Lois Smith

For the Canadian ballet dancer, see Lois Smith (dancer). For the American entertainment publicist, see Lois Smith (publicist).

Lois Smith
Smith in 2017
Born
Lois Arlene Humbert

(1930-11-03) November 3, 1930 (age 94)
Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
OccupationActress
Years active1952–present
Spouse
Wesley Smith
​
​
(m. 1948; div. 1970)​
Children1

Lois Arlene Smith (née Humbert; born November 3, 1930) is an American actress whose career spans eight decades.[1] She made her film debut in the 1955 drama film East of Eden, and later played supporting roles in a number of movies, including Five Easy Pieces (1970), Resurrection (1980), Fatal Attraction (1987), Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Falling Down (1993), How to Make an American Quilt (1995), Dead Man Walking (1995), Twister (1996), Minority Report (2002), The Nice Guys (2016), Lady Bird (2017), and The French Dispatch (2021).

In 2017, Smith received critical acclaim for her leading performance in the science-fiction drama film Marjorie Prime,[2][3][4] for which she was nominated for an Independent Spirit Awards, Gotham Awards and Saturn Award, and won a Satellite Award. She has also had many roles on daytime and primetime television. She was a regular cast member in the HBO horror drama True Blood, and received a Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series nomination for The Americans.

Smith also is known for her extensive work in the theatre. A three-time Tony Award nominee, she won the 2020 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her performance in The Inheritance, becoming the oldest performer to win a Tony Award for acting. She also received Tony nominations for her performances in The Grapes of Wrath (1990) and Buried Child (1996). She starred in an acclaimed Off-Broadway revival of The Trip to Bountiful in 2005 for which she received an Obie Award for Best Actress, an Outer Critics Circle Award, a Lucille Lortel Award, and a Drama Desk Award. She is an ensemble member of Steppenwolf Theatre Company in Chicago.

She was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 2007 for her outstanding contributions to the theatre.[5] In 2013, she received a Lifetime Achievement Obie Award for excellence in Off-Broadway performances. She has taught, directed, and written for the stage.[6]

  1. ^ "Lois Smith". Theatre in Chicago. March 10, 2008. Retrieved October 18, 2014.
  2. ^ "Critic's Notebook: In 'Marjorie Prime,' Lois Smith Gets Her Greatest Screen Role". The Hollywood Reporter. November 27, 2017. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  3. ^ McPhee, Ryan (November 25, 2017). "How Lois Smith Translated Her Groundbreaking Marjorie Prime From Stage to Screen and Back". Playbill. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  4. ^ Zeitchik, Steven (August 20, 2017). "The low-key dominance of Lois Smith, star of new film 'Marjorie Prime'". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved January 9, 2019.
  5. ^ "Theater Hall of Fame Members". TheaterHallofFame.org. Retrieved October 15, 2014.
  6. ^ Lee, Felicia R. (April 2, 2013). "Lois Smith and Frances Sternhagen to Share Obie Lifetime Achievement Award". New York Times Blog. Retrieved October 15, 2014.