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| Mercedes Ruehl | |
|---|---|
| Born | Mercedes J. Ruehl February 28, 1948 Queens, New York |
| Occupation | Actor |
| Spouse(s) | David Geiser |
Mercedes J. Ruehl (February 28, 1948) is an American theater, television and film actor.
Contents |
Biography
Personal life
Ruehl was born in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York. Her father was an FBI agent and her mother, also named Mercedes, was a school teacher.1 She was raised Catholic,2 and has German, Irish, and Cuban ancestry.3 Ruehl attended College of New Rochelle4 and graduated in 1969. She is married to painter David Geiser, with whom she adopted a son, Jake (born 1997).5 She had another son, Christopher, whom she placed in adoption in 1976; Christopher later became Jake's godfather.5
Career
Ruehl began her career in regional theatre with the Denver Center Theatre Company, taking odd jobs between engagements. In the late 1970s, Ruehl began chalking up New York stage successes, notably in I'm Not Rappaport (1985). On the stage, she won the 1985 Obie Award for her performance in The Marriage of Bette and Boo and twenty years later, an Obie for Woman Before a Glass. She also received a 1991 Tony Award as Best Actress (Play) for Lost in Yonkers. Her performances in two other plays earned her two other Tony nominations:
- In 1995 as Best Actress (Featured Role - Play) for a revival of The Shadow Box;
- In 2002 as Best Actress (Play) for Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?.
Her most acclaimed film role was in The Fisher King; her performance in the film earned her the 1991 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as an American Comedy Award, a Boston Society of Film Critics Award, a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, and a Golden Globe. Earlier she had won the 1989 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Married to the Mob. She played KACL station manager Kate Costas in five episodes of Frasier, and had a major role in the made-for-TV film All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story. She is the first Cuban American female Academy Award winner.
She has also played the mother of Vincent Chase in HBO's Entourage.
Work
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1976 | Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands | American girl in casino | |
| 1979 | The Warriors | Policewoman in Central Park | |
| 1981 | Four Friends | Woman in Taxi | |
| 1986 | Twisted | Cybelle | |
| Heartburn | Eve | ||
| 1987 | Leader of the Band | Miss Cooper | |
| Radio Days | Ad Men | ||
| 84 Charing Cross Road | Kay | ||
| The Secret of My Succe$s | Sheila | ||
| 1988 | Big | Mrs. Baskin | |
| Married to the Mob | Connie Russo | ||
| 1989 | Slaves of New York | Samantha | |
| Crimes and Misdemeanors | Party Guest | uncredited | |
| 1990 | Crazy People | Dr. Liz Baylor | |
| 1991 | Another You | Elaine | |
| The Fisher King | Anne Napolitano | Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe |
|
| 1993 | Lost in Yonkers | Bella Kurnitz | |
| Last Action Hero | Irene Madigan | ||
| 1994 | On Hope | Wendy | |
| 1995 | Indictment: The McMartin Trial | ||
| 1997 | Roseanna's Grave | Roseanna 'Rosa' | |
| 1999 | The Minus Man | Jane Durwin | |
| Out of the Cold | Tina | ||
| 2000 | Spooky House | Boss | |
| What's Cooking? | Elizabeth 'Lizzy' Avila | ||
| More Dogs Than Bones | Victoria 'Vic' Galletti | ||
| The Amati Girls | Grace | ||
| 2004 | Zeyda and the Hitman | Esther | |
| 2007 | A Happy Death | Aunt Rosa |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Other notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1984 | Mom's on Strike | Sandy | |
| 1985 | Our Family Honor | Louise Taylor | Episode "Homecoming" |
| 1986 | Kate & Allie | Herself | Episode "Late Bloomer" |
| 1990 | The Cosby Show | Bernadette Foley | Episode "The Moves" |
| 1995 | Indictment: The McMartin Trial | Lael Rubin | |
| 1995 -1996 |
Frasier | Kate Costas | 5 episodes |
| 1997 | SUBWAY Stories: Tales from the Underground | Leyla | segment "Underground" |
| North Shore Fish | Florence | ||
| 1998 | Gia | Kathleen Carangi | |
| 2000 | All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story | Jane Newhall | |
| The Lost Child | Rebecca | ||
| 2001 | Mr. Life | ||
| 2002 | Guilt by Association | Susan Walker | |
| Widows | Dolly Rawlins | TV mini-series | |
| 2004 | 1-800-Missing | Emanuelle Baker | Episode "These Dreams Before Me" |
| Bad Apple | Lorraine Gibbons | ||
| Law & Order | Zina Rybakov | Episode "All in the Family" | |
| 2005 | Mom at Sixteen | Terry Jeffries | |
| 2006 | Entourage | Mrs. Chase | HBO episodes "Aquamom" and "Return To Queens Blvd" |
| A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story | Sylvia Guerrero | ||
| 2007 | Psych | Detective Goochberg | Episode "Scary Sherry: Bianca's Toast" |
References
- ^ Mercedes Ruehl biography. Film Reference.com.
- ^ Ruehl, Mercedes. Casting a new light on a dark subject - novelist Cynthia Ozick - Interview. Interview. August 1994. FindArticles.com.
- ^ Corliss, Richard. That Old Feeling: The Oscar Race. Time Magazine. 6 April 2002.
- ^ About CNR. College of New Rochelle. Access date 6 January 2008.
- ^ a b Mercedes Ruehl. Yahoo Movies.
External links
- Mercedes Ruehl at the Internet Broadway Database
- Mercedes Ruehl at the Internet Movie Database
- ITDb
- Ruehl Rules, a May 2005 Playbill article
- Brief Encounter with Mercedes Ruehl, a May 2002 Playbill interview
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by S. Epatha Merkerson for The Piano Lesson |
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play 1990-1991 for Lost in Yonkers |
Succeeded by Laura Esterman for Marvin's Room |
| Preceded by Whoopi Goldberg for Ghost |
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture for The Fisher King 1992 |
Succeeded by Joan Plowright for Enchanted April |
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| Persondata | |
|---|---|
| NAME | Ruehl, Mercedes |
| ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Ruehl, Mercedes J. |
| SHORT DESCRIPTION | Actress |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 28, 1948 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Queens, New York |
| DATE OF DEATH | |
| PLACE OF DEATH | |
Wikipedia content modification information:
- This page was last modified on 28 November 2008, at 22:42.
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