Lois Smith

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Lois Smith

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Lois Smith

Lois Smith as Adele Stackhouse in True Blood.
Born Lois Arlene Humbert
November 3, 1930 (1930-11-03) (age 80)
Topeka, Kansas, U.S.
Occupation Actress
Years active 1952–present

Lois Smith (born November 3, 1930) is an American actress whose career in theater, film, and television has spanned five decades.

Smith was born Lois Arlene Humbert in Topeka, Kansas, the daughter of Carrie Davis (née Gottshalk) and William Oren Humbert, who was a telephone company employee. She is a graduate of the University of Washington.

After two TV appearances, Smith made her film debut in East of Eden (1955). Additional film credits include Five Easy Pieces,Twisted, Up the Sandbox, Four Friends, Fatal Attraction, Fried Green Tomatoes, How to Make an American Quilt, Hard Promises, Dead Man Walking, Twister, Minority Report, Tumbleweeds, Hollywoodland, Sweet Land, and Please Give. Smith has also been active in television, appearing in early anthology series (Studio One, Robert Montgomery Presents), soap operas (Another World, Somerset, The Edge of Night, All My Children, One Life to Live), numerous prime-time dramas, including The Defenders, Dr. Kildare, Route 66, thirtysomething, The Practice, Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, ER, Grey's Anatomy, Cold Case and True Blood, and sitcoms such as The Art Carney Show and Frasier.

Smith made her Broadway debut in the 1952 comedy Time Out for Ginger. A member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Company, she appeared as Ma Joad in their production of The Grapes of Wrath in Chicago, La Jolla Playhouse in San Diego, and London before bringing it to New York City, where her performance earned her a Tony Award nomination.

Awards and nominations

  • 1970 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress (Five Easy Pieces, winner)
  • 1990 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play (The Grapes of Wrath, nominee)
  • 1996 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play (Buried Child, nominee)
  • 2006 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play (The Trip to Bountiful, winner)

  1. ^ Lois Smith at FilmReference.com
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play (2001–2025)

Mary-Louise Parker (2001) · Lindsay Duncan (2002) · Vanessa Redgrave (2003) · Viola Davis / Phylicia Rashād (2004) · Cherry Jones (2005) · Lois Smith (2006) · Eve Best (2007) · Deanna Dunagan (2008) · Janet McTeer (2009) · Jan Maxwell (2010) · Frances McDormand (2011)
Complete list · (1975–2000) · (2001–2025)


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