright Wendy Wasserstein.-1977 Off-Broadway debut:... |
Rita Altabel | Won - Obie Award for Best Actress in a Play Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City... |
|
| 1978 | Mary | Skit characters | |
| Oliver's Story Oliver's Story Oliver's Story is the sequel to the novel Love Story by Erich Segal, turned into a movie of the same name in 1978. It was directed by John Korty and starred Ryan O'Neal and Candice Bergen. The original music score was composed by Lee Holdridge and Francis Lai. Unlike the original film, Oliver's... |
Gwen Simpson | ||
| A History of the American Film | Bette | Won - Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical was first awarded in the 1974-1975 Drama Desk Awards and has subsequently been awarded every year. In the 1993-1994 Drama Desk Awards the award was given under the name of Outstanding Supporting Actress - Musical... |
|
| Tartuffe Tartuffe Tartuffe is a comedy by Molière. It is one of his most famous plays.-History:Molière wrote Tartuffe in 1664... |
Mariane | Nominated - Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play was first awarded at the 1974-1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since... |
|
| 1979 | Walking Through the Fire | Caria | |
| Uncommon Women and Others Uncommon Women and Others (1978 Television) Uncommon Women and Others , is a made-for-television film Uncommon Women and Others (1978), is a made-for-television film Uncommon Women and Others (1978), is a made-for-television film (based upon the play of the same name. Wendy Wasserstein wrote both the original play as well as the teleplay for... |
Rita Altabel | ||
| 1980 | Marriage Is Alive and Well | Jane Tremont | |
| The Mating Season | Roberta | ||
| 1982 | The World According to Garp The World According to Garp (film) The World According to Garp is 1982 American comedy drama film directed by George Roy Hill, based on the novel of the same title by John Irving, who also wrote the script together with Steve Tesich... |
The Hooker | |
| Fifth of July Fifth of July Fifth of July is a 1978 play by American playwright Lanford Wilson. Set in rural Missouri in 1977, it revolves around the Talley family and their friends, and focuses on the disillusionment with America in the wake of the Vietnam War... |
Gwen Landis | Won - Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play was first awarded at the 1974-1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since... Won - Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play This is a list of winners and nomination of the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress. The award was first presented in 1947.-1940s:* 1947: Patricia Neal – Another Part of the Forest* 1949: Shirley Booth – Goodbye, My Fancy-1950s:... |
|
| 1981–1983 | Love, Sidney Love, Sidney Love, Sidney was an American situation comedy television series about a gay man, Sidney Shorr, and his relationship with a single mother and her five year-old daughter whom he invites to live with him... |
Laurie Morgan | 44 episodes Nominated - Primetime Emmy Awards - Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series (1982, 1983) |
| 1983 | A Caribbean Mystery A Caribbean Mystery A Caribbean Mystery is a work of detective fiction by Agatha Christie, first published in the UK by the Collins Crime Club on November 16, 1964 and in the United States by Dodd, Mead and Company the following year. The UK edition retailed at sixteen shillings and the US edition at $4.50... |
Ruth Walter | |
| 1984 | Against All Odds | Edie | |
| 1985 | Guilty Conscience | Jackie Willis | |
| A Time to Live | Patricia | ||
| 1986 | Wildcats Wildcats (film) Wildcats is a 1986 film starring Goldie Hawn and costarring Jan Hooks and Swoosie Kurtz. It is the film debut of Wesley Snipes and Woody Harrelson. They also appeared together in White Men Can't Jump and Money Train... |
Verna McGrath | |
| True Stories True Stories (film) True Stories is an American film that spans the genres of musical, art, and comedy, directed by and starring David Byrne of the band Talking Heads. It co-stars John Goodman, Swoosie Kurtz, and Spalding Gray. Byrne has described the film as, "A project with songs based on true stories from tabloid... |
Miss Rollings | ||
| The House of Blue Leaves The House of Blue Leaves The House of Blue Leaves is a play by American playwright John Guare, first staged in 1966 by Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut.... |
