Ruth Gordon

American actress and writer (1896-1985)

For other people named Ruth Gordon, see Ruth Gordon (disambiguation).

Ruth Gordon

Gordon in 1930

Born|

Ruth Gordon Jones

(1896-10-30)October 30, 1896

Quincy, Massachusetts, U.S.

Died| August 28, 1985(1985-08-28) (aged 88)

Edgartown, Massachusetts, U.S.

Occupations|

* Actress
* writer

Years active| 1915–1985
Spouses|

Gregory Kelly

(m. 1921; died 1927)​

Garson Kanin

(m. 1942)​

Partner(s)| Jed Harris
(1929 - c. 1930s)
Children| 1

Ruth Gordon Jones (October 30, 1896 – August 28, 1985) was an American actress, screenwriter, and playwright. She began her career performing on Broadway at age 19. Known for her nasal voice and distinctive personality, Gordon gained international recognition and critical acclaim for film roles that continued into her 70s and 80s. Her later work included performances in Rosemary's Baby (1968), What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice (1969), Where's Poppa? (1970), Harold and Maude (1971), Every Which Way but Loose (1978), and Any Which Way You Can (1980).[1]

In addition to her acting career, Gordon wrote numerous plays, film scripts, and books, most notably co-writing the screenplay for the 1949 film Adam's Rib. Gordon won an Academy Award, a Primetime Emmy, and two Golden Globe Awards for her acting, as well as three Academy Award nominations for her writing.

## Contents

* 1 Early life and education
* 2 Career
* 2.1 Silent films
* 2.2 1930s
* 2.3 1940s
* 2.4 1950s
* 2.5 1960s
* 2.6 Later career
* 3 Death and legacy
* 4 Acting credits
* 4.1 Film
* 4.2 Television
* 4.3 Theatre
* 5 Writing credits
* 6 Awards and nominations
* 7 See also
* 8 References
* 9 External links

## Early life and education[edit | edit source]

File:Ruth-Gordon-at-Four.jpg

Gordon at age four

Ruth Gordon Jones was born in Quincy, Massachusetts, at 41 Winthrop Avenue. She later resided at 41 Marion Street (1901–1903) and 14 Elmwood Avenue (1903–1914). All three homes are in the Wollaston section of town.[2]

She was the child of Annie Tapley (née Ziegler) and Clinton Jones. Her only sibling was an older half-sister Claire, from her father's first marriage.[3] She was baptized an Episcopalian.[4][5] Her first appearance in the public eye came as an infant when her photograph was used in advertising for her father's employer, Mellin's Food for Infants and Invalids.[6] Prior to graduating from Quincy High School, she wrote to several of her favorite actresses requesting autographed pictures. A personal reply from Hazel Dawn (whom she had seen in a stage production of The Pink Lady) inspired her to go into acting.[7] Although her father was skeptical of her chances of success in a difficult profession, in 1914, he took his daughter to New York, where he enrolled her in the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

## Career[edit | edit source]

### Silent films[edit | edit source]

Gregory Kelly and Gordon in the 1918 Broadway production of Seventeen

File:Garson Kanin and Ruth Gordon 1946.JPG

Gordon with Garson Kanin, 1946

In 1915, Gordon appeared as an extra in silent films that were shot in Fort Lee, New Jersey, including as a dancer in The Whirl of Life, a film based on the lives of Vernon and Irene Castle.[citation needed] That same year, she made her Broadway debut in a revival of Peter Pan, or the Boy Who Wouldn't Grow Up, in the role of Nibs (one of the Lost Boys), appearing onstage with Maude Adams and earning a favorable mention from powerful critic Alexander Woollcott. He described her favorably as "ever so gay", and became her friend and mentor.[7]

In 1918, Gordon played opposite actor Gregory Kelly in the Broadway adaptation of Booth Tarkington's Seventeen. The pair continued to perform together in North American tours of Frank Craven's The First Year and Tarkington's Clarence and Tweedles. Then in 1921, Gordon and Kelly were wed.

In December 1920, Gordon checked into a Chicago hospital to have her legs broken and straightened to treat her lifelong bow-leggedness.[8] After a three-month recovery, Kelly and she relocated to Indianapolis, where they started a repertory company.

Kelly died of heart disease in 1927, at the age of 36. Gordon at the time had been enjoying a comeback, appearing on Broadway as Bobby in Maxwell Anderson's Saturday's Children, performing in a serious role after being typecast for years as a "beautiful, but dumb" character.[7]

In 1929, Gordon was starring in the hit play Serena Blandish when she became pregnant by the show's producer, Jed Harris. Their son, Jones Harris, was born in Paris that year and Gordon brought him back to New York. Although they never married, Gordon and Harris provided their son with a normal[clarification needed] upbringing and his parentage became public knowledge as social conventions changed.[9] In 1932, the family was living discreetly in a small, elegant New York City brownstone.[10]

Gordon as Lola Pratt, holding her dog "Flopit" in the Broadway production Seventeen, 1918

### 1930s[edit | edit source]

Gordon continued to act on the stage throughout the 1930s, including notable runs as Mattie in Ethan Frome, Margery Pinchwife in William Wycherley's Restoration comedy The Country Wife at London's Old Vic and on Broadway, and Nora Helmer in Henrik Ibsen's A Doll's House at Central City, Colorado, and on Broadway.[11]

### 1940s[edit | edit source]

Gordon was signed to a Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer film contract for a brief period in the early 1930s, but did not make a movie for the company until her supporting role in Greta Garbo's final film, Two-Faced Woman (1941). Gordon had better luck at other studios in Hollywood, appearing in supporting roles in a string of films, including Abe Lincoln in Illinois (as Mary Todd Lincoln), Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet (as Mrs. Ehrlich) and Action in the North Atlantic, in the early 1940s. Gordon's Broadway acting appearances in the 1940s included Iris in Paul Vincent Carroll's The Strings, My Lord, Are False, Natasha in Katharine Cornell and Guthrie McClintic's revival of Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters, and leading roles in her own plays, Over Twenty-One and The Leading Lady.

Gordon married her second husband, writer Garson Kanin, in 1942. Gordon and Kanin collaborated on the screenplays for the Katharine Hepburn – Spencer Tracy films Adam's Rib (1949) and Pat and Mike (1952). Both films were directed by George Cukor. They were close friends of Hepburn and Tracy, and incorporated elements of the actors' real personalities in the films. Gordon and Kanin received Academy Award nominations for both of those screenplays, as well as for that of a prior film, A Double Life (1947), which was also directed by Cukor.[12][13][14]

### 1950s[edit | edit source]

The Actress (1953) was Gordon's film adaptation of her own autobiographical play, Years Ago, filmed by MGM with Jean Simmons portraying the girl from Quincy, Massachusetts, who convinced her sea captain father to let her go to New York to become an actress. Gordon would go on to write three volumes of memoirs in the 1970s: My Side, Myself Among Others, and An Open Book.[15][16][17]

Gordon continued her stage-acting career in the 1950s, and was nominated for a 1956 Tony, for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play, for her portrayal of Dolly Levi in Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker, a role she also played in London, Edinburgh, and Berlin.

File:Natalie Wood Ruth Gordon 23rd Golden Globes.jpg

Gordon and Natalie Wood at the Golden Globes, 1966

### 1960s[edit | edit source]

In 1966, Gordon was nominated for an Academy Award and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress for Inside Daisy Clover opposite Natalie Wood. It was her first nomination for acting. Three years later, in 1969, she won an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for Rosemary's Baby, a film adaptation of Ira Levin's bestselling horror novel about a satanic cult residing in an Upper West Side apartment building in Manhattan. In accepting the award onstage, Gordon thanked the academy by saying, "I can't tell you how encouraging a thing like this is ..." (rousing laughter from the audience). At the time she had been in the business for 50 years and was 72 years old. "And thank all of you who voted for me, and to everyone who didn't: please, excuse me", she added, prompting more laughter and applause.

