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IMDbPro

Carol Kane(I)

  • Actress
  • Producer
  • Soundtrack
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,00071
Carol Kane
Special Tribute honoring Gene Wilders life and career.
Play trailer2:40
Remembering Gene Wilder (2023)
58 Videos
99+ Photos
American stage, screen and television actress, and comedian Carol Kane (b. Carolyn Laurie Kane, June 18, 1952, in Cleveland, Ohio), was born to Elaine Joy (née Fetterman), a jazz singer and pianist, and Michael Myron Kane, an architect. Her family is Jewish (from Russia, Poland, and Austria). Due to her parents' divorce, Carol spent most of her childhood in boarding schools until 1965. She also attended Professional Children's School in Upper West Side New York, and made her professional theater debut in a 1966 production of The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (1969) starring Tammy Grimes. Kane, just 14 years old.

At 20 years old, Kane landed the lead role in William Fruets World War II film, Wedding in White (1972). Kane starred as Jeannie Dougall, a teenager whom after is raped is left with a moral dilemma when she discovers that the incident has left her pregnant. The actress received a surprise Academy Award nomination for her performance in the 1974 independent film, Hester Street (1975); Times of Israel describes Kane's character, Gitl, as "a straight-from-the-shtetl immigrant who, with her young son, joins her husband (Steven Keats) who is already halfway assimilated in New York's Lower East Side; the push and the pull between tradition and change drive the story to its bittersweet conclusion."

The following decade, from 1980-1983, she appeared on the television series Taxi (1978). Kane portrayed Simka Dahblitz-Gravas, wife of Latka Gravas (Andy Kaufman). She received two Emmy Awards, and a Golden Globe nomination for her work in the series. Over the years, Kane racked up tons of credits from Taxi and The Princess Bride (1987), to Scrooged (1988), and more recently, the Netflix series Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015); the actress is making audiences laugh by playing Lillian Kaushtupper, in a recent interview, Kane described Lillian as "a hardworking landlady in Harlem who is very attached to the life in New York as she's known it."
BornJune 18, 1952
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornJune 18, 1952
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,00071
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
  • Nominated for 1 Oscar
    • 6 wins & 11 nominations total

Before They Were Famous: Actors' Early Roles

Before They Were Famous: Actors' Early Roles

See photos of celebrities like Michelle Williams and Jenna Ortega before they hit the big-time, and revisit some of their earliest onscreen roles.
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Photos145

Carol Kane in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds (2022)
Carol Kane and Logan Lerman in The Trial of Adolf Hitler (2023)
Lena Olin, Carol Kane, Logan Lerman, Louis Ozawa, Jerrika Hinton, Kate Mulvany, and Tiffany Boone in Hunters (2020)
Carol Kane, Randy Quaid, and Otis Young in The Last Detail (1973)
Carol Kane and Randy Quaid in The Last Detail (1973)
Carol Kane and Randy Quaid in The Last Detail (1973)
Carol Kane in The Last Detail (1973)
Jack Nicholson, Carol Kane, and Art Garfunkel in Carnal Knowledge (1971)
Carol Kane in Pandemonium (1982)
Carol Kane, Judge Reinhold, Miles Chapin, Teri Landrum, Marc McClure, and Debralee Scott in Pandemonium (1982)
Carol Kane, Candice Azzara, Miles Chapin, Teri Landrum, Marc McClure, and Debralee Scott in Pandemonium (1982)
Carol Kane, Saul Rubinek, Josh Radnor, Louis Ozawa, and Tiffany Boone in Hunters (2020)

Known for:

The Princess Bride (1987)
The Princess Bride
8.0
  • Valerie
  • 1987
Christina Ricci, Raul Julia, Christopher Lloyd, Ian Abercrombie, Anjelica Huston, Carol Kane, Matthew Beebe, Chris Ellis, Christopher Hart, Ryan Holihan, Kaitlyn Hooper, Kristen Hooper, Dana Ivey, and Jimmy Workman in Addams Family Values (1993)
Addams Family Values
6.8
  • Granny
  • 1993
Vin Diesel, Brittany Snow, Max Thieriot, Morgan York, Kegan Hoover, Logan Hoover, Bo Vink, and Luke Vink in The Pacifier (2005)
The Pacifier
5.6
  • Helga
  • 2005
Woody Allen and Diane Keaton in Annie Hall (1977)
Annie Hall
8.0
  • Allison
  • 1977

