Name

Piper Laurie

Date of Birth 

January 22nd, 1932

 Awards

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Year

Result

Award

Category/Recipient(s)

1987

Nominated

Oscar

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
for: Children of a Lesser God (1986)

 1977

Nominated

Oscar

Best Actress in a Supporting Role
for: Carrie (1976)

 1962

Nominated

Oscar

Best Actress in a Leading Role
for: The Hustler (1961)

1978

Nominated

Saturn Award

Best Actress - Horror
for: Ruby (1977)

1962

Nominated

BAFTA Film Award

Best Foreign Actress
for: The Hustler (1961) USA.

1999

Nominated

Emmy

Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
for: "Frasier" (1993)
 For playing "Mrs. Mulhern".  For episode "Dr. Nora".

1991

Nominated

Emmy

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
for: "Twin Peaks" (1990)

1990

Nominated

Emmy

Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series
for: "Twin Peaks" (1990)

1987

Won

Emmy

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special
for: “Promise” (1986) (TV)

1984

Nominated

Emmy

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
for: “St. Elsewhere” (1982)
 For episode "Lust et Veritas".

1983

Nominated

Emmy

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Special
for: "The Thorn Birds" (1983)
 For part III.

1981

Nominated

Emmy

Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Special
for: The Bunker (1981) (TV)

1959

Nominated

Emmy

Best Single Performance by an Actress
for: "Playhouse 90" (1956)
 For playing "Kirsten Clay".  For episode "Days of Wine and Roses".

1958

Nominated

Emmy

Actress - Best Single Performance - Lead or Support
for: "Studio One" (1948)
 For episode "The Deaf Heart".

1991

Won

Golden Globe

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV
for: "Twin Peaks" (1990)

1987

Nominated

Golden Globe

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV
for: Promise (1986) (TV)

1984

Nominated

Golden Globe

Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for TV
for: "The Thorn Birds" (1983)

1977

Nominated

Golden Globe

Best Motion Picture Actress in a Supporting Role
for: Carrie (1976)

1962

-

Woman of the Year

 

1962

2nd place

Golden Laurel

Top Female Dramatic Performance
for: The Hustler (1961)

1999

Won

American Independent Award

Special Jury Prize
for: The Mao Game (1999)

Golden Space Needle Award

Best Actress
for: The Mao Game (1999)

1992

Nominated

Soap Opera Digest Award

Outstanding Actress: Prime Time
for: "Twin Peaks" (1990)

1991

Nominated

Soap Opera Digest Award

Outstanding Villainess: Prime Time
for: "Twin Peaks" (1990)

1997

Won

SEFCA Award

Best Supporting Actress
for: The Grass Harp (1995)
 Tied with Joan Allen for The Crucible (1996).

Biography

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

     Piper Laurie was born Rosetta Jacobs in Detroit, Michigan, on January 22, 1932, the daughter of a Polish immigrant and his Russian-American wife. Her father was a furniture dealer who moved his family to Los Angeles, California, when she was 6-years-old. Rosetta was a pretty red-haired little girl, but very shy, so her parents sent her to weekly elocution lessons. In addition to her lessons in Hebrew school, she studied acting at a local acting school, and this eventually led to work at Universal Studios.

     Universal had signed her as a contract player when she was only 17-years-old, and changed her screen name to Piper Laurie. She was cast in the movie Louisa (1950), and became very close friends with her costar, Ronald Reagan. She was then cast in Francis Goes to the Races (1951) with Donald O'Connor, Son of Ali Baba (1952) with Tony Curtis, and Ain't Misbehavin' (1955) with Rory Calhoun. The studio tried to enhance her image as an ingénue with press releases stating that she took milk baths and ate gardenia petals for lunch. Although she was making $2,000 per week, her lack of any substantial roles discouraged her so much that by 1955 when she received another script for a Western and "another silly part in a silly movie", she dropped the script in the fireplace, called her agent and told him she didn't care if they fired her, jailed her or sued her.

