Loading amazing content...
Personal Info
Known For
Acting
Birthday
December 7, 1932
Place of Birth
Detroit, Michigan, USA
Also Known As
- Ellen McRae
- 엘렌 버스틴
- Эллен Бёрстин
- Edna Rae Gilhooley
- الن برستین
Ellen Burstyn
2.9 Popularity
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
7.0
Self
Breakdown: 1975
2025
0.0
Voice
This Ordinary Thing
2025
0.0
Self - (archive footage)
Legacy of Screams: The Evolution of Horror Movies
2025
0.0
Duse, the Greatest
2025
4.5
E. Jean Carroll
E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump
2024
5.5
Mother
Mother, Couch
2024
0.0
Self
Fear and Love: The Story of The Exorcist
2024
8.6
Self
Martin Scorsese, l'Italo-Américain
2023
5.8
Chris MacNeil
The Exorcist: Believer
2023
5.8
Sara Delano Roosevelt
The First Lady
2022
Credits
Breakdown: 1975
as Self
2025
7.0
This Ordinary Thing
as Voice
2025
0.0
Legacy of Screams: The Evolution of Horror Movies
as Self - (archive footage)
2025
0.0
Duse, the Greatest
2025
0.0
E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump
as E. Jean Carroll
2024
4.5
Mother, Couch
as Mother
2024
5.5
Fear and Love: The Story of The Exorcist
as Self
2024
0.0
Martin Scorsese, l'Italo-Américain
as Self
2023
8.6
The Exorcist: Believer
as Chris MacNeil
2023
5.8
The First Lady
as Sara Delano Roosevelt
2022
5.8
Three Months
as Valerie
2022
7.0
Reframed: Marilyn Monroe
as Self
2022
7.8
Paul Newman, Behind Blue Eyes
as Herself
2021
8.0
Queen Bees
as Helen Wilson
2021
6.0
Watch on the Rhine
as Fanny
2021
0.0
Law & Order: Organized Crime
as Bernadette 'Bernie' Stabler
2021
7.9
Pieces of a Woman
as Elizabeth Weiss
2020
7.0
Delphine and Carole
as Self (archive footage)
2020
6.5
Lucy in the Sky
as Nana Holbrook
2019
5.0
American Woman
as Miss Dolly
2019
4.9
Steven Arnold: Heavenly Bodies
as Self
2019
0.0
The House of Tomorrow
as Josephine Prendergast
2019
6.8
Friedkin Uncut
as Self
2018
7.0
Nostalgia
as Helen Greer
2018
5.4
All I Wish
as Celia Berges
2018
5.5
The Tale
as Nettie
2018
7.1
Marilyn Monroe: Auction of a Lifetime
as Self
2017
3.5
Wiener-Dog
as Nana
2016
5.6
Custody
as Beatrice Fisher
2016
6.9
Unity
as Narrator (voice)
2015
7.5
About Scout
as Gram
2015
5.8
The Age of Adaline
as Flemming
2015
7.5
Interstellar
as Murph (older)
2014
8.5
The Calling
as Emily Micallef
2014
5.9
Petals on the Wind
as Olivia Foxworth
2014
6.5
Two Men in Town
as Mère Garnett
2014
5.5
Draft Day
as Barb Weaver
2014
6.7
River of Fundament
as Hathfertiti
2014
5.9
And the Oscar Goes To...
as Self - Interviewee
2014
6.9
Flowers in the Attic
as Grandmother
2014
6.7
Wish You Well
as Louisa Mae Cardinal
2013
6.3
Mom
as Shirley
2013
7.3
Love, Marilyn
as Self
2013
6.6
House of Cards
as Elizabeth Hale
2013
8.0
Coma
as Mrs. Emerson
2012
6.4
Political Animals
as Margaret Barrish
2012
7.1
Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You
as Nanette
2012
5.5
Another Happy Day
as Doris Baker
2011
5.5
The Mighty Macs
as Mother St. John
2011
5.2
BBStory: An American Film Renaissance
as Self
2010
0.0
🎬
America Lost and Found: The BBS Story
as Self
2010
0.0
Reflections of a Philosopher King
as Self
2010
0.0
Main Street
as Georgiana Carr
2010
4.6
According to Greta
as Katherine
2009
6.0
Lovely, Still
as Mary
2009
6.6
PoliWood
as Self
2009
6.5
The Velveteen Rabbit
as Swan (voice)
2009
6.6
W.
