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Ellen Burstyn

Ellen Burstyn

Acting

Born December 7, 1932, Detroit, Michigan, USA

Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women in dramas, she has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards, making her one of the few performers to achieve the "Triple Crown of Acting". She has also received a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award. Burstyn made her acting debut on Broadway in Fair Game in 1957 before winning the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for Same Time, Next Year (1975). She earned the Academy Award for Best Actress as the widow Alice Hyatt in Martin Scorsese's romantic drama Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974). Her other Oscar-nominated roles were in The Last Picture Show (1971), The Exorcist (1973), Same Time, Next Year (1978), Resurrection (1980), and Requiem for a Dream (2000). Her other notable films include Harry and Tonto (1974), How to Make an American Quilt (1995), Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002), W. (2008), Interstellar (2014), The Age of Adaline (2015), and Pieces of a Woman (2020). She won Primetime Emmy Awards for her guest role in the NBC legal drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2009) and supporting role in the USA Network political miniseries Political Animals (2013). Her other Emmy-nominated roles include Pack of Lies (1988), Mrs. Harris (2005), Big Love (2008), Draft Day, Flowers in the Attic (both 2014), and House of Cards (2016). Since 2000, she has been co-president of the Actors Studio, a drama school in New York City. In 2013, she was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame for her work onstage.

Filmography

Appearances as themselves (44)
  • 2025Breakdown: 1975 — Self
  • 2025This Ordinary Thing — Self (voice)
  • 2024Fear and Love: The Story of The Exorcist — Self
  • Reframed: Marilyn Monroe — Self
  • 2021Paul Newman, Behind Blue Eyes — Herself
  • 2020Delphine and Carole — Self (archive footage)
  • 2019Steven Arnold: Heavenly Bodies — Self
  • The Kelly Clarkson Show — Self
  • 2018Friedkin Uncut — Self
  • 2017Marilyn Monroe: Auction of a Lifetime — Self
  • 2014And the Oscar Goes To... — Self - Interviewee
  • 2013Love, Marilyn — Self
  • 2010America Lost and Found: The BBS Story — Self
  • 2010BBStory: An American Film Renaissance — Self
  • 2010Reflections of a Philosopher King — Self
  • 2009PoliWood — Self
  • 2006Hubert Selby Jr: It/ll Be Better Tomorrow — Self
  • 2006Stardust: The Bette Davis Story — Self
  • 2004Second Chances: The Making of "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" — Self
  • 2003A Decade Under the Influence — Self
  • 2003Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood — Self
  • 2001Memories, Dreams & Addictions — Self
  • 2001The Making of Requiem for a Dream — Self
  • 1999The Last Picture Show: A Look Back — Self
  • 1998Marilyn in Manhattan — Self
  • 1998The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist — Self - Chris MacNeil
  • The View — Self
  • The Rosie O'Donnell Show — Self - Guest
  • Inside the Actors Studio — Self
  • 1991Picture This — Self
  • 1989Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre — Self
  • 1988Hello Actors Studio — Self
  • 1985Night of 100 Stars II — Self
  • 1982I Love Liberty — Self
  • 1982Night of 100 Stars — Self
  • 1981Be Pretty and Shut Up! — Self
  • Les Rendez-vous du dimanche — Self
  • Saturday Night Live — Self - Host
  • Dinah! — Self
  • 1974The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute — Self (archive footage)
  • The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson — Self
  • Tony Awards — Self - Host, Self - Winner, Self - Presenter, Self - Host/Presenter, Self - Audience Member
  • The Oscars — Self
  • Golden Globe Awards — Self - Presenter, Self - Nominee
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