Bananas Shaughnessy | Won - Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play This is a list of winners and nomination of the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress. The award was first presented in 1947.-1940s:* 1947: Patricia Neal – Another Part of the Forest* 1949: Shirley Booth – Goodbye, My Fancy-1950s:... Won - Obie Award for Best Actress in a Play Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City... Nominated - Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play was first awarded at the 1974–1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since... |
|
| 1987 | The House of Blue Leaves The House of Blue Leaves The House of Blue Leaves is a play by American playwright John Guare, first staged in 1966 by Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut.... |
Bananas | |
| Trying Times | Wanda | ||
| 1988 | Baja Oklahoma Baja Oklahoma Baja Oklahoma was a 1988 HBO Original Film starring Lesley Ann Warren. Written by Dan Jenkins, it included appearances by Peter Coyote, Swoosie Kurtz, and Julia Roberts.-Other:... |
Doris Steadman | Nominated - Golden Globe Award Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Award is an accolade bestowed by the 93 members of the Hollywood Foreign Press Association recognizing excellence in film and television, both domestic and foreign... - Best Supporting Actress (1989) |
| Vice Versa Vice Versa (1988 film) Vice Versa is a 1988 comedy film starring Judge Reinhold and Fred Savage. It is the fourth screen adaptation of the 1882 novel of the same name by F. Anstey... |
Tina Brooks / Turk | ||
| Bright Lights, Big City Bright Lights, Big City (film) Bright Lights, Big City is a 1988 drama film starring Michael J. Fox, Kiefer Sutherland and Phoebe Cates, based on the novel of the same name by Jay McInerney. It was the last film directed by James Bridges before his death in 1993.-Plot:... |
Megan | ||
| Dangerous Liaisons Dangerous Liaisons Dangerous Liaisons is a 1988 drama film based upon Christopher Hampton's play, Les liaisons dangereuses, which in turn was a theatrical adaptation of the 18th-century French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Pierre Choderlos de Laclos.... |
Madame de Volanges | ||
| 1989 | Stanley & Iris | Sharon | |
| Love Letters Love Letters (play) Love Letters is a Pulitzer Prize for Drama nominated play by A. R. Gurney. The play centers on just two characters, Melissa Gardner and Andrew Makepeace Ladd III... |
Melissa Gardner | ||
| 1990 | The Image | Joanne Winstow-Darvish | Nominated - Primetime Emmy Awards - Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie (1990) |
| A Shock to the System A Shock to the System A Shock to the System is a U.S. comedy crime thriller film directed by Jan Egleson, starring Michael Caine, Swoosie Kurtz, Elizabeth McGovern, and Peter Riegert... |
Leslie Marshall | ||
| Carol & Company Carol & Company Carol & Company is a comedy program airing on NBC-TV in the United States during 1990 and 1991.Carol & Company applied an unusual repertory approach to television comedy. Every week, Carol Burnett and her fellow players performed a different half-hour comedy playlet... |
Laurie | Won - Primetime Emmy Awards - Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series | |
| 1991 | Walking the Dog | ||
| Terror on Track 9 | Marcia Hobbs | ||
| 1991–1996 | Sisters Sisters (TV series) Sisters is a television drama which aired on NBC for six seasons, from 1991 to 1996. The series was created by Ron Cowen and Daniel Lipman, who also created the Showtime series Queer as Folk and wrote the acclaimed Emmy and Peabody Award winning drama An Early Frost, also for NBC... |
Alexandra 'Alex' Reed Halsey Barker | 106 episodes, Nominated - Primetime Emmy Awards - Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (1993, 1994) Screen Actors Guild Awards Screen Actors Guild Awards A Screen Actors Guild Award is an accolade given by the Screen Actors Guild to recognize outstanding performances by its members. The statuette given, a nude male figure holding both a mask of comedy and a mask of tragedy, is called "The Actor"... Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series (1995) |