as Barbara Bush
2008
6.2
The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond
as Miss Addie
2008
5.3
Mitch Albom's For One More Day
as Pauline "Posey" Benetto
2007
3.0
The Stone Angel
as Hagar
2007
5.4
The Fountain
as Dr. Lillian Guzetti
2006
6.9
30 Days
as Maura
2006
1.0
The Wicker Man
as Sister Summersisle
2006
4.3
Hubert Selby Jr: It/ll Be Better Tomorrow
as Self
2006
6.4
Stardust: The Bette Davis Story
as Self
2006
6.7
The Elephant King
as Diana Hunt
2006
5.6
Big Love
as Nancy Davis Dutton
2006
6.9
Mrs. Harris
as Former Tarnower Steady
2006
5.7
The Book of Daniel
as Bishop Beatrice Congreve
2006
6.6
Our Fathers
as Mary Ryan
2005
6.4
The Five People You Meet In Heaven
as Ruby
2004
7.0
The Madam's Family: The Truth About the Canal Street Brothel
as Tommie
2004
3.8
🎬
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore: Second Chances
as Self
2004
0.0
A Decade Under the Influence
as Self
2003
7.9
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood
as Self
2003
7.1
Brush with Fate
as Rika
2003
5.8
Red Dragon
as Grandma Dolarhyde (voice) (uncredited)
2002
7.0
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
as Vivi Abbott Walker
2002
6.1
Within These Walls
as Joan Thomas
2001
5.2
Memories, Dreams & Addictions
as Self
2001
0.0
The Making of Requiem for a Dream
as Self
2001
4.8
Requiem for a Dream
as Sara Goldfarb
2000
8.0
That's Life
as Dolly DeLucca
2000
7.0
Mermaid
as Trish
2000
6.5
The Yards
as Val Handler
2000
6.2
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
as Bernie Stabler
1999
7.9
Die letzte Vorstellung: Ein Rückblick
as Self
1999
7.3
Night Ride Home
as Maggie
1999
5.6
Walking Across Egypt
as Mattie Rigsbee
1999
4.7
Playing by Heart
as Mildred
1998
6.6
A Will of their Own
as Veronica Steward
1998
7.0
Marilyn in Manhattan
as Self
1998
7.5
You Can Thank Me Later
as Shirley Cooperberg
1998
5.1
The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist
as Self - Chris MacNeil
1998
7.3
The Patron Saint of Liars
as June Clatterbuck
1998
4.7
Flash
as Laura Strong
1997
8.1
Deceiver
as Mook
1997
6.0
The View
as Self
1997
4.3
A Deadly Vision
as Yvette Watson
1997
5.6
Timepiece
as Maud Gannon
1996
7.0
The Spitfire Grill
as Hannah Ferguson
1996
6.4
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
as Self - Guest
1996
3.9
How to Make an American Quilt
as Hy Dodd
1995
6.4
The Baby-Sitters Club
as Mrs. Haberman
1995
5.4
Follow The River
as Gretel
1995
7.0
🎬
My Brother's Keeper
as Helen
1995
1.0
Roommates
as Judith
1995
5.7
Trick of the Eye
as Frances Griffin
1994
6.0
Inside the Actors Studio
as Self
1994
7.5
Getting Gotti
as Jo Giacalone
1994
4.6
When a Man Loves a Woman
as Emily
1994
6.6
Getting Out
as Arlie's Mother
1994
4.6
🎬
Roots of Roe
as Narrator (voice)
1993
0.0
Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story
as Joan Delvecchio
1993
3.3
The Cemetery Club
as Esther Moskowitz
1993
5.3
Earth and the American Dream
as Reader (voice)
1992
6.7
When It Was a Game 2
as Passage Narrator (voice)
1992
9.0
Taking Back My Life: The Nancy Ziegenmeyer Story
as Wilma
1992
7.3
Picture This
as Self
1991
9.0
Grand Isle
as Mademoiselle Reisz
1991
3.3
Dying Young
as Mrs. O'Neil
1991
6.7
Mrs. Lambert Remembers Love
as Lillian "Lil" Lambert
1991
4.5
When You Remember Me
as Nurse Cooder
1990
5.9
The Color of Evening
as Kate O'Rielly
1990
2.0
🎬
Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre
as Self
1989
0.0
Hello Actors Studio
as Self
1988
6.5
American Experience
as Narrator (voice)
1988
6.9
Hanna's War
as Katalin
1988
4.7
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam
as Mrs. Stocks (voice)
1987
7.1
Pack of Lies
as Barbara Jackson
1987
6.6
Something in Common
as Lynn Hollander
1986
6.0
The Ellen Burstyn Show
as Ellen Brewer
1986
5.0
Act of Vengeance
as Margaret Yablonski
1986
5.6
Into Thin Air
as Joan Walker
1985
7.0
Twice in a Lifetime
as Kate MacKenzie
1985
5.6
Night of 100 Stars II
as Self
1985
8.0
Surviving
as Tina Brogan
1985
4.4
The Ambassador
as Alex Hacker
1985
5.0
I Love Liberty
as Self
1982
0.0
Night of 100 Stars
as Self
1982
6.7
Silence of the North
as Olive Frederickson
1981
4.0
People vs. Jean Harris
as Jean Harris
1981
0.0
Be Pretty and Shut Up!
