Kate Nelligan | |
|---|---|
 Nelligan in a 1980 adaptation ofThérèse Raquin | |
| Born | Patricia Colleen Nelligan (1950-03-16)March 16, 1950 (age 75) London, Ontario, Canada |
| Alma mater | Central School of Speech and Drama |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1972–2010 |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 son |
Patricia Colleen Nelligan (born March 16, 1950), known professionally asKate Nelligan, is a Canadian stage, film and television actress. She was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 1991 filmThe Prince of Tides, and the same year won theBAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role forFrankie and Johnny. She is also a four-timeTony Award nominee for her work onBroadway, receiving nominations forPlenty (1983),A Moon for the Misbegotten (1984),Serious Money (1988) andSpoils of War (1989).
Nelligan, the fourth of six children, was born inLondon, Ontario, the daughter of Patrick Joseph Nelligan and his wife Josephine Alice (née Deir). Her father was a factory repairman and municipal employee in charge ofice rinks and recreational parks, and her mother was a schoolteacher.[1]
Her mother, whom Nelligan has described as "very powerful, very brilliant and very, very crazy",[2] suffered from alcohol abuse and other psychological problems, and was institutionalized.[3] Nelligan attendedLondon South Collegiate Institute in London, Ontario, where she went by “Trish”,[4] and then studied atGlendon College in Toronto, but did not graduate.[5] Instead, she switched to studies at theCentral School of Speech and Drama in London, England.[6]
In August 1972, Nelligan launched her professional stage career as a "funny and convincing" Corie in theBristol Old Vic production ofBarefoot in the Park byNeil Simon.[6] In the Bristol Old Vic studio space in the following April she took the role of Leila inThe Screens, an abridgement byHoward Brenton ofJean Genet's savageLes Paravents.[7] On television, she appeared in a regular role in the British television seriesThe Onedin Line. In 1974, she was invited to London to play the part of Jenny inDavid Hare's playKnuckle at theComedy Theatre, followed by a season with theNational Theatre playing Ellie inHeartbreak House. 1975 saw her appear oppositeAnthony Hopkins in the televised playThe Arcata Promise followed by the televised theatrical version ofThe Count of Monte Cristo that featured an all-star cast of British and American actors. That same year her first feature-length filmThe Romantic Englishwoman was released.
In 1977, again with the National Theatre, Nelligan gave a "stunning" performance as Marianne, oppositeStephen Rea, inHorváth'sTales from the Vienna Woods directed byMaximilian Schell.[8] Also in 1977, she played the part of Rosalind inAs You Like It, directed byTrevor Nunn, oppositePeter McEnery inStratford-upon-Avon and the following year in London.[9] This she followed withPlenty, another play from David Hare, at the National Theatre, for which she received the 1978 "Best Actress"Evening Standard Theatre Award, with a runner-up position as "Best Actress in a New Play" in that season'sOliviers.[10][11] She was cast in a similar role, playing oppositeBill Paterson, in Hare'sBAFTA-award-winning companion playLicking Hitler, for BBC television.[12]
Again on screen, in 1978 Nelligan played the part of Isabella in theBBC Television Shakespeare production ofMeasure for Measure, a performance that led theNew York Times to describe her as providing "the image of idealized faultlessness".[13] In 1979, she was the female lead alongsideFrank Langella andLaurence Olivier inDracula. In 1981, she starred opposite fellow CanadianDonald Sutherland inEye of the Needle, a wartime espionage thriller based on theKen Follett best-selling novel. Two years later Nelligan moved to New York City, where she earned nominations for theTony Award as Best Actress in a Play three times and one Featured Actress in a Play between 1983 and 1989 for the fiveBroadway plays in which she appeared.[14]
