Jane Alexander
Encyclopedia
Jane Alexander is an American actress, author, and former director of the National Endowment for the Arts
. Although perhaps best known for playing the female lead in The Great White Hope
on both stage and screen, Alexander has played a wide array of roles in both theater and film and has committed herself to a variety of charitable causes.
, daughter of Ruth Elizabeth (née
Pearson), a nurse, and Thomas B. Quigley, an orthopedic surgeon. She graduated from Beaver Country Day School
, an all-girls' school in Chestnut Hill
outside of Boston, where she discovered her love of acting.
Encouraged by her father to go to college before embarking on an acting career, Alexander attended Sarah Lawrence College
in Bronxville
, New York, where she concentrated on theater but also studied mathematics with an eye toward computer programming, in the event that she failed as an actress. Also while at Sarah Lawrence, she shared an apartment with Hope Cooke
who would become Queen Consort of Sikkim
. Alexander spent her junior year studying at the University of Edinburgh
in Scotland, where she participated in the Edinburgh University Dramatic Society. The experience, together with apparently good reviews of her performances, solidified her determination to continue acting.
's The Great White Hope at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. Like her co-star, James Earl Jones
, she went on to play the part both on Broadway
(1968), winning a Tony Award for her performance, and in the film version (1970), which earned her an Oscar nomination. Alexander's additional screen credits include All the President's Men
(1976), Kramer vs. Kramer
(1979), and Testament
(1983), all of which earned her Oscar nods, Brubaker
(1980), The Cider House Rules
(1999), and Fur
(2006), in which she played Gertrude Nemerov, mother of Diane Arbus
, played in the film by Nicole Kidman
.
Alexander portrayed Eleanor Roosevelt
in two television productions, Eleanor and Franklin
(1976) and Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years
(1977); and she played FDR's mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt, in HBO's Warm Springs
(2005) with Kenneth Branagh
and Cynthia Nixon
, a role which garnered her an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Alexander co-starred with Rachel Roberts in Steven Gether's teleplay and production of A Circle of Children (1977), about parents coping with their emotionally disturbed children (with an emphasis on autism
), which won Gether an Emmy.
Alexander's other television films include Arthur Miller
's Playing for Time
, co-starring Vanessa Redgrave
, for which Alexander won another Emmy Award; Malice in Wonderland (as famed gossip
-monger Hedda Hopper
); Blood & Orchids
; and In Love and War (1987) co-starring James Woods
, which tells the story of James and Sybil Stockdale
during Stockdale's eight years as a US Navy Commander and prisoner of war in Vietnam. Alexander also played the protagonist, Dr. May Foster, in the HBO drama series Tell Me You Love Me
. Her character, a psychotherapist, serves as the connecting link between three couples coping with relational and sexual difficulties. The show's frank portrayal of "senior" sexuality and explicit sex scenes generated controversy, although it won a rare endorsement by the AARP
.
In 1993, President
Bill Clinton
appointed Alexander chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, the organization that had provided partial funding for The Great White Hope at Arena Stage. Alexander moved to Washington, DC and served as chair of the NEA until 1997. Her book, Command Performance: an Actress in the Theater of Politics (2000), describes the challenges she faced heading the NEA at a time when the 104th U.S. Congress, headed by Newt Gingrich
, unsuccessfully strove to shut it down. She was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
in 1999.
In 2004, Alexander, together with her husband, Edwin Sherin, joined the theater faculty at Florida State University. She serves on various boards, including the Wildlife Conservation Society
, Project Greenhope, the National Stroke Association, and Women's Action for Nuclear Disarmament, and she has received the Israel Cultural Award and the Helen Caldicott Leadership Award. Alexander is also a fellow of the International Leadership Forum
.
, in 1964; and the couple divorced in 1974. Alexander had been acting regularly in various regional theaters when she met producer/director Edwin Sherin
in Washington, D.C.
