Elizabeth Kemp (November 5, 1951 – September 1, 2017) was an American actress,

theatre director A theatre director or stage director is a professional in the theatre field who oversees and orchestrates the mounting of a theatre production such as a play, opera, dance, drama, musical theatre performance, etc. by unifying various endeavors a ...

, and acting coach. She began her screen career playing Betsy in the television series ''

Love of Life ''Love of Life'' is an American soap opera televised on CBS from September 24, 1951, to February 1, 1980. It was created by Roy Winsor, whose previous creation '' Search for Tomorrow'' premiered three weeks before ''Love of Life''; he created ...

'' in 1973. She performed on stage many times as well as directing a number of productions in the US as well as internationally. She went on to become an

acting coach An acting coach or drama coach is a teacher who trains performers – typically film, television, theatre, and musical theatre actors – and gives them advice and mentoring to enable them to improve their acting and dramatic performances, prepar ...

and faculty member of the Actors Studio Drama School at

Pace University Pace University is a private university with campuses in New York City and Westchester County, New York, United States. It was established in 1906 as a business school by the brothers Homer St. Clair Pace and Charles A. Pace. Pace enrolls about ...

Early life and education

Elizabeth Kemp was born on November 5, 1951 in

Key West, Florida Key West is an island in the Straits of Florida, at the southern end of the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Islan ...

, the daughter of Nancy Jean (Haycock) and Joseph Clifton Kemp, a business executive and U.S. Navy officer and test pilot stationed at the Pentagon. Kemp showed talent as a child painter from age 13–16, and graduated from high school with a special award for creative achievement. At 16 she applied to the

Rhode Island School of Design The Rhode Island School of Design (RISD , pronounced "Riz-D") is a private art and design school in Providence, Rhode Island. The school was founded as a coeducational institution in 1877 by Helen Adelia Rowe Metcalf, who sought to increase th ...

, but was told to wait a year. She studied at the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a Private college, private drama school with two locations, one in New York City and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related ...

and the

Actors Studio The Actors Studio is a membership organization for professional actors, theatre directors and playwrights located on West 44th Street in Hell's Kitchen in New York City. The studio is best known for its work refining and teaching method actin ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, under

Lee Strasberg Lee Strasberg (born Israel Strassberg; November 17, 1901 – February 17, 1982) was an American acting coach and actor. He co-founded, with theatre directors Harold Clurman and Cheryl Crawford, the Group Theatre in 1931, which was hailed ...

Career

Acting career

Kemp was in the original cast of '' The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas'', which began at the

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

The Actors Studio before moving to Broadway, where it became a long-running hit. Her mentor,

Elia Kazan Elias Kazantzoglou (, ; September 7, 1909 – September 28, 2003), known as Elia Kazan ( ), was a Greek-American film and theatre director, producer, screenwriter and actor, described by ''The New York Times'' as "one of the most honored and inf ...

, took

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the three ...

to see Kemp in the show, when Williams was looking for an actress to play Baby Doll in the world premiere of one of his last plays, ''Tiger Tail''. After the performance, Williams gave her the part, and she worked closely with him in developing the role. In 1978, she appeared on Broadway in a minor part in '' Once in a Lifetime''. She made her television debut in the series ''

'' in 1973. In 1980, Kemp made her feature film debut in the horror film '' He Knows You're Alone'', opposite Caitlin O'Heaney and

Tom Hanks Thomas Jeffrey Hanks (born July 9, 1956) is an American actor and filmmaker. Known for both his comedic and dramatic roles, he is one of the most popular and recognizable film stars worldwide, and is regarded as an American cultural icon. Ha ...

.Mastroianni, Armand, and Scott Parker. ''He Knows You're Alone'' audio commentary (DVD).

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...

2004.

Directing

As a stage director, Kemp was responsible for many productions at The Actors Studio, including '' The Glass Menagerie'', '' The Beauty Queen of Leenane'', and the world premiere of Edward Allan Baker's ''Free Gift Inside''. Internationally, Kemp directed ''The Stronger and Homesick'' at Strindberg's Intimate Theater in

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, and ''Dreamstories'' at The Claude LeLouch Theatre Cine 13 in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and La Spazia Teatro in

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Teaching

Kemp left Los Angeles and returned to New York City, where she worked odd jobs, including waiting tables at a restaurant. Soon after, she began teaching acting at the Strasberg Institute, then became a member of the Acting Faculty—and later, chair— of The Actors Studio Drama School at

. At the Actors Studio Drama School, Kemp was a mentor to student actors like

Bradley Cooper Bradley Charles Cooper (born January 5, 1975) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of various accolades, including a British Academy Film Award and three Grammy Awards. In addition, he has been nominated for twelve Acade ...

and

Poorna Jagannathan Poorna Jagannathan ( ; born December 22, 1972) is an American producer and actress. She is known for her portrayal of Safar Khan in the HBO drama miniseries '' The Night Of'', as well as for her role as Nalini Vishwakumar in the Netflix teen come ...

. She worked across the country at The California Actors Theatre in San Francisco, Alliance Theatre in Atlanta, Folger Theatre in

Washington, D.C. Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly known as Washington or D.C., is the capital city and federal district of the United States. The city is on the Potomac River, across from Virginia, and shares land borders with ...

, Center Stage in

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, and Walnut Street Theatre in

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

. She was also an artistic associate and tutor at 16th Street Actors Studio in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, Australia.

Personal life

Kemp married actor Michael Margotta in New York City in 1984. They separated in June 1991 and later divorced.

Death

Kemp died of cancer on September 1, 2017, in

Venice, Los Angeles Venice is a neighborhood of the City of Los Angeles within the Westside region of Los Angeles County, California, United States. Venice was founded by Abbot Kinney in 1905 as a seaside resort town. It was an independent city until 1926, whe ...

, at age 65. She received several public tributes from former students

Hugh Jackman Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian and British actor, singer, and producer. Beginning in theatre and television, Jackman landed his breakthrough role as Wolverine in the ''X-Men'' film franchise and the Marvel Cinem ...

and

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta (born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her image reinventions and versatility across the entertainment industry, she is an influ ...

. The 2018 film '' A Star Is Born'' is dedicated to her memory.

Recognition and awards

Kemp became a lifetime member of The Actors Studio in 1975. She received the

GLAAD GLAAD () is an American non-governmental media monitoring organization. Originally founded as a protest against defamatory coverage of gay and lesbian demographics and their portrayals in the media and entertainment industries, it has since ...

Award for her work on ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher for NBC. It ran for eight seasons and List of L.A. Law episodes, 172 episodes from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. The series cente ...

'' (1986).

Filmography

Film

Television

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Kemp, Elizabeth 1951 births 2017 deaths People from Key West, Florida 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American acting coaches Actresses from Florida American Academy of Dramatic Arts alumni American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Deaths from cancer in California Pace University faculty American women academics