Shelley Winters

American actress

Also known as: Shirley Schrift

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Nov 11, 2024 • Article History

Quick Facts

Original name:: Shirley Schrift

Born:: August 18, 1920, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.

Died:: January 14, 2006, Beverly Hills, California, U.S. (aged 83)

Awards And Honors:: Academy Award (1966); Academy Award (1960); Academy Award (1966): Actress in a Supporting Role; Academy Award (1960): Actress in a Supporting Role; Emmy Award (1964): Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role; Golden Globe Award (1973): Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture

Married To:: Gerry DeFord (married 2006); Anthony Franciosa (1957–1960); Vittorio Gassman (1952–1954); Mack Paul Mayer (1942–1948)

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "La bomba" (1999); "Gideon" (1998); "Roseanne" (1991–1996); "The Portrait of a Lady" (1996); "Raging Angels" (1995); "Mrs. Munck" (1995); "Jury Duty" (1995); "Backfire!" (1995); "Heavy" (1995); "Il silenzio dei prosciutti" (1994); "The Pickle" (1993); "Stepping Out" (1991); "Touch of a Stranger" (1990); "An Unremarkable Life" (1989); "Purple People Eater" (1988); "Very Close Quarters" (1986); "Witchfire" (1986); "The Delta Force" (1986); "Déjà Vu" (1985); "Hawaiian Heat" (1984); "Ellie" (1984); "Hotel" (1984); "Over the Brooklyn Bridge" (1984); "Fanny Hill" (1983); "The Love Boat" (1982); "S.O.B." (1981); "Looping" (1981); "Vega$" (1979); "The French Atlantic Affair" (1979); "The Magician of Lublin" (1979); "City on Fire" (1979); "Stridulum" (1979); "Gran bollito" (1979); "King of the Gypsies" (1978); "Kojak" (1978); "Pete's Dragon" (1977); "Un borghese piccolo piccolo" (1977); "Tentacoli" (1977); "La dahlia scarlatta" (1976); "Mimì Bluette... fiore del mio giardino" (1976); "Le locataire" (1976); "Next Stop, Greenwich Village" (1976); "Diamonds" (1975); "Journey Into Fear" (1975); "That Lucky Touch" (1975); "Poor Pretty Eddie" (1975); "Chico and the Man" (1975); "McCloud" (1974); "Cleopatra Jones" (1973); "Blume in Love" (1973); "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972); "ITV Saturday Night Theatre" (1972); "Something to Hide" (1972); "What's the Matter with Helen?" (1971); "Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?" (1971); "Flap" (1970); "How Do I Love Thee?" (1970); "Bloody Mama" (1970); "Arthur? Arthur!" (1969); "The Mad Room" (1969); "That's Life" (1968–1969); "Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell" (1968); "Here's Lucy" (1968); "Wild in the Streets" (1968); "The Scalphunters" (1968); "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre" (1964–1967); "Armchair Theatre" (1967); "Enter Laughing" (1967); "The Three Sisters" (1966); "Batman" (1966); "Alfie" (1966); "Harper" (1966); "A Patch of Blue" (1965); "Thirty-Minute Theatre" (1965); "The Greatest Story Ever Told" (1965); "Ben Casey" (1964); "Gli indifferenti" (1964); "A House Is Not a Home" (1964); "Wives and Lovers" (1963); "The Balcony" (1963); "Alcoa Premiere" (1962); "The Chapman Report" (1962); "Lolita" (1962); "The Young Savages" (1961); "Let No Man Write My Epitaph" (1960); "Play of the Week" (1960); "Odds Against Tomorrow" (1959); "The Diary of Anne Frank" (1959); "Kraft Television Theatre" (1957); "The DuPont Show of the Month" (1957); "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars" (1957); "Wagon Train" (1957); "Climax!" (1954–1957); "The United States Steel Hour" (1957); "The Alcoa Hour" (1957); "I Died a Thousand Times" (1955); "The Treasure of Pancho Villa" (1955); "The Big Knife" (1955); "The Night of the Hunter" (1955); "I Am a Camera" (1955); "Producers' Showcase" (1955); "To Dorothy, a Son" (1954); "Mambo" (1954); "Playgirl" (1954); "Saskatchewan" (1954); "Tennessee Champ" (1954); "Executive Suite" (1954); "The Ford Television Theatre" (1954); "My Man and I" (1952); "Untamed Frontier" (1952); "Meet Danny Wilson" (1952); "Phone Call from a Stranger" (1952); "The Raging Tide" (1951); "Behave Yourself!" (1951); "He Ran All the Way" (1951); "A Place in the Sun" (1951); "Frenchie" (1950); "South Sea Sinner" (1950); "Winchester '73" (1950); "The Great Gatsby" (1949); "Take One False Step" (1949); "Johnny Stool Pigeon" (1949); "Cry of the City" (1948); "Larceny" (1948); "A Double Life" (1947); "Susie Steps Out" (1946); "Knickerbocker Holiday" (1944); "Sailor's Holiday" (1944)

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Shelley Winters (born August 18, 1920, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.—died January 14, 2006, Beverly Hills, California, U.S.) was an American actor who had a career that spanned more than half a century, well over 100 films, and a variety of colourful characters. She won two best supporting actress Academy Awards, for The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) and A Patch of Blue (1965), and received nominations as best actress for A Place in the Sun (1951) and supporting actress for The Poseidon Adventure (1972).

Winters got her big break with the role of a murder victim in A Double Life (1947). Notable films that followed included Cry of the City (1948), Meet Danny Wilson (1952), and The Night of the Hunter (1955). Winters then returned to New York City, where she joined the Actors Studio and starred in A Hatful of Rain on Broadway. She thereafter split her time between stage, motion picture, and television appearances.

Making the transition from glamorous roles to more matronly character parts, Winters added to her credits such films as Lolita (1962), Harper (1966), Alfie (1966), Bloody Mama (1970), and Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976). Besides appearing in numerous TV films and series, including several episodes of Roseanne in the 1990s as the title character’s grandmother, Winters was a favourite guest on talk shows, where she regaled audiences with sometimes bawdy stories of her life and loves in show business. Winters also published two autobiographies, Shelley: Also Known as Shirley (1980) and Shelley II: The Middle of My Century (1989).

Empty movie theater and blank screen (theatre, motion pictures, cinema).

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