Ellen Burstyn
- Known for
- Acting
- Born
- December 7, 1932
- Birthplace
- Detroit, Michigan, USA
Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women in dramas, she has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards, making her one of the few performers to achieve the "Triple Crown of Acting". She has also received a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award. Burstyn made her acting debut on Broadway in Fair Game in 1957 before winning the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for Same Time, Next Year (1975). She earned the Academy Award for Best Actress as the widow Alice Hyatt in Martin Scorsese's romantic drama Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974). Her other Oscar-nominated roles were in The Last Picture Show (1971), The Exorcist (1973), Same Time, Next Year (1978), Resurrection (1980), and Requiem for a Dream (2000). Her other notable films include Harry and Tonto (1974), How to Make an American Quilt (1995), Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002), W. (2008), Interstellar (2014), The Age of Adaline (2015), and Pieces of a Woman (2020). She won Primetime Emmy Awards for her guest role in the NBC legal drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2009) and supporting role in the USA Network political miniseries Political Animals (2013). Her other Emmy-nominated roles include Pack of Lies (1988), Mrs. Harris (2005), Big Love (2008), Draft Day, Flowers in the Attic (both 2014), and House of Cards (2016). Since 2000, she has been co-president of the Actors Studio, a drama school in New York City. In 2013, she was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame for her work onstage.
Filmography
- Presenting Geraldine Page
Presenting Geraldine Page TBA
Actor
- Bathing Flo
Bathing Flo TBA
Actor, Director
Place to Be 2026
as Brooke
Flesh Impact 2026
as Marilyn Monroe
Breakdown: 1975 2025
as Self
This Ordinary Thing 2025
as Self (voice)
Duse, the Greatest 2025
Actor
E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump 2024
as E. Jean Carroll
Mother, Couch 2024
as Mother
Fear and Love: The Story of The Exorcist 2024
as Self
The Exorcist: Believer 2023
as Chris MacNeil
Three Months 2022
as Valerie
Paul Newman, Behind Blue Eyes 2021
as Herself
Queen Bees 2021
as Helen Wilson
Watch on the Rhine 2021
as Fanny
Pieces of a Woman 2020
as Elizabeth Weiss
Delphine and Carole 2020
as Self (archive footage)
Lucy in the Sky 2019
as Nana Holbrook
American Woman 2019
as Miss Dolly
Steven Arnold: Heavenly Bodies 2019
as Self
The House of Tomorrow 2019
as Josephine Prendergast, Executive Producer
Friedkin Uncut 2018
as Self
Nostalgia 2018
as Helen Greer
All I Wish 2018
as Celia Berges
The Tale 2018
as Nettie
Marilyn Monroe: Auction of a Lifetime 2017
as Self
Wiener-Dog 2016
as Nana
Custody 2016
as Beatrice Fisher
Unity 2015
as Narrator (voice)
About Scout 2015
as Gram
The Age of Adaline 2015
as Flemming
Interstellar 2014
as Murph (older)
The Calling 2014
as Emily Micallef
Petals on the Wind 2014
as Olivia Foxworth
Two Men in Town 2014
as Mère Garnett
Draft Day 2014
as Barb Weaver
River of Fundament 2014
as Hathfertiti
And the Oscar Goes To... 2014
as Self - Interviewee
Flowers in the Attic 2014
as Grandmother
Wish You Well 2013
as Louisa Mae Cardinal
Love, Marilyn 2013
as Self
Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You 2012
as Nanette
Another Happy Day 2011
as Doris Baker
The Mighty Macs 2011
as Mother St. John
- America Lost and Found: The BBS Story
America Lost and Found: The BBS Story 2010
as Self
BBStory: An American Film Renaissance 2010
as Self
Reflections of a Philosopher King 2010
as Self
Main Street 2010
as Georgiana Carr
According to Greta 2009
as Katherine
Lovely, Still 2009
as Mary
PoliWood 2009
as Self
The Velveteen Rabbit 2009
as Swan (voice)
W. 2008
as Barbara Bush
The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond 2008
as Miss Addie
Mitch Albom's For One More Day 2007
as Pauline "Posey" Benetto
The Stone Angel 2007
as Hagar
The Fountain 2006
as Dr. Lillian Guzetti
30 Days 2006
as Maura
The Wicker Man 2006
as Sister Summersisle