Gordon won another Golden Globe for Rosemary's Baby, and was nominated again, in 1971, for her role as Maude in Harold and Maude (with Bud Cort as her love interest).[18]

### Later career[edit | edit source]

She went on to appear in 22 more films and at least that many television appearances through her 70s and 80s, including successful sitcoms such as Rhoda (as the mother of the unseen doorman Carlton, which earned her an Emmy nomination) and Newhart. She portrayed a murderous author on the 1977 episode Columbo: Try and Catch Me. She made countless talk-show appearances, in addition to hosting Saturday Night Live in 1977.[19]

Gordon won an Emmy Award for a guest appearance on the sitcom Taxi, for a 1979 episode called "Sugar Mama", in which her character tries to solicit the services of a taxi driver, played by series star Judd Hirsch, as a male escort.[1]

Her last Broadway appearance was as Mrs. Warren in George Bernard Shaw's Mrs. Warren's Profession, produced by Joseph Papp at the Vivian Beaumont Theater in 1976. In the summer of 1976, Gordon starred in the leading role of her own play, Ho! Ho! Ho! at the Cape Playhouse in Dennis, Massachusetts. She had a minor role as Ma Boggs, the mother of Orville Boggs (Geoffrey Lewis), in the Clint Eastwood films Every Which Way but Loose and Any Which Way You Can.

In 1983, Gordon was awarded the Women in Film Crystal Award for outstanding women who, through their endurance and the excellence of their work, have helped to expand the role of women within the entertainment industry.[20]

Harold and Maude, Adam's Rib, and Rosemary's Baby have been selected for preservation in the National Film Registry of the United States Library of Congress.

## Death and legacy[edit | edit source]

On August 28, 1985, Gordon died at her summer home in Edgartown, Massachusetts, following a stroke at age 88.[1] Her husband for 43 years, Garson Kanin, was at her side and said that even her last day of life was typically full, with walks, talks, errands, and a morning of work on a new play. She had made her last public appearance two weeks before, at a benefit showing of the film Harold and Maude, and had recently finished acting in four films.

In August 1979, a small movie theater in Westboro, Massachusetts, was named the Ruth Gordon Flick. She attended the opening ceremony, standing on a bench in the lobby so she could be seen. The theater no longer exists.[21][22] In November 1984, the outdoor amphitheater in Merrymount Park[23] in Quincy, Massachusetts, was named Ruth Gordon Amphitheater[24] in her honor.[25]

## Acting credits[edit | edit source]

### Film[edit | edit source]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1915  | The Whirl of Life | Extra  | Uncredited
Madame Butterfly | Minor Role  | Uncredited
Camille | Party Guest  | Uncredited
1940  | Abe Lincoln in Illinois | Mary Todd Lincoln |
Dr. Ehrlich's Magic Bullet | Hedwig Ehrlich  |
1941  | Two-Faced Woman | Miss Ruth Ellis, Larry's Secretary  |
1943  | Edge of Darkness | Anna Stensgard  |
Action in the North Atlantic | Mrs. Sarah Jarvis  |
1965  | Inside Daisy Clover | Lucile Clover  |
1966  | Lord Love a Duck | Stella Bernard  |
1968  | Rosemary's Baby | Minnie Castevet  |
1969  | What Ever Happened to Aunt Alice? | Alice Dimmock  |
1970  | Where's Poppa? | Mrs. Hocheiser  |
1971  | Harold and Maude | Maude  |
1976  | The Big Bus | Old Woman  |
1978  | Every Which Way But Loose | Senovia "Ma" Boggs  |
1979  | Boardwalk | Becky Rosen  |
Scavenger Hunt | Arvilla Droll  |
1980  | My Bodyguard | Gramma Peache  |
Any Which Way You Can | Senovia "Ma" Boggs  |
1982  | Jimmy the Kid | Bernice  |
1985  | Delta Pi | Mugsy  |
Voyage of the Rock Aliens | Sheriff  | Filmed in 1983
Maxie | Mrs. Lavin  |
1987  | The Trouble with Spies | Mrs. Arkwright  | Filmed in 1984; Final film role

### Television[edit | edit source]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1950  | Prudential Family Playhouse | Paula Wharton  | Episode: "Over 21"
1966  | Blithe Spirit | Madame Arcati  | Television movie
1973  | Isn't It Shocking? | Marge Savage  | Television movie
1975  | Kojak | Miss Eudora Temple  | Episode: "I Want to Report a Dream"
Rhoda | Carlton's Mother  | Episode: "Kiss Your Epaulets Goodbye"
Medical Story | Emily Dobson  | Episode: The Right to Die
1976  | The Great Houdini | Cecilia Weiss  | Television movie
Look What's Happened to Rosemary's Baby | Minnie Castevet  | Television movie
Emergency! | Lenore  | Episode: "The Nuisance"
1977  | Columbo | Abigail Mitchell  | Episode: "Try and Catch Me"
Saturday Night Live | Host  | Episode: "Ruth Gordon/Chuck Berry"
The Love Boat | Mrs. Warner  | Episode: "Joker Is Mild, The/First Time Out/Take My Granddaughter, Please"
The Prince of Central Park | Mrs. Miller  | Television movie
1978  | Perfect Gentlemen | Mrs. Cavagnaro  | Television movie
1979  | Taxi | Dee Wilcox  | Episode: "Sugar Mama"
1980  | Hardhat and Legs | Grandmother  | Uncredited; also writer
1982  | Don't Go to Sleep | Bernice  | Television movie
1983–84  | Newhart | Blanche Devane  | Episodes: "Grandma, What a Big Mouth You Have" and "Go, Grandma, Go"

