Piper Laurie (born Rosetta Jacobs; January 22, 1932 – October 14, 2023) was an American actress. She is known for her roles in the films The Hustler (1961), Carrie (1976), and Children of a Lesser God (1986), and the miniseries The Thorn Birds (1983). She played Kirsten Arnesen in the original TV production of Days of Wine and Roses, and Catherine Martell in the television series Twin Peaks.
She received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards and a BAFTA Award.
Early life Piper Laurie was born Rosetta Jacobs in Detroit, Michigan, on January 22, 1932. Laurie was the younger of two daughters born to furniture dealer Alfred Jacobs and his wife, Charlotte Sadie ( Alperin) Jacobs. Her paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Poland and her maternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Russia.Piper Laurie profile at Yahoo!
In her 2011 autobiography Learning to Live Out Loud, Laurie said she was born in her family's one-bedroom walk-up on Tyler Street in Detroit. To combat her shyness, her parents provided her with weekly elocution lessons.
Laurie's mother and grandmother placed Laurie's older sister in a sanitarium for her asthma. Laurie was sent along to keep her company."Piper Laurie's life began with abandonment but turned out 'Rich' and 'Beautiful'" , wsj.com. Accessed July 25, 2022.
Career In 1949, Jacobs signed a contract with Universal Studios, and changed her screen name to Piper Laurie, which she used thereafter. Her breakout role was in Louisa (1950) with Ronald Reagan, whom she dated briefly before his marriage to Nancy Davis. In her autobiography, she wrote that she lost her virginity to him. Several other roles followed: Francis Goes to the Races (1951, co-starring Donald O'Connor); Son of Ali Baba (1951, co-starring Tony Curtis); and Ain't Misbehavin' (1955, co-starring Rory Calhoun).
To polish her image, Universal Studios told gossip columnists that Laurie bathed in milk and ate flower petals to protect her luminous skin. Discouraged by the lack of substantial film roles,IMDb reports that in 1955, when she received another script for a Western and "another silly part in a silly movie", she burned the script and called her agent, saying she did not care if they fired her, jailed her, or sued her. she moved to New York City to study acting and to seek work on the stage and in television. She appeared in Twelfth Night, produced by Hallmark Hall of Fame, in "Days of Wine and Roses" with Cliff Robertson, presented by Playhouse 90 on October 2, 1958 (in the film their roles were played by Jack Lemmon and Lee Remick), and in Winterset, presented by Playhouse 90 in 1959.
Laurie was lured back to Hollywood by the offer to co-star with Paul Newman in The Hustler, released in 1961. She played Newman's girlfriend, Sarah Packard, and for her performance, she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Substantial movie roles did not come her way after The Hustler, so she and her husband moved to New York. In 1964, she appeared in two medical dramas—as Alicia Carter in The Eleventh Hour episode "My Door Is Locked and Bolted", and as Alice Marin in the Breaking Point episode "The Summer House". In 1965, she starred in a Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie, opposite Maureen Stapleton, Pat Hingle, and George Grizzard.
Laurie did not appear in another feature film until she accepted the role of religious fanatic Margaret White in the horror film Carrie (1976). She received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance. The commercial success of the film, and recognition for her performance, relaunched her career. Her co-star Sissy Spacek praised her acting skill: "She is a remarkable actress. She never does what you expect her to doshe always surprises you with her approach to a scene."Dick Kleiner, Brownwood Bulletin, May 16, 1976, p. 33
In 1979, Laurie appeared as Mary Horton in the Australian movie Tim opposite Mel Gibson. After her 1981 divorce, Laurie moved to California. She received a third Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Mrs. Norman in Children of a Lesser God (1986). The same year, she was awarded an Emmy for her performance in Promise, a television movie, co-starring James Garner and James Woods. She had a featured role in the Off-Broadway production of The Destiny of Me in 1992, and returned to Broadway for Lincoln Center's acclaimed 2002 revival of Paul Osborn's Morning's at Seven, with Julie Hagerty, Buck Henry, Frances Sternhagen, and Estelle Parsons.
