Rosemary Harris | |
|---|---|
 Harris in 2007 at theTribeca Film Festival in promotion ofSpider-Man 3 | |
| Born | Rosemary Ann Harris (1927-09-19)19 September 1927 (age 98) Ashby-de-la-Zouch,Leicestershire, England |
| Years active | 1948–present |
| Spouses | |
| Children | Jennifer Ehle |
Rosemary Ann Harris (born 19 September 1927) is an English actress. She is the recipient of anEmmy Award, aGolden Globe Award, and aTony Award as well as nominations for anAcademy Award, aBAFTA Award, and threeLaurence Olivier Awards. Harris was inducted into theAmerican Theater Hall of Fame in 1986, and she won theTony Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Theatre in 2017.
Harris began her stage career in 1948, before making her Broadway debut in 1952. For her New York stage work, she is a four-timeDrama Desk Award winner and nine-timeTony Award nominee, winning theTony Award for Best Actress in a Play in for portrayingEleanor of Aquitaine inThe Lion in Winter (1966). Her other Tony-nominated roles were inOld Times (1972),The Royal Family (1976),Heartbreak House (1984),Pack of Lies (1985),Hay Fever (1986),A Delicate Balance (1996),Waiting in the Wings (2000), andThe Royal Family (2010).
She won thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie for her portrayal ofGeorge Sand in the BBC serialNotorious Woman (1976), and theGolden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama for playing Berta Palitz Weiss in the miniseriesHolocaust (1978). For her performance in the historical drama filmTom & Viv (1994) she was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Harris is also known for her portrayal ofMay Parker, the paternal aunt ofPeter Parker, inSam Raimi'sSpider-Man trilogy (2002–2007).
Harris was born on 19 September 1927 in Ashby De La Zouch, Leicestershire,[1] the daughter of Enid Maude Frances (née Campion) and Stafford Berkeley Harris.[2][3] One of her grandmothers was fromKronstadt in theHabsburg Empire (today Romania).[4][5] Her father was in the Royal Air Force, and as a result, Harris' family lived inIndia during her early childhood.[6][7][8] She attended convent schools, and later studied at theRoyal Academy of Dramatic Art from 1951 to 1952.[9][10]
Early in her acting career, she gained experience in Englishrepertory theatre. In 1948, she acted inKiss and Tell at Eastbourne and Margate with Tilsa Page andJohn Clark and later with Anthony Cundell's company at Penzance, where she played the mother inBlack Chiffon. She went from Penzance to train atRADA.[11] She first appeared in New York City in 1951 inMoss Hart'sClimate of Eden,[12] and then returned to Britain for her West End debut inThe Seven Year Itch which ran for a year at the Aldwych.[13]
Harris then entered a classical acting period in productions with theBristol Old Vic and then theOld Vic, appearing at the latter asOphelia in theNational Theatre Company's opening production ofHamlet in October 1963, alongsidePeter O'Toole in the title role.[14] Writing in UK newspaperThe Guardian in 2003 as part of a series on landmark theatre productions, playwrightSamantha Ellis noted of the National Theatre's opening night:
Olivier gloomily anticipated bad reviews. But RB Marriott, inThe Stage, found O'Toole to be "a magnificent Prince" and Rosemary Harris "the most real and touching Ophelia". (In contrast, Felix Barker, in theEvening News, called her "an embarrassing deb who has had too much gin".) And Harold Hobson, inThe Sunday Times, was overcome.[15]
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Her first film followed,Beau Brummell (1954) withStewart Granger andElizabeth Taylor,[11] and then a touring season with the Old Vic brought her back to Broadway inTyrone Guthrie's production ofTroilus and Cressida. She metEllis Rabb who had plans to start his own producing company on Broadway. The following year she portrayedDesdemona in a television production ofWilliam Shakespeare'sOthello directed byTony Richardson Harris acted oppositePaul Rogers,Robert Hardy, andNigel Davenport. In 1957 she appeared in two episodes ofAlfred Hitchcock Presents. In 1958 she acted alongsideJohn Williams, andMaurice Evans in theNBC production ofDial M for Murder. That same year she portrayedCatherine Linton acting alongsideRichard Burton who portrayedHeathcliff in theCBS television production ofEmily Brontë's 1847 novelWuthering Heights. By 1959, theAssociation of Producing Artist (APA) was established, and she and Rabb were married on 4 December of that year.[16][17]
In 1962, she returned to Britain andChichester Festival Theatre during its opening season when the director wasLaurence Olivier; she appeared as Elena in Olivier's celebrated 1962–63 Chichester production ofUncle Vanya.[18] She reprised her role in the1963 British film adaptation acting opposite Olivier,Michael Redgrave, andJoan Plowright. In 1964, she was Ophelia toPeter O'Toole'sHamlet in the inaugural production of theRoyal National Theatre of Great Britain.[19] She returned to Broadway portrayingMegara inHerakles at theLyceum Theatre. That same year she portrayed Alice Sycamore inYou Can't Take It with You. She also appeared in an off-Broadway production ofGeorge Bernard Shaw'sMan and Superman at thePhoenix Theatre.
