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Six Feet Under
Background:
“I guess you’re happy if you have some kind of balance in you. I’m a human
being. I have days when I feel paralyzed, days when I feel like a slug. Then I
have days when I have good energy, I've read the newspaper and I've done
different things.” Frances Conroy
A darling of famous playwright Arthur Miller, who has utilized her in four of
his works, veteran stage actress Frances Conroy is acknowledged for her
consistently stupendous performances in mostly supporting roles. The pale,
blue-eyed American performer has made a name for herself on stage with
impressive performances in such productions as “Othello” (1979), “The Secret
Rapture” (1989), “he Last Yankee” (1992) and “The Ride Down Mt. Morgan” (2000)
that earned her a 1990 Drama Desk Award, a 1993 Obie Award as well as a 2000
Tony nomination.
In a more recent time, however, Conroy is better known as one of the stars of
the television drama series “Six Feet Under” (HBO, 2001-2005). As family
matriarch Ruth Fisher, Conroy’s performance was critically applauded, and she
was handed a Golden Globe Award, three Screen Actors Guild Awards as well as
four Emmy nominations. Her television victory resulted in silver screen roles as
well, including performances in Catwoman (2004), The Aviator (2004), Broken
Flowers (2005) and Shopgirl (2005).
Recently appearing in Neil Labute’s The Wicker Man (2006) and the comedy film
Ira and Abby (2006), the Golden Globe and SAG Award-winning actress is set to
support Fairuza Balk and Peter Bogdanovich for the forthcoming Humboldt County
(2007).
Franny
Childhood and Family:
A native of Monroe, Georgia, Frances Conroy was born on November 13, 1953. She
is of Latvian and Irish lineage. Known by family and close friends as Franny,
she was raised in Long Island, New York. She studied acting at The Neigborhood
Playhouse School of the Theatre and The Juilliard School in New York City.
Frannny has been married to actor Jan Munroe since 1992.
The Ride Down Mt. Morgan
Career:
Trained in drama at NYC’s prominent Neighborhood Playhouse and Juilliard School,
Georgia-born Frances Conroy made her NYC stage in New York Shakespeare Festival
production of “Measure for Measure” in 1976. As a member of The Acting Company,
she essayed the role of Cordelia in the company’s production of “King Lear” at
American Place Theatre the next year, and in 1979 she received praise for her
role as Desdemona on NYSF production of “Othello,” opposite Raul Julia, Richard
Dreyfuss and John Heard. The same year, Conroy also landed her first film role,
as a Shakespearean Actress, in the Woody Allen classic Manhattan.
1980 saw the actress make her Broadway debut in Edward Albee’s short-lived “The
Lady from Dubuque,” playing Jo. She continued to have a small part in “Girls,
Girls, Girls” (1980) at the Public Theatre and then departed the Big Apple for
two years for roles in productions of “Winterset” (1980) at the Yale Repertory
Theatre in Connecticut and “The Tempest” (1981) at the Tyrone Guthrie Theatre in
Minneapolis, Minnesota. She returned to the Public Theater in 1982 as Julia in “Zastrozzi,”
which was followed by a string of Off-Broadway and Off-Off Broadway appearances
as well as a one-year tenure as Louisa May Alcott in the Playwrights’ Horizons
Theatre production of “Romance Language” (1984). Conroy reprised her role of
Louisa May Alcott the following year at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles and
remained there after she finished the run, where she appeared in regional
productions of “Mrs. California” (1985) and “The House of the Blue Leaves”
(1987). It was during this same period that the slender red-haired actress also
did some film and TV acting, undertaking small roles in the movie Amazing Grace
and Chuck (1987), starring Jamie Lee Curtis and Gregory Peck, and television
films like LBJ: The Early Years, as well as guest starring in such series as
“Hill Street Blues” (1986), “Newhart” (1986) and “Crime Story” (1987).
Conroy returned to New York stage in 1987 when she costarred in “Man and
Superman” at the Roundabout Theatre and the following year played the role of
Mrs. Gibbs in the Broadway production of “Our Town,” a part she reprised for PBS
production a year later. She picked up her first Drama Desk for her bright
portrayal of the ruthless Conservative politician in David Hare’s “The Secret
Rapture” (1989). Meanwhile, the actress could be seen in such films as Rocket
Gibraltar (1988, opposite Burt Lancaster and Kevin Spacey), and Woody Allen’s
Another Woman (1988) and Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989). She later made
appearances in the films Scent of a Woman (1992, starred Al Pacino) and
Sleepless in Seattle (1993, with Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan).
The accomplished stage performer began her affiliation with legendary playwright
Arthur Miller in 1992, when she had a role in his Off-Broadway play “The Last
Yankee,” in which Conroy won a 1993 Obie for her performance. The two rejoined
for the 1994 Broadway “Broken Glass,” where Conroy was cast as Margaret Hyman,
and the 1996 film version of The Crucible, where Miller wrote the screenplay. In
between, Conroy found herself acting in the drama film Angela, directed by
Miller’s daughter, Rebecca. The actress went on to appear in the Broadway
production of “The Little Foxes” (1997) and the NYSF production of “The Skin of
Our Teeth” (1998, opposite John Goodman) before working again with Miller the
next year for Off-Broadway play “The Ride Down Mt. Morgan,” replacing Blythe
Danner, at the Public Theater. When the play was re-mounted on Broadway two
years later, the actress was invited to reprise her role and nabbed a Tony
nomination for her efforts.
Conroy’s biggest breakthrough, however, arrived a year later when she won the
costarring role of Ruth Fisher on the HBO original drama series “Six Feet
Under,” opposite Peter Krauseand Michael C. Hall. During her tenure as the
somewhat neurotic, meaning-well, mentally detached mother from 2001 to 2005, she
picked up a 2004 Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Television
Series – Drama and three Screen Actors Guild for Outstanding Performance by a
Female Actor in a Drama Series (2004) and Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble
in a Drama Series (2004, 2003). She also earned many nominations, including four
Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
After the success, Conroy was offered numerous interesting, more prominent parts
in movies like Die, Mommie, Die! (2003), Catwoman (2004, as Ophelia Powers), The
Aviator (2004), Broken Flowers (2005) and Shopgirl (2005, starred Claire Danes
and Steve Martin). In 2006, she was cast as Dr. Moss in Neil Labute’s remake of
the 70s horror film The Wicker Man and appeared with Jason Alexander in the
comedy film Ira and Abby. The same year, after a six-year absence, Conroy
returned to the theater in David Greig’s production of “Pyrenees” at the Kirk
Douglas Theater in Los Angeles.
The 54-year-old player will costar with Fairuza Balk and Peter Bogdanovich in
the upcoming film Humboldt County (2007), playing Rosie.
Awards:
