Cast & creator
Ellen Burstyn
Best known for The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, The Kelly Clarkson Show
Ellen Burstyn (born Edna Rae Gillooly; December 7, 1932) is an American actress. Known for her portrayals of complex women in dramas, she has received numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, and two Primetime Emmy Awards, making her one of the few performers to achieve the "Triple Crown of Acting". She has also received a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe Award. Burstyn made her acting debut on Broadway in Fair Game in 1957 before winning the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for Same Time, Next Year (1975). She earned the Academy Award for Best Actress as the widow Alice Hyatt in Martin Scorsese's romantic drama Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974). Her other Oscar-nominated roles were in The Last Picture Show (1971), The Exorcist (1973), Same Time, Next Year (1978), Resurrection (1980), and Requiem for a Dream (2000). Her other notable films include Harry and Tonto (1974), How to Make an American Quilt (1995), Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002), W. (2008), Interstellar (2014), The Age of Adaline (2015), and Pieces of a Woman (2020). She won Primetime Emmy Awards for her guest role in the NBC legal drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2009) and supporting role in the USA Network political miniseries Political Animals (2013). Her other Emmy-nominated roles include Pack of Lies (1988), Mrs. Harris (2005), Big Love (2008), Draft Day, Flowers in the Attic (both 2014), and House of Cards (2016). Since 2000, she has been co-president of the Actors Studio, a drama school in New York City. In 2013, she was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame for her work onstage.
Also known as: Ellen McRae, Edna Rae Gilhooley
150
film credits
61
television credits
208
1944–2026 · acting roles
6.4
average across scored titles
Signature credits
Known for
Across film & television
Filmography (211)
Showing 211 of 211 credits
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
Self
1962
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
Bernie Stabler
1999
The Kelly Clarkson Show
Self
2019
Saturday Night Live
Self - Host
1975
The View
Self
1997
Perry Mason
Mona Winthrope White
1957
Golden Globe Awards
Self - Presenter
1944Golden Globe Awards
Self - Nominee
1944
American Experience
Narrator (voice)
1988
Tony Awards
Self - Host
1956Tony Awards
Self - Winner
1956Tony Awards
Self - Presenter
1956Tony Awards
Self - Host/Presenter
1956Tony Awards
Self - Audience Member
1956
Mom
Shirley
2013
Interstellar
Murph (older)
2014
House of Cards
Elizabeth Hale
2013
Law & Order: Organized Crime
Bernadette Stabler
2021
Dr. Kildare
Anne Garner
1961Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
Eva Laurelton
1963
The Virginian
Kate Burden
1962
The Defenders
Hilda Wesley
1961
Les Rendez-vous du dimanche
Self
1975
Ben Casey
Dr. Leslie Fraser
1961Ben Casey
Connie
1961
Big Love
Nancy Davis Dutton
2006
Cheyenne
Emmy Mae
1955
The Big Valley
Sister Sarah Jacob
1965
Dinah!
