Ellen Burstin: biography, filmography

The history of cinema knows a lot of cases when an actor or an actress, once ascended to the top of success, in subsequent years were content with secondary roles. Among them is Burstin Ellen. This actress made her debut on Broadway almost 60 years ago and received her first Oscar in 1975. At the same time, her active social activity earned her great respect among her colleagues. Suffice it to say that during the period from 1982 to 1985 Ellen Burstin was the president of the American Film Actors Union, and in 2000 she, together with Al Pacino and Harvey Keitel, headed the authoritative Studio of Actors.

Biography: early years

Ellen Burstin (photo below) was born in 1932 in Detroit (USA). Her parents divorced when she was just a little girl, and she does not remember her own father, although she made unsuccessful attempts to find him. Childhood Ellen (real name of the actress - Edna Ray Gillulie) was quite difficult because of constant conflicts with her stepfather, which her mother defended and supported. As a result, a girl at the age of 18 left her home and began an independent life.

First she had to work as an acrobat in circus shows and act as a model for advertising in second-rate magazines. Later, Ellen managed to get into the troupe of one of the Broadway musicals, and she was invited to take part in film and television episodes.

Success

The girl wanted to become a professional actress, and in 1964, Burstin Ellen graduated from Lee Strasberg's theatrical courses . At the same time, she began working on television, filming in the TV series "Doctors".

Then Ellen, who as a result of her third marriage took the name of Burstin, began to be invited for serious roles. So, in 1970, the actress starred in the film "Alex in Wonderland," which was directed at her own request by a very young then Martin Scorsese. This picture was her triumph and brought in 1975 the Oscar. Since before this actress has already been nominated for this award twice (for the films "The Last Session" and "The Exorcist"), and both times unsuccessfully, she did not even go to the presentation ceremony, which she always regretted later.

Along with the work on the set Ellen performed at the theater and in 1975 received the prestigious Tony Award for her role in the production on Broadway of the play "At the same time, the next year", which was a great success.

Ellen Burstin: movies

For her long creative life, the actress starred in paintings of various genres. Among them there were both recognized masterpieces of famous directors, and frankly weak pictures and serials. By the way, as already mentioned, Ellen Burstin began her career on television. Her first work was participation in the project "Television Theater Kraft", which was shown from 1947 to 1958. Further, other projects followed, including "Defenders", included among the 50 most famous TV shows in the history of television.

As for the films, besides the already mentioned ones, the works in the pictures "Resurrection" and "At the same time, next year", for which Ellen was nominated for an Oscar, can be considered successful. Then, for almost 20 years, the actress had no interesting roles, and she was only talked about again in 2000. The reason for the discussions was her work in the film "Requiem for a Dream," for which she was nominated for an Oscar. However, this award again swam out of her hands, as the film academics deemed more worthy of Julia Roberts. At the same time, many critics and viewers are sure that the image created by Ellen was much more vivid and convincing than the role of her "rival" in the film "Erin Brokovich." By the way, both actresses 10 years before met on the set of the film "Die Young", where they played mother and daughter.

Later, a real scandal was Ellen Burstyn's nomination for "Emmy" for her role in the television movie "Mrs. Harris," since the heroine of the actress was on the screen for only 14 seconds and pronounced only two dozen words.

Interstellar

Ellen Burstin continues to act even today, although she is over 80 years old. The last work of the famous actress was a small role in the picture of Christopher Nolan Interstellar. It was released in 2014. There Ellen Burstin successfully played the daughter of the protagonist, Murph (Jessica Chestane) in old age.

Awards

Ellen Burstin several dozen times nominated for various prestigious awards. However, she managed to become a laureate quite rarely. In addition to "Oscar" and "Tony", the actress was awarded:

• BAFTA Award (1976) for the film "Alice does not live here anymore";
• Awards "Golden Globe" (1979) for the painting "At the same time, next year";
• Emmy Award (2009 and 2013) for roles in the series "Law and order" and "Political animals".

A few interesting facts from the life of the famous actress

Life Ellen Burstin was rich in events. And some of them can be attributed to the category of unhappy and even tragic. For example:

• During filming in the film "The Exorcist," in the scene, when the heroine is thrown off the bed, Ellen fell on the coccyx and all subsequent life suffered from severe pain in the spine. By the way, the cry that is heard in this episode of the film is not faked, because he broke free from the actress as a result of a serious injury.
• The third husband, Ellen Burstyn, whose filmography is incredibly diverse, suffered from schizophrenia, and she even became a victim of violence on his part. When he committed suicide in 1978, his parents sent a letter to the former daughter-in-law, in which they congratulated her for the fact that she "won another Oscar."
• Baptized in the Catholic Church, Ellen Burstin today professes one of the most mysterious and mystical trends of Islam - Sufism. At the same time, she is a convinced vegetarian, engaged in yoga and in 1996, together with a group of Buddhists, headed by the father of Hollywood actress Uma Thurman, visited the state of Bhutan, having visited temples located in the Himalayas.
• Ellen gave up her role in the cult film "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", as she was forced to take care of the mentally ill husband Neil Bertin.
• In 1999, the actress decided to spend 3 days in the streets of New York without money and documents. Impressions of the life of the American homeless she left the most positive.

Now you know who the actress Ellen Burstin is and in what films she starred.