Article

Colleen Dewhurst

Published Online May 14, 2008

Last Edited May 9, 2014

Colleen Dewhurst, actress (born at Montréal 3 June 1926; died at Wisboro, NY 22 Aug 1991). Her family moved to the US Midwest when she was 5. She made her professional debut in The Royal Family (NY 1946), while still a student at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.

Colleen Dewhurst, actress (born at Montréal 3 June 1926; died at Wisboro, NY 22 Aug 1991). Her family moved to the US Midwest when she was 5. She made her professional debut in The Royal Family (NY 1946), while still a student at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. Dubbed "The Matriarch of Broadway" by Time magazine for her portrayal of powerful women, she was one of the notable stage actresses of her generation, has won numerous awards, and was president of Actors' Equity.

She was closely identified with Eugene O'Neill's heroines, especially Josie Hogan in A Moon for the Misbegotten. In the one-woman show My Gene (NY 1987), she played O'Neill's widow Carlotta. She also starred in modern Broadway plays and several TV drama specials. Dewhurst appeared in 3 CBC-TV dramas, A Cheap Bunch of Nice Flowers (1965), Anne of Green Gables (1986), and Anne of Green Gables: The Sequel (1987). Her Hollywood films include The Nun's Story (1959), The Cowboys (1972), and The Dead Zone (1983).