Harris gained acclaim working further with the APA, and was cast asEleanor of Aquitaine inThe Lion in Winter oppositeRobert Preston'sHenry II at theAmbassador Theatre. She received praise for the role as well as theTony Award for Best Actress in a Play.[20] Rabb directed her one last time as Natasha inWar and Peace in 1967, the same year they agreed to divorce.[16][17] A little while later, Harris married the American writerJohn Ehle.[21] The two of them can be heard interviewing prospective candidates, Black public school student candidates for scholarships to all-white private "Segregation academies", on surviving recordings.[22] Ehle was the manager for thisStouffer Foundation program. In 1968 she portrayed Gabrielle Chandebissein the filmA Flea in Her Ear based on the1907 French farce of the same name byGeorges Feydeau. She acted withRex Harrison andLouis Jourdan.[23] She received Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play nominations for her roles as Anna inHarold Pinter'sOld Times (1971) and Julie Cavendish inGeorge S. Kaufman andEdna Ferber'sThe Royal Family (1975).
During this time she portrayedBlanche DuBois in theTennessee Williams playA Streetcar Named Desire (1973) andPortia inWilliam Shakespeare'sThe Merchant of Venice (1973). In 1974, Harris starred in the BBC TV serialNotorious Woman, which aired on PBS in the US as part ofMasterpiece Theatre. For this role, she won the 1976Primetime Emmy Award forOutstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series. She won aGolden Globe Award forBest Actress – TV Drama for the 1978 NBC miniseriesHolocaust, which also starredMeryl Streep andJames Woods. Also in 1978 she acted inFranklin J. Schaffner's science-fiction thrillerThe Boys from Brazil acting withGregory Peck,Laurence Olivier,James Mason, andDenholm Elliott. The film received critical acclaim and earned threeAcademy Award nominations.
From 1979 to 1980 she starred in the CBSWestern miniseriesThe Chisholms oppositeRobert Preston. Reviewing the BBC's 1983 production ofTo the Lighthouse, an adaptation ofVirginia Woolf'snovel of the same name, John J. O'Connor ofThe New York Times wrote: "A luminous, flawless performance by Miss Harris makes Mrs. Ramsay as memorable on film as she is on the printed page."[24] She played Ann Barrington in theRichard Eyre directedThe Ploughman's Lunch (1983) written byIan McEwan. She acted withJonathan Pryce andTim Curry. The film looks at the media world inMargaret Thatcher's Britain around the time of theFalklands War.Vincent Canby ofThe New York Times declared, "[the] film's most arresting character is Ann, a beautiful woman whose intelligence is demonstrated both in the writing and in Miss Harris's superlative performance."[25] She also took film roles inCrossing Delancey (1988) andThe Delinquents (1989), andThe Bridge (1992). She returned to Broadway acting inNeil Simon'sLost in Yonkers (1991).
