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Ellen Burstyn

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Ellen Burstyn is a famous American actress.

EllenBurstyn07TIFF
EllenBurstyn07TIFF

She is known for playing very complex women in dramas. Burstyn has earned many of the highest honors in her profession. She has won an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards. By winning top awards in film, television, and theater, she achieved the "Triple Crown of Acting." This is a very rare and special feat for any performer. She also received a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award for her skill.

Ellen Burstyn 2009
Ellen Burstyn 2009

Her journey as a performer involved many different steps. She began her career as a dancer using the name Kerri Flynn. Later, she worked as a model until she was 23 years old. She also appeared as a dancing girl on The Jackie Gleason Show. When she decided to become an actress, she used the name Ellen McRae. She later changed her last name to Burstyn after her 1964 marriage. Her first big break on Broadway happened in 1957 in a play called Fair Game.

Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn in The Exorcist
Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn in The Exorcist

Burstyn was born Edna Rae Gillooly on December 7, 1932, in Detroit. Her parents were John Austin Gillooly and Correine Marie Hamel. She has an older brother named Jack and a younger brother named Steve. She grew up with her mother and stepfather after her parents divorced. In high school, she was a cheerleader and the president of her drama club. She attended Cass Technical High School, where she studied fashion illustration. She describes her family ancestry as Irish, French, Pennsylvania Dutch, and a little Canadian Indian.

Many of her roles became very famous around the world. In 1971, she starred in the film The Last Picture Show. In 1973, she played Chris MacNeil in the supernatural horror film The Exorcist. That movie was a huge success at the box office. In 1974, she won an Academy Award for Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore. In that film, she played a widow who wanted to be a singer. She also won a Tony Award in 1975 for the play Same Time, Next Year. She received many other nominations for films like Resurrection and Requiem for a Dream.

Burstyn has stayed very busy in the world of acting for many years. She has appeared in many different types of stories on television and in movies. Some of her recent films include Interstellar and Pieces of a Woman. Since the year 2000, she has served as a co-president of the Actors Studio. This is a famous drama school located in New York City. In 2013, she was also put into the American Theatre Hall of Fame. Her long career shows her deep love for the art of storytelling.

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File:Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn in The Exorcist.jpg
Linda Blair and Ellen Burstyn in The Exorcist.jpg
File:EllenBurstyn07TIFF.jpg
EllenBurstyn07TIFF.jpg
File:Ellen Burstyn 2009.jpg
Ellen Burstyn 2009.jpg
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