Lee Grant

Biography

Lee Grant (born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal; October 31, 1925) is an American actress and director. She made her film debut in 1951 as a young shoplifter in William Wyler's Detective Story, co-starring Kirk Douglas and Eleanor Parker. This role earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress as well as the Best Actress Award at the 1952 Cannes Film Festival. In 1952 she was blacklisted from most acting jobs for the next 12 years. She was able to find only occasional work onstage or as a teacher during this period. It also contributed to her divorce. She was removed from the blacklist in 1962 and rebuilt her acting career. She starred in 71 TV episodes of Peyton Place (1965–1966), followed by lead roles in films such as Valley of the Dolls, In the Heat of the Night (both 1967), and Shampoo (1975), for the last of which she won an Oscar. In 1964, she won the Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actress for her performance in The Maids. During her career she was nominated for the Emmy Award seven times between 1966 and 1993, winning twice. In 1986 she directed Down and Out in America which tied for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, and in the same year she also won a Directors Guild of America Award for Nobody's Child.

Known For

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson

The Fugitive

The Mike Douglas Show

Ironside

Tony Awards

Great Performances

Great Performances

Mission: Impossible

All Movies (99)

• Sidney Poitier - The Man Who Changed Hollywood2023 · as Self
• Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster2021 · as Self
• Killian & the Comeback Kids2020 · as Ms. Hunter (voice)
• Hal2019 · as Self
• Scandal: The Trial of Mary Astor2018 · as Narrator (voice)
• Seeing is Believing: Women Direct2017 · as Self
• Truth and Lies: The Family Manson2017
• Actresses Turned Producer/Directors2014
• Reel Herstory: The Real Story of Reel Women2014 · as Self
• Gotta Get Off This Merry-Go-Round: 'Valley of the Dolls'2006 · as Miriam (archive footage)
• Tribute To Burgess Meredith2006 · as Self (voice)
• Going Shopping2005 · as Winnie
• Arthur Miller, Elia Kazan and the Blacklist: None Without Sin2003 · as Self
• The John Garfield Story2003 · as Self
• The Omen Legacy2001 · as Self
• Hidden Values: The Movies of the Fifties2001 · as Self
• Mulholland Drive2001 · as Louise
• The Amati Girls2001 · as Aunt Spendora
• Dr. T & the Women2000 · as Dr. Harper
• Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light2000 · as Narrator
• Poor Liza2000 · as Countess Ekaterina
• Confronting the Crisis: Childcare in America1999 · as Narrator
• Say It, Fight It, Cure It1997 · as Narrator/Host
• Who Is Henry Jaglom?1997 · as Self
• The Substance of Fire1996 · as Cora Cahn
• It's My Party1996 · as Amalia Stark
• Rod Serling: Submitted for Your Approval1995 · as Narrator
• Under Heat1994 · as Jane
• Women on Trial1992 · as Narrator
• Earth and the American Dream1992 · as Reader (voice)
• Citizen Cohn1992 · as Dora Cohn
• The Iceman Tapes: Conversations with a Killer1992 · as Narrator
• In My Daughter's Name1992 · as Maureen Leeds
• Something to Live for: The Alison Gertz Story1992 · as Carol Gertz
• Defending Your Life1991 · as Lena Foster
• She Said No1990 · as D.A. Doris Cantore
• Sanford Meisner: The American Theatre's Best Kept Secret1990 · as Self
• Battered1989 · as Narrator
• The Hijacking of the Achille Lauro1989 · as Marilyn Klinghoffer
• Hello Actors Studio1988 · as Self
• Calling the Shots1988 · as Self
• The Big Town1987 · as Ferguson Edwards
• Down and Out in America1986 · as Narrator (voice)
• What Sex Am I?1985 · as Self
• Teachers1984 · as Dr. Donna Burke
• A Billion for Boris1984 · as Sascha Harris
• When Women Kill1983 · as Herself
• Will There Really Be a Morning?1983 · as Lillian Farmer
• Plaza Suite1982 · as Norma Hubley / Muriel Tate / Karen Nash
• Visiting Hours1982 · as Deborah Ballin
• A Crime to Fit the Punishment1982 · as Narrator
• Thou Shalt Not Kill1982 · as Maxine Lochman
• For Ladies Only1981 · as Anne Holt
• The Willmar 81981 · as Narrator
• The Million Dollar Face1981 · as Evalyna
• Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen1981 · as Mrs. Sylvia Lupowitz
• Tell Me a Riddle1980 · as Flight Attendant (voice)
• Little Miss Marker1980 · as The Judge
• You Can't Go Home Again1979 · as Esther Jack
• When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?1979 · as Clarisse Ethridge
• The Good Doctor1978 · as Various Roles
• The Swarm1978 · as Anne MacGregor
• Damien - Omen II1978 · as Ann Thorn
• The Mafu Cage1978 · as Ellen
• Airport '771977 · as Karen Wallace
• The Spell1977 · as Marion Matchett
• Voyage of the Damned1976 · as Lili Rosen
• Perilous Voyage1976 · as Virginia Monroe
• TVTV Looks at the Oscars1976 · as Self
• Shampoo1975 · as Felicia Karpf
• The Seagull1975 · as Irina Arkadina
• The Internecine Project1974 · as Jean Robertson
• Why Me?1974 · as Narrator/Self
• What Are Best Friends For?1973 · as Adele Ross
• Partners in Crime1973 · as Judge Meredith Leland
• Lieutenant Schuster's Wife1972 · as Ellie Schuster
• Ransom for a Dead Man1972 · as Leslie Williams
• Portnoy's Complaint1972 · as Sophie Portnoy
• Plaza Suite1971 · as Norma Hubley
• The Neon Ceiling1971 · as Carrie Miller
• Night Slaves1970 · as Marjorie Howard
• There Was a Crooked Man...1970 · as Mrs. Bullard
• The Landlord1970 · as Joyce Enders
• Marooned1969 · as Celia Pruett
• The Big Bounce1969 · as Joanne
• Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell1968 · as Fritzie Braddock
• The Love Song of Barney Kempinski1968 · as Laura
• Valley of the Dolls1967 · as Miriam Polar
• In the Heat of the Night1967 · as Mrs. Leslie Colbert
• Divorce American Style1967 · as Dede Murphy
• Deadlock1967 · as Virginia Cloyd
• Pie in the Sky1964 · as Suzy
• An Affair of the Skin1963 · as Katherine McCleod
• The Balcony1963 · as Carmen
• The World of Sholom Aleichem1959 · as The Goatseller / Avenging Angel
• Middle of the Night1959 · as Marilyn
• Three Plays by Tennessee Williams1958 · as Jane (Segment "Moony's Kid Don't Cry")
• Storm Fear1955 · as Edna
• Detective Story1951 · as Shoplifter