Self
1974
Gunsmoke
Polly
1955Gunsmoke
Amy Waters
1955
77 Sunset Strip
Betty Benson
195877 Sunset Strip
Sandra Keene
1958
The Detectives
Nora
1959
The Oscars
Self
1953
The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis
Donna Whittaker
1959
Kraft Suspense Theatre
Barbara Sherwood / Lucille Benton
1963
Surfside 6
Wandra Drake
1960
The Time Tunnel
Eve Holland
1966
The Age of Adaline
Flemming
2015
Checkmate
Margo as Ellen McRae
1960
The Exorcist
Chris MacNeil
1973
HARDtalk
1997
That's Life
Dolly DeLucca
2000The Greatest Show on Earth
Susan Mason
1963Vacation Playhouse
Ellen
1963
Bus Stop
Phyllis Dunning
1961
The Exorcist: Believer
Chris MacNeil
2023
Requiem for a Dream
Sara Goldfarb
2000
The Rosie O'Donnell Show
Self - Guest
1996
The First Lady
Sara Delano Roosevelt
2022
Letter to Loretta
Ann Walters
1953
Going My Way
Louise
1962
The Fountain
Dr. Lillian Guzetti
2006
Political Animals
Margaret Barrish
2012
The Last Picture Show
Lois Farrow
1971
The Wicker Man
Sister Summersisle
2006
Kraft Mystery Theatre
Greta Dryden
1961
Flowers in the Attic
Grandmother
2014
Pieces of a Woman
Elizabeth Weiss
2020
Hallmark Hall of Fame
Elizabeth
1951Hallmark Hall of Fame
Barbara Jackson
1951Hallmark Hall of Fame
Maggie
1951Hallmark Hall of Fame
Rika
1951
Coma
Mrs. Emerson
2012
Draft Day
Barb Weaver
2014
The Book of Daniel
Bishop Beatrice Congreve
2006
The Yards
Val Handler
2000
I'm Dickens, He's Fenster
Joan
1962
When a Man Loves a Woman
Emily
1994
Lucy in the Sky
Nana Holbrook
2019
Playing by Heart
Mildred
1998
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore
Alice Hyatt
1974
A Will of their Own
Veronica Steward
1998
The Tale
Nettie
2018
How to Make an American Quilt
Hy Dodd
1995
Dying Young
Mrs. O'Neil
1991
Mother, Couch
Mother
2024
Reframed: Marilyn Monroe
Self
2022
The Ellen Burstyn Show
Ellen Brewer
1986
Wiener-Dog
Nana
2016
Petals on the Wind
Olivia Foxworth
2014
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood
Vivi
2002
Picture This
Self
1991
Another Happy Day
Doris Baker
2011
Flesh Impact
Marilyn Monroe
2026
Providence
Sonia Langham
1977
The Calling
Emily Micallef
2014
Custody
Beatrice Fisher
2016
All I Wish
Celia Berges
2018
Breakdown: 1975
Self
2025
Love, Marilyn
Self
2013
Same Time, Next Year
Doris
1978
Red Dragon
Grandma Dolarhyde (voice) (uncredited)
2002
W.
Barbara Bush
2008
The Baby-Sitters Club
Mrs. Haberman
1995
The House of Tomorrow
Josephine Prendergast
2019The House of Tomorrow
Executive Producer
2019
Night of 100 Stars
Self
1982
The Five People You Meet In Heaven
Ruby
2004
Act of Vengeance
Margaret Yablonski
1986
Deceiver
Mook
1997
The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond
Miss Addie
2008
The Velveteen Rabbit
Swan (voice)
2009
Someday This Pain Will Be Useful to You
Nanette
2012
Queen Bees
Helen Wilson
2021
Night of 100 Stars II
Self
1985
The Spitfire Grill
Hannah Ferguson
1996
The Cemetery Club
Esther Moskowitz
1993
The King of Marvin Gardens
Sally
1972
Inside the Actors Studio
Self
1994
A Decade Under the Influence
Self
2003
Our Fathers
Mary Ryan
2005
Main Street
Georgiana Carr
2010
Unity
Narrator (voice)
2015
For Those Who Think Young
Dr. Pauline Swenson
1964
The Patron Saint of Liars
June Clatterbuck
1998
Three Months
Valerie
2022
The Mighty Macs
Mother St. John
2011
Be Pretty and Shut Up!
Self
1981
Delphine and Carole
Self (archive footage)
2020
And the Oscar Goes To...
