
Lee Grant
Known for Acting · 135 credits
- Born
- 1925-10-31 (age 100)
- Place of birth
- New York City, New York, USA
- Also known as
- Lyova Haskell Rosenthal
Biography
Lee Grant (born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal; October 31, 1925) is an American actress and director. She made her film debut in 1951 as a young shoplifter in William Wyler's Detective Story, co-starring Kirk Douglas and Eleanor Parker. This role earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress as well as the Best Actress Award at the 1952 Cannes Film Festival.
In 1952 she was blacklisted from most acting jobs for the next 12 years. She was able to find only occasional work onstage or as a teacher during this period. It also contributed to her divorce. She was removed from the blacklist in 1962 and rebuilt her acting career. She starred in 71 TV episodes of Peyton Place (1965–1966), followed by lead roles in films such as Valley of the Dolls, In the Heat of the Night (both 1967), and Shampoo (1975), for the last of which she won an Oscar. In 1964, she won the Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actress for her performance in The Maids. During her career she was nominated for the Emmy Award seven times between 1966 and 1993, winning twice.
In 1986 she directed Down and Out in America which tied for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, and in the same year she also won a Directors Guild of America Award for Nobody's Child.
Known For
TV Shows (36)

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
as Self

The Mike Douglas Show
1961
as Self

The Fugitive
1963
as Millie Hallop

Ironside
1967
as Francesca Kirby

Great Performances
1971
as Irina Arkadina

Mission: Impossible
1966
as Susan Buchanan

The Philco Television Playhouse
1948
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1963
as Virginia Cloyd

Ben Casey
1961

Studio One
1948
as Emily Brooks

The Dick Cavett Show
1968
as Self - Guest

Tony Awards
1956
as Self - Presenter

The Big Valley
1965
as Rosemary

Intimate Portrait
1993
as Self

The Defenders
1961
as Norma Burgess / Maria Edwards

The Name of the Game
1968
as Edwina Booker

Empty Nest
1988

The Oscars
1953
as Self

Dinah!
1974
as Self

People's Choice Awards
1975
as Self
Film '72
1971
as Self

The Mod Squad
1968

Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
1968
as Self

The Ray Bradbury Theater
1985

Judd, for the Defense
1967
Festival
1963
as Lizzie

ABC Stage 67
1966
as Laura / Ruth

The American Film Institute Salute to ...
1973
as Self
Wedden, dat..?
1986
as Self
Playwrights '56
1955

Backstairs at the White House
1979
as Grace Coolidge
Fay
1975
as Fay Stewart

Mussolini: The Untold Story
1985
as Rachele Mussolini

Inside the Actors Studio
1994
as Self

Peyton Place
1964
as Stella Chernak

Bare Essence
1982
as Ava Marshall
Movies (99)

Mulholland Drive
2001
as Louise

In the Heat of the Night
1967
as Mrs. Leslie Colbert

Airport '77
1977
as Karen Wallace

The Swarm
1978
as Anne MacGregor

Damien - Omen II
1978
as Ann Thorn

Teachers
1984
as Dr. Donna Burke

Defending Your Life
1991
as Lena Foster

There Was a Crooked Man...
1970
as Mrs. Bullard

Shampoo
1975
as Felicia Karpf

The Landlord
1970
as Joyce Enders

Voyage of the Damned
1976
as Lili Rosen

Dr. T & the Women
2000
as Dr. Harper

Valley of the Dolls
1967
as Miriam Polar

The Big Town
1987
as Ferguson Edwards

Plaza Suite
1971
as Norma Hubley

Marooned
1969
as Celia Pruett

The Mafu Cage
1978
as Ellen

Hal
2019
as Self

Detective Story
1951
as Shoplifter

Citizen Cohn
1992
as Dora Cohn

Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen
1981
as Mrs. Sylvia Lupowitz

Little Miss Marker
1980
as The Judge

Earth and the American Dream
1992
as Reader (voice)

Hello Actors Studio
1988
as Self

Visiting Hours
1982
as Deborah Ballin

Who Is Henry Jaglom?
1997
as Self

Ransom for a Dead Man
1972
as Leslie Williams

It's My Party
1996
as Amalia Stark

The Spell
1977
as Marion Matchett

Divorce American Style
1967
as Dede Murphy

Something to Live for: The Alison Gertz Story
1992
as Carol Gertz

Reel Herstory: The Real Story of Reel Women
2014
as Self

Middle of the Night
1959
as Marilyn
Sanford Meisner: The American Theatre's Best Kept Secret
1990
as Self
Deadlock
1967
as Virginia Cloyd

Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell
1968
as Fritzie Braddock