All TV Shows (39)

• Inside the Actors Studio1994 · as Self
• Intimate Portrait1993 · as Self
• Empty Nest1988
• Wedden, dat..?1986 · as Self
• Mussolini: The Untold Story1985 · as Rachele Mussolini
• The Ray Bradbury Theater1985
• Bare Essence1982 · as Ava Marshall
• Backstairs at the White House1979 · as Grace Coolidge
• Fay1975 · as Fay Stewart
• People's Choice Awards1975 · as Self
• Dinah!1974 · as Self
• The American Film Institute Salute to ...1973 · as Self
• Film '721971 · as Self
• Great Performances1971 · as Irina Arkadina
• Great Performances1971
• The Mod Squad1968
• The Name of the Game1968 · as Edwina Booker
• The Dick Cavett Show1968 · as Self - Guest
• Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In1968 · as Self
• Judd, for the Defense1967
• Ironside1967 · as Francesca Kirby
• Mission: Impossible1966 · as Susan Buchanan
• ABC Stage 671966 · as Laura
• ABC Stage 671966 · as Ruth
• The Big Valley1965 · as Rosemary
• Peyton Place1964 · as Stella Chernak
• Festival1963 · as Lizzie
• Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre1963 · as Virginia Cloyd
• The Fugitive1963 · as Millie Hallop
• The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson1962 · as Self
• The Mike Douglas Show1961 · as Self
• Ben Casey1961
• The Defenders1961 · as Norma Burgess
• The Defenders1961 · as Maria Edwards
• Tony Awards1956 · as Self - Presenter
• Playwrights '561955
• The Oscars1953 · as Self
• Studio One1948 · as Emily Brooks
• The Philco Television Playhouse1948