
Ellen Burstyn
Known for Acting · 195 credits
- Born
- 1932-12-07 (age 93)
- Place of birth
- Detroit, Michigan, USA
- Also known as
- Ellen McRae · Edna Rae Gilhooley
Biography
Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women in dramas, she has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards, making her one of the few performers to achieve the "Triple Crown of Acting". She has also received a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award.
Burstyn made her acting debut on Broadway in Fair Game in 1957 before winning the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for Same Time, Next Year (1975). She earned the Academy Award for Best Actress as the widow Alice Hyatt in Martin Scorsese's romantic drama Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974). Her other Oscar-nominated roles were in The Last Picture Show (1971), The Exorcist (1973), Same Time, Next Year (1978), Resurrection (1980), and Requiem for a Dream (2000). Her other notable films include Harry and Tonto (1974), How to Make an American Quilt (1995), Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002), W. (2008), Interstellar (2014), The Age of Adaline (2015), and Pieces of a Woman (2020).
She won Primetime Emmy Awards for her guest role in the NBC legal drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2009) and supporting role in the USA Network political miniseries Political Animals (2013). Her other Emmy-nominated roles include Pack of Lies (1988), Mrs. Harris (2005), Big Love (2008), Draft Day, Flowers in the Attic (both 2014), and House of Cards (2016). Since 2000, she has been co-president of the Actors Studio, a drama school in New York City. In 2013, she was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame for her work onstage.
Known For
TV Shows (48)

Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
1999
as Bernie Stabler

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962
as Self

Saturday Night Live
1975
as Self - Host

Perry Mason
1957
as Mona Winthrope White

The View
1997
as Self

Golden Globe Awards
1944
as Self - Presenter / Self - Nominee

Mom
2013
as Shirley

House of Cards
2013
as Elizabeth Hale

American Experience
1988
as Narrator (voice)

The Virginian
1962
as Kate Burden

Dr. Kildare
1961
as Anne Garner
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1963
as Eva Laurelton

Law & Order: Organized Crime
2021
as Bernadette 'Bernie' Stabler

Ben Casey
1961
as Dr. Leslie Fraser / Connie

Tony Awards
1956
as Self - Host / Self - Winner / Self - Presenter / Self - Host/Presenter / Self - Audience Member

Cheyenne
1955
as Emmy Mae

Big Love
2006
as Nancy Davis Dutton

The Big Valley
1965
as Sister Sarah Jacob

The Defenders
1961
as Hilda Wesley

Gunsmoke
1955
as Polly / Amy Waters

Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
1975
as Self

77 Sunset Strip
1958
as Betty Benson / Sandra Keene

The Oscars
1953
as Self

Dinah!
1974
as Self

Surfside 6
1960
as Wandra Drake

The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
1959
as Donna Whittaker

The Detectives
1959
as Nora

Kraft Suspense Theatre
1963
as Barbara Sherwood / Lucille Benton

The Time Tunnel
1966
as Eve Holland

Checkmate
1960
as Margo as Ellen McRae

Bus Stop
1961
as Phyllis Dunning
The Greatest Show on Earth
1963
as Susan Mason

The First Lady
2022
as Sara Delano Roosevelt

That's Life
2000
as Dolly DeLucca
Vacation Playhouse
1963
as Ellen

Letter to Loretta
1953
as Ann Walters

Political Animals
2012
as Margaret Barrish

The Rosie O'Donnell Show
1996
as Self - Guest

Going My Way
1962
as Louise

HARDtalk
1997

The Book of Daniel
2006
as Bishop Beatrice Congreve

Coma
2012
as Mrs. Emerson

Hallmark Hall of Fame
1951
as Elizabeth / Barbara Jackson / Maggie / Rika

A Will of their Own
1998
as Veronica Steward

I'm Dickens, He's Fenster
1962
as Joan

The Ellen Burstyn Show
1986
as Ellen Brewer

Inside the Actors Studio
1994
as Self

Reframed: Marilyn Monroe
2022
as Self
Movies (147)

Interstellar
2014
as Murph (older)

The Exorcist
1973
as Chris MacNeil

The Age of Adaline
2015
as Flemming

Requiem for a Dream
2000
as Sara Goldfarb

The Exorcist: Believer
2023
as Chris MacNeil

The Fountain
2006
as Dr. Lillian Guzetti

The Wicker Man
2006
as Sister Summersisle

W.
2008
as Barbara Bush

Dying Young
1991
as Mrs. O'Neil

Unity
2015
as Narrator (voice)

The Yards
2000
as Val Handler

Flowers in the Attic
2014
as Grandmother

Draft Day
2014
as Barb Weaver

The Last Picture Show
1971
as Lois Farrow

The Tale
2018
as Nettie

Breakdown: 1975
2025
as Self

When a Man Loves a Woman
1994
as Emily

Playing by Heart
1998
as Mildred

Night of 100 Stars II
1985
as Self

Pieces of a Woman
2020
as Elizabeth Weiss

Lucy in the Sky
2019
as Nana Holbrook

And the Oscar Goes To...
2014
as Self - Interviewee

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
1974
as Alice Hyatt

The House of Tomorrow
2019
as Josephine Prendergast

Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood
2003
as Self
Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre
1989
as Self

Roommates
1995
as Judith

Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
2002
as Vivi

Night of 100 Stars
1982
as Self

How to Make an American Quilt
1995
as Hy Dodd

The Baby-Sitters Club
1995
as Mrs. Haberman

Petals on the Wind
2014
as Olivia Foxworth

Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam
1987
as Mrs. Stocks (voice)

