Rosemary Harris

ROSEMARY HARRIS (Miss Helen) was born in England but brought up in India. She graduated from RADA with the Bancroft Gold Medal when she was directed by Mary Duff in The Heiress. Her first job in the London theatre was understudying and looking after Nellie the greyhound in The Gay Dog at the Piccadilly Theatre. She then made her London debut in the The Seven Year Itch having already starred in Moss Hart's Climate Of Eden on Broadway. Following a season at the Bristol Old Vic playing Elizabeth Proctor… Show more in the British premier of The Crucible she joined the London Old Vic to play Desdemona opposite Richard Burton in Othello followed by Cressida in Tyrone Guthrie's production of Troilus And Cressida. When Ellis Rabb formed APA in 1960 she joined the Company and appeared in productions of works by Shakespeare, Shaw, Sheridan, Chekhov, Isben, Wilde, Pirandello and Kaufman and Hart at the Lyceum Theatre on Broadway. She also played the title role in Peter Pan. In 1962 she appeared in Laurence Olivier's Company at the Chichester Festival Theatre for their first season in the The Broken Heart and Chances and returned the following year for Uncle Vanya. In 1964 she joined the National Theatre to play Ophelia opposite Peter O'Toole in Laurence Olivier's inaugural production of Hamlet followed by IIyena in his production of Uncle Vanya. In 1967 she created the part of Eleanor of Aquitane in The Lion In Winter on Broadway for which she won a Tony Award and in 1969 she was awarded the Evening Standard Award for Best Actress for her performance in Plaza Suite. In 1970 she appeared opposite Jack Lemmon in Idiot's Delight at the Ahmanson Theatre in Los Angeles, in 1971 she played Anna in Peter Hall's production of Old Times on Broadway, 1973 she played Blanche in A Streetcar Named Desire and Portia in The Merchant Of Venice at the Lincoln Centre Repertory Theatre directed by Ellis Rabb, in 1975 she played Julie Cavendish in Royal Family on Broadway, 1980 she played Madame Arkadina in The Seagull at the Public Theater in New York followed by the Three Sisters and New York Idea at the Brooklyn Academy of Music, in 1982 she appeared in All My Sons in the West End in Heartbreak House with Rex Harrison and Diana Rigg at the Haymarket playing Ariadne Utterwood. She appeared in Heartbreak House on Broadway, again with Rex Harrison but in this production she played Hesione Hushabye. She then played Barbara Jackson in Pack Of Lies on Broadway. In 1985 she spent six weeks at Oxford University lecturing to American drama students after which she returned to Broadway to play Judith Bliss in Hayfever. In July 1986 she opened at the National Theatre in The Petition with John Mills which then transferred to the Wyndhams Theatre. In 1987, she appeared in The Best Of Friends at the Apollo Theater co-starring with Sir John Gielgud and Ray McNally. In 1989, she starred in Steel Magnolias with Miranda Richardson at the Lyric. She starred in the Lyric Hammersmith's production of In The Summerhouse. In 2002, she starred in a highly acclaimed run of Edward Albee's All Over at the Roundabout in NYC. Her numerous television credits include "Notorious Woman" in which she played George Sand for which she was awarded an Emmy for best actress. She was awarded Golden Globe for her portrayal of Berte Weiss. She also appeared in a television special entitled "The Chisholms" in which she co-starred with Robert Preston and "To The Lighthouse" adapted from Virginia Wolf's novel where she played Mrs. Ramsey. She also was in "Strange Interlude". She then completed a BBC play, "Summer Day's Dream" with Sir John Geilgud, directed by Christopher Morahan. Her films include The Boys from Brazil with Greogory Peck and Laurence Olivier, Beau Brummel, A Flea in her Ear, The Shiralee, The Ploughman's Lunch, Sunshine, Tom and Viv, Being Julia. Spider-Man 1, 2 and 3, Before The Devil Knows Your Dead directed by Sidney Lumet and most recently This Means War opposite Reese Witherspoon and Chris Pine. She still lectures regularly at Oxford University and is married to the novelist John Ehle and they have a daughter Jennifer who is also an actress (Possession 2002).

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