     From there, she went to New York City to study acting, and worked in live television, starring in The Hallmark Hall of Fame version of Twelfth Night (1957), The Days of Wine and Roses (1958) with Cliff Robertson, which debuted on Playhouse 90 on October 2, and as Kirsten in the Playhouse 90 version of Winterset (1959). In 1961, she got the part of Paul Newman's crippled girlfriend in the classic film, The Hustler (1961). She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Actress for that role of Sarah Packard. That same year, she was interviewed by a writer/reporter for the New York Herald Tribune, Joe Morgenstern. She liked his casual dress and lifestyle, and 9 months later, they were married. When she did not receive any substantial acting offers after The Hustler, she retreated with her husband to Woodstock, New York, where she pursued domestic activities such as baking (her grandfather's trade) and raising her only daughter, Anne, born in 1971. In 1976, she accepted the role of Margaret White, the eccentric religious zealot mother of a shy young psychic girl named Carrie (1976), played by Sissy Spacek. Piper received her second supporting Oscar nomination for this role. She and her husband divorced in 1981, she moved to Southern California and obtained many film and television roles.  On her rise  in 1985 she stared in the movie Return to Oz alongside Nicol Williamson and 9 year old Fairuza Balk.

     She got a third Oscar nomination for her role as Mrs. Norman in Children of a Lesser God (1986), and won an Emmy that same year for her acting in Promise (1986) (TV), a television movie with James Garner and James Woods. She has appeared in more than 60 films, from 1950 to the present. Ms. Laurie has appeared in many outstanding television shows from The Best of Broadway in 1954, to roles on Playhouse 90 in 1956, roles on "St. Elsewhere" (1982), "Murder, She Wrote" (1984), "Matlock" (1986), "Beauty and the Beast" (1987), "ER" (1994), "Diagnosis Murder" (1993) and "Frasier" (1993). Her daughter, Anne Grace, has made her a grandmother, and though she lives in Southern California, she frequently visits her daughter in New York.

 Role in film

Piper played Emily Blue, or better know as "Aunt Em".