### Theatre[edit | edit source]

Year  | Title  | Role  | Notes

|
|
|

1916  | Peter Pan | Nibs  | Revival
1918  | Seventeen | Lola Pratt  |
1923  | Tweedles | Winsora  |
1925  | Mrs. Partridge Presents | Katherine Everitt  |
1925  | The Fall of Eve | Eva Hutton  |
1928  | Saturday's Children | Bobby  |
1929  | Serena Blandish | Serena Blandish  |
1929  | Lady Fingers | Ruth  | Also in ensemble
1930  | Hotel Universe | Lily Malone  |
1930  | The Violet and One, Two, Three | Ilona Stobri  | The Violet
1931  | The Wiser They Are | Trixie Ingram  |
1932  | A Church Mouse | Susie Sachs  |
1932  | Here Today | Mary Hilliard  |
1933  | Three-Cornered Moon | Elizabeth Rimplegar  |
1934  | They Shall Not Die | Lucy Wells  |
1934  | A Sleeping Clergyman | Harriet Marshall
Hope Cameron
Wilhelmina Cameron  |
1936  | Ethan Frome | Mattie Silver  |
1937  | The Country Wife | Mrs. Margery Pinchwife  |
1938  | A Doll's House | Nora Helmer  |
1942  | The Strings, My Lord, Are False | Iris Ryan  |
1943  | The Three Sisters | Natalya Ivanovna  |
1944  | Over 21 | Paula Wharton  | Also writer
1947  | Years Ago |  | Also writer
1947  | How I Wonder |  | Also producer
1948  | The Leading Lady |  | Also writer
1949  | The Smile of the World | Sara Boulting  |
1957  | The Matchmaker | Mrs. Dolly Gallagher Levi  |
1960  | The Good Soup | Marie-Paule I  |
1963  | My Mother, My Father and Me | Rona Halpern  |
1965  | A Very Rich Woman | Mrs. Lord  | Also writer
1966  | The Loves of Cass McGuire | Cass  |
1974  | Dreyfus in Rehearsal | Zina  |
1976  | Mrs. Warren's Profession | Mrs. Kitty Warren  |

## Writing credits[edit | edit source]

Year  | Title  | Notes

|
|

1944  | Over 21 |
1946  | Years Ago |
1947  | A Double Life |
1948  | The Leading Lady |
1948  | The Ford Theatre Hour | Episode: Years Ago
1949  | Adam's Rib |
1950  | Prudential Family Playhouse | Episode: Over 21
1952  | Pat and Mike |
The Marrying Kind |
1953  | The Actress |
1957  | The Alcoa Hour | Episode: "A Double Life"
1960  | DuPont Show of the Month | Episode: "Years Ago"
1967  | Rosie! |
1973  | Adam's Rib | Episode: "The Unwritten Law"
1976  | Ho! Ho! Ho! |
1980  | Hardhat and Legs |

## Awards and nominations[edit | edit source]

Year  | Award  | Category  | Work  | Result  | Ref.

|
|
|
|
|

1947 | Academy Awards | Best Original Screenplay | A Double Life | Nominated  | [26]
1950 | Adam's Rib | Nominated  | [27]
1952 | Pat and Mike | Nominated  | [28]
1965 | Best Supporting Actress | Inside Daisy Clover | Nominated  | [29]
1968 | Rosemary's Baby | Won  | [30]
1965 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture | Inside Daisy Clover | Won  | [31]
1968 | Rosemary's Baby | Won
1971 | Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy | Harold & Maude | Nominated
1976 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Drama Series | Rhoda | Nominated  | [32]
1977 | Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Drama Special | The Great Houdini | Nominated
1979 | Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series | Taxi | Won
1985 | Outstanding Individual Achievement – Informational Programming – Performing | The Secret World of the Very Young | Nominated
1956 | Tony Awards | Best Leading Actress in a Play | The Matchmaker | Nominated  | [33]
1949 | Writers Guild of America Awards | Best Written Comedy | Adam's Rib | Nominated  |
1950 | Nominated
1952 | Pat and Mike | Nominated  |
The Marrying Kind | Nominated  |
1953 | The Actress | Nominated  |

