Ellen Burstyn
Acting
Born: December 7, 1932 (age 93) · Detroit, Michigan, USA
Highest Rated
Biography
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.
Known for
Interstellar
2014
Requiem for a Dream
2000
The Exorcist
1973
The Age of Adaline
2015
Red Dragon
2002
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999
House of Cards
2013
The Fountain
2006
The Wicker Man
2006
Pieces of a Woman
2020
The Exorcist: Believer
2023
Draft Day
2014
Photos (9)
Movies (109)
Interstellar
Murph (older)
The Exorcist
Chris MacNeil
The Exorcist: Believer
Chris MacNeil
The Age of Adaline
Flemming
Requiem for a Dream
Sara Goldfarb
The Fountain
Dr. Lillian Guzetti
The Wicker Man
Sister Summersisle
Draft Day
Barb Weaver
The Yards
Val Handler
Flowers in the Attic
Grandmother
When a Man Loves a Woman
Emily
Dying Young
Mrs. O'Neil
The Last Picture Show
Lois Farrow
Pieces of a Woman
Elizabeth Weiss
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Alice Hyatt
W.
Barbara Bush
The Calling
Emily Micallef
The Tale
Nettie
Act of Vengeance
Margaret Yablonski
Playing by Heart
Mildred
How to Make an American Quilt
Hy Dodd
Main Street
Georgiana Carr
Deceiver
Mook
Petals on the Wind
Olivia Foxworth
The House of Tomorrow
Josephine Prendergast
Lucy in the Sky
Nana Holbrook
Wiener-Dog
Nana
The Ambassador
Alex Hacker
Custody
Beatrice Fisher
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
Vivi
The Baby-Sitters Club
Mrs. Haberman
Two Men in Town
Mère Garnett
Red Dragon
Grandma Dolarhyde (voice) (uncredited)
The Cemetery Club
Esther Moskowitz
Same Time, Next Year
Doris
Queen Bees
Helen Wilson
Resurrection
Edna
Lovely, Still
Mary
According to Greta
Katherine
Another Happy Day
Doris Baker
Our Fathers
Mary Ryan
The Spitfire Grill
Hannah Ferguson
The Mighty Macs
Mother St. John
The King of Marvin Gardens
Sally
Mother, Couch
Mother
Unity
Narrator (voice)
People vs. Jean Harris
Jean Harris
Three Months
Valerie
Harry and Tonto
Shirley
The Velveteen Rabbit
Swan (voice)
The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond
Miss Addie
The Stone Angel
Hagar
Wish You Well
Louisa Mae Cardinal
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam
Mrs. Stocks (voice)
All I Wish
Celia Berges
Roommates
Judith
Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You
Nanette
Nostalgia
Helen Greer
Alex in Wonderland
Beth Morrison
The Five People You Meet In Heaven
Ruby
River of Fundament
Hathfertiti
Goodbye Charlie
Franny Salzman
Twice in a Lifetime
Kate MacKenzie
When It Was a Game 2
Passage Narrator (voice)
Earth and the American Dream
Reader (voice)
Thursday's Game
Lynne Evers
Flash
Laura Strong
Providence
Sonia Langham
30 Days
Maura
Tropic of Cancer
Mona (uncredited)
Taking Back My Life: The Nancy Ziegenmeyer Story
Wilma
The Patron Saint of Liars
June Clatterbuck
Hanna's War
Katalin
Brush with Fate
Rika
Mrs. Harris
Former Tarnower Steady
Grand Isle
Mademoiselle Reisz
A Deadly Vision
Yvette Watson
Pack of Lies
Barbara Jackson
Follow The River
Gretel
Mrs. Lambert Remembers Love
Lillian "Lil" Lambert
Into Thin Air
Joan Walker
The Madam's Family: The Truth About the Canal Street Brothel
Tommie
Getting Gotti
Jo Giacalone
About Scout
Gram
The Elephant King
Diana Hunt
When You Remember Me
Nurse Cooder
Walking Across Egypt
Mattie Rigsbee
American Woman
Miss Dolly
For Those Who Think Young
Dr. Pauline Swenson
Pit Stop
Ellen McCleod
Ricochet
Rose Maxon
Timepiece
Maud Gannon
Night Ride Home
Maggie
You Can Thank Me Later
Shirley Cooperberg
Mermaid
Trish
Getting Out
Arlie's Mother
Duse, the Greatest
2025
A Dream of Passion
Brenda Collins
Something in Common
Lynn Hollander
The Color of Evening
Kate O'Rielly
Surviving
Tina Brogan
Silence of the North
Olive Frederickson
Within These Walls
Joan Thomas
Trick of the Eye
Frances Griffin
Mitch Albom's For One More Day
Pauline "Posey" Benetto
Watch on the Rhine
Fanny
Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story
Joan Delvecchio
Easy Out?
