Elizabeth Ashley facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Elizabeth Ashley
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Ashley in 1971
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| Born |
Elizabeth Ann Cole
August 30, 1939 Ocala, Florida, U.S.
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| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1960–present |
| Spouse(s) |
James McCarthy
(m. 1975; div. 1981) |
| Children | 1 |
Elizabeth Ann Cole (born August 30, 1939), known as Elizabeth Ashley, is a famous American actress. She has acted in plays, movies, and TV shows for many years. Elizabeth has been nominated for three Tony Awards, which are big awards for theater. She won one in 1962 for her role in the play Take Her, She's Mine.
She also received nominations for the BAFTA and Golden Globe awards. These were for her role in the movie The Carpetbaggers (1964). In 1991, she was nominated for an Emmy Award for her work on the TV show Evening Shade. Elizabeth Ashley was a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson 24 times. She also appeared in the TV series In the Heat of the Night as Maybelle Chesboro. In 2024, she was added to the Theatre Hall of Fame.
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Early Life and Acting Start
Elizabeth Ashley was born in Ocala, Florida. She grew up in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. Her mother was a music teacher.
After her first year at Louisiana State University, Elizabeth moved to New York City. There, she studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. To support herself, she worked on a TV show as the "Jell-O pudding girl." She also worked as a model in showrooms.
A Star on Stage and Screen
Elizabeth Ashley has had a long and successful acting career. She has performed in many famous plays and movies.
Broadway Theater Roles
After winning her Tony Award for Take Her, She's Mine, Elizabeth starred in other big Broadway plays. She played Corie in Neil Simon's Barefoot in the Park (1963). Later, she was Maggie in a Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams' Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1974). Both of these roles earned her more Tony Award nominations. She also appeared in Agnes of God (1982) and August: Osage County on Broadway.
Memorable Movie Appearances
Elizabeth Ashley has been in many major movies over five decades. Some of her early films include The Carpetbaggers (1964) and Ship of Fools (1965). She also appeared in The Third Day (1965). Other movies she starred in are The Marriage of a Young Stockbroker (1971), Rancho Deluxe (1975), and Coma (1978). Later films include Paternity (1981), Dragnet (1987), and Vampire's Kiss (1989).
Television Shows and Series
Elizabeth Ashley has also been a familiar face on television. She worked with actor Burt Reynolds several times. They appeared together in Love, American Style (1969) and the movie Paternity (1981). She was also a guest star on his show B.L. Stryker (1989). Later, she joined the main cast of his TV series Evening Shade (1990–1994) as Aunt Frieda Evans.
She played Kate in Sandburg's Lincoln, a TV series about Abraham Lincoln in the mid-1970s. Elizabeth has also made guest appearances on many popular TV shows. These include Mission: Impossible, Murder, She Wrote, Miami Vice, and Law & Order. More recently, she was in the HBO series Treme as Aunt Mimi. She also had a main role in the TV series Russian Doll from 2019 to 2022.
Her Book: Actress
Elizabeth Ashley wrote a book about her life called Actress: Postcards from the Road. It was published in 1978. In the book, she shares stories and experiences from her acting career.
Family Life
Elizabeth Ashley has a son named Christian. Her son's father is actor George Peppard. George Peppard was also her co-star in her first movie, The Carpetbaggers. At one point, Elizabeth took a break from acting to focus on her family. She returned to her career a few years later.