In 1990–1991, Laurie starred as the devious Catherine Martell in David Lynch's television series Twin Peaks. She also appeared in Other People's Money with Gregory Peck (1991), and in horror maestro Dario Argento's first American film Trauma (1993). She played George Clooney's character's mother on ER. In 1997, she appeared in the film A Christmas Memory with Patty Duke, and in 1998, she appeared in the sci-fi thriller The Faculty.
Laurie made guest appearances on television shows such as Frasier, Matlock, State of Grace, and Will & Grace. Laurie also appeared in Cold Case and in a 2001 episode of Law & Order: Special Victims Unit titled "Care", in which she played an adoptive mother and foster grandmother who killed one of the foster granddaughters in her daughter's charge and who abused her adoptive son and foster grandchildren.
She returned to the big screen for independent films, such as Eulogy (2004) and The Dead Girl (2006), opposite actress Toni Collette. In 2010, she played Rainn Wilson's mother in Hesher, and in 2018, she had a supporting role in White Boy Rick as the grandmother of the title character.
Personal life
Laurie was married to New York Herald Tribune entertainment writer and Wall Street Journal movie critic Joe Morgenstern. They met shortly after the release of The Hustler in 1961 when Morgenstern interviewed her during the film's promotion. They soon began dating, and nine months after the interview, they were married on January 21, 1962. When no substantial roles came her way after The Hustler, she and Morgenstern moved to Woodstock, New York. In 1971, they adopted a daughter. In 1982, the couple divorced, after which she moved to the Hollywood area and continued working in films and television.
She had previously dated actor and future U.S. president Ronald Reagan.
In 1962, she was Harvard's Hasty Pudding Woman of the Year. In 2000, she received the Spirit of Hope Award in Korea for her service during the Korean War. She appeared at the September 2014 Mid-Atlantic Nostalgia Convention in Hunt Valley, Maryland.
Laurie was also a sculptor who worked with marble and clay.
Death Having been unwell for some time, Laurie died in Los Angeles on October 14, 2023, at age 91.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes Ref. 1950 Louisa Cathy Norton Film debut Chris Abbott1951 Francis Goes to the Races Frances Travers Tina1952 No Room for the Groom Lee Kingshead Has Anybody Seen My Gal Millicent Blaisdell Son of Ali Baba Princess Azura of Fez / Kiki 1953 Angelique "Leia" Dureau Khairuzan 1954 Dangerous Mission Louise Graham Johnny Dark Liz Fielding Dawn at Socorro Rannah Hayes 1955 Smoke Signal Laura Evans Ain't Misbehavin' Sarah Bernhardt Hatfield1957 Kelly and MeMina Van Runkel Until They Sail Delia Leslie Friskett 1961 Sarah Packard Nominated—Academy Award for Best Actress Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Foreign Actress Nominated—Golden Laurel Award for Top Female Dramatic Performance Nominated—New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actress 1976 Carrie Margaret White Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture The Woman Rebel Margaret Sanger 1977 Ruby Ruby Claire 1979 Tim Mary Horton 1981 The Bunker Magda Goebbels 1985 Return to Oz Aunt Em 1986 Children of a Lesser God Mrs. Willa Norman Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress 1988 Appointment with Death Emily Boynton Tiger Warsaw Frances Warsaw 1989 Dream a Little Dream Gena Ettinger 1991 Other People's Money Bea Sullivan 1992 Storyville Constance Fowler Rich in LoveVera Delmage 1993 Trauma Adriana Petrescu Nominated—Fangoria Chainsaw Award for Best Supporting Actress Wrestling Ernest Hemingway Georgia 1995 Dolly Talbo Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress The Crossing Guard Helen Booth 1998 Mrs. Olson 2004 Eulogy Charlotte Collins 2006 The Dead Girl Arden's mother 2007 Hounddog Grammie 2009 Saving Grace B. Jones Marta Shank 2010 Hesher Madeleine Forney, T.J.'s grandmother Another Harvest Moon June 2012 Bad Blood Milly Lathtrop 2018 Snapshots Rose Muller White Boy Rick Vera Wershe
Television