, where he was Artistic Director at Arena Stage
. Alexander starred in the original theatrical production of The Great White Hope under Sherin's direction at Arena Stage prior to the play's Broadway debut. The two became good friends and, once divorced from their respective spouses, became romantically involved, marrying in 1975. Between the two, they have four children, Alexander's son—Jace
, a television director—and Sherin's three sons—Tony, Geoffrey, and Jon.
National Endowment for the Arts
The National Endowment for the Arts is an independent agency of the United States federal government that offers support and funding for projects exhibiting artistic excellence. It was created by an act of the U.S. Congress in 1965 as an independent agency of the federal government. Its current...
. Although perhaps best known for playing the female lead in The Great White Hope
The Great White Hope
The Great White Hope is a 1967 play written by Howard Sackler, later adapted in 1970 for a film of the same name. The play was first produced by Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. and debuted on Broadway at the Alvin Theatre on October 3, 1968 for a run of 546 performances, directed by Edwin Sherin...
on both stage and screen, Alexander has played a wide array of roles in both theater and film and has committed herself to a variety of charitable causes.
Early life
Alexander was born Jane Quigley in Boston, MassachusettsMassachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
, daughter of Ruth Elizabeth (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....
Pearson), a nurse, and Thomas B. Quigley, an orthopedic surgeon. She graduated from Beaver Country Day School
Beaver Country Day School
Beaver Country Day School is an independent, college preparatory day school for students in grades 6 through 12 founded in 1920. The school is located on a campus in the village of Chestnut Hill, in Brookline, Massachusetts, USA, near Boston. Beaver is a member of the Cum Laude Society, the...
, an all-girls' school in Chestnut Hill
Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts
Chestnut Hill is a wealthy New England village located six miles west of downtown Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Like all Massachusetts villages, Chestnut Hill is not an incorporated municipal entity, but unlike most of them, it encompasses parts of three separate municipalities, each of...
outside of Boston, where she discovered her love of acting.
Encouraged by her father to go to college before embarking on an acting career, Alexander attended Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College is a private liberal arts college in the United States, and a leader in progressive education since its founding in 1926. Located just 30 minutes north of Midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County, New York, in the city of Yonkers, this coeducational college offers...
in Bronxville
Bronxville, New York
Bronxville is an affluent village within the town of Eastchester, New York, in the United States. It is a suburb of New York City, located approximately north of midtown Manhattan in southern Westchester County. At the 2010 census, Bronxville had a population of 6,323...
, New York, where she concentrated on theater but also studied mathematics with an eye toward computer programming, in the event that she failed as an actress. Also while at Sarah Lawrence, she shared an apartment with Hope Cooke
Hope Cooke
Hope Cooke is an American socialite who was the "Gyalmo" of the 12th Chogyal of Sikkim. But Palden was to be the last king of Sikkim as a protectorate state under India. By 1973, the country and their marriage was crumbling; soon Sikkim was annexed by India. Cooke returned to New York City...
who would become Queen Consort of Sikkim
Sikkim
Sikkim is a landlocked Indian state nestled in the Himalayan mountains...
. Alexander spent her junior year studying at the University of Edinburgh
University of Edinburgh
The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a public research university located in Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland, and a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The university is deeply embedded in the fabric of the city, with many of the buildings in the historic Old Town belonging to the university...
in Scotland, where she participated in the Edinburgh University Dramatic Society. The experience, together with apparently good reviews of her performances, solidified her determination to continue acting.
Career
Alexander's major break in acting came in 1967 when she played Eleanor Backman in the original production of Howard SacklerHoward Sackler
Howard Oliver Sackler , was an American screenwriter and playwright who is best known for writing The Great White Hope . The Great White Hope enjoyed both a successful run on Broadway and, as a film adaptation, in movie theaters...
's The Great White Hope at Arena Stage in Washington, D.C. Like her co-star, James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones is an American actor. He is well-known for his distinctive bass voice and for his portrayal of characters of substance, gravitas and leadership...
, she went on to play the part both on 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...
