Biography
Genteel actress Blythe Danner earned her reputation as one of the more accomplished performers in film and on stage and television over the course of an exceptional career. Early in her career, Danner became a Broadway sensation with her Tony Award-winning performance in "Butterflies Are Free" (1969). Screen work in smaller films like the off-beat comedy "Hearts of the West" (1975) soon led to the actress earning widespread critical acclaim …
Blythe Danner SlideShow
1 - 4 of 24
Career Milestones
| Garnered attention for her performance in the Lincoln Center productions of "Summertree" (1968) and "The Miser" (1969) | ||
| Sang soprano with a jazz group at Baggy Pants in Stowe, VT | ||
1965 | Professional stage debut as Laura in "The Glass Menagerie" | |
1965 | Spent one season as a member of the Theatre Company of Boston | |
1966 | NYC debut in the Off-Broadway play, "The Infantry" | |
1967 | Acted with Trinity Square Repertory Company (now Trinity Repertory Company) in Providence, RI | |
1967 | Was cast in first Broadway show, the musical "Mata Hari"; show closed during out-of-town tryout | |
1968 | Made TV debut in an episode of "N.Y.P.D." (ABC) | |
1969 | Had breakthrough stage role as the kooky, sexually liberated teenage divorcee Jill Tanner in "Butterflies Are Free" | |
1970 | Had a supporting role in the NBC production of the Broadway musical "George M!" | |
1971 | Played featured role in the ABC TV-movie, "Dr. Cook's Garden" | |
1972 | Made feature acting debut in "To Kill a Clown," co-starring Alan Alda | |
1972 | Played a jilted wife opposite Peter Falk and John Cassavetes on an episode of "Columbo" (NBC) | |
1972 | Portrayed Martha Jefferson in the movie version of "1776" | |
1973 | Cast as Amanda on the short-lived ABC sitcom "Adam's Rib" | |
1974 | Began on-going association with the Williamstown Theatre Festival | |
1974 | Played a woman who comes between two friends in "Lovin' Molly" | |
1974 | Portrayed Zelda to Richard Chamberlain's F. Scott Fitzgerald in "F. Scott Fitzgerald and The Last of the Belles'" (ABC) | |
1975 | Played the leading lady to Jeff Bridges in "Hearts of the West" | |
1975 | Teamed with Frank Langella in the Williamstown production of Tennessee Williams' "Eccentricities of a Nightingale"; production filmed and aired on "Theater in America" | |
1976 | Re-teamed with Alan Alda for a memorable episode of "M*A*S*H*" (CBS) | |
1977 | Portrayed Elizabeth Custer in "The Court-Martial of General George Armstrong Custer" (ABC) | |
1978 | Earned critical praise as Eleanor Gehrig in "A Love Affair: The Eleanor and Lou Gehrig Story" (NBC) | |
1979 | Delivered a strong turn as the devoted wife of a military officer in "The Great Santini" | |
1980 | Returned to Broadway appearing alongside Raul Julia and Roy Scheider in Harold Pinter's "Betrayal"; earned a Tony nomination | |
1980 | Starred in the Lincoln Center revival of "The Philadelphia Story" | |
1982 | Portrayed the wife of German architect Albert Speer in the ABC miniseries "Inside the Third Reich" | |
1984 | Made guest appearance on an episode of "St. Elsewhere" (NBC) | |
1985 | Played the wife of a philandering attorney (Anthony Hopkins) who was plotting to kill her in "Guilty Conscience" (CBS) | |
1986 | Played the matriarch of a Jewish family in the film version of Neil Simon's "Brighton Beach Memoirs" | |
1987 | Co-starred with Richard Chamberlain and Judith Ivey in a revival of Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit" | |
1988 | Appeared in Woody Allen's "Another Woman" | |
1988 | Earned a Tony nomination as Blanche Du Bois in a stage revival of "A Streetcar Named Desire" | |
1988 | Played the co-owner of a NYC restaurant on the short-lived NBC drama, "Tattinger's"; series was retooled as an NBC sitcom called "Nick & Hillary," which lasted only a handful of episodes | |
1990 | Cast as the mother of a child molested by a priest in the HBO drama "Judgment" | |
1990 | Co-starred with Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward in "Mr. & Mrs. Bridge" | |
1990 | Second film with Woody Allen, "Alice" | |
1991 | Acted alongside daughter Gwyneth Paltrow in the Williamstown production of "Picnic" | |
1991 | Portrayed Nick Nolte's wife in "The Prince of Tides" | |
1992 | Played Juliette Lewis' mother in Woody Allen's "Husbands and Wives" | |
1992 | Re-teamed with daughter Gwyneth Paltrow in the NBC miniseries "Cruel Doubt" | |
1994 | Portrayed Arkadina in Williamstown production of "The Seagull" with daughter Gwyneth Paltrow as Nina | |
1995 | Appeared Off-Broadway in A. R. Gurney's "Sylvia" | |
1997 | Portrayed the matriarch of a troubled family in "The Myth of Fingerprints" | |
1997 | Voiced Martha Jefferson in Ken Burns' PBS documentary "Thomas Jefferson" | |
1998 | Hosted "Sophisticated Ladies: Charleston and Savannah With Blythe Danner" (PBS) | |
1999 | Co-starred with Edward Herrmann in a staged reading of A. R. Gurney's "Ancestral Voices" | |
1999 | Played Kate Capshaw's mother in "The Love Letter" | |
2000 | Cast as Robert De Niro's understanding wife in the comedy "Meet the Parents" | |
2001 | Cast as Phyllis in the all-star Broadway revival of "Follies"; received a Tony nomination | |
2001 | Played the mother of Cameron Diaz and Jordana Brewster in "The Invisible Circus" | |
2001 | Regularly appeared on NBC's "Will & Grace" as Will Truman's mother Marilyn; earned an Emmy nomination for Best Guest Actress in 2005 and 2006 | |
2002 | Cast as Dr. Harriet Lanning on the short-lived CBS medical drama "Presidio Med" | |
2003 | Portrayed Sylvia Plath's mother opposite her real life daughter Gwyneth Paltrow in "Sylvia" | |
2004 | Reprised her role as Dina Byrnes for the comedy sequel, "Meet the Fockers" | |
2004 | Starred as Hank Azaria's mother on the Showtime drama "Huff" | |
2004 | Starred in the TV-movie "Back When We Were Grownups" (CBS); received Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for Best Actress | |
2006 | Co-starred in "The Last Kiss"; directed by Tony Goldwyn and scripted by Paul Haggis | |
2010 | Once again reprised the role of Dina Byrnes for the comedy sequel "Little Fockers" | |
2011 | Cast opposite Anna Faris in the romantic comedy "What's Your Number?" | |
2012 | Cast in romantic comedy "Hello I Must Be Going," starring Melanie Lynskey | |
2012 | Co-starred with Zac Efron in "The Lucky One," based on the novel by Nicholas Sparks | |
Awards
1970 | Tony Award for Actress, Supporting or Featured (Dramatic) |
2002 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie in We Were the Mulvaneys |
2004 | Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television in Back When We Were Grownups |
2005 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress In a Comedy Series in Will & Grace |
2005 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie in Back When We Were Grownups |
2005 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in Huff |
2006 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress In a Comedy Series in Will & Grace |
2006 | Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in Huff |