Frances Conroy Biography

Frances Conroy (born November 13, 1953) is an American actress. She is best known for playing Ruth Fisher on the television series Six Feet Under. Her work on the show won her acclaim and several awards, including a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Award. She is also known for playing Moira O'Hara on the television anthology series American Horror Story, which garnered Conroy her first Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television nomination, and as well an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.

Early life

Conroy was born in Monroe, Georgia to a business executive father and a mother who also worked in business. During the 1971-1972 school year she was a student at Dickinson College in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, where she was a member of the Mermaid Players and appeared in college theatrical productions. She moved to New York City to study drama at the Neighborhood Playhouse and the Juilliard School. She was a member of Juilliard's Drama Division Group 6 (1973"1977) which also included Kelsey Grammer, Harriet Sansom Harris, and Robin Williams.

Career

During the 1970s, she performed regularly with regional and touring theatrical companies (most notably The Acting Company), and appeared as Desdemona at the Delacorte Theatre in a production of Othello with Richard Dreyfuss and Raul Julia. One of her first film appearances was as a Shakespearean actress in Woody Allen's 1979 classic, Manhattan. In 1980, she made a very well received Broadway debut in Edward Albee's The Lady From Dubuque. She focused primarily on her stage career for the next two decades, appearing in such productions as Our Town, The Little Foxes, and The Ride Down Mt. Morgan, receiving one Tony and four Drama Desk Award nominations (including a Drama Desk win for The Secret Rapture). Conroy had a small role in the 1984 movie Falling in Love, as a waitress in a swanky restaurant.

In 1992, Conroy became friends with playwright Arthur Miller, which led to her involvement in many of his productions on both stage and screen. During this period, she also appeared on television shows, miniseries, and made-for-TV movies, and met and married fellow actor Jan Munroe.

She is best known for her critically acclaimed work on HBO's original drama series Six Feet Under, which started in 2001 and ended in 2005, playing the emotional family matriarch Ruth Fisher. For her work on the series, Conroy was nominated for four Emmy Awards (one for every year she was eligible) and won a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.

In 2008, she landed a guest role in ABC's Desperate Housewives as Virginia Hildebrand, a rich woman who tries to buy the Solis family's love. But Eva Longoria's character, Gabrielle Solis, declines Virginia's motives, despite being open to receiving her entire fortune.

In 2010, Conroy played Madylyn, the wife of Robert De Niro's character Jack Mabrey, in the John Curran thriller Stone. In the same year, Conroy played the recurring role of Peggy Haplin in the short-lived ABC drama series Happy Town created by Josh Appelbaum, Andre Nemec, and Scott Rosenberg.