Hubert Selby Jr: It/ll Be Better Tomorrow 2006
as Self
Stardust: The Bette Davis Story 2006
as Self
The Elephant King 2006
as Diana Hunt
Mrs. Harris 2005
as Former Tarnower Steady
Our Fathers 2005
as Mary Ryan
The Five People You Meet In Heaven 2004
as Ruby
The Madam's Family: The Truth About the Canal Street Brothel 2004
as Tommie
Second Chances: The Making of "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" 2004
as Self
A Decade Under the Influence 2003
as Self
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood 2003
as Self
Brush with Fate 2003
as Rika
Red Dragon 2002
as Grandma Dolarhyde (voice) (uncredited)
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood 2002
as Vivi
Within These Walls 2001
as Joan Thomas, Executive Producer
The Making of Requiem for a Dream 2001
as Self
Memories, Dreams & Addictions 2001
as Self
Requiem for a Dream 2000
as Sara Goldfarb
Mermaid 2000
as Trish
The Yards 2000
as Val Handler
Walking Across Egypt 1999
as Mattie Rigsbee
The Last Picture Show: A Look Back 1999
as Self
Night Ride Home 1999
as Maggie
Playing by Heart 1998
as Mildred
Marilyn in Manhattan 1998
as Self
You Can Thank Me Later 1998
as Shirley Cooperberg
The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist 1998
as Self - Chris MacNeil
The Patron Saint of Liars 1998
as June Clatterbuck
Flash 1997
as Laura Strong
Deceiver 1997
as Mook
A Deadly Vision 1997
as Yvette Watson
Timepiece 1996
as Maud Gannon
Didn't You Used to Be Satan? 1996
as Self
The Spitfire Grill 1996
as Hannah Ferguson
How to Make an American Quilt 1995
as Hy Dodd
The Baby-Sitters Club 1995
as Mrs. Haberman
Follow The River 1995
as Gretel
- My Brother's Keeper
My Brother's Keeper 1995
as Helen
Roommates 1995
as Judith
Trick of the Eye 1994
as Frances Griffin
Getting Gotti 1994
as Jo Giacalone
When a Man Loves a Woman 1994
as Emily
Getting Out 1994
as Arlie's Mother
- Roots of Roe
Roots of Roe 1993
as Letters of Margaret Sanger (voice)
Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story 1993
as Joan Delvecchio
The Cemetery Club 1993
as Esther Moskowitz
Earth and the American Dream 1992
as Reader (voice)
When It Was a Game 2 1992
as Passage Narrator (voice)
Taking Back My Life: The Nancy Ziegenmeyer Story 1992
as Wilma
Picture This 1991
as Self
Grand Isle 1991
as Mademoiselle Reisz
Dying Young 1991
as Mrs. O'Neil
Mrs. Lambert Remembers Love 1991
as Lillian "Lil" Lambert
When You Remember Me 1990
as Nurse Cooder
The Color of Evening 1990
as Kate O'Rielly
- Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre
Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre 1989
as Self
Hello Actors Studio 1988
as Self
Hanna's War 1988
as Katalin
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam 1987
as Mrs. Stocks (voice)
Pack of Lies 1987
as Barbara Jackson
Something in Common 1986
as Lynn Hollander
Act of Vengeance 1986
as Margaret Yablonski
Into Thin Air 1985
as Joan Walker
Twice in a Lifetime 1985
as Kate MacKenzie
Night of 100 Stars II 1985
as Self
Surviving 1985
as Tina Brogan
The Ambassador 1985
as Alex Hacker
I Love Liberty 1982
as Self
Night of 100 Stars 1982
as Self
Silence of the North 1981
as Olive Frederickson
People vs. Jean Harris 1981
as Jean Harris
Be Pretty and Shut Up! 1981
as Self
Resurrection 1980
as Edna
A Dream of Passion 1978
as Brenda Collins
Same Time, Next Year 1978
as Doris
Providence 1977
as Sonia Langham
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore 1974
as Alice Hyatt
Harry and Tonto 1974
as Shirley
Thursday's Game 1974
as Lynne Evers
- The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute
The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute 1974
as Self (archive footage)
The Exorcist 1973
as Chris MacNeil
The King of Marvin Gardens 1972
as Sally
The Last Picture Show 1971
as Lois Farrow
Alex in Wonderland 1970
as Beth Morrison
Tropic of Cancer 1970
as Mona (uncredited)
Pit Stop 1969
as Ellen McCleod
Goodbye Charlie 1964
as Franny Salzman
For Those Who Think Young 1964
as Dr. Pauline Swenson
Ricochet 1961
as Rose Maxon
- The Christmas Tree
The Christmas Tree 1958
as Elizabeth
Easy Out? 1948
as Mary
Credits from TMDB.