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Jeannie Berlin

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Jeannie Berlin
Berlin at the press photo for the film Bone (1972)
Born
Jeannie Brette May

(1949-11-01) November 1, 1949 (age 75)[1]
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Occupation(s)Actress, screenwriter
Years active1969–present
Known forThe Heartbreak Kid
Parents

Jeannie Berlin (born Jeannie Brette May; November 1, 1949) is an American film, television and stage actress and screenwriter, the daughter of Elaine May. She is best known for her role in the 1972 comedy film The Heartbreak Kid, for which she received Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress. She later played the leading role in Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York (1975), and has acted in films such as Margaret (2011), Inherent Vice (2014), Café Society (2016), The Fabelmans (2022), and You Hurt My Feelings (2023). She also acted in the HBO miniseries The Night Of (2016), the Amazon Prime series Hunters (2020), and the HBO series Succession (2019–2023).

Early life

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Born in Los Angeles, California, Berlin is the daughter of actress, comedienne, screenwriter, and director Elaine May (née Berlin) and inventor Marvin May.[2][3] Elaine May Berlin directed The Heartbreak Kid, in 1972, featuring Berlin, whose performance earned her Golden Globe and Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress.[4] Berlin chose to use her mother's maiden name for her stage name.[2]

Career

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Berlin made her screen debut appearing in an supporting role in the made-for-television film In Name Only starring Eve Arden. She acted on the New York stage and began appearing in a number of films, include Getting Straight (1970), The Strawberry Statement (1970), Move (1970), The Baby Maker (1970), Portnoy's Complaint (1971), and Bone (1972).[5]

In 1972, Berlin's performance in the comedy film The Heartbreak Kid directed by her mother with a screenplay by Neil Simon, garnered her Golden Globe[6] and Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress.[7][4] She also won National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress. In article for The New York Times by John Gruen he wrote: "What is more, every critic said that Jeannie looks, sounds and acts exactly like her mother. One critic even said that she is a much better actress than her mother . . . 'with real blood coursing through her.' Anyway, this piece will set out to prove that Jeannie Berlin, who looks, talks, and acts exactly like Elaine May, is, in fact, Elaine May's 23‐year‐old daughter, and a person in her own right, even though . . . well, there's just no denying it, she looks, sounds, and acts exactly like her mother."[5]

In 1975, Berlin played a leading role in the romantic comedy film Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York.[8] The film was not well received by critics: Stanley Eichelbaum from San Francisco Examiner noted that "Jeannie is cold and hasn't the inner glow the appeal and magnetism that an actress needs to carry a film."[9] The following year, she had a leading role in "Old Fashioned Murder", an episode of the NBC detective drama series Columbo. Berlin did not act on film or television again until 1990, when she appeared in and co-wrote the screenplay for the comedy-drama film In the Spirit starring her mother alongside Marlo Thomas and Olympia Dukakis.[10]

Berlin appeared in a number of off-Broadway productions in 1990s. She made her Broadway theatre debut in May's play After the Night and the Music in 2005. In 2012, she appeared in the play Other Desert Cities at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.[11] After an extended absence of more than a decade from acting in films, in 2011 she co-starred in Margaret, a psychological drama film starring Anna Paquin. She received positive reviews from film critics and was nominated for the National Society of Film Critics and Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress. She later appeared in Paul Thomas Anderson's crime film Inherent Vice (2014), and Woody Allen's romantic comedy-drama Café Society (2016).[12]

In 2016, Berlin received positive reviews for her performance as prosecutor Helen Weiss in the HBO miniseries The Night Of.[13][14] She was named as a contender for an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie nomination, but this did not come to fruition.[15] In 2018 she played the President of the United States in the Hulu drama series The First, and the following year was cast as Cyd Peach, the head of the Roys' Fox News–esque TV station in the HBO drama series Succession.[16] In 2020, she had a recurring role in the Amazon Prime Video drama series Hunters playing the grandmother of the lead character. In 2022, she starred in the coming-of-age drama film The Fabelmans directed by Steven Spielberg.[17]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1970 Getting Straight Judy Kramer
The Strawberry Statement Girl with Clipboard
On a Clear Day You Can See Forever Girl in Orphanage
Move Myrna
The Baby Maker Charlotte
1972 Portnoy's Complaint Bubbles Girardi
Bone The Girl
I figli chiedono perché
The Heartbreak Kid Lila Kolodny
1973 Why? The Junkie
1975 Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York Sheila Levine
1990 In the Spirit Crystal Also co-writer
2011 Margaret Emily
2013 Vijay and I Mrs. Korokowski
2014 Inherent Vice Aunt Reet
2016 Café Society Rose Dorfman
2018 The Boor Short film, writer and director
2020 Faraway Eyes Goldie
2022 The Fabelmans Haddash Fabelman
2023 You Hurt My Feelings Georgia
I'll Be Right There[18] Grace
2025 The Bride! Filming