(1968), winning a Tony Award for her performance, and in the film version (1970), which earned her an Oscar nomination. Alexander's additional screen credits include All the President's Men
All the President's Men (film)
All the President's Men is a 1976 Academy Award-winning political thriller film based on the 1974 non-fiction book of the same name by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the two journalists investigating the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post...
(1976), Kramer vs. Kramer
Kramer vs. Kramer
Kramer vs. Kramer is a 1979 American drama film adapted by Robert Benton from the novel by Avery Corman, and directed by Benton. The film tells the story of a married couple's divorce and its impact on everyone involved, including the couple's young son...
(1979), and Testament
Testament (film)
Testament is a drama film directed by Lynne Littman and starring Jane Alexander.The film tells the story of how one small suburban town near the San Francisco Bay Area slowly falls apart after a nuclear war destroys outside civilization....
(1983), all of which earned her Oscar nods, Brubaker
Brubaker
Brubaker is an American 1980 film about a prison in distress and the Warden Henry Brubaker who attempts to reform the system....
(1980), The Cider House Rules
The Cider House Rules (film)
The Cider House Rules is a 1999 American drama film directed by Lasse Hallström, based on John Irving's novel of the same name. The film won two Academy Awards, and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Picture, along with four other nominations at the 72nd Academy Awards...
(1999), and Fur
Fur (film)
Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus is a 2006 film starring Nicole Kidman as iconic American photographer Diane Arbus, who was known for her strange, disturbing images.-Plot synopsis:...
(2006), in which she played Gertrude Nemerov, mother of Diane Arbus
Diane Arbus
Diane Arbus March 14, 1923 – July 26, 1971) was an American photographer and writer noted for black-and-white square photographs of "deviant and marginal people or of people whose normality seems ugly or surreal." A friend said that Arbus said that she was "afraid.....
, played in the film by Nicole Kidman
Nicole Kidman
Nicole Mary Kidman, AC is an American-born Australian actress, singer, film producer, spokesmodel, and humanitarian. After starring in a number of small Australian films and TV shows, Kidman's breakthrough was in the 1989 thriller Dead Calm...
.
Alexander portrayed Eleanor Roosevelt
Eleanor Roosevelt
Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international...
in two television productions, Eleanor and Franklin
Eleanor and Franklin
Eleanor and Franklin is a television movie released on January 11, 1976, starring Edward Herrmann as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Jane Alexander as Eleanor Roosevelt. It is the first part in a two-part biopic based on Joseph P. Lash's Pulitzer Prize-winning and best-selling biography with the same...
(1976) and Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years
Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years
Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years is a made-for-television movie that was a sequel to the previous year's Eleanor and Franklin. Originally airing on March 13, 1977, it was part of a two-part biopic directed by Daniel Petrie based on Joseph P. Lash's Pulitzer prize-winning biography...
(1977); and she played FDR's mother, Sara Delano Roosevelt, in HBO's Warm Springs
Warm Springs (film)
Warm Springs is a 2005 television film about American President Franklin D. Roosevelt's struggle with polio, his discovery of the Warm Springs, Georgia spa resort and his work to turn it into a center for the aid of polio victims, and his resumption of his political career...
(2005) with Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Branagh
Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from Northern Ireland. He is best known for directing and starring in several film adaptations of William Shakespeare's plays including Henry V , Much Ado About Nothing , Hamlet Kenneth Charles Branagh is an actor and film director from...
and Cynthia Nixon
Cynthia Nixon
Cynthia Ellen Nixon is an American actress, known for her portrayal of Miranda Hobbes in the HBO series Sex and the City . She has received two Screen Actors Guild Awards, two Emmy Awards, a Tony Award, and a Grammy Award....
, a role which garnered her an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Alexander co-starred with Rachel Roberts in Steven Gether's teleplay and production of A Circle of Children (1977), about parents coping with their emotionally disturbed children (with an emphasis on autism
Autism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
), which won Gether an Emmy.
Alexander's other television films include Arthur Miller
Arthur Miller
Arthur Asher Miller was an American playwright and essayist. He was a prominent figure in American theatre, writing dramas that include plays such as All My Sons , Death of a Salesman , The Crucible , and A View from the Bridge .Miller was often in the public eye,...