Self - Interviewee
2014
According to Greta
Katherine
2009The Horror Hall of Fame: A Monster Salute
Self (archive footage)
1974
Stardust: The Bette Davis Story
Self
2006
Two Men in Town
Mère Garnett
2014
People vs. Jean Harris
Jean Harris
1981
Wish You Well
Louisa Mae Cardinal
2013Broadway's Dreamers: The Legacy of the Group Theatre
Self
1989
Roommates
Judith
1995
Hello Actors Studio
Self
1988
Twice in a Lifetime
Kate MacKenzie
1985
PoliWood
Self
2009
Dear America: Letters Home from Vietnam
Mrs. Stocks (voice)
1987
Nostalgia
Helen Greer
2018
Lovely, Still
Mary
2009
Harry and Tonto
Shirley
1974
Mrs. Lambert Remembers Love
Lillian "Lil" Lambert
1991
Second Chances: The Making of "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore"
Self
2004
The Stone Angel
Hagar
2007
When It Was a Game 2
Passage Narrator (voice)
1992
This Ordinary Thing
Self (voice)
2025
Into Thin Air
Joan Walker
1985
The Color of Evening
Kate O'Rielly
1990
Earth and the American Dream
Reader (voice)
1992
Mrs. Harris
Former Tarnower Steady
2005
Alex in Wonderland
Beth Morrison
1970
Friedkin Uncut
Self
2018
The Madam's Family: The Truth About the Canal Street Brothel
Tommie
2004
I Love Liberty
Self
1982
The Fear of God: 25 Years of The Exorcist
Self - Chris MacNeil
1998
The Ambassador
Alex Hacker
1985
Hanna's War
Katalin
1988
The Last Picture Show: A Look Back
Self
1999
You Can Thank Me Later
Shirley Cooperberg
1998
The Making of Requiem for a Dream
Self
2001
30 Days
Maura
2006My Brother's Keeper
Helen
1995
Flash
Laura Strong
1997
Goodbye Charlie
Franny Salzman
1964
Watch on the Rhine
Fanny
2021
Getting Out
Arlie's Mother
1994
Mitch Albom's For One More Day
Pauline "Posey" Benetto
2007
Easy Riders, Raging Bulls: How the Sex 'n' Drugs 'n' Rock 'n' Roll Generation Saved Hollywood
Self
2003
Silence of the North
Olive Frederickson
1981
Trick of the Eye
Frances Griffin
1994
Getting Gotti
Jo Giacalone
1994
Fear and Love: The Story of The Exorcist
Self
2024
River of Fundament
Hathfertiti
2014
Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story
Joan Delvecchio
1993
When You Remember Me
Nurse Cooder
1990
BBStory: An American Film Renaissance
Self
2010
Walking Across Egypt
Mattie Rigsbee
1999
American Woman
Miss Dolly
2019
Taking Back My Life: The Nancy Ziegenmeyer Story
Wilma
1992
Paul Newman, Behind Blue Eyes
Herself
2021
Tropic of Cancer
Mona (uncredited)
1970
Resurrection
Edna
1980
Night Ride Home
Maggie
1999
Duse, the Greatest
2025
About Scout
Gram
2015
Place to Be
Brooke
2026
Brush with Fate
Rika
2003
Follow The River
Gretel
1995
Hubert Selby Jr: It/ll Be Better Tomorrow
Self
2006
A Deadly Vision
Yvette Watson
1997
Surviving
Tina Brogan
1985America Lost and Found: The BBS Story
Self
2010
Pit Stop
Ellen McCleod
1969
Something in Common
Lynn Hollander
1986
E. Jean Carroll v. Donald J. Trump
E. Jean Carroll
2024Roots of Roe
Letters of Margaret Sanger (voice)
1993
Timepiece
Maud Gannon
1996
Pack of Lies
Barbara Jackson
1987
Steven Arnold: Heavenly Bodies
Self
2019
Grand Isle
Mademoiselle Reisz
1991
Marilyn in Manhattan
Self
1998
Marilyn Monroe: Auction of a Lifetime
Self
2017
The Elephant King
Diana Hunt
2006
Mermaid
Trish
2000
Reflections of a Philosopher King
Self
2010The Christmas Tree
Elizabeth
1958
Within These Walls
Joan Thomas
2001Within These Walls
Executive Producer
2001
Ricochet
Rose Maxon
1961
Thursday's Game
Lynne Evers
1974Bathing Flo
Bathing Flo
Director
A Dream of Passion
Brenda Collins
1978
Easy Out?
Mary
1948
Memories, Dreams & Addictions
Self
2001