Mercedes Ruehl

Mercedes J. Ruehl (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell;<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> born February 28, 1948) is an American screen, stage, and television actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Tony Award.

Ruehl won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as video store owner and romantic interest in Terry Gilliam's fantasy comedy drama The Fisher King (1991). She also acted in the films The Warriors (1979), Heartburn (1986), 84 Charing Cross Road (1987), Big (1988), Married to the Mob (1988), Last Action Hero (1993), Indictment: The McMartin Trial (1995), Roseanna's Grave (1997), Gia (1998), The Minus Man (1999) and Hustlers (2019). On television, she had a recurring role as a radio station owner in the NBC sitcom Frasier from 1995 to 1996.

On stage, she made her Broadway debut in the Herb Gardner play I'm Not Rappaport (1985). She won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her role in the Neil Simon drama Lost in Yonkers (1991). She reprised the role in the 1993 film of the same name. She was further Tony-nominated for her performances in Michael Cristofer's The Shadow Box (1995) and Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? (2002). She has also acted in Broadway productions of The Rose Tattoo (1995), The American Plan (2009), and Torch Song (2017).

Early life and education

Ruehl was born February 28, 1948, in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City,<ref name="trescott">Template:Cite news</ref> to Mercedes J. Ruehl, a schoolteacher, and Vincent Ruehl, an FBI agent.<ref name="filmref">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="stark">Template:Cite news</ref> Her father was of German and Irish descent and her mother was of Cuban and Irish descent.<ref name="corliss">Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref name="buckley">Template:Cite news</ref> The family frequently moved during her childhood owing to Vincent Ruehl's assignments with the FBI, and lived in other states including Silver Spring, Maryland. She and her brother, Peter, were raised Catholic.<ref>Ruehl, Mercedes. Casting a new light on a dark subject - novelist Cynthia Ozick - Interview. Interview. August 1994. FindArticles.com. Template:Webarchive</ref>

She attended the College of New Rochelle<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and graduated in 1969 with a BA in English.<ref name="stark"/>

Career

Ruehl began her acting career in New York City appearing in various off-off Broadway productions while working a variety of temping and waitressing jobs. She established herself in regional theatre with the Denver Center Theatre Company. In 1980, she was nearly cast in the sixth season of Saturday Night Live, losing her slot to Denny Dillon.<ref>[1] Andy Hoglund, Vulture, August 13, 2020 Template:Webarchive</ref> Her first starring role on Broadway came in 1984's I'm Not Rappaport. She then went on to win the 1984 Obie Award for her performance in The Marriage of Bette and Boo and twenty years later, an Obie for Woman Before a Glass. She also received a 1991 Tony Award as Best Actress (Play) for Neil Simon's Lost in Yonkers and continued her role in the show during its tour with co-star Mercedes McCambridge. Her performances in two other plays earned her two other Tony nominations: in 1995, as Best Actress (Featured Role – Play) for a revival of The Shadow Box; and in 2002, as Best Actress (Play) for Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?.<ref name="wing">Template:Cite web</ref>

In 1996, she was mentioned in the Sheryl Crow song A Change Would Do You Good. In 1999, they co-starred in the movie The Minus Man.

Her most acclaimed film role was in The Fisher King; her performance as a strong-willed and pragmatic video store owner earned her the 1991 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, American Comedy Award, Boston Society of Film Critics Award, a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, and a Golden Globe. Earlier she had won the 1989 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Married to the Mob. She played KACL station manager Kate Costas in five episodes of Frasier, and had a major role in the made-for-TV film All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story. In 2005, she (along with Esai Morales) received the Rita Moreno HOLA Award for Excellence from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors. She later played the mother of main character Vincent Chase in HBO's Entourage.

In 2009, she returned to the stage in Manhattan Theater Club's production of Richard Greenberg's The American Plan playing the role of Eva Adler.<ref name="jones">Template:Cite news</ref> The production opened at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre and the limited engagement ran From January 22 until March 22.<ref name="extended">Template:Cite news</ref> In his rave review in The New York Times, Ben Brantley called Ruehl's performance "masterly".<ref name="brantley">Template:Cite news</ref> Ruehl next appeared in the drama/horror film What Ever Happened to Barker Daniels?, which was released in 2009. In January 2011, Ruehl starred in Sarah Treem's play The How and The Why, directed by Emily Mann at McCarter Theatre of Princeton University.<ref name="filichia">Template:Cite news</ref>

Ruehl appeared in the role of Ma in Harvey Fierstein's revamped and renamed revival of his play Torch Song Off-Broadway at Second Stage Theater. The play began previews on September 26, and opened officially on October 19, 2017.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The production later transferred to Broadway.