's Playing for Time
Playing For Time (film)
Playing For Time is a 1980 CBS television film, written by Arthur Miller and Fania Fénelon, based on Fénelon's autobiography, The Musicians of Auschwitz...
, co-starring Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave
Vanessa Redgrave, CBE is an English actress of stage, screen and television, as well as a political activist.She rose to prominence in 1961 playing Rosalind in As You Like It with the Royal Shakespeare Company and has since made more than 35 appearances on London's West End and Broadway, winning...
, for which Alexander won another Emmy Award; Malice in Wonderland (as famed gossip
Gossip
Gossip is idle talk or rumour, especially about the personal or private affairs of others, It is one of the oldest and most common means of sharing facts and views, but also has a reputation for the introduction of errors and variations into the information transmitted...
-monger Hedda Hopper
Hedda Hopper
Hedda Hopper was an American actress and gossip columnist, whose long-running feud with friend turned arch-rival Louella Parsons became at least as notorious as many of Hopper's columns.-Early life:...
); Blood & Orchids
Blood & Orchids
Blood & Orchids is a 1986 made-for-TV crime-drama film. Written for the screen by Norman Katkov, it was an adaptation of Katkov's own novel which, in turn, was inspired by the 1932 Massie Trial in Honolulu, Hawaii...
; and In Love and War (1987) co-starring James Woods
James Woods
James Howard Woods is an American film, stage and television actor. Woods is known for starring in critically acclaimed films such as Once Upon a Time in America, Salvador, Nixon, Ghosts of Mississippi, Casino, and in the television legal drama Shark. He has won three Emmy Awards, and has gained...
, which tells the story of James and Sybil Stockdale
James Stockdale
Vice Admiral James Bond Stockdale was one of the most highly decorated officers in the history of the United States Navy.Stockdale led aerial attacks from the carrier during the 1964 Gulf of Tonkin Incident...
during Stockdale's eight years as a US Navy Commander and prisoner of war in Vietnam. Alexander also played the protagonist, Dr. May Foster, in the HBO drama series Tell Me You Love Me
Tell Me You Love Me
Tell Me You Love Me is an American cable television drama series that premiered on HBO and on The Movie Network on September 9, 2007.The series was created by Cynthia Mort and originally conceived as sexlife. The pilot episode was produced and directed by Patricia Rozema and shot in Winnipeg,...
. Her character, a psychotherapist, serves as the connecting link between three couples coping with relational and sexual difficulties. The show's frank portrayal of "senior" sexuality and explicit sex scenes generated controversy, although it won a rare endorsement by the AARP
AARP
AARP, formerly the American Association of Retired Persons, is the United States-based non-governmental organization and interest group, founded in 1958 by Ethel Percy Andrus, PhD, a retired educator from California, and based in Washington, D.C. According to its mission statement, it is "a...
.
In 1993, President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
appointed Alexander chair of the National Endowment for the Arts, the organization that had provided partial funding for The Great White Hope at Arena Stage. Alexander moved to Washington, DC and served as chair of the NEA until 1997. Her book, Command Performance: an Actress in the Theater of Politics (2000), describes the challenges she faced heading the NEA at a time when the 104th U.S. Congress, headed by Newt Gingrich
Newt Gingrich
Newton Leroy "Newt" Gingrich is a U.S. Republican Party politician who served as the House Minority Whip from 1989 to 1995 and as the 58th Speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives from 1995 to 1999....
, unsuccessfully strove to shut it down. She was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 1999.
In 2004, Alexander, together with her husband, Edwin Sherin, joined the theater faculty at Florida State University. She serves on various boards, including the Wildlife Conservation Society
Wildlife Conservation Society
The Wildlife Conservation Society based at the Bronx Zoo was founded in 1895 as the New York Zoological Society and currently manages some of wild places around the world, with over 500 field conservation projects in 60 countries, and 200 scientists on staff...