## See also[edit | edit source]

* List of actors with Academy Award nominations

## References[edit | edit source]

1. ^ a b c Freedman, Samuel G. (29 August 1985). "Ruth Gordon, The Actress, Dies at 88". The New York Times. Retrieved 2017-01-09.
2. ^ Scheible, Sue. "Following actress Ruth Gordon's footsteps through Quincy". PatriotLedger.com. Archived from the original on 2020-08-06. Retrieved 2020-05-28.
3. ^ US Census 1900 and 1910, Massachusetts Marriage Records
4. ^ Gordon, Ruth (1986). My Side: The Autobiography of Ruth Gordon. D.I. Fine. ISBN 9780917657818. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
5. ^ Gordon, Ruth (1947). Years Ago: A Play. Viking Press. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
6. ^ "Years Ago". Life. 1947-01-06. p. 58\. ISSN 0024-3019. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
7. ^ a b c Current Biography 1943. pp.238–41.
8. ^ The Pittsburgh Press, December 24, 1920: "Actress, to continue her career, has bowed legs broken and straightened"
9. ^ Wada, Karen (August 29, 1985). "Ruth Gordon Dies; Stage, Film Career Spanned 7 Decades". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved 2015-12-29.
10. ^ Lanchester, Elsa (1983). Elsa Lanchester Herself. New York: St. Martin's Press. p. 102. ISBN 0-312-24376-6.
11. ^ Henrik Ibsen (6 June 2016). A Doll's House. Theatre Communications Group. pp. 72–. ISBN 978-1-55936-850-6.
12. ^ "AFI|Catalog A Double Life (1948) History". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
13. ^ "AFI|Catalog Adam's Rib (1949) History". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
14. ^ "AFI|Catalog Pat and Mike (1952) History". catalog.afi.com. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
15. ^ Gordon, Ruth (1976). My side: the autobiography of Ruth Gordon. Harper & Row. OCLC 2437769.
16. ^ Gordon, Ruth (1980). Ruth Gordon, an open book. Doubleday. OCLC 6014288.
17. ^ Gordon, Ruth (1971). Myself among others. Atheneum. OCLC 138331.
18. ^ "Ruth Gordon". Retrieved 1 November 2016.
19. ^ "Saturday Night Live - TV Series - Seasons and Episodes - NYTimes.com". nytimes.com. Retrieved 2015-08-25.
20. ^ "Past Recipients". Jun 30, 2011. Archived from the original on 2011-06-30. Retrieved Nov 29, 2019.
21. ^ Blau, Eleanor (Aug 27, 1979). "Ruth Gordon Nowa Theater and Glad of It". The New York Times. Retrieved Nov 29, 2019.
22. ^ "Flick 1 & 2 in Westborough, MA - Cinema Treasures". cinematreasures.org. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
23. ^ "Merrymount Park | Discover Quincy". www.discoverquincy.com. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
24. ^ "Ruth Gordon Amphitheater | Discover Quincy". www.discoverquincy.com. Retrieved 2020-02-02.
25. ^ ParkWard5 Archived November 2, 2007, at the Wayback Machine
26. ^ "20th Academy Awards". Oscars.org. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
27. ^ "23rd Academy Awards". Oscars.org. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
28. ^ "25th Academy Awards". Oscars.org. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
29. ^ "38th Academy Awards". Oscars.org. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
30. ^ "41st Academy Awards". Oscars.org. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
31. ^ "Ruth Gordon - Golden Globes Awards". goldenglobes.com. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
32. ^ "Ruth Gordon". Emmys.com. Academy of Television Arts & Sciences. Retrieved December 26, 2021.
33. ^ "1956 Tony Awards". Tony Awards. Retrieved February 20, 2022.

