Betty Buckley facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Betty Buckley
Betty Buckley in December 2009
Born	(1947-07-03) July 3, 1947 (age 77) Fort Worth, Texas, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, singer, music teacher
Years active	1964–present
Spouse(s)	Peter Flood ​ ​ (m. 1972; div. 1979)​
Relatives	Norman Buckley (brother)

Betty Buckley (born July 3, 1947) is a famous American actress and singer. She has won a special award called a Tony Award for her amazing work in musicals. She was also nominated for many other big awards, like two Daytime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and an Olivier Award. In 2012, she was honored by being added to the American Theater Hall of Fame.

Betty Buckley won her Tony Award in 1983. This was for her role as Grizabella in the original Broadway show Cats. Later, she played Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard from 1994 to 1996. She performed this role in both London and New York. For her London performance, she was nominated for an Olivier Award in 1995. She also received a Tony Award nomination in 1997 for Triumph of Love.

Some of her other Broadway shows include 1776 (1969), Pippin (1973), and The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1985). From 2018 to 2019, she toured the U.S. playing the main character in Hello, Dolly.

On TV, Betty Buckley starred in the show Eight Is Enough from 1977 to 1981. She also played the gym teacher, Miss Collins, in the 1976 movie Carrie. Later, she was in the short-lived Broadway musical version of Carrie in 1988. In this musical, she played Carrie White's mother, Margaret. Her other movie roles include Dixie Scott in Tender Mercies (1983) and Sondra Walker in Frantic (1988). She was also Kathy in Another Woman (1988) and Mrs. Jones in The Happening (2008). She was nominated for a Saturn Award for her role as Dr. Karen Fletcher in the 2016 movie Split. She also appeared in TV series like Oz (2001–03) and Preacher (2018).

Betty Buckley's Career Highlights

Acting in Movies and TV Shows

Betty Buckley as Abby Abbott in Eight is Enough, 1977

Betty Buckley grew up in Fort Worth, Texas. Many people know her from the TV show Eight Is Enough, which ran from 1977 to 1981. She joined the show in its second season. The first star, Diana Hyland, passed away, so Betty Buckley was cast as the new stepmother, Abby Abbott. Abby became the stepmom to the eight children the show was named after.

In 1976, Betty Buckley was in the first movie version of Carrie. She played Miss Collins, the gym teacher. In 1977, she sang a part in the movie Hair, though she wasn't credited.

She was nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards for her work in children's TV shows. These were for NBC Special Treat - Bobby and Sarah (1984) and ABC Afterschool Special - Taking a Stand (1989).

In the 1980s, she appeared in several movies. She played a country music singer in Tender Mercies and sang the Oscar-nominated song "Over You." She was also in Woody Allen's movie Another Woman (1988) and Roman Polanski's Frantic (1988). She also appeared in Wyatt Earp (1994).

From 2001 to 2003, she played Suzanne Fitzgerald in the HBO series Oz. She has also been a guest star on many other TV shows. These include Without a Trace, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Monk. In 2010, she played Marion Leckie in the HBO series The Pacific.

In 2008, Buckley played Mrs. Jones in M. Night Shyamalan's movie The Happening. In 2017, she was a star in M. Night Shyamalan's Split. This movie was number one at the box office for three weeks! Her other TV roles include being Meg's mother in The Leftovers in 2015. She also appeared in five episodes of Supergirl from 2017 to 2021. In 2018, she was cast in season three of Preacher.

Performing on Stage

Betty Buckley first performed on Broadway in 1969 in the musical 1776. New York magazine has even called her "The Voice of Broadway."

In 1982, Buckley starred as Grizabella in the first Broadway show of Cats. This musical features the famous song "Memory". She performed in Cats for 18 months. For this role, she won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.

Buckley also played Norma Desmond in the musical Sunset Boulevard. She performed this role in London (1994) and New York (1995). She was nominated for an Olivier Award for her performance in London.

In 1997, she starred in the Broadway musical Triumph of Love. For this role, she received a Tony Award nomination. In 2006, she sang "Memory" from Cats at the Kennedy Center Honors. This was part of a tribute to the composer Andrew Lloyd Webber.

On January 28, 2013, she was added to The American Theater Hall of Fame. From January to March 2013, she starred in the London premiere of Dear World. She received great reviews for this musical.

In 2018, it was announced that Betty Buckley would play the main role in the national tour of Hello, Dolly!. She started performing in October 2018. She finished her part of the tour in September 2019.

Her Music Career

Betty Buckley singing the National Anthem at MetLife Stadium, in 2012

Betty Buckley's 18th solo album, Hope, was released in 2018. She continues to perform concerts across the U.S. every year. She is also a composer, meaning she writes music. Her first recording mainly featured songs she wrote herself.

She is also on many Broadway music collections. You can hear her on the original cast recordings of 1776, Cats, Triumph of Love, and The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

In 2002, Buckley was nominated for a Grammy Award for her album Stars and the Moon: Live at the Donmar. This was her second Grammy nomination. She was first nominated in 2000 for The Diaries of Adam and Eve.

Her albums Quintessence and 1967 were released in 2008. Quintessence has jazz versions of classic songs. 1967 is a recording she made when she was only 19 years old. Her album Ghostlight was released in 2014.

Betty Buckley's Personal Life

Betty Buckley was married to Peter Flood in 1972, and they divorced in 1979. She does not have any children.

She has received two special honorary doctorates. These were for her important contributions to musical theater. She received them from The Boston Conservatory and Marymount Manhattan College.

Filmography

Discography

Awards and Nominations

Special Honors

• 2004 Legend of Cabaret Award
• 2007 Texas Film Hall of Fame Inductee
• 2012 American Theater Hall of Fame Inductee

See also

In Spanish: Betty Buckley para niños