, Project Greenhope, the National Stroke Association, and Women's Action for Nuclear Disarmament, and she has received the Israel Cultural Award and the Helen Caldicott Leadership Award. Alexander is also a fellow of the International Leadership Forum
International Leadership Forum
The International Leadership Forum is a non-partisan, Internet-based think tank composed of policy leaders. The Forum participants participate in online policy forums to discuss the major issues facing global society....
.
Personal life
Alexander met her first husband, Robert Alexander, in the early 1960s in New York City, where both were pursuing acting careers. They had one son, Jace AlexanderJace Alexander
Jace Alexander is an American television director and former actor.-Biography:Alexander was born Jason Alexander in New York City, the only son of actress Jane Alexander and her first husband Robert, founder and former director of The Living Stage...
, in 1964; and the couple divorced in 1974. Alexander had been acting regularly in various regional theaters when she met producer/director Edwin Sherin
Edwin Sherin
Edwin Sherin is an American theatre and television director and producer. He is the husband of actress Jane Alexander. He has directed many episodes of the television drama Law & Order, as well as directing for the stage, mainly on Broadway, including The Great White Hope.-Biography:Born in...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, where he was Artistic Director at Arena Stage
Arena Stage
Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest Washington, D.C. Its declared mission"is to produce huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit. Arena has broad shoulders and a capacity to produce anything from vast epics...
. Alexander starred in the original theatrical production of The Great White Hope under Sherin's direction at Arena Stage prior to the play's Broadway debut. The two became good friends and, once divorced from their respective spouses, became romantically involved, marrying in 1975. Between the two, they have four children, Alexander's son—Jace
Jace Alexander
Jace Alexander is an American television director and former actor.-Biography:Alexander was born Jason Alexander in New York City, the only son of actress Jane Alexander and her first husband Robert, founder and former director of The Living Stage...
, a television director—and Sherin's three sons—Tony, Geoffrey, and Jon.
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1970 | Eleanor Backman | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress Academy Award for Best Actress Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry... Nominated—Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer – Female |
|
| 1971 | Nora Tenneray | USA title Gunfight | |
| 1972 | Dorothy Fehler | aka Precinct 45: Los Angeles Police | |
| 1976 | All the President's Men All the President's Men (film) All the President's Men is a 1976 Academy Award-winning political thriller film based on the 1974 non-fiction book of the same name by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the two journalists investigating the Watergate scandal for The Washington Post... |
Bookkeeper | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the... |
| 1978 | Alicia Hardeman | aka Harold Robbins' The Betsy | |
| 1979 | Kramer vs. Kramer Kramer vs. Kramer Kramer vs. Kramer is a 1979 American drama film adapted by Robert Benton from the novel by Avery Corman, and directed by Benton. The film tells the story of a married couple's divorce and its impact on everyone involved, including the couple's young son... |
Margaret Phelps | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry. Since its inception, however, the... Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture |
| 1980 | Brubaker Brubaker Brubaker is an American 1980 film about a prison in distress and the Warden Henry Brubaker who attempts to reform the system.... |
Lillian Gray | |
| 1981 | Night Crossing Night Crossing Night Crossing is a 1982 Disney film starring John Hurt and Beau Bridges. The film is based on the true story of the Strelzyk and Wetzel families, who on September 16, 1979 escaped from East Germany to West Germany in a homemade hot air balloon during the days of the Berlin Wall when emigration to... |
Doris Strelzyk | |
