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Grace Zabriskie
American actress

Grace Zabriskie

The basics

Quick Facts

Intro
American actress
Gender
Female
Place of birth
New Orleans, Orleans Parish, Louisiana, USA
Age
83 years
The details (from wikipedia)

Biography

Grace Zabriskie (née Caplinger; born May 17, 1941) is an American actress. She is known for her roles as Sarah Palmer in Twin Peaks (1990–1991; 2017) and its film prequel Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me (1992), Lois Henrickson in Big Love, as well as in cult films such as two of David Lynch's films: Juana Durango in Wild at Heart (1990) and Visitor #1 in Inland Empire (2006). Other film roles include Norma Rae (1979), An Officer and a Gentleman (1982), Nickel Mountain (1984), The Big Easy (1986), Leonard Part 6 (1987), Drugstore Cowboy (1989), Child's Play 2 (1990), My Own Private Idaho (1991), Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Even Cowgirls Get the Blues (1993), Armageddon (1998), Gone in 60 Seconds (2000), and The Grudge (2004). She is also known for her recurring roles on such shows as Seinfeld (as George's fiancée Susan's mother), Charmed, and Ray Donovan.

Early life

Zabriskie was born in New Orleans, Louisiana, the daughter of Marion Grace (née Zabriskie), of Wyckoff, New Jersey, and Roger Thomas "Tom" Caplinger. Her mother had distant Polish and Dutch ancestry, and was a relative of James Zabriskie, a 19th-century railroad industrialist and early pioneer of California. Zabriskie has said that her family was visited by Tennessee Williams, Gore Vidal and Truman Capote during her childhood. Her father owned the famous French quarter gay bar Cafe Lafitte in Exile.

In the early 1960s, Zabriskie was among a circle of Kerry Thornley's New Orleans friends. At one point, Thornley began work on a novel about her titled Can Grace Come Out and Play? Thornley later claimed to have had an "eight-year-long, off-again-on-again, affair/friendship/rivalry/ego-game/karmic unraveling" with her, but Zabriskie described it as "four and a half minutes in bed" after a discussion on the exclusion of sex from their friendship—shared with Zabriskie's then-husband Rob—as being "irrational".

Her sister, Lane Caplinger, worked as a typist in New Orleans District Attorney Jim Garrison's office. Caplinger is reputed to have covertly produced all five copies of the first edition of the Principia Discordia in 1965.

Career

After making her major film debut in Norma Rae, Zabriskie went on to appear in dozens of other works, including the 1981 Roger Corman horror film Galaxy of Terror and the 1981 miniseries adaptation of John Steinbeck's East of Eden. She played the nanny in The Private Eyes, Debra Winger's mother in An Officer and a Gentleman, Heather Langenkamp's mother in Nickel Mountain, and Paul Le Mat's mother in The Burning Bed (starring Farrah Fawcett). She had a small but crucial part in the fifth season finale of Knots Landing. In 1988, she played Richard Mulligan's love interest "Eva Barrett" on the hit NBC sitcom Empty Nest.

She appeared in 1989's Drugstore Cowboy and as the ill-fated orphanage owner Grace Poole in Child's Play 2. Other movies include the 1991 film adaptation Fried Green Tomatoes and Philip Ridley's 1995 film The Passion of Darkly Noon.

Zabriskie is perhaps most familiar for her television work. After a recurring role on the soap opera Santa Barbara, she appeared on David Lynch's Twin Peaks and its spin-off film, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me as Sarah Palmer, the eerily psychic mother of the doomed Laura Palmer.

Zabriskie also appeared in Lynch's Wild at Heart—notably as the twin sister of a character played by Isabella Rossellini, an actress eleven years her junior. David Lynch later cast her as a sinister Polish neighbor in Inland Empire in 2006.

