Maureen Stapleton

Lois Maureen Stapleton (June 21, 1925 – March 13, 2006) was an American actress. She received numerous accolades, becoming one of the few actors to achieve the Triple Crown of Acting, winning an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award and two Tony Awards. She also received a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award, as well as a nomination for a Grammy Award.

Stapleton started her career in theater with her Broadway debut in The Playboy of the Western World (1946). She went on to receive two Tony Awards for Best Featured Actress in a Play for The Rose Tattoo (1951) and for Best Actress in a Play for The Gingerbread Lady (1971). She was Tony-nominated for her roles in The Cold Wind And The Warm (1959), Toys in the Attic (1960), Plaza Suite (1971) and The Little Foxes (1981).

For her portrayal of Emma Goldman in the historical epic film Reds (1981), she received the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She was also Oscar-nominated for her roles in Lonelyhearts (1958), Airport (1970) and Interiors (1978). During her career, Stapleton acted in films such as Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Plaza Suite (1971), The Fan (1981), Cocoon (1985), The Money Pit (1986) and Nuts (1987).

On television, Stapleton played a variety of roles including in the television film Among the Paths to Eden (1967), for which she won Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in a Drama. She was Emmy-nominated for her roles in Queen of the Stardust Ballroom (1975), The Gathering (1977), B.L. Stryker (1989), Miss Rose White (1992) and Road to Avonlea (1995). She received a Grammy Award nomination for narrating To Kill a Mockingbird in 1975. For her life achievement, she was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 1981.