| 1983 | Testament Testament (film) Testament is a drama film directed by Lynne Littman and starring Jane Alexander.The film tells the story of how one small suburban town near the San Francisco Bay Area slowly falls apart after a nuclear war destroys outside civilization.... |
Carol Wetherly | Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress Academy Award for Best Actress Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role is one of the Academy Awards of merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance while working within the film industry... Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama |
| 1984 | City Heat City Heat City Heat is a 1984 American action-comedy film starring Clint Eastwood and Burt Reynolds. The film was released in North America in December 1984. The pairing of Eastwood and Reynolds in a Prohibition-era action-comedy seemed to give the film the potential to be a hit... |
Addy | |
| 1987 | Sweet Country | Anna | aka Glykeia patrida (Greece) |
| 1987 | Square Dance Square Dance (film) Square Dance is a 1987 drama film written by Alan Hines, who also wrote the novel of the same name. The film was directed by Daniel Petrie and released on February 20, 1987.-Plot summary:... |
Juanelle | aka Home Is Where the Heart Is (USA: TV title) |
| 1989 | Glory | Sarah Blake Sturgis Shaw | (uncredited) |
| 1999 | Nurse Edna | Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture | |
| 2002 | Sunshine State Sunshine State (film) Sunshine State is a 2002 American comedy–drama film written and directed by John Sayles. The picture stars an ensemble cast that features Angela Bassett, Edie Falco, Jane Alexander, Alan King, Timothy Hutton, Mary Steenburgen, Bill Cobbs, and others. The movie was filmed on Amelia Island,... |
Delia Temple | |
| 2002 | Dr. Grasnik | ||
| 2006 | Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus Fur (film) Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus is a 2006 film starring Nicole Kidman as iconic American photographer Diane Arbus, who was known for her strange, disturbing images.-Plot synopsis:... |
Gertrude Nemerov | |
| 2007 | Feast of Love Feast of Love Feast of Love is a 2007 American drama film directed by Robert Benton, starring Morgan Freeman, Greg Kinnear, Radha Mitchell, Billy Burke and Selma Blair... |
Esther Stevenson | |
| 2008 | Gigantic Gigantic (film) Gigantic is a 2008 independent comedy film directed by Matt Aselton and starring Paul Dano, Zooey Deschanel, John Goodman, Edward Asner and Jane Alexander... |
Mrs. Weathersby | |
| 2009 | Sofi Kozma | ||
| 2009 | Terminator Salvation Terminator Salvation Terminator Salvation is a 2009 American science fiction action film directed by McG and starring Christian Bale and Sam Worthington. The fourth installment in the Terminator series, the film is set in 2018 and focuses on the war between Skynet and humanity, with the human Resistance fighting... |
Virginia | |
| 2011 | President Hartman | (pre-production) |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1969 | N.Y.P.D. | Episode "The Night Watch" | |
| 1969 | Adam-12 Adam-12 Adam-12 was a television police drama which followed two police officers of the Los Angeles Police Department, Pete Malloy and Jim Reed, as they patrolled the streets of Los Angeles in their patrol unit, 1-Adam-12. Created by Jack Webb who is known for creating Dragnet, the series captured a... |
Records Clerk | Episode "Log 112: You Blew It" (uncredited) |
| 1972 | Welcome Home, Johnny Bristol | Anne Palmer | |
| 1973 | Miracle on 34th Street | Karen Walker | |
| 1974 | This Is the West That Was | Sarah Shaw | |
| 1975 | Death Be Not Proud Death Be Not Proud Death Be Not Proud is a memoir by American author John Gunther, taking its name from Holy Sonnet X by John Donne. The story was portrayed in a 1975 TV movie starring Robby Benson as Johnny Gunther and Arthur Hill as John Gunther.-Story:... |
Frances Gunther | |
| 1976 | Eleanor and Franklin Eleanor and Franklin Eleanor and Franklin is a television movie released on January 11, 1976, starring Edward Herrmann as Franklin D. Roosevelt and Jane Alexander as Eleanor Roosevelt. It is the first part in a two-part biopic based on Joseph P. Lash's Pulitzer Prize-winning and best-selling biography with the same... |
Eleanor Roosevelt Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international... , age 18–60 |
Nominated—Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie |
| 1977 | CBS two night mini-series The first of three novel adaptation | Mary MacCracken stared Matthew Laborteaux who was best known as Albert Ingills on "LITTLE HOUSE ON THE PRAIRIE" | |