Conroy appeared in the first season of American Horror Story as one of two actresses - the other being Alexandra Breckenridge - playing the housekeeper Moira O'Hara. For Conroy's performance, she was nominated for a Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. Conroy returned to the series in the second season, dubbed Asylum, in a 6 episode recurring role, playing The Angel of Death. She will also return for the series' third season American Horror Story: Coven.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984	Falling in Love	Waitress
1988	Dirty Rotten Scoundrels	Lady from Palm Beach
1988	Another Woman	Lynn
1989	Crimes and Misdemeanors	House Owner
1991	Billy Bathgate	Mary Behan
1992	Scent of a Woman	Christine Downes
1993	Sleepless in Seattle	Irene Reed
1993	The Adventures of Huck Finn	Scrawny Shanty Lady
1995	The Neon Bible	Miss Scover
1995	Angela	Anne's mother	credited as Francis Conroy
1996	The Crucible	Ann Putnam
2002	Maid in Manhattan	Paula Burns
2003	Die, Mommie, Die!	Bootsie Carp
2004	Catwoman	Ophelia
2004	The Aviator	Mrs. Hepburn
2005	Shopgirl	Catherine Buttersfield
2005	Broken Flowers	Dora
2006	Ira and Abby	Lynn Willoughby
2006	The Wicker Man	Dr. T.H. Moss
2006	A Perfect Day	Camille Bailey
2007	The Seeker: The Dark is Rising	Miss Greythorne
2008	Humboldt County	Rosie
2008	The Tale of Despereaux	Antoinette	Voice role
2009	Love Happens	Eloise's mom
2009	Waking Madison	Dolly
2009	New in Town	Trudy Van Uuden
2009	Stay Cool	Mrs. Leuchtenberger
2009	Shelter	Mrs. Bernberg
2010	Bloodworth	Julia Bloodworth
2010	Stone	Madylyn Mabry
2011	Tom and Jerry and the Wizard of Oz	Aunt Em/Glinda	Voice role
2011	All-Star Superman	Martha Kent	Voice role (Direct-to-video)
2012	Beautiful People	Lydia	Television movie
2013	Superman: Unbound	Martha Kent	Voice role (Direct-to-video)
2013	Ring of Fire	Maybelle Carter	Television movie
2013	Abby in the Summer	Mother	Post-production
2013	Anybody's Ghost	Dara	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	American Playhouse	Mother	Episode: "Echoes and Silences"
1984	3-2-1 Contact	Kate	Episode: "Earth: Building Models"
1987	Remington Steele	Gladys Lynch	Episode: "Steele Hanging in There: Part 1"
1987	Crime Story	Mrs. Jankowski	Episode: "The Battle of Las Vegas"
1989	Great Performances	Mrs. Gibbs	Episode: "Our Town"
1990	Law and Order	Elizabeth Hendrick	Episode: "Prisoner of Love"
1998	Cosby	Elizabeth	Episode: "Judgement Day"
1999	Law & Order	Rosa Halasy	Episode: "Disciple"
2001-2005	Six Feet Under	Ruth Fisher	63 episodes Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Drama Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2003-04) Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (2002-03, 2005-06) Nominated"?Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2002, 2005-06)
2007-2008	ER	Becky Riley	2 episodes
2008	Desperate Housewives	Virginia Hildebrand	3 episodes
2009-2013	How I Met Your Mother	Loretta Stinson	5 episodes
2010	Nip/Tuck	Jane Fields	Episode: "Sheila Carlton"
2010	Happy Town	Peggy Haplin	7 episodes
2010	Grey's Anatomy	Eleanor	Episode: "Can't Fight Biology"
2010-2013	Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated	Angie Dinkley	15 episodes
2011	United States of Tara	Sandy Gregson	2 episodes
2011	Love Bites	Faye Strathmore	Episode: "How To..."
2011	The Mentalist	Elspeth	Episode: "The Red Mile"
2011	American Horror Story: Murder House	Moira O'Hara	11 episodes Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie Nominated"?Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television
2012-2013	American Horror Story: Asylum	Angel of Death	6 episodes
2013	Royal Pains	Blythe Ballard	6 episodes
2013	American Horror Story: Coven	Myrtle Snow	Episode: "Bitchcraft"

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1980	Othello	Desdemona	Nominated"?Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
1980	The Lady from Dubuque	Jo
1988-1989	Our Town	Mrs. Gibbs
1989	The Secret Rapture	Marion French	Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
1990	Some Americans Abroad	Frankie Lewis
1992	Two Shakespearean Actors	Catherine Forrest
1993	In the Summer House	Mrs. Constable	Nominated"?Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play
1994	Broken Glass	Margaret Hyman
1996-1997	The Rehearsal	The Countess	Nominated"?Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play
1997	The Little Foxes	Birdie Hubbard
1999	Ring Round the Moon	Capulat
2000	The Ride Down Mt. Morgan	Theo	Nominated"?Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play
2010	The Subject Was Roses	Nettie Cleary

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
1980	Drama Desk Awards	Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play	Othello
1990	Drama Desk Awards	Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play	The Secret Rapture
1994	Drama Desk Awards	Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play	In the Summer House
1997	Drama Desk Awards	Outstanding Actress in a Play	The Rehearsal
2000	Tony Awards	Best Featured Actress in a Play	The Ride Down Mt. Morgan
2002	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	Six Feet Under
2002	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Six Feet Under
2003	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	Six Feet Under
2003	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Six Feet Under
2004	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama	Six Feet Under
2004	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Six Feet Under
2004	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series	Six Feet Under
2005	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	Six Feet Under
2005	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Six Feet Under
2006	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	Six Feet Under
2006	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Six Feet Under
2012	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie	American Horror Story: Murder House
2012	Saturn Awards	Best Supporting Actress on Television	American Horror Story: Murder House