Lois Smith
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Bibliography
Notes
"Ms. Smith has often played women who are damaged by life yet iron-willed about holding their families together. Many of these characters are informed by a religious awareness. They are pious but also susceptible to evil--an echo of the biblical Eve." --Gioia Diliberto in The New York Times, April 28, 1996.
"I'm more likely to get to do something that's really fu, and I really want to do, in a situation that I really want to be in, in the theater. So much of what's fun about being an actor is the opportunity to have an imaginary life, which becomes part of your present life." --Smith quoted in The New York Times, April 28, 1996.
Biography
An esteemed, highly-charged and highly-talented player of stage, TV and film, Lois Smith has not always been regular in the visual media, but she has made the chances count. She made her Broadway debut as a high school student in "Time Out for Ginger" in 1952, and her TV debut in the live production of "The Apple Tree" the next year. Smith made an auspicious film debut as the thwarted barmaid Ann in Elia Kazan's "East of Eden" (1955). Although she was eclipsed in the public eye by James Dean and Jo Van Fleet, nevertheless, she was rewarded by the critics. Yet it was not until 1970 that Smith again had a showy film role. Her performance as Partita, Jack Nicholson's sister, in Bob Rafelson's "Five Easy Pieces," won her the National Society of Film Critics' Award as Best Supporting Actress. In 1976, she was the suicidal Anita in Paul Mazursky's cinematic memoir, "Next Stop, Greenwich Village" Film roles followed at the rate of about one per year, but rarely did she get to showcase her abilities until 1995 when Smith was the adult Sophie, still thinking of her years as a swimming champion, in Jocelyn Moorhouse's "How to Make an American Quilt" and Susan Sarandon's mother in "Dead Man Walking." In Jan De Bont's "Twister" (1996), she offered stalwart support as scientist Helen Hunt's aunt while in "Larger Than Life" (also 1996), Smith was a retired circus performer.
Smith's TV work in the 70s consisted mostly of daytime dramas, with regular roles on both "Somerset" and "The Doctors." In the 80s, she began to make episodic guest appearances and was featured in several TV-movies, most notably "Skylark" (CBS, 1993). Two years later, she was Harry Truman's waspish, nasty, bigoted mother-in-law in "Truman" for HBO.
For all her TV and film roles, Smith has worked most consistently on stage. Her list of credits includes many plays on Broadway and in key American theaters, such as the Long Wharf in New Haven, CT, and the Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago, IL. It was with the latter that Smith created the role of the indomitable Ma Joad in the stage version of "The Grapes of Wrath" in 1988. She toured with the role before bringing it to Broadway in 1990 which earned her a Tony nomination as Best Supporting Actress. Smith knocked 'em dead when she performed a key scene on the Tony Awards TV broadcast that year and in 1991, when the production aired on PBS. Her co-star, Gary Sinise, cast her as Halie, the matriarch of another family, in his 1995 Chicago production of Sam Shepard's Pulitzer-winning play "Buried Child." Again, Smith recreated the role on Broadway and earned a second Tony nomination. Smith has branched out a bit as a person of the theatre to playwriting and directing. Her "All There Is" was written in 1982 and last performed in a 1985 workshop by the Ensemble Studio Theatre. Smith has also directed at the Juilliard school.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Special Thanks (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1952
Made her Broadway debut as Jeannie in "Time Out for Ginger"
1953
Made her first TV appearance as Megan in the Kraft Television Theater presentation of "The Apple Tree" (ABC)
1955
Made her film debut opposite James Dean in Elia Kazan's "East of Eden"
1957
Appeared in the original production of Tennessee Williams's "Orpheus Descending"
1970
Won acclaim as Jack Nicholson's sister in "Five Easy Pieces"
1972
Landed a regular role on NBC daytime drama "Somerset"
1975
Cast as a regular on NBC daytime drama "The Doctors"
1985
Had her first play as playwright produced, "All There Is"
1990
Played Ma Joad to Gary Sinise's Tom Joad in the Broadway production of "The Grapes of Wrath"; won Tony nomination as Best Featured Actress in a Play
1995
Played Sophie in "How to Make an American Quilt"
1995
Co-starred with Sinise as Harry Truman's mother-in-law in the HBO film "Truman"
1996
Directed by Sinise in stage production of "Buried Child"; earned second Tony nomination as Best Featured Actress in a Play
1996
Cast in a featured role opposite Helen Hunt and Bill Paxton in the natural disaster feature "Twister"
2001
Landed small role in "The Pledge," directed by Sean Penn
2001
Portrayed Brecht's "Mother Courage" at the Steppenwolf Theater in Chicago, Illinois
2002
Starred as Iris Hineman opposite Tom Cruise in "Minority Report"
2003
Landed a recurring role on the ABC daytime drama "One Life to Live"
2004
Appeared opposite Laura Linney in "P.S."
2005
Played Carrie Watts in a revival of Horton Foote's "The Trip to Bountiful" at Signature Theatre Company
2006
Co-starred in the independent film "Sweet Land"
2006
Played Superman actor George Reeves' grieving mother in "Hollywoodland"
2008
Was cast as Adele Stackhouse, Sookie's (Anna Paquin) grandmother on HBO's "True Blood"
2009
Co-starred in "A Dog Year" opposite Jeff Bridges
2010
Guest starred as Tom's (Doug Savant) mother Allison on "Desperate Housewives" (ABC)
2011
Played the ailing mother of the titular character (Ron Eldard) in "Roadie"
2012
Co-starred with Maura Tierney on the short-lived drama "Ruth & Erica"
2014
Originated the role of Marjorie in Jordan Harrison's play, "Marjorie Prime"
2016
Was featured in Robert De Niro vehicle "The Comedian"
2016
Appeared in the period comedy/thriller "The Nice Guys"
2017
Reprised role of Marjorie in feature adaptation, "Marjorie Prime"
2017
Played a nun and catholic school teacher in "Lady Bird," Greta Gerwig's semi-autobiographical love letter to Sacramento, California
Videos
Movie Clip
Trailer
Family
Companions
Bibliography
Notes
"Ms. Smith has often played women who are damaged by life yet iron-willed about holding their families together. Many of these characters are informed by a religious awareness. They are pious but also susceptible to evil--an echo of the biblical Eve." --Gioia Diliberto in The New York Times, April 28, 1996.
"I'm more likely to get to do something that's really fu, and I really want to do, in a situation that I really want to be in, in the theater. So much of what's fun about being an actor is the opportunity to have an imaginary life, which becomes part of your present life." --Smith quoted in The New York Times, April 28, 1996.
