Louise Fletcher (July 21, 1934 – September 23, 2022) was an American actress. She was best known for her portrayal of Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), which earned her an Academy Award for Best Actress, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe Award. She was also well-known for her recurring role as the Bajoran religious leader Kai Winn Adami in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–99), as well as for her role as Helen Rosemond in the movie Cruel Intentions (1999). She was nominated for two Emmy Awards for her roles in the television series Picket Fences (1996) and Joan of Arcadia (2004). Her final role was as Rosie in the Netflix series Girlboss (2017).

Filmography

• 2020Grizzly II: Revenge — Eileene Draygon
• Girlboss — Rosie
• 2014Electric Boogaloo: The Wild, Untold Story of Cannon Films — Mrs. McKeltch (archive footage) (uncredited)
• 2013A Perfect Man — Abbie
• 2012Of Two Minds — Aunt Will
• 2011Cassadaga — Claire
• Shameless — Peggy Gallagher
• 2010The Genesis Code — Ellen Taylor
• 2007A Dennis the Menace Christmas — Martha Wilson
• Private Practice — Frances Wilder
• 2007The Last Sin Eater — Miz Elda
• 2006A Dad for Christmas — Glennie
• 2006Fat Rose and Squeaky — Bonnie
• Heroes — Dr. Coolidge
• 2005Aurora Borealis — Ruth Shorter
• 2005Dancing in Twilight — Evelyn
• 2004Clipping Adam — Grammy
• Wonderfalls — Vivian Caldwell
• 2003A Time to Remember — Billy Calhoun
• 2003Finding Home — Esther
• Joan of Arcadia — Eva Garrison
• 2002Manna from Heaven — Mother Superior
• 2001After Image — Aunt Cora
• 2001Touched by a Killer — Judge Erica Robertson
• 2000Big Eden — Grace Cornwell
• 2000More Dogs Than Bones — Iva Doll
• 2000Silver Man — Val
• 2000Very Mean Men — Katherine Mulroney
• 1999A Map of the World — Nellie Goodwin
• 1999Cruel Intentions — Helen Rosemond
• 1999Love Kills — Alena Heiss
• 1999The Contract — Grandma Collins
• 1999The Devil's Arithmetic — Aunt Eva
• 1999Time Served — Warden Mildred Reinecke
• Brimstone — Evelyn McNabb
• Fantasy Island — Doris Leeman
• 1998Johnny 316 — Sally's Mother
• 1997Breast Men — Mrs. Saunders
• 1997Gone Fishin' — Restaurant Owner (uncredited)
• 1997Heartless — Lydia McGuffy
• 1997Married to a Stranger — Nana, Megan's Mother
• 1997Sins of the Mind — Dr. Anna Bingham
• 1997The Girl Gets Moe — Gloria
• The Practice — Judge N. Swanson
• 19962 Days in the Valley — Evelyn
• 7th Heaven — Mrs. Wagner
• 1996Edie & Pen — Judge
• 1996Frankenstein and Me — Mrs. Perdue
• 1996High School High — Schuldirektorin Evelyn Doyle
• 1996Mulholland Falls — Esther
• Profiler — Miriam Newquay
• 1996The Stepford Husbands — Miriam Benton
• VR.5 — Mrs. Nora Bloom
• 1995Virtuosity — Elizabeth Deane
• ER — Roberta 'Birdie' Chadwick
• 1994Giorgino — Innkeeper
• 1994On Deadly Ground — Bartender (uncredited)
• 1994Return to Two Moon Junction — Belle Delongpre
• 1994Someone Else's Child — Faye Maddox
• 1994The Haunting of Seacliff Inn — Dorothy O'Hara
• 1994Tollbooth — Lillian
• 1994Tryst — Maggie
• Star Trek: Deep Space Nine — Vedek Winn, Kai Winn
• The Fire Next Time — Sarge
• 1992Blind Vision — Miss Taylor
• 1992The Player — Louise Fletcher
• In a Child's Name — Jean Taylor
• 1990Blue Steel — Shirley Turner
• Dream On — Joanna
• 1990Nightmare on the 13th Floor — Letti Gordon
• 1990Shadowzone — Dr. Erhardt
• 1989Best of the Best — Mrs. Grady
• Tales from the Crypt — Agent
• 1989The Karen Carpenter Story — Agnes Carpenter
• 1988Two Moon Junction — Belle Delongpre
• 1987Flowers in the Attic — Olivia Foxworth
• 1987J. Edgar Hoover — Annie M. Hoover
• 1986Invaders from Mars — Mrs. McKeltch
• 1986Nobody's Fool — Pearl
• 1986Second Serve — Dr. Sadie M. Bishop
• 1986The Boy Who Could Fly — Dr. Granada
• Worlds Beyond — Karen Earl
• 1985A Summer to Remember — Dr. Dolly McKeever
• The Ray Bradbury Theater
• The Twilight Zone — Dr. Cline
• 1984Firestarter — Norma Manders
• 1984Islands — Maureen
• 1984Once Upon a Time in America — Director of Riverdale Cemetery
• 1984Overnight Sensation — Evie Peregrine
• 1984Talk to Me — Mother
• 1983Brainstorm — Lillian Reynolds
• 1983Strange Invaders — Mrs. Benjamin
• The Hitchhiker — Mother Birch
• 1982The Lucky Star — Loes Bakker
• 1981Strange Behavior — Barbara Moorehead
• 1980Mama Dracula — Mama Dracula
• 1979Natural Enemies — Miriam Steward
• 1979The Lady in Red — Anna Sage
• 1979The Magician of Lublin — Emilia
• 1978The Cheap Detective — Marlene DuChard
• 1978Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery — Sally Kimball
• 1977Exorcist II: The Heretic — Dr. Gene Tuskin
• 1975One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest — Nurse Mildred Ratched
• 1975Russian Roulette — Midge
• 1974Can Ellen Be Saved? — Bea Lindsey
• 1974Thieves Like Us — Mattie
• Medical Center
• 1963A Gathering of Eagles — Mrs. Kemler
• Tate
• One Step Beyond — Jeannie
• The Troubleshooters — Dellie
• The Untouchables — Eloise
• 77 Sunset Strip
• Bat Masterson — Sarah Lou Conant
• Lawman
• Yancy Derringer — Miss Nellie / Alithea
• Maverick
• Perry Mason — Gladys Doyle, Susan Connolly
• Sugarfoot — Julie Frazer
• Wagon Train — Elizabeth
• The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp — Aithra McLowery
• The Millionaire — Holly

Appearances as themselves (16)

• 2026Boorman and the Devil — Self
• 2025A Star Without a Star: The Untold Juanita Moore Story — Self
• 2025Breakdown: 1975 — Self (archive footage- One Flew Over the Cuckoo Nest Nurse Ratched)
• 2011Once Upon a Time… One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest — Self
• 2009Making of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest — Self
• 2009Miloš Forman: What Doesn't Kill You… — Self
• 2004Jack Nicholson: The Joker Is Wild — Self
• 1997Completely Cuckoo — Self
• 1981Be Pretty and Shut Up! — Self
• 1979The Muppets Go Hollywood — Self (uncredited)
• 1976TVTV Looks at the Oscars — Self
• Dinah! — Self
• Omnibus — Self
• The Mike Douglas Show — Self
• The Oscars — Self
• Golden Globe Awards — Self - Nominee