| Mercedes Ruehl | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Mercedes J. Ruehl |
| Born | February 28 1948 Queens, New York, U.S.   |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Spouse(s) | David Geiser (?-Present) 1 Child |
Mercedes Ruehl (February 28, 1948) is a Golden Globe, Tony and Academy Award-winning American theater and film actress.
Contents |
Biography
Personal life
Ruehl was born in Queens, New York. Her father was an FBI agent and her mother, also named Mercedes, was a school teacher.[1] She was raised Catholic[2], and has German, Irish, and Cuban ancestry.[3] Ruehl attended College of New Rochelle[4] and graduated in 1969. She is married to painter David Geiser[5], with whom she adopted a son, Jake (born 1997). She had another son, Christopher, whom she placed in adoption in 1976; Christopher later became Jake's godfather.[6]
Career
Ruehl began her career in regional theatre, taking odd jobs between engagements. In the late 1970s, Ruehl began chalking up New York stage successes, notably in I'm Not Rappaport (1985). On the stage, she won the 1985 Obie Award for her performance in The Marriage of Bette and Boo and twenty years later, an Obie for Woman Before a Glass. She also received a 1991 Tony Award as Best Actress (Play) for Lost in Yonkers. Her performances in two other plays earned her two other Tony nominations:
- In 1995 as Best Actress (Featured Role - Play) for a revival of The Shadow Box;
- In 2002 as Best Actress (Play) for Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?.
Her most acclaimed film role was in The Fisher King; her performance in the film earned her the 1991 Oscar for Best Supporting Actress as well as an American Comedy Award, a Boston Society of Film Critics Award, a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, and a Golden Globe. Earlier she had won the 1989 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Married to the Mob. She played KACL station manager Kate Costas in five episodes of Frasier, and had a major role in the made-for-TV film All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story.She is the first Cuban American female Academy Award winner. She has also played the mother of Vincent Chase in HBO's Entourage.
Controversy
Ruehl has been the subject of a heated Internet debate [7] concerning her general demeanor and involvement in an international incident in which she reportedly acted dismissively to the country of Canada. Fans and detractors alike have chimed in with stories both personal and professional.
Filmography
- Dona Flor e Seus Dois Maridos (1976) .... American girl in casino
- The Warriors (1979) .... Policewoman in Central Park
- Four Friends (1981) .... Woman in Taxi
- Mom's on Strike (1984) (TV) .... Sandy
- Our Family Honor (1985) TV Episode .... Louise Taylor
- Twisted (1986) .... Cybelle
- Kate & Allie (1986) TV Episode (as herself)
- Heartburn (1986) .... Eve
- Leader of the Band (1987) .... Miss Cooper
- Radio Days (1987) .... Ad Men
- 84 Charing Cross Road (1987) .... Kay
- The Secret of My Success (1987) .... Sheila
- Big (1988) .... Mrs. Baskin
- Married to the Mob (1988) .... Connie Russo
- Slaves of New York (1989) .... Samantha
- Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) (uncredited) .... Party Guest
- Crazy People (1990) .... Dr. Liz Baylor
- The Cosby Show (1990) TV Episode .... Bernadette Foley
- Another You (1991) .... Elaine
- The Fisher King (1991) .... Anne Napolitano (awarded Oscar for Best-Supporting Actress)
- Lost in Yonkers (1993) .... Bella Kurnitz
- Last Action Hero (1993) .... Irene Madigan
- On Hope (1994) (TV) .... Wendy
- Indictment: The McMartin Trial (1995) (TV) .... Lael Rubin
- Frasier (1995 - 1996) .... Kate Costas
- Roseanna's Grave (1997) .... Roseanna 'Rosa'
- North Shore Fish (1997) (TV) .... Florence
- (1997) (TV) .... Leyla (segment \"Underground\")
- Gia (1998) (TV) .... Kathleen Carangi
- The Minus Man (1999) .... Jane Durwin
- Out of the Cold (1999) .... Tina
- Spooky House (2000) .... Boss
- All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story (2000) (TV) .... Jane Newhall
- What's Cooking? (2000 film) (2000) .... Elizabeth 'Lizzy' Avila
- More Dogs Than Bones (2000) .... Victoria 'Vic' Galletti
- The Amati Girls (2000) .... Grace
- The Lost Child (2000) (TV) .... Rebecca
- Mr. Life (2001) (TV)
- Guilt by Association (2002) (TV) .... Susan Walker
- Widows (2002) (mini) TV Series .... Dolly Rawlins
- 1-800-Missing (2004) TV Episode .... Emanuelle Baker
- Bad Apple (2004) (TV) .... Lorraine Gibbons
- Zeyda and the Hitman (2004) .... Esther
- Law & Order (2004) TV Episode .... Zina Rybakov
- Mom at Sixteen (2005) (TV) .... Terry Jeffries
- Entourage (2006) HBO .... Mrs. Chase
- A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story (2006) (TV) .... Sylvia Guerrero
- A Happy Death (2007) .... Aunt Rosa
- Psych (2007) TV Episode .... Detective Goochberg
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Whoopi Goldberg for Ghost |
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress 1991 for The Fisher King |
Succeeded by Marisa Tomei for My Cousin Vinny |
| Preceded by Whoopi Goldberg for Ghost |
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture for The Fisher King 1992 |
Succeeded by Joan Plowright for Enchanted April |
|}
References
- ^ http://www.filmreference.com/film/30/Mercedes-Ruehl.html
- ^ http://www.findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1285/is_n8_v24/ai_15667421
- ^ http://www.lasculturas.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=78&Itemid=1
- ^ http://www.cnr.edu/CNR/cnr-wealth.html
- ^ http://www.artdealers.org/events/forum07t.html
- ^ http://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800019603/bio
- ^ http://www3.sympatico.ca/brooksdr/ruehl.htm
External links
- Mercedes Ruehl at the Internet Movie Database
- Mercedes Ruehl at the Internet Broadway Database
- ITDb
- Ruehl Rules, a May 2005 Playbill article
- Brief Encounter with Mercedes Ruehl, a May 2002 Playbill interview
- TonyAwards.com Interview with Mercedes Ruehl