| 1977 | Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years is a made-for-television movie that was a sequel to the previous year's Eleanor and Franklin. Originally airing on March 13, 1977, it was part of a two-part biopic directed by Daniel Petrie based on Joseph P. Lash's Pulitzer prize-winning biography... |
Eleanor Roosevelt Eleanor Roosevelt Anna Eleanor Roosevelt was the First Lady of the United States from 1933 to 1945. She supported the New Deal policies of her husband, distant cousin Franklin Delano Roosevelt, and became an advocate for civil rights. After her husband's death in 1945, Roosevelt continued to be an international... |
Nominated—Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie |
| 1978 | Barbara Moreland | aka A Purely Legal Matter | |
| 1978 | Lovey: A Circle of Children, Part II Second of three TV Movies broadcast over two nights on CBS Followed in 1980 approximately with "THE CITY KID" reprising the role as Mary MacCraken for a third and final time. | Mary MacCracken | |
| 1980 | Playing for Time Playing For Time (film) Playing For Time is a 1980 CBS television film, written by Arthur Miller and Fania Fénelon, based on Fénelon's autobiography, The Musicians of Auschwitz... |
Alma Rose | Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie |
| 1981 | Dear Liar | Mrs. Patrick Campbell | |
| 1982 | In the Custody of Strangers In the Custody of Strangers In the Custody of Strangers is a 1982 ABC made-for-TV drama film. It was directed by Robert Greenwald and written by Jennifer Miller. The film stars Martin Sheen, Jane Alexander and Emilio Estevez, the latter in his feature film debut... |
Sandy Caldwell | |
| 1984 | When She Says No | Nora Strangis | |
| 1984 | Calamity Jane | Calamity Jane (Martha Jane Canary) | Nominated—Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie |
| 1985 | Malice in Wonderland | Hedda Hopper | aka The Rumor Mill Nominated—Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – Miniseries or a Movie |
| 1986 | Blood & Orchids Blood & Orchids Blood & Orchids is a 1986 made-for-TV crime-drama film. Written for the screen by Norman Katkov, it was an adaptation of Katkov's own novel which, in turn, was inspired by the 1932 Massie Trial in Honolulu, Hawaii... |
Doris Ashley | |
| 1987 | In Love and War | Sybil Stockdale | |
| 1988 | A Friendship in Vienna | Hannah Dournenvald | |
| 1988 | Open Admissions Open Admissions Open Admissions is a play in 2 Acts by Shirley Lauro that premiered in 1982 at the Long Wharf Theatre under the direction of Arvin Brown. The play had its Broadway debut on January 29, 1984 at the Music Box Theatre where it ran for a total of 17 performances... |
Ginny Carlsen | |
| 1990 | Daughter of the Streets | Peggy Ryan | |
| 1991 | Georgia O'Keeffe | ||
| 1992 | Stay the Night | Blanche Kettman | |
| 1993 | New Year | Elsie Robertson | |
| 2000 | 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... |
Regina Mulroney | Episode "Entitled" Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress – Drama Series (also for Law & Order Law & Order Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,... episode "Entitled: Part 2") |
| 2000 | Law & Order Law & Order Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,... |
Regina Mulroney | Episode "Entitled: Part 2" Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress – Drama Series (also for 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... episode "Entitled") |
| 2001 | Jenifer | Marilyn Estess | |
| 2001 | Bitter Winter | ||
| 2004 | Freedom: A History of Us | Jane Addams | Episode "Yearning to Breathe Free" |
| 2004 | Carry Me Home | Mrs. Gortimer | Nominated—Emmy Award for Outstanding Performer in a Children/Youth/Family Special Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards are awards presented by the New York-based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences and the Los Angeles-based Academy of Television Arts & Sciences in recognition of excellence in American daytime television programming... |
| 2005 | Warm Springs Warm Springs (film) Warm Springs is a 2005 television film about American President Franklin D. Roosevelt's struggle with polio, his discovery of the Warm Springs, Georgia spa resort and his work to turn it into a center for the aid of polio victims, and his resumption of his political career... |