Ruehl is on the faculty of HB Studio in New York City.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

In 1999, Ruehl married painter David Geiser with whom she adopted a son, Jake, (born 1995).<ref name="Star">Template:Cite news</ref><ref name="yahoo"/> She had another son, Christopher, whom she placed for adoption in 1976 when she was 28. They were reunited in the late 1990s when he turned 21, and later Christopher became Jake's godfather.<ref name="yahoo">Template:Cite web</ref> Ruehl and Geiser put their Hampton house on the market in 2017; the same year, Ruehl said that they were no longer together but remained close.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Geiser died unexpectedly of heart disease in his sleep at home on October 14, 2020, at the age of 73.<ref name="Star" />

Her brother, Peter, moved to Australia in 1987, where he was a newspaper columnist until his death in 2011.<ref name=Peter>Template:Cite news</ref>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1976	Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands	American girl in casino	Film debut Uncredited
1979	The Warriors	Policewoman
1981	Four Friends	Woman in Taxi
1986	Heartburn	Eve
	Twisted	Cybelle
1987	Radio Days	Ad Man
	84 Charing Cross Road	Kay
	The Secret of My Succe$s	Sheila
	Leader of the Band	Miss Cooper
1988	Big	Mrs. Baskin
	Married to the Mob	Connie Russo
1989	Slaves of New York	Samantha
	Crimes and Misdemeanors	Party Guest	Uncredited
1990	Crazy People	Dr. Liz Baylor
1991	Another You	Elaine/Mimi Kravitz
	The Fisher King	Anne
1993	Lost in Yonkers	Bella Kurnitz
	Last Action Hero	Irene Madigan
1994	On Hope	Wendy	Short film
1997	Roseanna's Grave	Roseanna 'Rosa'
1999	The Minus Man	Jane
	Out of the Cold	Tina
2000	What's Cooking?	Elizabeth 'Lizzy' Avila
	More Dogs Than Bones	Victoria 'Vic' Galletti
	The Amati Girls	Grace
2002	Spooky House	Boss
2004	Zeyda and the Hitman	Esther
2010	Goldstar, Ohio	Adriana Rock	Short film
2014	Chu and Blossom	Mrs. Fefterg
2016	Good Business	Lorraine	Short film
2019	Hustlers	Mother
2024	The Nana Project	Helen “Nana” Lewis

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1977	The Doctors	Ursula	Television debut, recurring role
1984	ABC Afterschool Special	Sandy	Episode: "Mom's on Strike"
1985	Our Family Honor	Louise Taylor	Episode: "Homecoming"
1986	Kate & Allie	Millie	Episode: "Late Bloomer" as Mercedes Ruehle
1990	The Cosby Show	Bernadette Foley	Episode: "The Moves"
1995	Indictment: The McMartin Trial	Lael Rubin	Television movie
1995–96	Frasier	Kate Costas	Recurring role; 5 episodes
1997	North Shore Fish	Florence	Television movie
	SUBWAYStories: Tales from the Underground	Leyla	Television movie; Segment: "Underground"
1998	Gia	Kathleen Carangi	Television movie
2000	All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story	Jane Newhall	Television movie
	The Lost Child	Rebecca	Television movie
2001	Mr. Life		Television movie
2002	Guilt by Association	Susan Walker	Television movie
	Widows	Dolly Rawlins	4 episodes
2004	Everyday Life		Television movie
	1-800-Missing	Emmanuelle Baker	Episode: "These Dreams Before Me"
	Bad Apple	Lorraine Gibbons	Television movie
2004, 09	Law & Order	Judge Clara Lloyd/Zina Rybakov	2 episodes
2005	Mom at Sixteen	Terry Jeffries	Television movie
2006	So Here's What Happened	Rochelle	Television movie
	A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story	Sylvia Guerrero	Television movie
2006–08	Entourage	Rita Chase	2 episodes
2007	Psych	Detective Goochberg	Episode: "Scary Sherry: Bianca's Toast"
2009	Loving Leah	Janice Lever	Television movie
2012	El Jefe	Delmi Rodriguez	Television movie
	Luck	Renzo's Mother	Episode: "Episode Nine"
2013	Doubt	Mrs. Syd Newman	Television movie
	Monday Mornings	Judge Beverly Natheson	Episode: "Wheels Within Wheels"
	Star Spangled Banners	Rosalind Banner	Television movie
2015	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Lucia Barba	Episode: "December Solstice"
2016	Life in Pieces	Mia	Episode: "Hair Recital Rainbow Mom"
	The Mysteries of Laura	Val Santiani	Episode: "The Mystery of the End of Watch"
	2 Broke Girls	Olga	Episode: "And the Godmama Drama"
2017	NCIS	Marie Quinn	Episode: "A Bowl of Cherries"
2017–18	Power	Connie Teresi	Recurring role; 7 episodes
2018–20	Bull	Judge Tessa Hudson	3 episodes
2022	New Amsterdam	Grace	Episode: "TBD"
2024	Accused	Connie	Episode: "Margot's Story"