 Filmography

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 
Actress:
  1. Another Harvest Moon (2009)  .... June
  2. Bad Blood... the Hunger (2009) .... Milly Lathrop
  3. Saving Grace B. Jones (2008) ... Marta
  4. Hounddog (2007) .... Grammie
  5. The Dead Girl (2006) .... Arden's Mother
  6. Bad Blood (2006/I) .... Millie Lathrop
  7. "Cold Case" .... Rose 2005 (1 episode, 2005)
        - Best Friends (2005) TV episode .... Rose 2005
  8. "Dead Like Me" .... Nina (1 episode, 2004)
        - Forget Me Not (2004) TV episode .... Nina
  9. Eulogy (2004) .... Charlotte Collins
  10. "State of Grace" .... Aunt Sophie (1 episode, 2002)
        - Where the Boys Are (2002) TV episode .... Aunt Sophie
  11. "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" .... Dorothy Rudd (1 episode, 2001)
    ... aka Law & Order: SVU (USA: promotional abbreviation)
    ... aka Special Victims Unit (New Zealand: English title)
        - Care (2001) TV episode .... Dorothy Rudd
  12. The Last Brickmaker in America (2001) (TV) .... Ruth Anne
  13. Midwives (2001) (TV) .... Cheryl Visco
  14. Possessed (2000) (TV) .... Aunt Hanna
  15. "Will & Grace" .... Sharon (1 episode, 2000)
        - There But for the Grace of Grace (2000) TV episode .... Sharon
  16. The Mao Game (1999) .... Ida Highland
  17. Inherit the Wind (1999) (TV) .... Sarah Brady
  18. "Frasier" .... Marianne / ... (2 episodes, 1994-1999)
        - Dr. Nora (1999) TV episode .... Mrs. Mulhern
        - Guess Who's Coming to Breakfast (1994) TV episode (voice) .... Marianne
  19. "Brother's Keeper" .... Jane Waide (1 episode, 1999)
        - Everybody Says I Love You (1999) TV episode .... Jane Waide
  20. Palmer's Pick Up (1999) .... Evangelist
  21. "Partners" .... Roberta Stahler (1 episode, 1999)
        - Pilot (1999) TV episode .... Roberta Stahler
  22. The Faculty (1998) .... Mrs. Karen Olson
  23. A Christmas Memory (1997) (TV) .... Jennie
    ... aka Truman Capote's 'A Christmas Memory' (USA: complete title)
  24. Alone (1997) (TV) .... Lillie Dawson
    ... aka Horton Foote's Alone (USA: complete title)
  25. "Touched by an Angel" .... Annie Doyle (1 episode, 1997)
        - Venice (1997) TV episode .... Annie Doyle
  26. Intensity (1997) (TV) .... Miriam Braynard
    ... aka Dean Koontz's Intensity
  27. St. Patrick's Day (1997) .... MaryPat Donnelly-McDonough
  28. "Diagnosis Murder" .... A.D.A. Susan Turner (1 episode, 1996)
        - The ABC's of Murder (1996) TV episode .... A.D.A. Susan Turner
  29. "ER" .... Sarah Ross (2 episodes, 1995-1996)
        - Take These Broken Wings (1996) TV episode .... Sarah Ross
        - Home (1995) TV episode .... Sarah Ross
  30. In the Blink of an Eye (1996) (TV) .... Kay Trafero
  31. The Road to Galveston (1996) (TV) .... Wanda Kirkman
  32. The Grass Harp (1995) .... Dolly Talbo
  33. The Crossing Guard (1995) .... Helen Booth
  34. Fighting for My Daughter (1995) (TV) .... Judge Edna Burton
  35. Shadows of Desire (1994) (TV) .... Ellis Snow
    ... aka The Devil's Bed (Canada: English title)
  36. "Traps" (1994) TV series .... Cora Trapchek (unknown episodes)
  37. Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993) .... Georgia
  38. Love, Lies & Lullabies (1993) (TV) .... Margaret Kinsey
    ... aka Sad Inheritance
  39. Trauma (1993) .... Adriana Petrescu
  40. Rich in Love (1993) .... Vera Delmage
  41. Storyville (1992) .... Constance Fowler
  42. Other People's Money (1991) .... Bea Sullivan
    ... aka Riqueza ajena (USA: Spanish title: video title)
  43. "Twin Peaks" .... Catherine Martell / ... (27 episodes, 1990-1991)
  44. Rising Son (1990) (TV) .... Martha Robinson
  45. Dream a Little Dream (1989) .... Gena Ettinger
  46. "Beauty and the Beast" .... Mrs. Davis (1 episode, 1989)
        - A Gentle Rain (1989) TV episode .... Mrs. Davis
  47. Mother, Mother (1989) .... Martha Cousins
  48. Go Toward the Light (1988) (TV) .... Margo
  49. Tiger Warsaw (1988) .... Frances Warsaw
  50. Appointment with Death (1988) .... Emily Boynton
  51. Distortions (1987) .... Margot Caldwell
  52. Promise (1986) (TV) .... Annie Gilbert
  53. "Matlock" .... Claire Leigh (1 episode, 1986)
        - The Judge (1986) TV episode .... Claire Leigh
  54. Children of a Lesser God (1986) .... Mrs. Norman
  55. "The Twilight Zone" .... Aunt Neva (segment "The Burning Man") (1 episode, 1985)
        - Act Break/The Burning Man/Dealer's Choice (1985) TV episode .... Aunt Neva (segment "The Burning Man")
  56. Toughlove (1985) (TV) .... Darlene Marsh
  57. Love, Mary (1985) (TV) .... Christine Groda
  58. "Tender Is the Night" (1985) TV mini-series (as Laurie Piper) .... Elsie Speers
  59. Return to Oz (1985) .... Aunt Em
  60. "Hotel" .... Jessica (1 episode, 1985)
        - Illusions (1985) TV episode .... Jessica
  61. "Murder, She Wrote" .... Peggy Shannon (1 episode, 1985)
        - Murder at the Oasis (1985) TV episode .... Peggy Shannon