| 1993 | The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Texas Cheerleader-Murdering Mom is a 1993 comedy TV movie produced by and for HBO. It was directed by Michael Ritchie and starred Holly Hunter, Swoosie Kurtz and Beau Bridges.... |
Marla Harper | |
| And the Band Played On And the Band Played On (film) And the Band Played On is a 1993 American television film docudrama directed by Roger Spottiswoode. The teleplay by Arnold Schulman is based on the best-selling 1987 non-fiction book And the Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic by Randy Shilts.The film premiered at the Montreal... |
Mrs. Johnstone | Nominated - Primetime Emmy Awards - Outstanding Supporting Actor in a Miniseries or a Movie (1995) CableACE Awards Supporting Actress in a Movie or Miniseries (1995) |
|
| 1994 | Reality Bites Reality Bites Reality Bites is a 1994 American romantic comedy-drama film written by Helen Childress and featuring the directorial debut of Ben Stiller. It stars Winona Ryder, Ethan Hawke and Stiller, with major supporting roles played by Janeane Garofalo and Steve Zahn. The film was shot on location in Austin... |
Charlane McGregor | |
| One Christmas | Emily | ||
| 1995 | Betrayed: A Story of Three Women | Joan Bixler | |
| 1996 | Citizen Ruth Citizen Ruth Citizen Ruth is a 1996 film that tells a story of a poor, irresponsible and pregnant woman who unexpectedly attracts attention from those involved in the debate about the morality and legality of abortion. The film stars Laura Dern, Swoosie Kurtz, Mary Kay Place, Kurtwood Smith and Kelly Preston,... ' |
Diane Siegler | |
| A Promise to Carolyn | Kay | ||
| Party Girl Party Girl (TV series) Party Girl is an American sitcom based on the 1995 film of the same name that aired on Fox in September 1996. The series stars Christine Taylor and Swoosie Kurtz.-Synopsis:... |
Judy Burkhard | 3 episodes | |
| 1997 | Little Girls in Pretty Boxes Little Girls in Pretty Boxes Little Girls in Pretty Boxes: The Making and Breaking of Elite Gymnasts and Figure Skaters is a 1995 nonfiction book by San Francisco Chronicle sports writer Joan Ryan detailing the difficult training regimens endured by young women in competitive sports such as gymnastics and ice skating,... |
Allison Bryant | |
| Liar Liar Liar Liar Liar Liar is a 1997 American comedy film written by Paul Guay and Stephen Mazur, directed by Tom Shadyac and starring Jim Carrey. Carrey was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture - Comedy/Musical... |
Dana Appleton | ||
| Touched by an Angel Touched by an Angel Touched by an Angel is an American drama series that premiered on CBS on September 21, 1994 and ran for 211 episodes and nine seasons until its conclusion on April 27, 2003. Created by John Masius and produced by Martha Williamson, the series stars Roma Downey, as an angel named Monica, and Della... |
Libby King | 1 episode | |
| Suddenly Susan Suddenly Susan Suddenly Susan is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC from 1996 to 2000. The show takes place at The Gate, a fictitious magazine which is based in San Francisco. Among the magazine's employees is Susan Keane , who always has been cared for by someone else... |
Liz Miller Keane | 1 episode | |
| 1998 | Harvey | Veta Simmons | |
| ER ER (TV series) ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television... |
Tina Marie Chambliss | 1 episode Nominated - Primetime Emmy Awards - Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (1998) |
|
| Outside Ozona Outside Ozona Outside Ozona is a 1998 American comedy film written and directed by J. S. Cardone. The film follows a group of strangers who are all listening to the same radio station.-Plot:... |
Rosalee | ||
| 1999 | Cruel Intentions Cruel Intentions Cruel Intentions is a 1999 American drama film starring Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, and Selma Blair. The film is an adaptation of the 18th-century French epistolary novel Les Liaisons dangereuses by Laclos and is set among wealthy teenagers living in modern New York... |
Dr. Greenbaum | |
| Love & Money | Effie Conklin | 13 episodes | |
| The Mineola Twins The Mineola Twins The Mineola Twins is a play by Paula Vogel.The play opened on February 18, 1999 and closed on May 30, 1999 at the Laura Pels Theatre in a Roundabout Theatre production. Directed by Joe Mantello, the cast included Swoosie Kurtz and Mo Gaffney... |