Red Dragon
2002
as Grandma Dolarhyde (voice) (uncredited)

Main Street
2010
as Georgiana Carr

Deceiver
1997
as Mook

Providence
1977
as Sonia Langham

Three Months
2022
as Valerie

Getting Out
1994
as Arlie's Mother

Same Time, Next Year
1978
as Doris

Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You
2012
as Nanette

Timepiece
1996
as Maud Gannon

Custody
2016
as Beatrice Fisher

Love, Marilyn
2013
as Self

A Decade Under the Influence
2003
as Self

Wiener-Dog
2016
as Nana

Harry and Tonto
1974
as Shirley Mallard

Nostalgia
2018
as Helen Greer

Friedkin Uncut
2018
as Self

PoliWood
2009
as Self

Mother, Couch
2024
as Mother

Another Happy Day
2011
as Doris Baker

The Ambassador
1985
as Alex Hacker

Earth and the American Dream
1992
as Reader (voice)

Queen Bees
2021
as Helen Wilson
My Brother's Keeper
1995
as Helen

A Deadly Vision
1997
as Yvette Watson

Mrs. Harris
2006
as Former Tarnower Steady
The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute
1974
as Self (archive footage)

Wish You Well
2013
as Louisa Mae Cardinal

Hello Actors Studio
1988
as Self

The King of Marvin Gardens
1972
as Sally

The Five People You Meet In Heaven
2004
as Ruby

The Calling
2014
as Emily Micallef

All I Wish
2018
as Celia Berges

Into Thin Air
1985
as Joan Walker

Hanna's War
1988
as Katalin

According to Greta
2009
as Katherine

The Stone Angel
2007
as Hagar

Lovely, Still
2009
as Mary

The Patron Saint of Liars
1998
as June Clatterbuck

The Cemetery Club
1993
as Esther Moskowitz

Our Fathers
2005
as Mary Ryan

Act of Vengeance
1986
as Margaret Yablonski

Be Pretty and Shut Up!
1981
as Self

Goodbye Charlie
1964
as Franny Salzman

I Love Liberty
1982
as Self

The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond
2008
as Miss Addie

Taking Back My Life: The Nancy Ziegenmeyer Story
1992
as Wilma

The Mighty Macs
2011
as Mother St. John

This Ordinary Thing
2025
as Self (voice)

Resurrection
1980
as Edna

The Spitfire Grill
1996
as Hannah Ferguson

When You Remember Me
1990
as Nurse Cooder

Twice in a Lifetime
1985
as Kate MacKenzie

About Scout
2015
as Gram

Two Men in Town
2014
as Mère Garnett

For Those Who Think Young
1964
as Dr. Pauline Swenson

Getting Gotti
1994
as Jo Giacalone

American Woman
2019
as Miss Dolly

The Last Picture Show: A Look Back
1999
as Self

The Madam's Family: The Truth About the Canal Street Brothel
2004
as Tommie

Pack of Lies
1987
as Barbara Jackson

E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump
2024
as E. Jean Carroll

Surviving
1985
as Tina Brogan

Mrs. Lambert Remembers Love
1991
as Lillian "Lil" Lambert

The Making of Requiem for a Dream
2001
as Self

Thursday's Game
1974
as Lynne Evers

Pit Stop
1969
as Ellen McCleod

Walking Across Egypt
1999
as Mattie Rigsbee

Tropic of Cancer
1970
as Mona (uncredited)

Follow The River
1995
as Gretel

Grand Isle
1991
as Mademoiselle Reisz

Alex in Wonderland
1970
as Beth Morrison

Mermaid
2000
as Trish

30 Days
2006
as Maura

When It Was a Game 2
1992
as Passage Narrator (voice)

Flash
1997
as Laura Strong

The Velveteen Rabbit
2009
as Swan (voice)

The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist
1998
as Self - Chris MacNeil

Brush with Fate
2003
as Rika

You Can Thank Me Later
1998
as Shirley Cooperberg

Delphine and Carole
2020
as Self (archive footage)

Stardust: The Bette Davis Story
2006
as Self

Picture This
1991
as Self

Ricochet
1961
as Rose Maxon

Silence of the North
1981
as Olive Frederickson

River of Fundament
2014
as Hathfertiti

People vs. Jean Harris
1981
as Jean Harris
Place to Be
as Brooke
About Ellen Burstyn
Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women in dramas, she has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards, making her one of the few performers to achieve the "Triple Crown of Acting". She has also received a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award. Burstyn made her acting debut on Broadway in Fair Game in 1957 before winning the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for Same Time, Next Year (1975). She earned t… With 195 credits spanning from 1944 to 2025, Ellen Burstyn has appeared in 147 films and 48 TV shows.
Fans searching for Ellen Burstyn movies, Ellen Burstyn filmography, or the latest projects starring Ellen Burstyn can stream many of these titles on Bowood.TV, free and in HD, with no subscription required.
Most Popular Ellen Burstyn Movies
- Interstellar (2014) — as Murph (older)
- The Exorcist (1973) — as Chris MacNeil
- The Age of Adaline (2015) — as Flemming
- Requiem for a Dream (2000) — as Sara Goldfarb
- The Exorcist: Believer (2023) — as Chris MacNeil
Where to Watch Ellen Burstyn Films
Most Ellen Burstyn 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 Ellen Burstyn, check our movies catalogue and browse page.