In 1991, Nelligan won aBAFTA for "Best Actress in a Supporting Role" for her performance inFrankie and Johnny.[15] For her performance in the 1991 filmThe Prince of Tides she was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress.[16] Between 1987 and 2004, she was nominated for fiveGemini Awards for her performances in Canadian television mini-series and films and won twice, both in 1993.[17] In 1996, she played the wife ofJames Mink in theCBS television filmCaptive Heart: The James Mink Story.[18]
Nelligan and American composerRobert Reale married in 1989. Together they have a son. The couple divorced in 2000.[19]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1975 | The Romantic Englishwoman | Isabel | |
| 1979 | Dracula | Lucy Seward | |
| 1980 | Crossover | Peabody | |
| 1981 | Eye of the Needle | Lucy Rose | |
| 1983 | Without a Trace | Susan Selky | |
| 1985 | Eleni | Eleni Gatzoyiannis | |
| 1987 | Control | Sarah Howell | |
| 1990 | White Room | Jane | |
| 1991 | Frankie and Johnny | Cora | |
| 1991 | Shadows and Fog | Eve | |
| 1991 | The Prince of Tides | Lila Wingo Newbury | |
| 1993 | Fatal Instinct | Lana Ravine | |
| 1994 | Wolf | Charlotte Randall | |
| 1995 | Margaret's Museum | Catherine MacNeil | |
| 1995 | How to Make an American Quilt | Constance Saunders | |
| 1996 | Up Close & Personal | Joanna Kennelly | |
| 1998 | U.S. Marshals | US Marshal Catherine Walsh | |
| 1998 | Boy Meets Girl | Mrs. Jones | |
| 1999 | The Cider House Rules | Olive Worthington | |
| 2007 | Premonition | Joanne |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1971 | Great Performances | Laura | "The Arcata Promise" |
| 1973 | The Edwardians | Alice Keppel | "Daisy" |
| 1973 | Country Matters | Christie Davenport | "The Four Beauties" |
| 1973–74 | The Onedin Line | Leonora Biddulph | Recurring role |
| 1974 | ITV Sunday Night Drama | Laura | "The Arcata Promise" |
| 1975 | The Count of Monte Cristo | Mercedes | TV film |
| 1976 | The Lady of the Camellias | Marguerite Gautier | "1.1", "1.2" |
| 1977 | The Sunday Drama | Ann | "Treats" |
| 1977 | Play for Today | Hilary | "Do as I Say" |
| 1978 | Play for Today | Anna Seaton | "Licking Hitler" |
| 1979 | Measure for Measure | Isabella | TV film – BBC Shakespeare series |
| 1980 | Thérèse Raquin | Thérèse Raquin | TV miniseries |
| 1980 | Play for Today | Caroline | "Dreams of Leaving" |
| 1980 | Forgive Our Foolish Ways | Vivien Lanyon | TV series |
| 1982 | Victims | Ruth Hession | TV film |
| 1987 | Kojak: The Price of Justice | Kitty | TV film |
| 1989 | Love and Hate: The Story of Colin and JoAnn Thatcher | JoAnn Thatcher | TV film |
| 1991 | American Playhouse | Barbara Hoyle | "Three Hotels" |
| 1991 | Performance | Kate | "Old Times" |
| 1992 | Road to Avonlea | Sydney Carver | "After the Honeymoon" |
| 1992 | Terror Stalks the Class Reunion [fr] | Kay | TV film |
| 1992 | The Great Diamond Robbery | Holly Plum | TV film |
| 1992 | Heritage Minutes | Emily Murphy | "Emily Murphy" |
| 1993 | Liar, Liar: Between Father and Daughter | Susan Miori | TV film |
| 1993 | Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story | Stephanie Chadford | TV film |
| 1994 | Golden Fiddles | Anne Balfour | TV miniseries |
| 1994 | In Spite of Love | Elise | TV film |
| 1994 | Million Dollar Babies | Helena Reid | TV miniseries |
| 1995 | A Mother's Prayer | Sheila Walker | TV film |
| 1996 | Captive Heart: The James Mink Story | Elizabeth Mink | TV film |
| 1996 | Calm at Sunset, Calm at Dawn | Margaret Pfeiffer | TV film |
| 1999 | Love Is Strange | Kathryn McClain | TV film |
| 1999 | Swing Vote | Justice Sara Marie Brandwynne | TV film |
| 2000 | Blessed Strangers: After Flight 111 | Kate O'Rourke | TV film |
| 2001 | Walter and Henry | Elizabeth | TV film |
| 2003 | A Wrinkle in Time | Mrs. Which | TV film |
| 2004 | Human Cargo | Nina Wade | TV miniseries |
| 2006 | In from the Night | Vera Miller | TV film |
| 2008 | Eleventh Hour | Gepetto | "Resurrection" |
| 2010 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Judge Sylvia Quinn | "Ace", "Gray" |
lad is the first child for the Oscar nominee and her [scil. Kate Nelligan] husband, composer Robert Reale, 36.
