Lee Grant
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- October 31, 1925
- Birthplace
- New York City, New York, USA
Lee Grant (born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal; October 31, 1925) is an American actress and director. She made her film debut in 1951 as a young shoplifter in William Wyler's Detective Story, co-starring Kirk Douglas and Eleanor Parker. This role earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress as well as the Best Actress Award at the 1952 Cannes Film Festival. In 1952 she was blacklisted from most acting jobs for the next 12 years. She was able to find only occasional work onstage or as a teacher during this period. It also contributed to her divorce. She was removed from the blacklist in 1962 and rebuilt her acting career. She starred in 71 TV episodes of Peyton Place (1965–1966), followed by lead roles in films such as Valley of the Dolls, In the Heat of the Night (both 1967), and Shampoo (1975), for the last of which she won an Oscar. In 1964, she won the Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actress for her performance in The Maids. During her career she was nominated for the Emmy Award seven times between 1966 and 1993, winning twice. In 1986 she directed Down and Out in America which tied for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, and in the same year she also won a Directors Guild of America Award for Nobody's Child.
Filmography
Dangerous Citizen: The Life and Times of Abraham Polonsky 2026
as Self
Sidney Poitier - The Man Who Changed Hollywood 2023
as Self
Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster 2021
as Self
Killian & the Comeback Kids 2020
as Ms. Hunter (voice)
Hal 2019
as Self
Scandal: The Trial of Mary Astor 2018
as Narrator (voice)
Seeing Is Believing: Women Direct 2017
as Self
Truth and Lies: The Family Manson 2017
Actor
Actresses Turned Producer/Directors 2014
Actor
Reel Herstory: The Real Story of Reel Women 2014
as Self
Baghdad ER 2006
Executive Producer
Gotta Get Off This Merry-Go-Round: 'Valley of the Dolls' 2006
as Miriam (archive footage)
- Tribute To Burgess Meredith
Tribute To Burgess Meredith 2006
as Self (voice)
Going Shopping 2005
as Winnie
A Father… A Son… Once Upon a Time in Hollywood 2005
Director, Producer
Arthur Miller, Elia Kazan and the Blacklist: None Without Sin 2003
as Self
The John Garfield Story 2003
as Self
The Golden Girls: Lifetime Intimate Portrait Series 2003
Director
The Omen Legacy 2001
as Self
Hidden Values: The Movies of the Fifties 2001
as Self
- The Gun Deadlock
The Gun Deadlock 2001
Director
Mulholland Drive 2001
as Louise
The Amati Girls 2001
as Aunt Spendora
Dr. T & the Women 2000
as Dr. Harper
Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light 2000
as Narrator, Director
The Loretta Claiborne Story 2000
Director
Poor Liza 2000
as Countess Ekaterina
- Confronting the Crisis: Childcare in America
Confronting the Crisis: Childcare in America 1999
as Narrator, Director, Producer
- Intimate Portrait: Lauren Bacall
Intimate Portrait: Lauren Bacall 1999
Director
- Say It, Fight It, Cure It
Say It, Fight It, Cure It 1997
as Narrator/Host, Director, Producer
Who Is Henry Jaglom? 1997
as Self
The Substance of Fire 1996
as Cora Cahn
It's My Party 1996
as Amalia Stark
Rod Serling: Submitted for Your Approval 1995
as Narrator
Reunion 1994
Director
Following Her Heart 1994
Director
Under Heat 1994
as Jane
Seasons of the Heart 1994
Director
Women on Trial 1992