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1969 In Name Only Heather Television film
1971 Two on a Bench Harriet Television film
1976 Columbo Janie Brandt Episode: "Old Fashioned Murder"
2003 Miss Match Risa Barbeko Episode: "Matchmaker, Matchmaker"
2016 The Night Of Helen Weiss Miniseries
2018 The First President Cecily Burke Recurring role, 3 episodes
2019–2023 Succession Cyd Peach Recurring role, 8 episodes
2019 SMILF Lillian Wheaton Episode: Sh*t Man, I've Literally Failed"
2020–2023 Hunters Ruth Heidelbaum Recurring role, 10 episodes

Awards and nominations

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Year Award Category Production Result
1972 National Society of Film Critics Award Best Supporting Actress The Heartbreak Kid Won
New York Film Critics Circle Award Best Supporting Actress Won
Golden Globe Award Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Nominated
Academy Award Best Supporting Actress Nominated
2011 Village Voice Film Poll Best Supporting Actress Margaret Won
Boston Society of Film Critics Best Supporting Actress Nominated
National Society of Film Critics Best Supporting Actress 2nd place
Indiewire Award Best Supporting Performance 3rd place
2023 Screen Actors Guild Award Outstanding Cast in a Motion Picture The Fabelmans Nominated

References

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  1. ^ Film Actors Guide. University of Michigan. 1991. p. 67. ISBN 9780943728384.
  2. ^ a b Erickson, Hal. "Jeannie Berlin - Biography, Movie Highlights and Photos". AllMovie. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  3. ^ "Marvin M. May Inventions, Patents and Patent Applications - Justia Patents Search". patents.justia.com.
  4. ^ a b "Jeannie Berlin". Yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 23 January 2015. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  5. ^ a b Gruen, John (January 7, 1973). "More Than Elaine May's Daughter". The New York Times.
  6. ^ "Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in any Motion Picture (1973)". GoldenGlobes.com. Golden Globe Awards. Archived from the original on 12 September 2016. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  7. ^ "Oscar Ceremony 1973 (Actress In A Supporting Role)". Oscars.org. Academy Awards. Retrieved 15 October 2018.
  8. ^ Fountain, Clarke. "Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York (1975) - Sidney J. Furie - Synopsis, Characteristics, Moods, Themes and Related". AllMovie. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  9. ^ "Sheila Levine Is Dead and Living in New York" – via www.rottentomatoes.com.
  10. ^ May, Elaine (April 1, 1990). "FILM; She's a Beginner, but What Connections". The New York Times.
  11. ^ Ng, David (October 8, 2012). "Jeannie Berlin, JoBeth Williams join 'Other Desert Cities' cast". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved February 3, 2016.
  12. ^ Tatiana Siegel (4 August 2015). "Woody Allen New Film Cast: Blake Lively, Kristen Stewart, Bruce Willis, More". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 3 February 2016.
  13. ^ "Jeannie Berlin's performance of the summer". The Boston Globe. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  14. ^ "Performer of the Week: Jeannie Berlin". TVLine.com. 27 August 2016. Retrieved 26 September 2016.
  15. ^ Carden, Andrew (April 5, 2017). "Emmy spotlight: Oscar nominee Jeannie Berlin seeks first Emmy bid for 'The Night Of'".
  16. ^ "The Grand Dames of 'Succession' are Powerful—And All Over 60". Glamour. September 25, 2019.
  17. ^ Vary, Adam B. (July 27, 2021). "Steven Spielberg Casts Judd Hirsch, Jeannie Berlin, Robin Bartlett and Jonathan Hadary in Film Based on His Childhood (EXCLUSIVE)".
  18. ^ "Edie Falco to Topline Indie Comedy 'I'll be Right There' from 'Nurse Jackie' Helmer Brendan Walsh; Charlie Tahan, Jeannie Berlin, Bradley Whitford & More Also Set". 7 December 2022.
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