Zabriskie may best be remembered as Mrs. Ross, a recurring character on the sitcom Seinfeld. She played the mother of another doomed daughter, Susan Ross—George Costanza's fiancée—who died after licking cheap envelope adhesive when mailing out her wedding invitations. Zabriskie's character's husband on the series, who also appeared in a recurring role, was played by her former Twin Peaks co-star, Warren Frost.

She also made a brief but memorable appearance in the episode "S'ain't Valentine's" on the CBS sitcom The King of Queens, as the emotionally disturbed and alcoholic mother of Spence Olchin (played by Patton Oswalt). While the character Veronica Olchin would reappear throughout the series, Zabriskie would not portray her again, having been replaced by Anne Meara. She also appeared twice in Aaron Spelling's series Charmed as "The Crone".

She has worked in radio, collaborating with radio dramatist/monologist Joe Frank several times. In one episode of Frank's show, "Home (Original)", she talks at length about her childhood in New Orleans, with a focus on her father.

Zabriskie appeared in the 2004 American remake of The Grudge, in which she played a senile elderly woman sensitive to the paranormal occurrences in her home.

From 2006 to 2011, she played "Lois Henrickson" on the hit HBO series Big Love. The drama series seriously explored the issue of polygamy,

In 2013, she played "Mama Dips" on The Killing.

In 2015, she played "Miss Monassian" on the hit Showtime series Ray Donovan. Then in 2016, she played "Mildred" on Outcast.

In 2017, she reprised her role as Sarah Palmer on the Showtime revival of Twin Peaks. Also in 2017, she played the role of "Mrs. Baković" on the Netflix series Santa Clarita Diet.

In 2018, she played "Enid" on the hit HBO series Ballers, opposite Dwayne Johnson. Also in 2018, she played "John's grandmother" on The Alienist.

In 2020, she starred in the music video for Grouplove's "Youth", directed by Christopher Blauvelt.

In 2022, she portrayed "Camille D'Amato" in the Hulu limited series Mike, opposite Trevante Rhodes as Mike Tyson.

Personal life

In her early 20s, Zabriskie "had an intense friendship” with Kerry Wendell Thornley; this friendship was "centered around an intense shared love for and fascination with the philosophy of Ayn Rand". Although Thornley claimed that he and Zabriskie had an affair that lasted over a decade, Zabriskie denies this and states that their friendship ended due to Thornley's belief that she was involved in a conspiracy.

In May 1963, she married John Dunham MacEachron. Zabriskie has two daughters: Helen, who became an actress and Marion Lane, a painter. In 1993, Helen died of Hodgkin's disease. Marion died in 2019, aged 56, of cancer. In 2006, she told the Los Angeles Times, "You can make your life an absolute bummer out of the inevitability of death. Or you can decide to absorb this blow and figure out a way to exist with as much energy and creativity and lack of fear as you can".

