Maureen Stapleton

Maureen Stapleton (June 21, 1925 – March 13, 2006) was an American actress in film, theater and television. She was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Lonelyhearts (1958), Airport (1970) and Interiors (1978), before winning for her performance as Emma Goldman in Reds (1981). She was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981.

Stapleton made her Broadway debut in 1946 in The Playboy of the Western World, and went on to win the 1951 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for The Rose Tattoo and the 1971 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for The Gingerbread Lady. She also won an Emmy Award for the television film Among the Paths to Eden (1967) and the BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role for Reds. Her other film roles included Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Plaza Suite (1971), The Fan (1981), Cocoon (1985) and The Money Pit (1986).

Early life

Stapleton was born Lois Maureen Stapleton in Troy, New York, the daughter of John P. Stapleton and Irene (née Walsh) , and grew up in a strict Irish American Catholic family. Her father was an alcoholic and her parents separated during her childhood.