Carol Kane

Template:Short description Template:For Template:Use American English Template:Use mdy dates Template:Infobox person Carolyn Laurie Kane (born June 18, 1952)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> is an American actress and comedian. She gained recognition for her role in Hester Street (1975), for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. She became known in the 1970s and 1980s in films such as Dog Day Afternoon (1975), Annie Hall (1977), When a Stranger Calls (1979), The Princess Bride (1987), Scrooged (1988) and Flashback (1990).

Kane appeared on the television series Taxi in the early 1980s, as Simka Gravas, the wife of Latka, the character played by Andy Kaufman, winning two Emmy Awards for her work. She has played the character of Madame Morrible in the musical Wicked, both in touring productions and on Broadway from 2005 to 2014. From 2015 to 2020, she was a main cast member on the Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, in which she played Lillian Kaushtupper. She currently plays the recurring role of Pelia in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2023Template:Ndashpresent).

Early life

Kane was born on June 18, 1952, in Cleveland, the daughter of Joy, a jazz singer, teacher, dancer, and pianist, and architect Michael Kane.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> Her family is Jewish, and her grandparents emigrated from Russia, Austria, and Poland.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Due to her father's occupation, Kane moved frequently as a child; she briefly lived in Paris at age eight, where she began learning to speak French.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":2">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Additionally, she resided in Haiti at age 10.<ref name=":0" /> Her parents divorced when she was 12 years old.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

She attended the Cherry Lawn School, a boarding school in Darien, Connecticut, until 1965.<ref>"Cherry Lawn School, Class of 1965". Cherry Lawn School. Retrieved August 27, 2011.</ref><ref>"Cherry Lawn School Photo Of The Month, October 1999". Cherry Lawn School. Retrieved August 27, 2011.</ref> She studied theater at HB Studio<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and also went to the Professional Children's School in New York City. She became a member of both the Screen Actors Guild and the Actors' Equity Association at age 14.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Kane made her professional theater debut in a 1966 production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie starring Tammy Grimes, her first job as a member of Actors' Equity.<ref>"Carol Kane Biography". YahooMovies. Retrieved August 27, 2011.</ref><ref name=":6" />

Career

1971–1979: Career beginnings and early recognition

Kane's on-screen career began while she was still a teenager, when she appeared in minor roles in films such as Desperate Characters and Mike Nichols's Carnal Knowledge in 1971, the latter of which led her to befriend lead actor Jack Nicholson. In 1972, she was cast in her first leading role in the Canadian production Wedding in White, where she played a teenage rape victim who is forced into marriage by her father. She also appeared as a sex worker in Hal Ashby's 1973 film The Last Detail, where she collaborated with Nicholson yet again.<ref name="Lacher, Irene; Moving a Step" />

File:Hester Street (1975 poster).jpg

Theatrical release poster for Hester Street (1975)

In 1975, Kane was cast in Joan Micklin Silver's feature-length debut Hester Street, in which she played a Russian-Jewish immigrant who struggles with her husband to assimilate in late 19th-century New York.<ref name="Lacher, Irene; Moving a Step" /> For her performance in the film, Kane garnered her sole Academy Award nomination for Best Actress at the 48th Academy Awards, and it remains her favorite of all her roles.<ref name=":2" /> Additionally, in 1975 she appeared as a bank teller in Sidney Lumet's crime drama Dog Day Afternoon, which received numerous Academy Award nominations in other categories that same year. This also marked her first on-screen collaboration with Al Pacino, whom she had known prior to the film thanks to their shared background in theater.<ref name=":1" /><ref name=":3">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Despite this recognition, however, Kane has recounted waiting for approximately a year before being cast in her next role, which she has attributed to the trend of actors being typecast after receiving awards attention.<ref>Template:Cite episode</ref> Her return to the screen would come with Gene Wilder's 1977 comedy The World's Greatest Lover, which she has credited for identifying the comedic talents that would become her staple in later years.<ref name=":3" /> During the same year, she was cast in Woody Allen's romantic comedy Annie Hall, where she played Allison Portchnik, the first wife of Allen's character Alvy Singer.<ref name=":0" /> She also appeared in Ken Russell's film Valentino, which, like The World's Greatest Lover, takes inspiration from the silent film era, as it is a biographical drama loosely inspired by the life of Rudolph Valentino.