For her role as Rose Haigh-Woodin the historical dramaTom & Viv, she won theNational Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress and received a nomination for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Harris acted withWillem Dafoe andMiranda Richardson. The film was based on the1984 play of the same name byMichael Hastings. She returned to Broadway in a revival ofEdward Albee'sA Delicate Balance (1996) for which she received a nomination for theTony Award for Best Actress in a Play. That same year she had a brief role as Player Queen inKenneth Branagh's film adaptation ofHamlet (1996). Harris and her daughterJennifer Ehle, played the young and elderly incarnations, respectively, of the same character inIstván Szabó's 1999 filmSunshine, about a Hungarian-Jewish family. They previously played the young and old Calypso in theChannel 4 production ofThe Camomile Lawn (1992).[26] In 1999 she starred in theHugh Hudson directed filmMy Life So Far based on theDenis Forman book of the same name. Harris acted withColin Firth,Irène Jacob,Malcolm McDowell, andKelly Macdonald.
Harris had a recurring role asAunt May Parker in thefirst film adaptation ofSpider-Man, reprising the role in the sequelsSpider-Man 2 (2004) andSpider-Man 3 (2007). These films were critically acclaimed and were commercially successful. Directed bySam Raimi, the films also starredTobey Maguire,Kirsten Dunst,J. K. Simmons,Willem Dafoe andAlfred Molina.[27][28] Her film roles during this period included the supernatural horror filmThe Gift (2000) starringCate Blanchett, the romantic comedyBlow Dry (2001) withAlan Rickman andNatasha Richardson, and the comedy-dramaBeing Julia starringAnnette Bening. Harris appeared in the rotating cast of the Off-Broadway staged reading ofWit & Wisdom.[29] In 2007, she received theNorth Carolina Award for fine arts. Her husband, John Ehle, won the same award in 1972 for literature.[30] Also in 2007 she acted inSidney Lumet's crime thrillerBefore the Devil Knows You're Dead for which she received theGotham Independent Film Award for Best Ensemble Cast along with the cast.
Harris took limited film roles in the dramaIs Anybody There? withMichael Caine, the romantic comedyThis Means War starringReese Witherspoon,Chris Pine, andTom Hardy, and the musical dramaThe von Trapp Family: A Life of Music (2015) withMatthew Macfadyen. She had a guest starring role inLaw & Order: Special Victims Unit (2010). On 11 September 2018, a week before her 91st birthday, Harris took over the role of Mrs Higgins inthe Broadway revival ofMy Fair Lady fromDiana Rigg.[31][32] She recently acted in theHBO limited seriesThe Undoing (2020) as a guest actress and had a recurring role in theHBO Max comedy seriesSearch Party (2022).
From 1959 to 1967, she was married to actor and directorEllis Rabb. In 1967, she married writerJohn Ehle and they settled in Winston-Salem, North Carolina,[7] where their daughter,Jennifer Ehle, was born in 1969. Jennifer followed in her mother's footsteps by becoming a noted film, television and Broadway actress.[33] Harris' archive is part of the performing arts collections at theHarry Ransom Center, which include her scripts, photographs, posters, correspondence, playbills, and other ephemera.[34]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1954 | Beau Brummell | Mrs. Fitzherbert | film debut |
| 1957 | The Shiralee | Lily Parker | |
| 1963 | Uncle Vanya | Yelena | |
| 1968 | A Flea in Her Ear | Gabrielle Chandebisse | |
| 1978 | The Boys from Brazil | Mrs. Doring | |
| 1983 | The Ploughman's Lunch | Ann Barrington | |
| 1988 | Crossing Delancey | Pauline Swift | |
| 1989 | The Delinquents | Isobel | |
| 1992 | The Bridge | Aunt Jude | |
| 1994 | Tom & Viv | Rose Haigh-Wood | |
| 1996 | Hamlet | Player Queen | |
| 1999 | My Life So Far | Gamma | |