Filmography

YearTitleRoleNotes
1978They Went That-A-Way & That-A-WayLem's Wife
1979Norma RaeLinette Odum
1980The Private EyesNanny
1981Galaxy of TerrorCaptain Trantor
1982An Officer and a GentlemanEsther Pokrifki
1984Nickel MountainEllie Wells
1984Body RockChilly's Mother
1986The Big EasyMama
1987RampageNaomi Reece
1987Leonard Part 6Jefferson
1988The BoostSheryl
1989Drugstore CowboyBob's Mother
1990MegavilleMrs. Jessica Palinov
1990Wild at HeartJuana Durango
1990Child's Play 2Grace Poole
1991AmbitionMrs. Wendy Merrick
1991Servants of TwilightGrace Spivey
1991My Own Private IdahoAlena
1991Fried Green TomatoesEva Bates
1992The WaterdancePat
1992FernGully: The Last RainforestNarrator/Magi Lune (voice)
1992Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with MeSarah Palmer
1992Chain of DesireLinda Bailey
1993Stone SoupOlympia
1993Even Cowgirls Get the BluesMrs. Maria Hankshaw
1994The Last LaughLouiseShort film
1994The CrewGloria Pierce
1994Drop ZoneWinona
1995Desert WindsJackie's Mother
1995The Passion of Darkly NoonRoxy
1996A Family ThingRuby
1996Bastard Out of CarolinaGranny
1997SeedMother's VoiceShort film
1997Psycho SushiGreat Aunt
1997George B.The Mother
1997Dead Men Can't DanceBrig. Gen. Burke
1997Annie's GardenMrs. Felicity Barnes
1997SparklerSherri
1998ArmageddonDottie
1998Dante's ViewGeraldine
1999TrashMrs. Wendy DeMarie
1999A Texas FuneralMurtis
1999Me and WillEdith
2000Home the Horror StoryGrace Parkinson
2000A Fate ForetoldOlgaShort film
2000Puppy LoveJeanette FoleyShort film
2000Gone in 60 SecondsHelen Raines
2001They CrawlMrs. Gage
2002R.S.V.P.Mary Franklin
2002No Good DeedMrs. Karen Quarre
2003The Wind EffectAllisonShort film
2004The Last LetterMrs. Stella Allison
2004ChrystalGladys
2004The GrudgeEmma williams
2004Sabine and the Two-Headed BabySabineShort film
2006Inland EmpireVisitor #1
2007CarelessAdrienne
2007License to WedGrandma Jones
2007Alternate EndingsMomShort film
2008The BrothelMadam
2009Bob FunkMrs. June Funk
2009My Son, My Son, What Have Ye Done?Mrs. Joan McCullum
2013Wrong CopsDonna
2013Trancers: City of Lost AngelsThe WardenShort film (shot in 1988)
2014Blind MaliceNanna
2014The JudgeMrs. Anita Blackwell
2014The Makings of YouMargareta.k.a. Never My Love
2015Only ChildDelores
2015Christmas at RosemontJosephine
2019PolaroidLena Sable
2020The Grudge: The Untold ChapterEmma WilliamsArchive footage
2021CryptozooJoan (voice)
YearTitleRoleNotes
1978The Million Dollar Dixie DeliveranceWidow CumminsTV movie
1979Concrete CowboysMrs. Kate BarnabyEpisode: "Concrete Cowboys"
1979Freedom RoadRuth LaitTV movie
1980CBS Afternoon PlayhouseEpisode: "Lost in Death Valley"
1980Blinded by the LightEmilyTV movie
1981East of EdenMrs. Catherine AmesTV miniseries
1981Hart to HartEthylEpisode: "A Couple of Harts"
1982The Executioner's SongKathryne BakerTV movie
1983Tales of the Gold MonkeyDr. ClouetEpisode: "Last Chance Louie"
1983M.A.D.D.: Mothers Against Drunk DriversSilvie Alice KohlerTV movie
1983Cagney & LaceyAdeleEpisode: "Affirmative Action"
1984My Mother's Secret LifeMaggie RyanTV movie
1984Knots LandingChambermaidEpisode: "Negotiations"
1984The Burning BedFlossie HughesTV movie
1984Paper DollsCathyEpisode: "1.8"
1985ABC Afterschool SpecialMrs. LintonEpisode: "One Too Many"
1985Santa BarbaraTheda Bassett17 episodes
1985North Beach and RawhideHearings OfficerTV movie
1985Shadow ChasersMary KomatarEpisode: "Shadow Chasers: Part 1"
