Beth Grant
About
Biography
Biography
Renowned for playing a whole host of love-to-hate characters, Beth Grant only began her screen career in her late 30s but became one of the most prolific character actresses of her generation. Born in Gadsden, AL in 1949, Grant graduated from East Carolina University with a degree in acting and directing and spent most of her early years treading the boards. In 1979, she made her TV debut in trucker comedy "B.J. and the Bear" (NBC 1979-1981) but with the exception of the odd daytime TV appearance, continued to focus on her theater work during the following decade. But Grant's priorities changed after she appeared in "Rain Man" (1988), the first of three Oscar-winning Best Pictures on her resume, and by the mid-90s, she'd racked up performances in horrors "Child's Play 2" (1990) and "The Dark Half" (1993), dramas "Eating" (1990) and "Love Field" (1992) and comedies "The Wizard" (1989) and "The Boyfriend School" (1990) as well as recurring roles on sitcoms "Coach" (ABC 1989-1997) and "Delta" (ABC 1992-93). Following an unforgettable cameo in the action thriller "Speed" (1994), Grant continued to combine guest parts on TV shows such as "Friends" (NBC 1994-2004), "Sabrina, The Teenage Witch" (ABC 1996-2000) and "Angel" (The WB 1999-2004) with minor but memorable big-screen roles in the likes of "To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar" (1995), "A Time To Kill" (1996) and "Lawn Dogs" (1997). Grant then landed one of her defining roles when she was cast as the highly-strung Sparkle Motion mom in cult classic "Donnie Darko" (2001), and after adding to her extensive and eclectic filmography with small parts in blockbuster "Pearl Harbor" (2001), baseball flick "The Rookie" (2002) and black comedy "Daltry Calhoun" (2005), made a similar lasting impression as uptight Pageant Official Jenkins in "Little Miss Sunshine" (2006). In the same year of her career, she had a memorable guest spot on the cult favorite sitcom "My Name Is Earl" (NBC 2005-08), played Dr. Inga Von Westphalen in another Richard Kelly mindbender, "Southland Tales" (2006) and portrayed Andy Warhol's mother Julia in Edie Sedgwick biopic "Factory Girl" (2006). Following a ten-episode stint as opinionated grocery store owner Gracie Leigh in "Jericho" (CBS, 2006-08), Grant went onto play Carla Jean's mother in the Coen Brothers' Academy Award-winning "No Country For Old Men" (2007) and Mrs. Horowitz in the Razzie-winning "All About Steve" (2009), and star alongside her husband Michael Chieffo in the quirky comedy she also produced, "Herpes Boy" (2009). After appearing as Peppy's maid in silent movie homage "The Artist" (2011) and starring opposite James Franco in "As I Lay Dying" (2013), Grant was promoted to series regular on "The Mindy Project" (Fox 2012- ) as abrasive nurse Beverly.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Producer (Feature Film)
Misc. Crew (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Cast (TV Mini-Series)
Life Events
1979
Made her TV debut in trucker comedy "B.J. and the Bear"
1988
After a decade focused on theater, she returned to the screen with "Rain Man"
1989
Played a small role in the Nintendo commercial/family drama "The Wizard"
1989
Had a recurring role on "Coach"
1990
Appeared in cult horror sequel "Child's Play 2"
1992
Played Thelma Wainwright on "Delta"
1993
Played nurse Shayla Beaumont in "The Dark Half"
1994
Had a guest role on "Friends"
1994
Had an unforgettable cameo in action thriller "Speed"
1995
Had a minor-but-memorable role in "To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything! Julie Newmar"
1996
Cast as Cora Mae Cobb in "A Time to Kill"
2001
Had a small role in Michael Bay epic "Pearl Harbor"
2001
Landed one of her defining roles as the highly-strung Sparkle Motion mom in Richard Kelly's cult classic "Donnie Darko"
2002
Appeared in baseball flick "The Rookie"
2005
Featured in dark comedy "Daltry Calhoun"
2006
Reteamed with director Richard Kelly for "Southland Tales"
2006
Had her next big break as an uptight pageant official in "Little Miss Sunshine"
2006
Had a memorable guest spot on "My Name Is Earl"
2006
Portrayed Andy Warhol's mother Julia in Edie Sedgwick biopic "Factory Girl"
2006
Had a ten-episode stint as opinionated grocery store owner Gracie Leigh in "Jericho"
2007
Played Carla Jean's mother in the Coen brothers' Academy Award-winning "No Country For Old Men"
2009
Cast as Mrs. Horowitz in the Razzie-winning "All About Steve"
2009
Starred alongside husband Michael Chieffo in the quirky comedy she also produced, "Herpes Boy"
2011
Appeared as Peppy's maid in silent movie homage "The Artist"
2012
Had guest spots on popular series including "Dexter," "Justified," and "Grey's Anatomy"
2012
Was a series regular on "The Mindy Project" (Fox 2012- ) as abrasive nurse Beverly
2013
Starred opposite James Franco in "As I Lay Dying"
2016
Cast as Lady Bird Johnson in Kennedy biopic "Jackie"
2017
Had a recurring role on "American Gods"
2017
Featured in John Carroll Lynch's directorial debut, "Lucky"
Videos
Movie Clip