Credits

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IMDbPro

Actress

  • Star Trek: Strange New Worlds
    • Pelia
    • Released
    • TV Series
    • 2022
  • Migration
    • Erin (voice)
    • Post-production
    • 2023
  • Should've Been Romeo
    • Ruth
    • Post-production
  • Dinner with the Parents
    • In Production
    • TV Series
  • Between the Temples
    • Post-production
  • Lena Olin, Carol Kane, Logan Lerman, Louis Ozawa, Jerrika Hinton, Kate Mulvany, and Tiffany Boone in Hunters (2020)
    Hunters
    • Mindy Markowitz
    • TV Series
    • 2020–2023
  • Julie Kavner, Nancy Cartwright, Dan Castellaneta, and Yeardley Smith in The Simpsons (1989)
    The Simpsons
    • Blythe (voice)
    • TV Series
    • 2022
  • Sean Astin, Carol Kane, Judd Hirsch, and Azia Dinea Hale in iMordecai (2022)
    iMordecai
    • Fela
    • 2022
  • Laura Dern, Bill Burr, Debi Derryberry, Justin Long, and Haley Reinhart in F Is for Family (2015)
    F Is for Family
    • Marilyn Chilson
    • Sue's Mother (voice)
    • TV Series
    • 2018–2021
  • Isabella Crovetti in Vampirina (2017)
    Vampirina
    • Madame Spook
    • TV Series
    • 2018–2021
  • The Pack Podcast (2020)
    The Pack Podcast
    • Veanne
    • Podcast Series
    • 2020
  • Ellie Kemper in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015)
    Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
    • Lillian Kaushtupper
    • Fiona
    • TV Series
    • 2015–2020
  • Kate McKinnon and Emily Lynne in Heads Will Roll (2020)
    Heads Will Roll
    • Donna Fink (voice)
    • Podcast Series
    • 2020
  • Carol Kane, Tom Kenny, Jason Weissbrod, Alexandra Billings, Liv Brazill, and Spencer Harte in Boys Don't Wear Dresses (2019)
    Boys Don't Wear Dresses
    • Narrator
    • Short
    • 2019
  • Fred Armisen, Jessica Chaffin, Mark Duplass, Richard Kind, Maya Rudolph, Paula Pell, Paul Scheer, Seth Morris, Jordan Peele, Jessi Klein, Jason Mantzoukas, Nick Kroll, John Mulaney, Chelsea Peretti, and Heather Lawless in Big Mouth (2017)
    Big Mouth
    • Menopause Banshee
    • Old Woman (voice)
    • TV Series
    • 2019
  • Tino Insana, Jelani Imani, Jacob Bertrand, Brianna Gentilella, and Teddy Walsh in Bubble Guppies (2011)
    Bubble Guppies
    • Sea Witch (voice)
    • TV Series
    • 2019
  • OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes (2017)
    OK K.O.! Let's Be Heroes
    • Ginger (voice)
    • TV Series
    • 2017–2019
  • Summer Camp Island (2018)
    Summer Camp Island
    • Barb Jr.
    • Additional Voices (voice)
    • TV Series
    • 2019
  • Fred Armisen, Cassandra Ciangherotti, Bernardo Velasco, Ana Fabrega, and Julio Torres in Los Espookys (2018)
    Los Espookys
    • Bianca Nova
    • TV Series
    • 2019
  • Bill Murray, Chloë Sevigny, Iggy Pop, Tilda Swinton, and Adam Driver in The Dead Don't Die (2019)
    The Dead Don't Die
    • Mallory O'Brien
    • 2019

Producer

  • Sean Astin, Carol Kane, Judd Hirsch, and Azia Dinea Hale in iMordecai (2022)
    iMordecai
    • executive producer
    • 2022

Soundtrack

  • Ellie Kemper in Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (2015)
    Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt
    • performer: "Yes! We Have No Bananas"
    • performer: "Oh Come, All Ye Faithful"
    • performer: "Under the Manhattan Moon" (uncredited) ...
    • TV Series
    • 2015–2020
  • Gotham (2014)
    Gotham
    • performer: "When You're Smiling" (uncredited)
    • TV Series
    • 2015
  • Whoopi Goldberg and George Newbern in Theodore Rex (1995)
    Theodore Rex
    • performer: "I'm No Angel"
    • 1995
  • Voices That Care (1991)
    Voices That Care
    • performer: "Voices That Care"
    • TV Movie
    • 1991
  • The Lemon Sisters (1989)
    The Lemon Sisters
    • performer: "Wild Thing", "That's Life", "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'", "Rawhide"
    • 1989

Videos59

Why Daniel Radcliffe Was Perfect for "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"
Clip 1:59
Why Daniel Radcliffe Was Perfect for "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt"
Thanks for Sharing
Clip 0:48
Thanks for Sharing
Thanks for Sharing
Clip 0:45
Thanks for Sharing
Thanks for Sharing
Clip 1:17
Thanks for Sharing
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
Clip 0:53
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
Clip 0:53
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
Clip 2:01
Confessions of a Teenage Drama Queen
PETE SMALLS IS DEAD
Clip 0:51
PETE SMALLS IS DEAD
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:40
Official Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 2:09
Official Trailer
Trailer
Trailer 3:04
Trailer
Official Trailer
Trailer 1:35
Official Trailer

Personal details

Edit
  • Alternative name
    • Lisa LeBlanc
  • Height
    • 5′ 2″ (1.57 m)
  • Born
    • June 18, 1952
    • Cleveland, Ohio, USA
  • Parents
      Elaine Joy Kane
  • Other works
    Played "Madame Latour" in "He Hunts", a play by Georges Feydeau, adapted by Phillip Littell (Geffen Playhouse, Westwood, California, USA).
  • Publicity listings
    • 1 Interview
    • 1 Article
    • 2 Pictorials
    • 1 Magazine Cover Photo

Did you know

Edit
  • Trivia
    Was the only Taxi (1978) cast member to attend Andy Kaufman's funeral.
  • Quotes
    [on working with Jack Nicholson] Jack prefers the actresses with whom he works to be on the short side. I wasn't tall, so I was immediately in. The reason for this is that he is no more than five foot seven or so himself. When he has no other choice but to play opposite a lanky actress, he will wear elevator shoes.
  • Trademarks
      Her small raspy voice

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