Perilous Voyage
1976
as Virginia Monroe

In My Daughter's Name
1992
as Maureen Leeds

The Substance of Fire
1996
as Cora Cahn

Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster
2021
as Self

Calling the Shots
1988
as Self

The Internecine Project
1974
as Jean Robertson

The Hijacking of the Achille Lauro
1989
as Marilyn Klinghoffer

Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light
2000
as Narrator

A Billion for Boris
1984
as Sascha Harris

Going Shopping
2005
as Winnie

Seeing is Believing: Women Direct
2017
as Self

The Million Dollar Face
1981
as Evalyna

Lieutenant Schuster's Wife
1972
as Ellie Schuster

The Love Song of Barney Kempinski
1968
as Laura

The Good Doctor
1978
as Various Roles

The John Garfield Story
2003
as Self

Partners in Crime
1973
as Judge Meredith Leland

Storm Fear
1955
as Edna

Will There Really Be a Morning?
1983
as Lillian Farmer

Rod Serling: Submitted for Your Approval
1995
as Narrator

Poor Liza
2000
as Countess Ekaterina

TVTV Looks at the Oscars
1976
as Self

When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?
1979
as Clarisse Ethridge

You Can't Go Home Again
1979
as Esther Jack

Night Slaves
1970
as Marjorie Howard

Sidney Poitier - The Man Who Changed Hollywood
2023
as Self

For Ladies Only
1981
as Anne Holt

The Omen Legacy
2001
as Self

The Big Bounce
1969
as Joanne

Arthur Miller, Elia Kazan and the Blacklist: None Without Sin
2003
as Self

What Are Best Friends For?
1973
as Adele Ross

Pie in the Sky
1964
as Suzy

Gotta Get Off This Merry-Go-Round: 'Valley of the Dolls'
2006
as Miriam (archive footage)

She Said No
1990
as D.A. Doris Cantore
Tribute To Burgess Meredith
2006
as Self (voice)

Why Me?
1974
as Narrator/Self

The Balcony
1963
as Carmen

Down and Out in America
1986
as Narrator (voice)

Scandal: The Trial of Mary Astor
2018
as Narrator (voice)

An Affair of the Skin
1963
as Katherine McCleod

The Seagull
1975
as Irina Arkadina

The Amati Girls
2001
as Aunt Spendora

Thou Shalt Not Kill
1982
as Maxine Lochman

Tell Me a Riddle
1980
as Flight Attendant (voice)

The World of Sholom Aleichem
1959
as The Goatseller / Avenging Angel

The Neon Ceiling
1971
as Carrie Miller

Three Plays by Tennessee Williams
1958
as Jane (Segment "Moony's Kid Don't Cry")

Killian & the Comeback Kids
2020
as Ms. Hunter (voice)

Portnoy's Complaint
1972
as Sophie Portnoy

Under Heat
1994
as Jane

The Iceman Tapes: Conversations with a Killer
1992
as Narrator

Plaza Suite
1982
as Norma Hubley / Muriel Tate / Karen Nash

What Sex Am I?
1985
as Self

A Crime to Fit the Punishment
1982
as Narrator

Truth and Lies: The Family Manson
2017

Hidden Values: The Movies of the Fifties
2001
as Self

Actresses Turned Producer/Directors
2014

Women on Trial
1992
as Narrator
Say It, Fight It, Cure It
1997
as Narrator/Host

Battered
1989
as Narrator

When Women Kill
1983
as Herself

The Willmar 8
1981
as Narrator
Confronting the Crisis: Childcare in America
1999
as Narrator
About Lee Grant
Lee Grant (born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal; October 31, 1925) is an American actress and director. She made her film debut in 1951 as a young shoplifter in William Wyler's Detective Story, co-starring Kirk Douglas and Eleanor Parker. This role earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress as well as the Best Actress Award at the 1952 Cannes Film Festival. In 1952 she was blacklisted from most acting jobs for the next 12 years. She was able to find only occasional work onstage or as a teacher during this period. It also contributed to… With 135 credits spanning from 1948 to 2023, Lee Grant has appeared in 99 films and 36 TV shows.
Fans searching for Lee Grant movies, Lee Grant filmography, or the latest projects starring Lee Grant can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Lee Grant Movies
- Mulholland Drive (2001) — as Louise
- In the Heat of the Night (1967) — as Mrs. Leslie Colbert
- Airport '77 (1977) — as Karen Wallace
- The Swarm (1978) — as Anne MacGregor
- Damien - Omen II (1978) — as Ann Thorn
Where to Watch Lee Grant Films
Most Lee Grant movies and series are available to stream on Bowood.TV in full HD, completely free and without signup. Browse the complete filmography above to jump directly to any title. For more films and the latest web series featuring Lee Grant, check our movies catalogue and browse page.