as Self
1981
6.1
Resurrection
as Edna
1980
6.4
A Dream of Passion
as Brenda Collins
1978
5.5
Same Time, Next Year
as Doris
1978
6.6
Providence
as Sonia Langham
1977
6.8
Saturday Night Live
as Self - Host
1975
7.0
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
as Self
1975
6.0
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
as Alice Hyatt
1974
6.9
Dinah!
as Self
1974
6.7
Harry and Tonto
as Shirley Mallard
1974
7.1
Thursday's Game
as Lynne Evers
1974
5.8
🎬
The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute
as Self (archive footage)
1974
7.7
The Exorcist
as Chris MacNeil
1973
7.7
The King of Marvin Gardens
as Sally
1972
5.8
The Last Picture Show
as Lois Farrow
1971
7.6
Alex in Wonderland
as Beth Morrison
1970
5.5
Tropic of Cancer
as Mona (uncredited)
1970
4.5
Pit Stop
as Ellen McCleod
1969
6.7
The Time Tunnel
as Eve Holland
1966
7.6
The Big Valley
as Sister Sarah Jacob
1965
6.1
Goodbye Charlie
as Franny Salzman
1964
5.8
For Those Who Think Young
as Dr. Pauline Swenson
1964
5.3
Kraft Suspense Theatre
as Barbara Sherwood / Lucille Benton
1963
5.3
🎬
The Greatest Show on Earth
as Susan Mason
1963
5.0
🎬
Vacation Playhouse
as Ellen
1963
7.0
Going My Way
as Louise
1962
5.7
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
as Self
1962
7.5
I'm Dickens, He's Fenster
as Joan
1962
6.7
The Virginian
as Kate Burden
1962
6.4
Ricochet
as Rose Maxon
1961
0.0
Ben Casey
as Dr. Leslie Fraser
1961
5.6
Ben Casey
as Connie
1961
5.6
Bus Stop
as Phyllis Dunning
1961
0.0
Dr. Kildare
as Anne Garner
1961
5.5
The Defenders
as Hilda Wesley
1961
5.9
Surfside 6
as Wandra Drake
1960
5.0
Checkmate
as Margo as Ellen McRae
1960
4.1
The Detectives
as Nora
1959
6.1
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
as Donna Whittaker
1959
6.0
🎬
The Christmas Tree
as Elizabeth
1958
0.0
77 Sunset Strip
as Betty Benson
1958
6.7
77 Sunset Strip
as Sandra Keene
1958
6.7
Perry Mason
as Mona Winthrope White
1957
7.7
Tony Awards
as Self - Host/Presenter
1956
5.9
Tony Awards
as Self - Winner
1956
5.9
Tony Awards
as Self - Presenter
1956
5.9
Tony Awards
as Self - Host
1956
5.9
Tony Awards
as Self - Audience Member
1956
5.9
Cheyenne
as Emmy Mae
1955
6.0
Gunsmoke
as Polly
1955
6.6
Gunsmoke
as Amy Waters
1955
6.6
Letter to Loretta
as Ann Walters
1953
6.5
The Oscars
as Self
1953
7.0
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Elizabeth
1951
8.6
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Barbara Jackson
1951
8.6
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Maggie
1951
8.6
Hallmark Hall of Fame
as Rika
1951
8.6
Easy Out?
as Mary
1948
0.0
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Presenter
1944
7.2
Golden Globe Awards
as Self - Nominee
1944
7.2
🎬
Place To Be
as Brooke
N/A
0.0
🎬
Bathing Flo
N/A
0.0