File:Carol Kane Gene Wilder 1977.jpg

Kane and Gene Wilder in a publicity photo for The World's Greatest Lover, 1977

After this, Kane appeared in the horror films The Mafu Cage (1978) and When a Stranger Calls (1979); ironically, Kane herself is largely averse to horror, and she admits to being unable to watch the latter.<ref name=":4">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 1979, she also appeared in a cameo role in The Muppet Movie.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

1980–1990: Taxi and transition into comedy

From 1980 to 1983, Kane portrayed Simka Dahblitz-Gravas, the wife of Andy Kaufman's character Latka Gravas, on the American television series Taxi. She has theorized that she was cast in Taxi in part due to her work in Hester Street, where a significant portion of her dialogue was spoken in Yiddish, since Simka speaks a fictional language with a vaguely Eastern European accent.<ref>Template:Cite AV media</ref>

Kane has attributed the on-screen rapport she shared with Kaufman to their different work ethics: where she was trained in the theater and enjoyed rehearsal time, Kaufman was rooted more in stand-up comedy and did not care for rehearsals, a contrast that she believes enhanced their believability as a married couple.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name=":6" /> However, she maintains that she and Kaufman had a loving relationship on set, and she has spoken fondly of him in retrospective interviews.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":6" /> Kane received two Emmy Awards for her work on Taxi.<ref name="Lacher, Irene; Moving a Step">Template:Cite news</ref> Her role on the series has largely been credited as the beginning of her pivot towards more comedic roles, as she began to regularly appear in sitcoms and comedy films after the series ended.<ref name=":4" /><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 1984, Kane appeared in episode 12, season 3 of Cheers as Amanda, an acquaintance of Diane Chambers from her time spent in a mental institution. She was also a regular on the 1986 series All Is Forgiven.

In 1987, Kane appeared in Ishtar, Elaine May's notorious box-office flop turned cult classic, playing the frustrated girlfriend of Dustin Hoffman's character. That year also saw her make one of her most recognizable film appearances in Rob Reiner's fantasy romance The Princess Bride, where she played Valerie, the wife of Miracle Max (Billy Crystal). In 1988, Kane appeared in the Cinemax Comedy Experiment Rap Master Ronnie: A Report Card alongside Jon Cryer and the Smothers Brothers. During the same year, she was also featured in the Bill Murray vehicle Scrooged, where she portrayed a contemporary version of the Ghost of Christmas Present, depicted in the film as a fairy. For this performance, Variety called her "unquestionably [the] pic's comic highlight".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Additionally, she played a potential love interest for Steve Martin's character in the 1990 film My Blue Heaven.

1990–2004: Television and film regularity

Kane became a regular on the NBC series American Dreamer, which ran from 1990 to 1991. In 1993, she appeared in Addams Family Values where she replaced Judith Malina as Grandmama Addams; this role saw her reunite with her Taxi castmate Christopher Lloyd. She also guest starred on a 1994 episode of Seinfeld, as well as a 1996 episode of Ellen. In 1996, she was given a supporting role in the short-lived sitcom Pearl. From there, she continued to appear in a number of film roles throughout the 1990s and early 2000s, including The Pallbearer (1996), Office Killer (1997), Jawbreaker (1999), and My First Mister (2001). In 1998, she voiced Mother Duck in the American version of the animated television film The First Snow of Winter.

In 1999, she made a cameo in the Andy Kaufman biopic Man on the Moon as herself playing the Taxi character.

