Swoosie Kurtz as Lily

A petite fiery redhead, the stage-trained Kurtz has proved equally adept at classical and contemporary roles. She has moved easily from stage to film to TV, earning acclaim for her leading and supporting performances. Her unusual first name derived from the plane her father, a decorated WWII Air Force Colonel, piloted called the “Swoose”, for half swan, half goose. Kurtz began her career in regional theater and graduated to meaty supporting roles, first with Paul Zindel’s Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds” (1970) and later with her astonishingly bravura, Tony Award-winning turns in “Fifth of July” (1980) and “The House of Blue Leaves” (1986). She replaced Stockard Channing in John Guare’s “Six Degrees of Separation” (1990) on Broadway and won kudos for her portrayal of a housewife coping with her brother’s death in Terrence McNally’s “Lips Together, Teeth Apart” (1991).

Kurtz’s film debut was as one of the hockey groupies in George Roy Hill’s “Slap Shot” (1977). Five years later Hill directed her again in a memorable turn as a hooker whose services are procured by Garp’s mother in “The World According to Garp”. Other memorable screen turns include a secretary sympathetic to Jeff Bridges in “Against All Odds” (1984); the laziest woman in the world in David Byrne’s “True Stories” (1986); and Michael J. Fox’s co-worker in “Bright Lights, Big City” and Uma Thurman’s concerned mother in “Dangerous Liaisons” (both 1988).

Kurtz’s extensive TV credits include stints as a regular on Mary Tyler Moore’s ill-fated variety series “Mary” (CBS, 1978) and a single mother living with “confirmed bachelor” Tony Randall in “Love, Sydney” (NBC, 1981-83). She is probably best known for her portrayal of cancer survivor Alex Reed Halsey in the acclaimed series “Sisters” (NBC, 1991-96). Kurtz has lit up the small screen in a variety of telefilms and specials, recreating her award-winning stage roles in adaptations of “Uncommon Women and Others” (PBS, 1978); “Fifth of July” (Showtime, 1982); and “The House of Blue Leaves” (PBS, 1987). Kurtz was brilliant as Anthony Hopkins’ dissatisfied mistress in the “Diabolique”-inspired “Guilty Conscience” (CBS, 1985); offered a comic turn as Lesley Ann Warren’s sidekick in “Baja Oklahoma” (HBO, 1988); was ruthlessly ambitious in “The Image” (HBO, 1990); displayed anger and mental illness as Beau Bridges’ wife in “The Positively True Adventures of the Alleged Cheerleader-Murdering Mom” (HBO, 1993); and was touching as the socialite who contracted AIDS in “And the Band Played On” (HBO, 1993).

• Born: on 09/06/1944 in Omaha, Nebraska
• Job Titles:Actor

Family

• Father: Frank Kurtz Jr. won Olympic bronze medal in diving in 1932; retired colonel; was won of the highest decorated American bomber pilots during WWII; died in November 1996 at age 85
• Mother: Margo Kurtz. born c. 1915

Education

• University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, 1962-64
• London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, London, England, 1964-66

Milestones

• 1966 Worked in regional theater
• 1971 TV acting debut in the CBS daytime drama “As the World Turns”
• 1976 TV movie debut in “Ah! Wilderness”
• 1977 Film acting debut in “Slap Shot”
• 1978 Primetime series debut as a regular on “Mary”, a variety show starring Mary Tyler Moore
• 1996 Cast in role of a librarian in Fox series “Party Girl”
• 1996 Had recurring role of mother to Brooke Shields’ title character in “Suddenly Susan”
• 1997 Signed development deal for TV-movies and series with Warner Bros.
• 1999 Co-starred in the CBS sitcom “Love & Money”
• 1999 Played Dr. Regina Greenbaum opposite Ryan Phillippe in “Cruel Intentions” a modern version of Dangerous Liasons
• 1999 Returned to the NY stage as star of Paula Vogel’s “The Mineola Twins”
• 2001 Starred opposite Jake Gyllenhaal in the comedy “Bubble Boy”
• 2002 Appeared in “Rules of Attraction,” based on the novel by Bret Easton Ellis
• 2004 Starred in Doug Hughes’s play “Frozen”; received a Tony nomination
• 2005 Cast as Anne Heche’s mom in the WB comedy “True”
• 2005 Earned an Emmy nomination for her guest starring role on the Showtime series “Huff”
• 2006 Earned an Emmy nomination for Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series for “Huff”
• Appeared as female lead in TV series “Love, Sydney”
• Played Alex on NBC’s drama “Sisters”

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