Myrna/Myra | Won -OBIE Award for Outstanding Actress Obie Award The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City... Nominated - Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play The Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play was first awarded at the 1974–1975 Drama Desk Awards and has been awarded every year since... Nominated -Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets... |
|
| 2000 | My Own Country | Hope Flanders | |
| The Outer Limits The Outer Limits (1995 TV series) The Outer Limits is an American television series that originally aired on Showtime,the Sci Fi Channel and in syndication between 1995 and 2002... |
Justice Kendall Woods | 1 episode | |
| 2001 | Get Over It Get Over It (film) Get Over It is a 2001 American romantic comedy film about a teenage boy whose girlfriend ends their relationship. The film was directed by Tommy O'Haver for Miramax Films. The film stars Ben Foster, Kirsten Dunst, Melissa Sagemiller, Sisqó, Colin Hanks, Shane West, and Martin Short. R. Lee Fleming,... |
Beverly Landers | |
| 'Bubble Boy | Mrs. Livingston | ||
| The Wilde Girls | Sierra Lambert | ||
| That's Life That's Life (2000 TV series) That's Life is an American dramedy series created by Diane Ruggiero, that was broadcast on CBS from October 1, 2000 to January 26, 2002.-Synopsis:... |
Valerie Wilkinson | (4 episodes | |
| 2002 | Street Time | Victoria Van Kleek | 1 episode |
| The Rules of Attraction The Rules of Attraction (film) The Rules of Attraction is a 2002 satirical dark comedy film directed by Roger Avary, based on the novel of the same name by Bret Easton Ellis. It stars James van der Beek, Shannyn Sossamon, Ian Somerhalder, Jessica Biel, and Kip Pardue.-Plot:... |
Mrs. Jared | ||
| 2003 | Duplex Duplex (film) Duplex is a 2003 American black comedy film directed by Danny DeVito, and starring Ben Stiller and Drew Barrymore.The film was called Our House for its release in the United Kingdom and Ireland.-Plot:... |
Jean | |
| 2004 | Sleep Easy, Hutch Rimes | Binny Redwine | |
| Frozen Frozen (play) Frozen is a play by Bryony Lavery that tells the story of the disappearance of a 10-year-old girl, Rhona. The play follows Rhona's mother and killer over the years that follow. They are linked by a doctor who is studying what causes men to commit such crimes... |
Nancy | Nominated -Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The award has been presented since 1947, and is for performance in new productions or revivals.-1940s:... Nominated -Lucille Lortel Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress Lucille Lortel Awards The Lucille Lortel Awards recognize excellence in New York Off-Broadway theatre. The Awards are named for Lucille Lortel, an actress and theater producer, and have been awarded since 1986... Nominated -Outer Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play Outer Critics Circle Award The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on and Off-Broadway and were begun during the 1949-1950 theater season. The awards are decided upon by theater critics who review for out-of-town newspapers, national publications, and other media outlets... |
|
| 2005 | Lost Lost (TV series) Lost is an American television series that originally aired on ABC from September 22, 2004 to May 23, 2010, consisting of six seasons. Lost is a drama series that follows the survivors of the crash of a commercial passenger jet flying between Sydney and Los Angeles, on a mysterious tropical island... |
Emily Annabeth Locke | 1 episode |
| Still Standing Still Standing (TV series) Still Standing is an American sitcom television series. It debuted on CBS on September 30, 2002, and ended March 8, 2006. Lifetime obtained the United States syndication rights to the show in February 2005 and aired it until 2009... |
Helen Michaels | 2 episodes | |
| Category 7: The End of the World | Penny Hall | ||
| 2004–2006 | Huff Huff (TV series) Huff is an American television dramedy series produced by Sony Pictures Television for Showtime. The series was created by Bob Lowry and features Hank Azaria as Dr. Craig "Huff" Huffstodt, a psychiatrist whose life changes abruptly when a 15-year-old client commits suicide in his office... |
Madeleine Sullivan | 8 episodes Nominated - Primetime Emmy Awards - Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (2005, 2006) |