2005–2014: Wicked and career expansion

Kane is also known for her portrayal of the evil headmistress Madame Morrible in the Broadway musical Wicked, whom she played in various productions from 2005 to 2014. Kane made her Wicked debut on the 1st National Tour,<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> playing the role from March 9 through December 19, 2005. She then reprised the role in the Broadway production from January 10 through November 12, 2006.<ref>Gans, Andrew (January 10, 2006). "Quadruple Play: Wicked Welcomes Espinosa, Kane, Williams and Candler Jan. 10. Playbill.</ref> She again played the role for the Los Angeles production which began performances on February 7, 2007.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She left the production on December 30, 2007, and later returned on August 26, 2008, until the production closed on January 11, 2009.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In January 2009, she guest starred in the television series Two and a Half Men as the mother of Alan Harper's receptionist.<ref>"Two and a Half Men: Thank God for Scoliosis Season 6". Template:Webarchive. TV.com. Retrieved August 27, 2011.</ref>

She then transferred with the Los Angeles company of Wicked to reprise her role once again, this time in the San Francisco production, which began performances January 27, 2009.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She ended her limited engagement on March 22, 2009.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In March 2010, Kane appeared in the ABC series Ugly Betty as Justin Suarez's acting teacher.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Kane starred in the off-Broadway play Love, Loss, and What I Wore in February 2010.<ref>BWW News Desk."'Love, Loss And What I Wore' Welcomes Comedic New Cast; Janeane Garofalo, Carol Kane & More Bow 2/3". broadwayworld.com, December 10, 2009.</ref> She made her West End debut in January 2011 in a major revival of Lillian Hellman's drama The Children's Hour at London's Comedy Theatre, where she starred alongside Keira Knightley, Elisabeth Moss and Ellen Burstyn.<ref>Shenton, Mark (November 19, 2010). "Ellen Burstyn and Carol Kane Join Cast of West End's Children's Hour". Template:Webarchive. Playbill.</ref> In May 2012, Kane appeared on Broadway as Betty Chumley in a revival of the play Harvey.

Kane returned to the Broadway company of Wicked from July 1, 2013, through February 22, 2014, a period that included the show's 10th anniversary.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2014, she was cast in a recurring role on the television series Gotham as Gertrude Kapelput, the Hungarian-born mother of Oswald Cobblepot, also known as Penguin.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

2015–present: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and legacy roles

In 2015, Kane was cast in the recurring role of Lillian Kaushtupper, the landlord to the title character of the Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.<ref name="vix">Template:Cite news</ref> Kane joined the cast due in part to her admiration of showrunner Tina Fey, with whom she had previously wanted to collaborate on the NBC series 30 Rock.<ref name=":6">Template:Cite episode</ref> She was promoted to a series regular for the show's second season.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt ran for four seasons, making it one of Kane's longest television roles to date. She reprised the role in the "interactive" television special Kimmy vs the Reverend.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 2018, Kane was cast in Jacques Audiard's Western film The Sisters Brothers.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2019, she appeared in Jim Jarmusch's horror comedy The Dead Don't Die, marking another collaboration with Bill Murray.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> That same year, she was featured in the recurring role of Bianca Nova in season one of the HBO series Los Espookys, where she reunited with her Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt castmate Fred Armisen.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2020, Kane was featured in the ensemble cast of the Amazon series Hunters, which also includes her longtime acquaintance Al Pacino.<ref name=":1" /> Additionally, during the same year, she participated in two cast reunion fundraisers, one with the cast of Taxi for the Actors Fund, the other with the cast of The Princess Bride for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

It was announced on Star Trek Day 2022 that Kane would join the cast of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds for season two as Chief Engineer Pelia.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Prior to her casting, Kane had never seen an episode of the original Star Trek series, though she has said the show's writers thought this oversight improved her performance.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2024, Kane starred in Nathan Silver's comedy film Between the Temples, in which she portrays a woman who, having been raised by secular parents, decides to have a bat mitzvah later in life. Kane has stated that she drew inspiration from Silver's mother, who studied for a bat mitzvah in her sixties; she was also inspired by her own mother, who, at age 55, moved to Paris to become a musician.<ref name=":7" /><ref name=":8">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> For her work in the film, she received the New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress, and was nominated for Best Supporting Performance at the Independent Spirit Awards.<ref name=":8" /> In December 2024, she was announced as part of the cast of Darren Aronofsky's upcoming film Caught Stealing, where she is slated to play a minor role in which she only speaks Yiddish.<ref name=":7">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Personal life

