Piper Laurie

 Piper Laurie, born Rosetta Jacobs (January 22, 1932 – October 14, 2023)

She is remembered for her roles in the films The Hustler (1961), Carrie (1976), and Children of a Lesser God (1986). She received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards and a BAFTA Award. She is also known for her performances as Kirsten Arnesen in the original TV production of Days of Wine and Roses, and as Catherine Martell in the television series Twin Peaks. In 1949, Rosetta Jacobs signed a contract with Universal Studios, and changed her screen name to Piper Laurie, which she used ever afterwards. Her breakout role was in Louisa, with Ronald Reagan, whom she dated a few times before his marriage to Nancy Davis. Several other roles followed: Francis Goes to the Races (1951), Son of Ali Baba (1951), and Ain't Misbehavin' (1955). In The Hustler (1961), she played Newman's girlfriend, Sarah Packard, and for her performance, she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

In 1965, she starred in a Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams's The Glass Menagerie, opposite Maureen Stapleton, Pat Hingle, and George Grizzard. Laurie did not appear in another feature film until she accepted the role of Margaret White in the horror film Carrie (1976). She received an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her performance; the commercial success of the film, and recognition for her performance, relaunched her career. Laurie received a third Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Mrs. Norman in Children of a Lesser God (1986). The same year, she was awarded an Emmy for her performance in Promise, a television movie, co-starring James Garner and James Woods. In 1990–1991, she starred as the devious Catherine Martell in David Lynch's television series Twin Peaks. She also appeared in Other People's Money with Gregory Peck (1991), and in horror maestro Dario Argento's first American film Trauma (1993).

Laurie was married to New York Herald Tribune entertainment writer and Wall Street Journal movie critic Joe Morgenstern, from 1962 until their divorce in 1982. The couple adopted in a daughter in 1971. Laurie died in Los Angeles on October 14, 2023, at the age of 91.