  62. "St. Elsewhere" .... Fran Singleton (3 episodes, 1983)
        - Newheart (1983) TV episode .... Fran Singleton
        - Lust Et Veritas (1983) TV episode .... Fran Singleton
        - Ties That Bind (1983) TV episode .... Fran Singleton
  63. "The Thorn Birds" (1983) TV mini-series .... Anne Mueller (unknown episodes)
  64. Mae West (1982) (TV) .... Matilda West
  65. The Bunker (1981) (TV) .... Magda Goebbels
    ... aka Bunker, Le (France)
  66. Macbeth (1981) (V) .... Lady Macbeth
  67. "Skag" .... Jo Skagska (5 episodes, 1980)
        - What Passes for Love in East Pittsburgh (1980) TV episode .... Jo Skagska
        - The Working Girl: Part 2 (1980) TV episode .... Jo Skagska
        - The Working Girl: Part 1 (1980) TV episode .... Jo Skagska
        - The Wildcatters (1980) TV episode .... Jo Skagska
        - In Trouble at 15 (1980) TV episode .... Jo Skagska
  68. Skag (1980) (TV) .... Jo Skagska
  69. Tim (1979) .... Mary Horton
  70. Rainbow (1978) (TV) .... Ethel Gumm
  71. The Boss' Son (1978) .... Elaine
  72. In the Matter of Karen Ann Quinlan (1977) (TV) .... Julie Quinlan
  73. Ruby (1977) .... Ruby Claire 
  74. Carrie (1976) .... Margaret White
  75. A Woman's Rebel (1976) (TV) .... Margaret Sanger
  76. "Breaking Point" .... Alice Marin (1 episode, 1964)
        - The Summer House (1964) TV episode .... Alice Marin
  77. "The Eleventh Hour" .... Alicia Carter (1 episode, 1964)
        - My Door Is Locked and Bolted (1964) TV episode .... Alicia Carter
  78. "Ben Casey" .... Kathleen Dooley (1 episode, 1963)
        - Light Up the Dark Corners (1963) TV episode .... Kathleen Dooley
  79. "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre" .... Lee Wiley (1 episode, 1963)
        - Something About Lee Wiley (1963) TV episode .... Lee Wiley
  80. "The United States Steel Hour" .... Edna Cartey (2 episodes, 1960-1963)
        - Mission of Fear (1963) TV episode
        - You Can't Have Everything (1960) TV episode .... Edna Cartey
  81. "Naked City" .... Mary Highman (1 episode, 1963)
        - Howard Running Bear Is a Turtle (1963) TV episode .... Mary Highman
  82. "General Electric Theater" .... Cleopatra / ... (3 episodes, 1956-1961)
        - A Musket for Jessica (1961) TV episode .... Jessica Galloway
        - Caesar and Cleopatra (1959) TV episode .... Cleopatra
        - The Road That Led Afar (1956) TV episode .... Phoebe Durkin
  83. The Hustler (1961) .... Sarah Packard
    ... aka Robert Rossen's The Hustler (USA: complete title)
  84. "Play of the Week" (1 episode, 1960)
        - Legend of Lovers (1960) TV episode
  85. "Hallmark Hall of Fame" .... Miriamne (2 episodes, 1957-1959)
    ... aka Hallmark Television Playhouse
        - Winterset (1959) TV episode .... Miriamne
        - Twelfth Night (1957) TV episode
  86. "Westinghouse Desilu Playhouse" .... Eileen Gorman (1 episode, 1959)
        - The Innocent Assassin (1959) TV episode .... Eileen Gorman
  87. "Playhouse 90" .... Kirsten Arnesen Clay / ... (2 episodes, 1957-1958)
        - The Days of Wine and Roses (1958) TV episode .... Kirsten Arnesen Clay
        - The Ninth Day (1957) TV episode .... Ruth McAdam
  88. "The Seven Lively Arts" (1 episode, 1957)
        - The Changing Ways of Love (1957) TV episode
  89. "Studio One" .... Ruth Cornelius (1 episode, 1957)
        - The Deaf Heart (1957) TV episode .... Ruth Cornelius
  90. Until They Sail (1957) .... Delia Leslie Friskett
  91. Kelly and Me (1957) .... Mina Van Runkel
  92. "Front Row Center" .... Judy Jones (1 episode, 1956)
        - Winter Dreams (1956) TV episode .... Judy Jones
  93. The Ninth Day (1956) (TV)
  94. The Road That Led Afar (1956) (TV)
  95. "Robert Montgomery Presents" .... Stacey Spender (1 episode, 1955)
    ... aka Lucky Strike Theater
    ... aka Montgomery's Summer Stock
    ... aka The Robert Montgomery Summer Theater
        - Quality Town (1955) TV episode .... Stacey Spender
  96. Ain't Misbehavin' (1955) .... Sarah Bernhardt Hatfield
  97. "The Best of Broadway" .... Billie Moore (1 episode, 1955)
        - Broadway (1955) TV episode .... Billie Moore
  98. Smoke Signal (1955) .... Laura Evans
  99. Dawn at Socorro (1954) .... Rannah Hayes
  100. Johnny Dark (1954) .... Liz Fielding
  101. Dangerous Mission (1954) .... Louise Graham
    ... aka Rangers of the North (USA)
  102. The Golden Blade (1953) .... Princess Khairuzan
  103. The Mississippi Gambler (1953) .... Angelique 'Leia' Dureau
  104. Son of Ali Baba (1952) .... Princess Azura of Fez aka Kiki
  105. Has Anybody Seen My Gal? (1952) .... Millicent Blaisdell
  106. No Room for the Groom (1952) .... Lee Kingshead
  107. The Prince Who Was a Thief (1951) .... Tina
  108. Francis Goes to the Races (1951) .... Frances Travers
  109. The Milkman (1950) .... Chris Abbott
  110. Louisa (1950) .... Cathy Norton
Director:
  1. Property (2006)