Kane was in a relationship with actor Woody Harrelson from 1986 to 1988. The two have remained friends since their break-up, and Harrelson was seen attending Kane's 60th birthday party in 2012.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

She has never been married or had any children. Regarding the latter decision, she has said, "I never felt that I would be calm and stable enough to be the kind of mother I'd like to be. I don't think everyone randomly is mother material."<ref name=":2" />

Kane is often noted for her high, breathy, slow voice, though her vocal timbre has grown raspier with age.<ref name=":4" /> Kane, who has often altered her voice to suit various roles, has confessed to disliking it, telling People magazine in 2020 that she wishes her voice was "deep and beautiful and sexy".<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1971	Desperate Characters	Young Girl
	Carnal Knowledge	Jennifer
1972	Wedding in White	Jeannie Dougall
	...and Hope to Die (aka. Template:Lang)		Scenes cut from finished film<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
1973	The Last Detail	Young Whore
1975	Hester Street	Gitl
	Dog Day Afternoon	Jenny
1976	Harry and Walter Go to New York	Florence
1977	Annie Hall	Allison Portchnik
	Valentino	Jean Acker
	The World's Greatest Lover	Annie Hickman
1978	The Mafu Cage	Cissy
1979	The Muppet Movie	Myth
	When a Stranger Calls	Jill Johnson
	La Sabina	Daisy
1981	The Games of Countess Dolingen	Louise Haines-Pearson
	Strong Medicine
1982	Pandemonium	Candy
	Norman Loves Rose	Rose
1983	Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?	Customer at Cafe
1984	Over the Brooklyn Bridge	Cheryl
	Racing with the Moon	Annie the Hooker
	The Secret Diary of Sigmund Freud	Martha Bernays
	Terror in the Aisles	Jill Johnson (archival footage)	Documentary
1985	Transylvania 6-5000	Lupi
1986	Jumpin' Jack Flash	Cynthia
1987	Ishtar	Carol
	The Princess Bride	Valerie
1988	Sticky Fingers	Kitty
	License to Drive	Mrs. Anderson
	Scrooged	Ghost of Christmas Present
1990	The Lemon Sisters	Franki D'Angelo
	Flashback	Maggie
	Joe Versus the Volcano	Hairdresser cameo
	My Blue Heaven	Shaldeen
1991	Ted & Venus	Colette
1992	In the Soup	Barbara
	Baby on Board	Maria
	The Real Story of Here Comes the Bride	Margaret Mouse (voice)
1993	Even Cowgirls Get the Blues	Carla
	Addams Family Values	Grandmama
1994	The Crazysitter	Treva Van Arsdale
1995	Theodore Rex	Molly Rex (voice)	Direct-to-video film
1996	Big Bully	Faith
	American Strays	Helen
	Sunset Park	Mona
	The Pallbearer	Mrs. Thompson
	Trees Lounge	Connie
1997	Gone Fishin'	Donna Waters
	Office Killer	Dorine Douglas
1998	The Tic Code	Miss Gimpole
1999	Jawbreaker	Principal Sherwood
	Man on the Moon	Herself/Simka Dahblitz
	The Wacky Adventures of Ronald McDonald	Org's mother (voice)	Short subject
2000	The Office Party	Linda	Short subject
2001	D.C. Smalls	Mother	Short subject
	My First Mister	Mrs. Benson
	The Shrink Is In	Dr. Louise Rosenberg
	Tomorrow by Midnight	Officer Garfield
2002	Love in the Time of Money	Joey
2003	Cosmopolitan	Mrs. Shaw
2004	Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen	Miss Baggoli
2005	The Pacifier	Helga
	The Civilization of Maxwell Bright	Temple
	The Happy Elf	Gilda (voice)
2008	Kung Fu Panda: Secrets of the Furious Five	Sheep (voice)