| 2006 | Heartbreak House Heartbreak House Heartbreak House is a play written by George Bernard Shaw, first published in 1919 and first played at the Garrick Theatre in 1920. According to A. C. Ward, the work argues that "cultured, leisured Europe" was drifting toward destruction, and that "Those in a position to guide Europe to safety... |
Hesione Hushabye | Nominated -Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play This is a list of the winners and nominations of Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. The award has been presented since 1947, and is for performance in new productions or revivals.-1940s:... |
| 2007–2009 | Pushing Daisies Pushing Daisies Pushing Daisies is an American comedy-drama television series created by Bryan Fuller that aired on ABC from October 3, 2007 to June 13, 2009. The series stars Lee Pace as Ned, a pie-maker with the ability to bring dead things back to life with his touch, an ability that comes with stipulations... |
Lily Charles | 22 episodes |
| 2007 | Superman: Doomsday Superman: Doomsday Superman: Doomsday & Beyond is a licensed novel, published in 1993, set in the DC Comics universe, written by Louise Simonson, and with illustrations from Dan Jurgens and José Luis García-López. It is a young-adult version of The Death of Superman comics storyline from 1992... |
Martha Kent | voice |
| 2008 | Living Proof Living Proof (film) Living Proof is a 2008 Lifetime Television movie, directed by Dan Ireland, starring Harry Connick, Jr.The film is based on the true life story of Dr. Dennis Slamon and the book HER-2: The Making of Herceptin, a Revolutionary Treatment for Breast Cancer by Robert Bazell. Vivienne Radkoff wrote the... |
Elizabeth | |
| 2009 | An Englishman in New York An Englishman in New York (film) An Englishman in New York is a 2009 biographical drama film that chronicles the English gay writer Quentin Crisp's later years spent in New York City. It is a follow-up to the 1975 TV movie The Naked Civil Servant with John Hurt reprising his role as Crisp... |
Connie Clausen | |
| Desperate Housewives Desperate Housewives Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W... |
Jessie | 1 episode | |
| Heroes Heroes (TV series) Heroes is an American science fiction television drama series created by Tim Kring that appeared on NBC for four seasons from September 25, 2006 through February 8, 2010. The series tells the stories of ordinary people who discover superhuman abilities, and how these abilities take effect in the... |
Millie Houston | 2 episodes | |
| Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Law & Order: Special Victims Unit is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it is also primarily produced... |
Judge Hilda Marsden | 1 episode | |
| Nurse Jackie Nurse Jackie Nurse Jackie is an American series that premiered on June 8, 2009, on Showtime, Movie Central and The Movie Network.The series stars Edie Falco as the title character Jackie Peyton, an emergency room nurse at All Saints' Hospital in New York City... |
Mrs. Scheinhorn | 1 episode | |
| Rita Rocks Rita Rocks Rita Rocks is a Lifetime original sitcom that premiered on October 20, 2008. It is the network's first original comedy in over a decade. The series debuted alongside re-runs of Reba as part of a new comedy hour for Tuesday nights, which later changed to Monday nights... |
Marilyn | 4 episodes | |
| 2010 | Chuck Chuck -Engineering:* Chuck , a clamp that is part of a machine tool or power tool and securely holds a removable part, either a workpiece or a tool -People:* Charles, a masculine given name... |
Laura Turner | 1 episode |
| 2010–present | Mike & Molly Mike & Molly Mike & Molly is an American sitcom created by Mark Roberts, which premiered on CBS on September 20, 2010. The series stars Billy Gardell and Melissa McCarthy as the title characters.-Premise:... |
Joyce Flynn |
External links
- Swoosie Kurtz - Downstage Center interview at 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...
, October 2006 - Leading Ladies Working in the Theatre video from American Theatre Wing, December 2006
- Performance Working in the Theatre video from American Theatre Wing, September 2003
- Performance Working in the Theatre video from American Theatre Wing, April 1999
- Performance Working in the Theatre video from American Theatre Wing, September 1986
- TonyAwards.com Interview with Swoosie Kurtz