 Birth Name

    Rosetta Jacobs

 Where are they now?

Piper is still a well know actress, and continues to shine in her movie and television roles.

 Trivia 

 

 
  • She won an Emmy in 1986 opposite James Garner and James Woods in Promise (1986) (TV).
  • Has a daughter, Anne Grace.
  • Measurements: 36-25-36 (in 1953), (Source: Celebrity Sleuth magazine).
  • Starred alongside Sissy Spacek in three movies: Carrie (1976) (she played her mother), The Grass Harp (1995) (she played her sister!), and the TV movie Midwives (2001) (TV).
  • In Italy, almost all her films were dubbed by Rosetta Calavetta. She was dubbed, albeit briefly by Miranda Bonansea at the beginning of her career; and later on by Maria Pia Di Meo. The talented Fiorella Betti lent her distinctive voice to Laurie in the acclaimed The Hustler (1961).
  • Along with Sissy Spacek, Sigourney Weaver, Jodie Foster, Janet Leigh, Ellen Burstyn, Linda Blair, and Glenn Close, she is one of the few actresses to have been nominated for an Oscar for a performance in a horror movie.
  • Brief social connection to G. David Schine (1927-1996), the hotel heir and staff assistant to Sen. Joseph McCarthy. When Schine was drafted, McCarthy and Schine's staff colleague Roy Cohn unsuccessfully sought to exert influence to gain a commission for Schine. This led to a congressional investigation and the 1954 televised Army-McCarthy hearings.

 Video

Piper speaking out in this Song "Holy Dirt" 

 

1Use the Ruby Slippers to get home