1986Hill Street BluesTerry SylvestriEpisode: "Das Blues"
Episode: "Scales of Justice"
1986Cagney & LaceyEva SikorskiEpisode: "Model Citizens"
1987Falcon CrestMabel BurtonEpisode: "When the Bough Breaks"
Episode: "The Cradle Will Fall"
1987MistressDeanieTV movie
1988The Bronx ZooMrs. BarrisEpisode: "Ties That Bind"
1988My Father, My SonMouzaTV movie
1988ShooterSister MarieTV movie
1988Empty NestEva BarrettEpisode: "Pilot"
1989The Ryan White StoryGloria WhiteTV movie
1989UnsubAlmaEpisode: "White Bone Demon"
1989A Deadly SilencePsychologistTV movie
1989MoonlightingRitaEpisode: "In 'N Outlaws"; uncredited
1990Tales from the CryptMrs. ColbertEpisode: "The Secret"
1990Hometown Boy Makes GoodHelen GearyTV movie
1990–1991Twin PeaksSarah Palmer13 episodes
1991Prison Stories: Women on the InsideGenevieveTV movie
1991Blood TiesThe WomanTV movie
1991Intimate StrangerDana P. AshleyTV movie
1992Freshman DormEpisode: "Pilot"
1992A House of Secrets and LiesRubyTV movie
1992,
1996–1998
SeinfeldMrs. Ross5 episodes
1993Bonds of LoveEmmaTV movie
1993Miracle ChildAdeleine NewberryTV movie
1993Black Widow Murders: The Blanche Taylor Moore StoryEthelTV movie
1993Banner TimesMommaTV movie
1993Double DeceptionDr. KesterTV movie
1993SirensFemale Store OwnerEpisode: "Keeping the Peace"
1993Angel FallsCuemaEpisode: "Fall from Grace"
1994Lifestories: Families in CrisisSandy HenryEpisode: "A Body to Die For: The Aaron Henry Story"
1995Crazy for a KissPearl KinrossTV movie
1995Children of the DustRoseTV movie
1995Under SuspicionLily CassinsEpisode: "Hostage Standoff"
Episode: "Wrongful Shooting"
1995Empty NestScarlettEpisode: "Life Goes On: Part 1"
Episode: "Life Goes On: Part 2"
1995Fallen AngelsVirnaEpisode: "The Black Bargain"
1995NYPD BlueWanda PadzikEpisode: "The Bookie and the Kooky Cookie"
1996A Promise to CarolynFrancie HarperTV movie
1996Second NoahMrs. ChevalEpisode: "Stormy Weather"
1996Murder at My DoorGrandmaTV movie
1996The Burning ZoneRetired CIA AgentEpisode: "Touch of the Dead"
1997NYPD BlueMillie BanksEpisode: "A Remington Original"
1997High IncidentMattieEpisode: "Remote Control"
1997Over the TopDollyEpisode: "The Southern Story"
1997The Devil's ChildRose DeMarcoTV movie
1998Dharma & GregNaomiEpisode: "It Takes a Village"
1998HoudiniMrs. WeissTV movie
1998ProfilerMrs. BoudreauxEpisode: "The Sum of Her Parts"
1999The King of QueensVeronicaEpisode: "S'ain't Valentine's"
2000JesseGrandma RoseEpisode: "Jesse Gives Birth"
2000The West WingIsobelEpisode: "In the Shadow of Two Gunmen: Part II"
2002The GuardianJudithEpisode: "The Dead"
2002The GlowSylvia GoodsteinTV movie
2002–2003John DoeYellow Teeth6 episodes
2003CharmedThe CroneEpisode: "Baby's First Demon"
Episode: "Sense and Sense Ability"
2005MediumConnie BuckleyEpisode: "The Other Side of the Tracks"
2006–2011Big LoveLois Henrickson52 episodes
2013The KillingMama Dips3 episodes
2015Ray DonovanMiss Monassian6 episodes
2016OutcastMildred4 episodes
2017Santa Clarita DietMrs. Baković2 episodes
2017Twin PeaksSarah Palmer6 episodes
2018The AlienistJohn's Grandmother4 episodes
2018BallersEnid2 episodes
2019Hot StreetsSenkah (voice)Episode: "Super Agent 2"
2022MikeCamille D'Amato3 episodes
YearTitleRoleNotes
1993VoyeurMargaret HawkeActress (FMV)
2022The QuarryEliza VorezVoice, motion capture and likeness
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