## External links[edit | edit source]

* Ruth Gordon at IMDb
* {{IBDB name}} template missing ID and not present in Wikidata.

Awards for Ruth Gordon

* v
* t
* e

Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress

1936–1950|

* Gale Sondergaard (1936)
* Alice Brady (1937)
* Fay Bainter (1938)
* Hattie McDaniel (1939)
* Jane Darwell (1940)
* Mary Astor (1941)
* Teresa Wright (1942)
* Katina Paxinou (1943)
* Ethel Barrymore (1944)
* Anne Revere (1945)
* Anne Baxter (1946)
* Celeste Holm (1947)
* Claire Trevor (1948)
* Mercedes McCambridge (1949)
* Josephine Hull (1950)

1951–1975|

* Kim Hunter (1951)
* Gloria Grahame (1952)
* Donna Reed (1953)
* Eva Marie Saint (1954)
* Jo Van Fleet (1955)
* Dorothy Malone (1956)
* Miyoshi Umeki (1957)
* Wendy Hiller (1958)
* Shelley Winters (1959)
* Shirley Jones (1960)
* Rita Moreno (1961)
* Patty Duke (1962)
* Margaret Rutherford (1963)
* Lila Kedrova (1964)
* Shelley Winters (1965)
* Sandy Dennis (1966)
* Estelle Parsons (1967)
* Ruth Gordon (1968)
* Goldie Hawn (1969)
* Helen Hayes (1970)
* Cloris Leachman (1971)
* Eileen Heckart (1972)
* Tatum O'Neal (1973)
* Ingrid Bergman (1974)
* Lee Grant (1975)

1976–2000|

* Beatrice Straight (1976)
* Vanessa Redgrave (1977)
* Maggie Smith (1978)
* Meryl Streep (1979)
* Mary Steenburgen (1980)
* Maureen Stapleton (1981)
* Jessica Lange (1982)
* Linda Hunt (1983)
* Peggy Ashcroft (1984)
* Anjelica Huston (1985)
* Dianne Wiest (1986)
* Olympia Dukakis (1987)
* Geena Davis (1988)
* Brenda Fricker (1989)
* Whoopi Goldberg (1990)
* Mercedes Ruehl (1991)
* Marisa Tomei (1992)
* Anna Paquin (1993)
* Dianne Wiest (1994)
* Mira Sorvino (1995)
* Juliette Binoche (1996)
* Kim Basinger (1997)
* Judi Dench (1998)
* Angelina Jolie (1999)
* Marcia Gay Harden (2000)

2001–present|

* Jennifer Connelly (2001)
* Catherine Zeta-Jones (2002)
* Renée Zellweger (2003)
* Cate Blanchett (2004)
* Rachel Weisz (2005)
* Jennifer Hudson (2006)
* Tilda Swinton (2007)
* Penélope Cruz (2008)
* Mo'Nique (2009)
* Melissa Leo (2010)
* Octavia Spencer (2011)
* Anne Hathaway (2012)
* Lupita Nyong'o (2013)
* Patricia Arquette (2014)
* Alicia Vikander (2015)
* Viola Davis (2016)
* Allison Janney (2017)
* Regina King (2018)
* Laura Dern (2019)
* Youn Yuh-jung (2020)
* Ariana DeBose (2021)

* v
* t
* e

Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series

1950–1975|

* Gertrude Berg (1950)
* Imogene Coca (1951)
* Lucille Ball (1952)
* Eve Arden (1953)
* Lucille Ball (1955)
* Nanette Fabray (1956)
* Jane Wyatt (1957)
* Jane Wyatt (1959)
* Jane Wyatt (1960)
* Barbara Stanwyck (1961)
* Shirley Booth (1962)
* Shirley Booth (1963)
* Mary Tyler Moore (1964)
* No award (1965)
* Mary Tyler Moore (1966)
* Lucille Ball (1967)
* Lucille Ball (1968)
* Hope Lange (1969)
* Hope Lange (1970)
* Jean Stapleton (1971)
* Jean Stapleton (1972)
* Mary Tyler Moore (1973)
* Mary Tyler Moore (1974)
* Valerie Harper (1975)