as Narrator, Director, Producer
Earth and the American Dream 1992
as Reader (voice)
Citizen Cohn 1992
as Dora Cohn
The Iceman Tapes: Conversations with a Killer 1992
as Narrator
In My Daughter's Name 1992
as Maureen Leeds
Something to Live for: The Alison Gertz Story 1992
as Carol Gertz
Defending Your Life 1991
as Lena Foster
She Said No 1990
as D.A. Doris Cantore
- Sanford Meisner: The American Theatre's Best Kept Secret
Sanford Meisner: The American Theatre's Best Kept Secret 1990
as Self
No Place Like Home 1989
Director
Staying Together 1989
Director
Battered 1989
as Narrator, Director, Producer
The Hijacking of the Achille Lauro 1989
as Marilyn Klinghoffer
Hello Actors Studio 1988
as Self
Calling the Shots 1988
as Self
The Big Town 1987
as Ferguson Edwards
Down and Out in America 1986
as Narrator (voice), Director
Nobody's Child 1986
Director
Cindy Eller: A Modern Fairy Tale 1985
Director
What Sex Am I? 1985
as Self, Director
Teachers 1984
as Dr. Donna Burke
A Billion for Boris 1984
as Sascha Harris
A Matter of Sex 1984
Director
When Women Kill 1983
as Herself, Director
Will There Really Be a Morning? 1983
as Lillian Farmer
Plaza Suite 1982
as Norma Hubley / Muriel Tate / Karen Nash
Visiting Hours 1982
as Deborah Ballin
A Crime to Fit the Punishment 1982
as Narrator
Thou Shalt Not Kill 1982
as Maxine Lochman
For Ladies Only 1981
as Anne Holt
The Willmar 8 1981
as Narrator, Writer, Director
The Million Dollar Face 1981
as Evalyna
Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen 1981
as Mrs. Sylvia Lupowitz
Tell Me a Riddle 1980
as Flight Attendant (voice), Director
Little Miss Marker 1980
as The Judge
You Can't Go Home Again 1979
as Esther Jack
When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder? 1979
as Clarisse Ethridge
The Good Doctor 1978
as Various Roles
The Swarm 1978
as Anne MacGregor
Damien - Omen II 1978
as Ann Thorn
The Mafu Cage 1978
as Ellen
Airport '77 1977
as Karen Wallace
The Spell 1977
as Marion Matchett
Voyage of the Damned 1976
as Lili Rosen
Perilous Voyage 1976
as Virginia Monroe
TVTV Looks at the Oscars 1976
as Self
The Stronger 1976
Writer, Director
Shampoo 1975
as Felicia Karpf
The Seagull 1975
as Irina Arkadina
For the Use of the Hall 1975
Director
The Internecine Project 1974
as Jean Robertson
Why Me? 1974
as Narrator (voice)
What Are Best Friends For? 1973
as Adele Ross
Partners in Crime 1973
as Judge Meredith Leland
Lieutenant Schuster's Wife 1972
as Ellie Schuster
Ransom for a Dead Man 1972
as Leslie Williams
Portnoy's Complaint 1972
as Sophie Portnoy
Plaza Suite 1971
as Norma Hubley
The Neon Ceiling 1971
as Carrie Miller
Night Slaves 1970
as Marjorie Howard
There Was a Crooked Man... 1970
as Mrs. Bullard
The Landlord 1970
as Joyce Enders
Marooned 1969
as Celia Pruett
The Big Bounce 1969
as Joanne
Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell 1968
as Fritzie Braddock
The Love Song of Barney Kempinski 1968
as Laura
Valley of the Dolls 1967
as Miriam Polar
In the Heat of the Night 1967
as Mrs. Leslie Colbert
Divorce American Style 1967
as Dede Murphy
- Deadlock
Deadlock 1967
as Virginia Cloyd
Pie in the Sky 1964
as Suzy
An Affair of the Skin 1963
as Katherine McCleod
The Balcony 1963
as Carmen
The World of Sholom Aleichem 1959
as The Goatseller / Avenging Angel
Middle of the Night 1959
as Marilyn
Three Plays by Tennessee Williams 1958
as Jane (Segment "Moony's Kid Don't Cry")
Storm Fear 1955
as Edna
Detective Story 1951
as Shoplifter
Credits from TMDB.