	Four Christmases	Aunt Sarah (uncredited)
2010	The Bounty Hunter	Dawn
	My Girlfriend's Boyfriend	Barbara
	Pete Smalls Is Dead	Landlady
2011	The Key Man	Marsha
2012	Sleepwalk with Me	Linda Pandamiglio
	Should've Been Romeo	Ruth
	Thanks for Sharing	Roberta
2013	Clutter	Linda Bradford
2014	Emoticon ;)	Hannah Song
2015	Ava's Possessions	Talia
2018	The Sisters Brothers	Mrs. Sisters
	Ghost Light	Madeline Styne
2019	The Dead Don't Die	Mallory O'Brien
2022	iMordecai	Fela
2023	Migration	Erin (voice)
2024	Between the Temples	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Boundary Springs	Granny
2025	Caught Stealing	Bubbe	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
TBA	Anxious People	Template:TBA	Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1974	We, the Woman	Susannah White	Television film
1978	Visions		Episode: "Fans of the Kosko Show"
1978–1981	Great Performances	Eliza Southgate; Frances Loomis	Episodes: "Out of Our Father's House"; "The Girls in Their Summer Dresses and Other Stories"
1980	The Greatest Man in the World	April	Television film
1980–1983	Taxi	Simka Dahblitz-Gravas	17 episodes
1982	Laverne & Shirley	Olga	Episode: "Jinxed"
1983	An Invasion of Privacy	Ilene Cohen	Television film
	American Playhouse	Lavinia	Episode: "Keeping On"
	Faerie Tale Theatre	The "Good" Fairy	Episode: "Sleeping Beauty"
1984	Burning Rage	Mary Harwood	Television film
	Cheers	Amanda Boyer	Episode: "A Ditch in Time"
1985	Tales from the Darkside	Anne MacColl	Episode: "Snip, Snip"
	Crazy Like a Fox		Episode: "Bum Tip"
1986	Tall Tales & Legends	Barbara	Episode: "Casey at the Bat"
	All Is Forgiven	Nicolette Bingham	9 episodes
1987	Paul Reiser Out on a Whim	Fortune Teller	Television film
1988	Drop-Out Mother	Maxine	Television film
	Rap Master Ronnie: A Report Card		Television film
1989–1994	Sesame Street	Nina the Nice	Episode 2648: "Bob accompanies Oscar to Grouchytown"; archival footage
1990	Tales from the Crypt	Judy	Episode: "Judy, You're Not Yourself Today"
	Tiny Toon Adventures	Ollie (voice)	Episode: "A Quack in the Quarks"
1990–1991	American Dreamer	Lillian Abernathy	17 episodes
1991–1992	Brooklyn Bridge	Aunt Sylvia	5 episodes
1992	Sibs	Sally	Episodes: "The Crash: Part 1", "The Crash: Part 2"
	The Ray Bradbury Theater	Polly	Episode: "Tomorrow's Child"
1993	When a Stranger Calls Back	Jill Johnson	Television film
	TriBeCa	Amanda	Episode: "Stepping Back"
	Eligible Dentist		Television film
1994	Seinfeld	Corinne	Episode: "The Marine Biologist"
	Aladdin	Brawnhilda (voice)	Episodes: "Stinkerbelle", "Smells Like Trouble"
	Empty Nest	Shelby	Episode: "The Courtship of Carol's Father"
1995	A.J.'s Time Travelers	Emily Roebling	Episode: "Brooklyn Bridge"
	Dad, the Angel & Me	The Angel	Television film
	Napoleon	Spider (voice)	English version
	Freaky Friday	Leanne Futterman	Television film
1996	Chicago Hope	Marguerite Birch	Episode: "Stand"
	Ellen	Lily Penney	Episode: "A Penney Saved"
1996–1997	Pearl	Annie Caraldo	22 episodes
1997	Hey Arnold!	Emily Dickinson Trophy (voice)	Episode: "Freeze Frame/Phoebe Cheats"
	The Tony Danza Show	Simka Gravas	Episode: "The Milk Run"
	Homicide: Life on the Street	Gwen Munch	Episode: "All Is Bright"
	Merry Christmas, George Bailey	Cousin Tilly/Mrs. Hatch	Television film
1998	The First Seven Years	Mrs. Feld	Television short
