Biography for
Cloris Leachman More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

30 April 1926, Des Moines, Iowa, USA

Height

5' 5½" (1.66 m)

Mini Biography

The record-breaking actress set a record when at the age of 82, she appeared on "Dancing with the Stars" (2005/I).

She was born on April 30, 1926 in Des Moines, Iowa to Berkeley Claiborne "Buck" Leachman and the former Cloris Wallace. Her father's family owned a lumber company. After graduating from high school, she attended Illinois State University and Northwestern University, where she majored in drama. After winning the title of Miss Chicago 1946 (as part of the Miss America pageant), she acted with the Des Moines Playhouse before moving to New York.

Leachman made her credited debut in 1948 in an episode of "The Ford Theatre Hour" (1948) and appeared in many TV anthologies and series before becoming a regular on "Bob and Ray" (1951) in 1952. Her movie debut was memorable, playing the doomed blonde femme fatale Christina Bailey in Robert Aldrich's classic noir Kiss Me Deadly (1955).

Other than a role in Rod Serling's movie The Rack (1956) in support of Paul Newman, Leachman remained a TV actress throughout the 1950s and the 1960s, appearing in only two movies during the latter decade, The Chapman Report (1962) and Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). Though she would win an Oscar for Peter Bogdanovich's adaptation of Larry McMurtry's The Last Picture Show (1971) and appear in three Mel Brooks movies, it was in television that her career remained and her famed was assured in the 1970s and into the second decade of the new millennium.

Leachman was nominated five times for an Emmy playing Phyllis Lindstrom, Mary Tyler Moore's landlady and self-described best friend on the _Mary Tyler Moore and on the spin-off series "Phyllis" (1975). She won twice as Best Supporting actress in a comedy for her "Mary Tyler Moore" gig and won a Golden Globe as a leading performer in comedy for "Phyllis", but her first Emmy came in the category Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role in 1973 for the TV movie A Brand New Life (1973) (TV). (She also won two Emmies as a supporting player for "Malcolm in the Middle" (2000).)

She was married to director-producer George Englund from 1953 to 1979. They had five children together.

IMDb Mini Biography By: Jon C. Hopwood

Spouse

George Englund

(19 April 1953 - 29 December 1978) (divorced) 5 children

Trade Mark

Her voice

Trivia

Attended Northwestern University (Evanston, IL).

Miss Chicago of 1946 - Miss America contest.

One son, Bryan Englund, died of an overdose of ulcer medication in 1986.

Posed "au natural" on the cover of "Alternative Medicine Digest" (issue 15, 1997) body painted with images of fruit adorning her nakedness. This was a parody, or imitation, of the famous Demi Moore body painted nude Vanity Fair photo.

Older sister of chanteuse Claiborne Cary.

Mother of actors Adam Englund, Bryan Englund, George Englund Jr., Morgan Englund and actress Dinah Englund.

Former mother-in-law of actress Sharon Stone.

Her classmates at the Drama Department of Northwestern University included Paul Lynde, Charlotte Rae, Martha Hyer, Patricia Neal and Agnes Nixon.

Close friend of Phyllis Love. They attended Roosevelt High School, together, in Des Moines, Iowa.

She is a member of the Gamma Phi Beta sorority.

Attended Roosevelt High School in Des Moines, Iowa

On Christmas Eve of 1962, she appeared in three prime-time television series as a guest star: 1. "Stoney Burke: Cousin Eunice (#1.13)" (1962) 2. "Saints and Sinners: A Night of Horns and Bells (#1.12)" (1962) 3. "The New Loretta Young Show: Anything for a Laugh (#1.14)" (1962).

Has 5 grandchildren (including granddaughter Skye Englund).

Has won 9 Emmy awards (including one Daytime Emmy award), more than any actor or actress.

Along with Bill Mumy, she is one of only two actors to appear in both "Twilight Zone" (1959) and its second television revival, "The Twilight Zone" (2002).

Served as Grand Marshal of the 120th Rose Parade on January 1, 2009.

Tossed the coin flip for the 95th Rose Bowl game between the Penn State Nittany Lions and the University of Southern California Trojans on January 1, 2009.

1987 inductee of the Theodore Roosevelt High School Hall of Fame.

She was awarded the 1978 Joseph Jefferson Award for Guest Artist for her performance in the play, "Twigs", at the Marriott Theatre in Chicago, Illinois.

Born in Polk Co., daughter of Berkeley Claiborne "Buck" Leachman (1903-1956) and wife Cloris Wallace (1901-1967).

Ranked #23 on the TV Guide Network special, Funniest Women on TV (2011) (TV).

Became a vegetarian at the age of 35.

Personal Quotes

[on receiving the Best Supporting Acress Oscar, 1972] I'm at a point where I'm free to go out and have a little fun with my career. Some Oscar winners have dropped out of sight as if they were standing on a trapdoor. Others picked it up and ran with it. I'm going to run with it.

Where Are They Now

(April 2009) Release of her clothing line, "Cloris".