1976–2000|

* Mary Tyler Moore (1976)
* Bea Arthur (1977)
* Jean Stapleton (1978)
* Ruth Gordon (1979)
* Cathryn Damon (1980)
* Isabel Sanford (1981)
* Carol Kane (1982)
* Shelley Long (1983)
* Jane Curtin (1984)
* Jane Curtin (1985)
* Betty White (1986)
* Rue McClanahan (1987)
* Bea Arthur (1988)
* Candice Bergen (1989)
* Candice Bergen (1990)
* Kirstie Alley (1991)
* Candice Bergen (1992)
* Roseanne Barr (1993)
* Candice Bergen (1994)
* Candice Bergen (1995)
* Helen Hunt (1996)
* Helen Hunt (1997)
* Helen Hunt (1998)
* Helen Hunt (1999)
* Patricia Heaton (2000)

2001–present|

* Patricia Heaton (2001)
* Jennifer Aniston (2002)
* Debra Messing (2003)
* Sarah Jessica Parker (2004)
* Felicity Huffman (2005)
* Julia Louis-Dreyfus (2006)
* America Ferrera (2007)
* Tina Fey (2008)
* Toni Collette (2009)
* Edie Falco (2010)
* Melissa McCarthy (2011)
* Julia Louis-Dreyfus (2012)
* Julia Louis-Dreyfus (2013)
* Julia Louis-Dreyfus (2014)
* Julia Louis-Dreyfus (2015)
* Julia Louis-Dreyfus (2016)
* Julia Louis-Dreyfus (2017)
* Rachel Brosnahan (2018)
* Phoebe Waller-Bridge (2019)
* Catherine O'Hara (2020)
* Jean Smart (2021)
* Jean Smart (2022)

* v
* t
* e

Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture

1943–1975|

* Katina Paxinou (1943)
* Agnes Moorehead (1944)
* Angela Lansbury (1945)
* Anne Baxter (1946)
* Celeste Holm (1947)
* Ellen Corby (1948)
* Mercedes McCambridge (1949)
* Josephine Hull (1950)
* Kim Hunter (1951)
* Katy Jurado (1952)
* Grace Kelly (1953)
* Jan Sterling (1954)
* Marisa Pavan (1955)
* Eileen Heckart (1956)
* Elsa Lanchester (1957)
* Hermione Gingold (1958)
* Susan Kohner (1959)
* Janet Leigh (1960)
* Rita Moreno (1961)
* Angela Lansbury (1962)
* Margaret Rutherford (1963)
* Agnes Moorehead (1964)
* Ruth Gordon (1965)
* Jocelyne LaGarde (1966)
* Carol Channing (1967)
* Ruth Gordon (1968)
* Goldie Hawn (1969)
* Karen Black / Maureen Stapleton (1970)
* Ann-Margret (1971)
* Shelley Winters (1972)
* Linda Blair (1973)
* Karen Black (1974)
* Brenda Vaccaro (1975)

1976–2000|

* Katharine Ross (1976)
* Vanessa Redgrave (1977)
* Dyan Cannon (1978)
* Meryl Streep (1979)
* Mary Steenburgen (1980)
* Joan Hackett (1981)
* Jessica Lange (1982)
* Cher (1983)
* Peggy Ashcroft (1984)
* Meg Tilly (1985)
* Maggie Smith (1986)
* Olympia Dukakis (1987)
* Sigourney Weaver (1988)
* Julia Roberts (1989)
* Whoopi Goldberg (1990)
* Mercedes Ruehl (1991)
* Joan Plowright (1992)
* Winona Ryder (1993)
* Dianne Wiest (1994)
* Mira Sorvino (1995)
* Lauren Bacall (1996)
* Kim Basinger (1997)
* Lynn Redgrave (1998)
* Angelina Jolie (1999)
* Kate Hudson (2000)

2001–present|

* Jennifer Connelly (2001)
* Meryl Streep (2002)
* Renée Zellweger (2003)
* Natalie Portman (2004)
* Rachel Weisz (2005)
* Jennifer Hudson (2006)
* Cate Blanchett (2007)
* Kate Winslet (2008)
* Mo'Nique (2009)
* Melissa Leo (2010)
* Octavia Spencer (2011)
* Anne Hathaway (2012)
* Jennifer Lawrence (2013)
* Patricia Arquette (2014)
* Kate Winslet (2015)
* Viola Davis (2016)
* Allison Janney (2017)
* Regina King (2018)
* Laura Dern (2019)
* Jodie Foster (2020)
* Ariana DeBose (2021)

*[m.]: married
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