	Adventures from the Book of Virtues	The Beetle (voice)	Episode: "Patience"
	Noddy	Tooth Fairy	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1999	Noah's Ark	Sarah	Television film
	Blue's Clues	Little Miss Muffet (voice)	Episode: "Blue's Big Treasure Hunt"
1999–2000	Beggars and Choosers	Lydia Luddin	3 episodes
2000	As Told by Ginger	Maude (voice)	Episodes: "I Spy a Witch"; "Carl and Maude"
2001	Family Guy	Carol (voice)	Episode: "Emission Impossible"
2002	That's Life	Gloria	Episode: "Baum's Thesis"
	The Grubbs	Sophie Grubb	Episode: "Pilot"
2003	Audrey's Rain	Missy Flanders	Television film
2004	Hope & Faith	Cornelia Rackett	Episode: "Faith Scare-Field"
2005	The Grim Adventures of Billy & Mandy	Mrs. Claus (voice)	Episode: "Billy and Mandy Save Christmas"
2006	The Year Without a Santa Claus	Mother Nature	Television film; cameo
2009	Two and a Half Men	Shelly	Episodes: "Thank God for Scoliosis"; "David Copperfield Slipped Me a Roofie"
	Monk	Joy	Episode: "Mr. Monk Is the Best Man"
2009, 2013	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Gwen Munch	Episodes: "Zebras", "Wonderland Story"
2010	Ugly Betty	Lena Korvinka	Episode: "All the World's a Stage"
2011	Dora the Explorer	Grandma Troll (voice)	Episode: "The Grumpy Old Troll Gets Married"
2011–2012	Jake and the Never Land Pirates	Sea Witch (voice)	2 episodes
2011–2014	Phineas and Ferb	Nana Shapiro (voice)	2 episodes
2013	Girls	Cloris	Episode: "It's Back"
	Anger Management	Carol	Episode: "Charlie and His New Friend with Benefits"
2014–2016	Gotham	Gertrud Kapelput	Recurring guest; 10 episodes
2015–2020	Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt	Lillian Kaushtupper	Main role; 42 episodes (seasons 1-4 and Kimmy vs the Reverend)
2016	Crowded	Linda	Episode: "Given to Fly"
2017	Halt and Catch Fire	Denise	Episode: "Ten of Swords"
	Star vs. the Forces of Evil	Dr. Jelly Goodwell (voice)	Episode: "Princess Turdina/Starfari"
2017–2019	OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes	Ginger (voice)	2 episodes
2018	Pinkalicious & Peterrific	Edna (voice)	3 episodes
	Animals	Chompy (voice)	2 episodes
2018–2021	F Is for Family	Marilyn Chilson (voice)	5 episodes
	Vampirina	Madame Spook (voice)	2 episodes
2018–2019	Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure	Madam Canardist (voice)	3 episodes
2019	Los Espookys	Bianca Nova	4 episodes
	Bubble Guppies	The Sea Witch (voice)	Episode: "The New Guppy!"
	Big Mouth	The Menopause Banshee (voice)	Episode: "Florida"
	Summer Camp Island	Barb Junior (voice)	Episode: "The Great Elf Invention Convention"
2020–2023	Hunters	Mindy Markowitz	18 episodes
2022	Naked Mole Rat Gets Dressed: The Underground Rock Experience	Grand-Mah (voice)	Television film
	The Simpsons	Blythe (voice)	Episode: "Step Brother from the Same Planet"
2023	Star Trek: Strange New Worlds	Pelia	Recurring
2024	Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur	Bube Bina (voice)	2 episodes
	Dinner with the Parents	Nana	Main role
	Monster High	Ghoul-ma Vondergeist (voice)	Episode: "Ghoulishly Ghoulma"
2025	Super Duper Bunny League	Captain Stickybeard (voice)	"Space Pirates!"
	Poker Face	Lucille Lunbinski	Episode: "Hometown Hero"
	It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia	Samantha	Episode: "The Golden Bachelor Live"