| Sunshine | Valerie Sors | ||
| 2000 | The Gift | Annie's Granny | |
| 2001 | Blow Dry | Daisy | |
| 2002 | Spider-Man | Aunt May Parker | |
| 2004 | Spider-Man 2 | ||
| Being Julia | Julia's mother | ||
| 2007 | Spider-Man 3 | Aunt May Parker | |
| Before the Devil Knows You're Dead | Nanette | ||
| 2008 | Is Anybody There? | Elsie | |
| The Monday Before Thanksgiving | Lillian Cotlo | Short film | |
| 2010 | Radio Free Albemuth | VALIS (voice role) | |
| 2012 | This Means War | Nana Foster | |
| 2015 | The von Trapp Family: A Life of Music | OlderAgathe von Trapp |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | A Cradle of Wlllow | Tansy Clampett | Television debut; Television film |
| Studio One in Hollywood | Herself | Episode: "The Great Lady" | |
| 1955 | Othello | Desdemona | Television film |
| 1957 | Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Louise Rogers / Countess Helen Sorrington-Mattoni | Season 2 Episodes 26,27: "I Killed the Count Parts 2 & 3" |
| Alfred Hitchcock Presents | Dorothy Whitely | Season 3 Episode 1: "The Glass Eye" | |
| Twelfth Night | Viola | Television film | |
| 1958 | Suspicion | Sybil Merton | Episode: "Lord Arthur Savile's Crime" |
| Omnibus | Cordelia | Episode: "Moment of Truth" | |
| Dial M for Murder | Margot Wendice | Television film | |
| Folio | Dynamene | Episode: "A Phoenix Too Frequent" | |
| DuPont Show of the Month | Cathy Linton | Episode: Wuthering Heights | |
| 1959 | Encounter | Norah Marsh | Episode: "The Land of Promise" |
| 1964 | Profiles in Courage | Mary S. McDowell | Episode: "Mary S. McDowell" |
| 1966 | Blithe Spirit | Elvira Condomine | Television film |
| 1967 | Uncle Vanya | Jelena Andrejewna | Television film |
| 1974 | Notorious Woman | George Sand | Television miniseries; 7 episodes |
| 1977 | The Royal Family | Julie Cavendish | Television film |
| 1978 | Holocaust | Berta Palitz Weiss | Television miniseries; 4 episodes |
| 1979–1980 | The Chisholms | Minerva Chisholm | Television miniseries; 13 episodes |
| 1983 | To the Lighthouse | Mrs. Ramsay | Television film |
| 1992 | The Camomile Lawn | Calypso (older) | Television miniseries; 2 episodes |
| 1994 | Under the Hammer | Hester Bovington | Episode: "The Spectre at the Feast" |
| Summer Day's Dream | Margaret Dawlish | One-off production in the BBC'sPerformance series | |
| 1996 | The Little Riders | Grandma Roden | Television film |
| Death of a Salesman | Linda | Television film | |
| 2004 | Belonging | May | Television film |
| 2010 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Francine Brooks | Episode: "Wet" |
| 2014 | The Money | Ellen Knox | Television film |
| 2020 | The Undoing | Janet Fraser | Episode: "Trial by Fury" |
| 2022 | Search Party | Beatrice | 2 episodes |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Dark Side of the Moon | Miner Woman (voice role) | PC version forWindows 95/98 |
Film and television
| Year | Association | Category | Title | Results | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series | Notorious Woman | Won | |
| 1976 | Golden Globe Award | Best Actress in a Television Series – Drama | Nominated | ||
| 1978 | Primetime Emmy Award | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series | Holocaust | Nominated | |
| 1978 | Golden Globe Award | Best actress in a Television Series - Drama | Won | ||
| 1984 | BAFTA Award | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | The Ploughman's Lunch | Nominated | |
| 1994 | Academy Award | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Tom & Viv | Nominated | |
| 1994 | National Board of Review | Best Supporting Actress | Won | ||
| 2007 | Critics' Choice Movie Award | Best Acting Ensemble | Before the Devil Knows You're Dead | Nominated | |
| 2007 | Gotham Award | Best Ensemble Cast | Won |
Theatre accolades