Theater

Year	Title	Role	Venue
1985	Coming of Age in Soho	Patricia	The Public Theatre
1985	The Marriage of Bette and Boo	Joan Brennan
1985–88	I'm Not Rappaport	Clara	Booth Theatre, Broadway
1988	American Notes'	Karen	The Public Theatre
1989	Other People's Money	Kate Sullivan	Minetta Lane Theatre, Off-Broadway
1991	Lost in Yonkers	Bella Kurnitz	Richard Rodgers Theatre
1992	Antony and Cleopatra	Cleopatra	Actors Theater, Louisville
1994–95	The Shadow Box	Beverly	Circle in the Square Theatre, Broadway
1995	The Rose Tattoo	Serafina Delle Rose
2000	The Vagina Monologues	Monologist	Westside Theatre, Off-Broadway
2000–01	Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?	Martha	Guthrie Theater. Minneapolis
2002	The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?	Stevie	John Golden Theatre, Broadway
2005	Woman Before a Glass	Peggy Guggenheim	Promenade Theater, Off-Broadway
2009	The American Plan	Eva Adler	Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, Broadway
2010	Edward Albee's Occupant	Louise Nevelson	Peter Norton Space
2010	The Prisoner of Second Avenue	Edna Edison	The Old Vic Theatre Company, Vaudeville Theatre, London
2012	The How and the Why	Zelda Kahn	McCarter Theatre, New Jersey
2015	Full Gallop	Diana Vreeland	Old Globe Theatre, California
2017	Torch Song	Ma Beckoff	Second Stage Theater, Off-Broadway
2019			Helen Hayes Theatre, Broadway

Source:<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Project	Results
1989	National Society of Film Critics	Best Supporting Actress	Married to the Mob	Template:WON
1991	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Actress in a Play	Lost in Yonkers	Template:WON
	Tony Award	Best Actress in a Play		Template:WON
1991	Academy Award	Best Supporting Actress	The Fisher King	Template:WON
	American Comedy Award	Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture		Template:WON
	Boston Society of Film Critics	Best Supporting Actress		Template:WON
	Chicago Film Critics Association	Best Supporting Actor		Template:WON
	Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association	Best Supporting Actress		Template:WON
	Golden Globe Award	Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture		Template:WON
	Los Angeles Film Critics Association	Best Actress		Template:WON
	Saturn Award	Best Supporting Actress		Template:WON
1993	Boston Film Festival	Film Excellence Award	Template:N/a	Template:WON
1995	CableACE Award	Best Actress in a Movie or Miniseries	Indictment: The McMartin Trial	Template:Nominated
	Drama Desk Award	Outstanding Actress in a Play	The Rose Tattoo	Template:Nominated
	Tony Award	Best Featured Actress in a Play	The Shadow Box	Template:Nominated
2002	Tony Award	Best Actress in a Play	The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?	Template:Nominated
2006	Prism Award	Best Performance in a Television Movie or Miniseries	Mom at Sixteen	Template:Nominated
2007	Imagen Foundation Award	Best Actress - Television	A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story	Template:Nominated

External links

• Template:IBDB name
• Template:IOBDB name
• Template:IMDb name
• Template:TCMDb name
• Ruehl Rules, a May 2005 Playbill article
• Brief Encounter with Mercedes Ruehl, a May 2002 Playbill interview