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Venue	Notes
1972	Ring Around the Bathtub	Esme Train	Broadway; Martin Beck Theatre
1978	The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds	Tillie	Broadway; Biltmore Theatre
1987	A Woman of Mystery	Un Named Woman	Los Angeles; Court Theatre	Directed by John Cassavetes
2003	The Exonerated	Sunny Jacobs	Touring	Replacement
2004	Sly Fox	Miss Fancy	Broadway; Ethel Barrymore Theatre	Replacement
2005; 2007; 2008; 2009	Wicked	Madame Morrible	Touring
2006; 2013			Broadway; Gershwin Theatre	Replacement
2012	Harvey	Betty Chumley	Broadway; Studio 54

Music videos

Year	Title	Artist(s)
1985	"This Is My Night"	Chaka Khan

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
1976	Academy Awards	Best Actress	Hester Street	Template:Nom
1978	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play	The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds	Template:Nom
1982	AACTA Awards	Best Actress in a Leading Role	Norman Loves Rose	Template:Nom
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series	Taxi	Template:Won
1983		Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy, Variety or Music Series		Template:Won
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or Television Film		Template:Nom
1996	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series	Chicago Hope	Template:Nom
2006	TV Land Award	Most Wonderful Wedding	Taxi	Template:NomTemplate:Efn
2007	Medallion Award			Template:WonTemplate:Efn
2024	New York Film Critics Circle Award	Best Supporting Actress	Between the Temples	Template:Won
	Independent Spirit Awards	Best Supporting Performance		Template:Nom

External links

• [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if: 1406

 | name/{{#if:{{#invoke:ustring|match|1=1406|2=^nm}}
   | Template:Trim/
   | nm0001406/
   }}
 | {{#if: {{#property:P345}}
   | name/Template:First word/
   | find?q=%7B%7B%23if%3A+%0A++++++%7C+%7B%7B%7Bname%7D%7D%7D%0A++++++%7C+%5B%5B%3ATemplate%3APAGENAMEBASE%5D%5D%0A++++++%7D%7D&s=nm
   }}
 }}{{#if: 1406  {{#property:P345}} | {{#switch: 
 | award | awards = awards Awards for | biography | bio = bio Biography for
 }}}} {{#if: 
 | {{{name}}}
 | Template:PAGENAMEBASE
 }}] at IMDb{{#if: 1406{{#property:P345}}
 | Template:EditAtWikidata
 | Template:Main other

}}{{#switch:{{#invoke:string2|matchAny|^nm.........|^nm.......|nm|.........|source=1406|plain=false}}

 | 1 | 3 =  Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning
 | 4 = Template:Main otherTemplate:Preview warning

}}{{#invoke:Check for unknown parameters|check|unknown=Template:Main other|preview=Page using Template:IMDb name with unknown parameter "_VALUE_"|showblankpositional=1| 1 | 2 | id | name | section }}

• {{#if: {{#property:P1220}}

| [https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-cast-staff/{{#if:

 | {{{id}}}
 | Template:First word
 }} {{#if: 
 | {{{name}}}
 | Template:PAGENAMEBASE
 }}] at the Internet Broadway DatabaseTemplate:EditAtWikidataTemplate:WikidataCheck{{#ifeq:0|0|{{#if:||}}}}

| {{#ifeq:0|0|}}

}}

• Template:Iobdb name