Mary
E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump
E. Jean Carroll
TV Shows (41)
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Bernie Stabler · 1 eps
Perry Mason
Mona Winthrope White · 1 eps
Mom
Shirley · 1 eps
The Virginian
Kate Burden · 1 eps
House of Cards
Elizabeth Hale · 5 eps
American Experience
Narrator (voice) · 1 eps
Dr. Kildare
Anne Garner · 1 eps
Big Love
Nancy Davis Dutton · 6 eps
Cheyenne
Emmy Mae · 1 eps
Law & Order: Organized Crime
Bernadette Stabler · 27 eps
The Big Valley
Sister Sarah Jacob · 1 eps
Gunsmoke
Polly · 1 eps
Gunsmoke
Amy Waters · 2 eps
Ben Casey
Dr. Leslie Fraser · 1 eps
Ben Casey
Connie · 1 eps
Surfside 6
Wandra Drake · 1 eps
The Defenders
Hilda Wesley · 1 eps
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
Donna Whittaker · 1 eps
77 Sunset Strip
Betty Benson · 1 eps
77 Sunset Strip
Sandra Keene · 1 eps
Kraft Suspense Theatre
Barbara Sherwood / Lucille Benton · 1 eps
The Detectives
Nora · 1 eps
The Time Tunnel
Eve Holland · 1 eps
HARDtalk
1 eps
Checkmate
Margo as Ellen McRae · 1 eps
That's Life
Dolly DeLucca · 36 eps
The First Lady
Sara Delano Roosevelt · 6 eps
Political Animals
Margaret Barrish · 6 eps
Bus Stop
Phyllis Dunning · 1 eps
The Book of Daniel
Bishop Beatrice Congreve · 4 eps
Kraft Mystery Theatre
Greta Dryden · 1 eps
I'm Dickens, He's Fenster
Joan · 1 eps
Coma
Mrs. Emerson · 2 eps
Going My Way
Louise · 1 eps
Letter to Loretta
Ann Walters · 1 eps
The Ellen Burstyn Show
Ellen Brewer · 13 eps
A Will of their Own
Veronica Steward · 2 eps
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Elizabeth · 1 eps
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Barbara Jackson · 1 eps
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Maggie · 1 eps
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Rika · 1 eps
Self / Appearances (46)
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Self · 2 eps
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self · 1 eps
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host · 1 eps
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Presenter · 2 eps
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Nominee · 1 eps
The View
Self · 2 eps
Tony Awards
Self - Host · 1 eps
Tony Awards
Self - Winner · 1 eps
Tony Awards
Self - Presenter · 3 eps
Tony Awards
Self - Host/Presenter · 1 eps
Tony Awards
Self - Audience Member · 1 eps
The Oscars
Self · 3 eps
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Self · 1 eps
Dinah!
Self · 1 eps
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
Self - Guest · 1 eps
Breakdown: 1975
Self
Friedkin Uncut
Self
Reframed: Marilyn Monroe
Self · 4 eps
Love, Marilyn
Self
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood
Self
A Decade Under the Influence
Self
This Ordinary Thing
Self (voice)
Night of 100 Stars
Self
Picture This
Self
Night of 100 Stars II
Self
Inside the Actors Studio
Self · 1 eps
And the Oscar Goes To...
Self - Interviewee
Be Pretty and Shut Up!
Self
PoliWood
Self
Hello Actors Studio
Self
The Last Picture Show: A Look Back
Self
Stardust: The Bette Davis Story
Self
I Love Liberty
Self
Second Chances: The Making of "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore"
Self
The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist
Self - Chris MacNeil
Delphine and Carole
Self (archive footage)
Hubert Selby Jr: It/ll Be Better Tomorrow
Self
The Making of Requiem for a Dream
Self
Paul Newman, Behind Blue Eyes
Herself
BBStory: An American Film Renaissance
Self
Fear and Love: The Story of The Exorcist
Self
Marilyn in Manhattan
Self
Memories, Dreams & Addictions
Self
Marilyn Monroe: Auction of a Lifetime
Self
Reflections of a Philosopher King
Self
Steven Arnold: Heavenly Bodies
Self