Sara Delano Roosevelt | Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress – Miniseries or a Movie Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film |
| 2006 | Helen Warden | ||
| 2007 | Tell Me You Love Me Tell Me You Love Me Tell Me You Love Me is an American cable television drama series that premiered on HBO and on The Movie Network on September 9, 2007.The series was created by Cynthia Mort and originally conceived as sexlife. The pilot episode was produced and directed by Patricia Rozema and shot in Winnipeg,... |
Dr. May Foster | (10 episodes) |
| 2008 | Louisa May Alcott Louisa May Alcott Louisa May Alcott was an American novelist. She is best known for the novel Little Women and its sequels Little Men and Jo's Boys. Little Women was set in the Alcott family home, Orchard House in Concord, Massachusetts, and published in 1868... |
Ednah Cheney | |
| 2011 | The Good Wife | Judge Suzanne Morris | |
| 2011 | William & Catherine: A Royal Romance William & Catherine: A Royal Romance William & Catherine: A Royal Romance is an American 2011 television movie that stars Alice St. Clair as Kate Middleton and Dan Amboyer as HRH Prince William of Wales... |
Queen Elizabeth II |
Stage
| Date | Production | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| – 31 January 1970 | Eleanor Bachman | 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... Theatre World Award Theatre World Award The Theatre World Award, first awarded for the 1945-46 season, is an American honor presented annually to actors and actresses in recognition of an outstanding New York City stage debut performance, either on Broadway or off-Broadway.-History:... 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:... |
|
| – 19 May 1973 | 6 Rms Riv Vu 6 Rms Riv Vu 6 Rms Riv Vu is a play by Bob Randall, who also wrote The Magic Show.6 Rms Riv Vu derives its title from shorthand used by realtors in classified advertising. In this case, a six-room apartment with a view of the Hudson River, located on Manhattan's Riverside Drive, serves as the comedy-drama's... |
Anne Miller | 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:... |
| – 4 May 1974 | Find Your Way Home | Jacqueline Harrison | 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:... |
| – 25 January 1976 | Hamlet Hamlet The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601... |
Gertrude | |
| – 9 May 1976 | Catherine Sloper | ||
| – 9 December 1978 | First Monday in October First Monday in October First Monday in October is a play by Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee. The title refers to the day on which the United States Supreme Court traditionally convenes following its summer recess.... |
Judge Ruth Loomis | 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:... |
| – 26 April 1980 | Goodbye Fidel | Natalia | |
| – 18 December 1982 | Monday After the Miracle | Annie | |
| – 4 September 1988 | Maxine Faulk | (revival) | |
| – 7 April 1991 | Shadowlands Shadowlands Shadowlands is a 1985 television film, written by William Nicholson, directed by Norman Stone and produced by David M. Thompson for BBC Wales. Its subject is the relationship between Oxford don and author, C. S. Lewis and Joy Gresham.... |
Joy Davidman | |
| – 1 March 1992 | Claire Zachanassian | 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—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:... |
|
| – 16 July 1994 | Sara Goode | 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—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:... |
|
| – 14 June 1998 | Honour Honour (play) Honour is a 1995 play by the Australian playwright Joanna Murray-Smith.It tells the familiar tale of a middle aged man, George, who leaves his wife, Honour, and their 24-year-old daughter, Sophie, for a relationship with a much younger woman by the name of Claudia.It was first performed in... |
Honor | 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:... |
Further reading
- Alexander, Jane. Command Performance: an Actress in the Theater of Politics. PublicAffairs, a member of the Perseus Book Group; New York, NY, 2000. ISBN 1-89162-060-1.
- International Leadership Forum biography
- Lawson, Carol. "Howard Sackler, 52, Playwright Who Won Pulitzer Prize, Dead;" NYT (The New York Times). October 15, 1982. accessed September 8, 2006. (NOTE: payment required for full article, if retrieved online)
External links
- Downstage Center at the American Theatre Wing interview
- Jane Alexander in the International Leadership Forum