Jill Clayburgh (April 30, 1944 – November 5, 2010) was an American actress known for her work in theater, television, and cinema. She received the
Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress and was nominated for the
Academy Award for Best Actress
The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 1st Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a lead ...
for her breakthrough role in
Paul Mazursky
Irwin Lawrence "Paul" Mazursky (; April 25, 1930 – June 30, 2014) was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor. Known for his dramatic comedies that often dealt with modern social issues, he was nominated for five Academy Awards for '' ...
's comedy drama ''
An Unmarried Woman'' (1978). She received a second consecutive Academy Award nomination for ''
Starting Over'' (1979) as well as four
Golden Globe
The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...
nominations for her film performances, and two
Primetime Emmy Award
The Primetime Emmy Awards, or Primetime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Owned and operated by the Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (ATAS), the P ...
nominations for her television work.
Clayburgh was a member of the Writers and Artists for Peace in the Middle East, a pro-Israel group. In 1984, she signed a letter protesting German arms sales to
Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia, officially the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA), is a country in West Asia. Located in the centre of the Middle East, it covers the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula and has a land area of about , making it the List of Asian countries ...
.
Early life
Clayburgh was born in New York City, the daughter of a Protestant mother and a Jewish father. Her mother, Julia Louise (
née
The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...
Dorr), was an actress and theatrical production secretary for producer
David Merrick. Her father was Albert Henry "Bill" Clayburgh, a manufacturing executive. Her paternal grandmother was concert and
opera singer
Opera is a form of Western theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a lib ...
Alma Lachenbruch Clayburgh (1881-1958).
Her brother,
Jim Clayburgh, is a scenic designer.
Clayburgh reportedly never talked about her religious background and was not raised in the faith of either of her parents.
Clayburgh never got along with her parents and began therapy at an early age: "I was very rebellious as a teenager, aside from having an unhappy, neurotic childhood. But I just can't go into it. I think I had a lot of energy and undirected need so I just kind of rebelled in a general fashion. I got myself in terrible, very personal trouble. Therapy has helped me a lot in my life."
As a child, Clayburgh was inspired to become an actress when she saw
Jean Arthur
Jean Arthur (born Gladys Georgianna Greene; October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American film and theater actress whose career began in silent films in the early 1920s and lasted until the early 1950s.
Arthur had feature roles in three F ...
as ''
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a fictional character created by Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending childhood having adventures on the mythical ...
'' on
Broadway in 1950. She was raised on
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
's
Upper East Side
The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the boroughs of New York City, borough of Manhattan in New York City. It is bounded approximately by 96th Street (Manhattan), 96th Street to the north, the East River to the e ...
, where she attended the all-girls
Brearley School.
She then attended
Sarah Lawrence College
Sarah Lawrence College (SLC) is a Private university, private liberal arts college in Yonkers, New York, United States. Founded as a Women's colleges in the United States, women's college in 1926, Sarah Lawrence College has been coeducational ...
, where she studied religion, philosophy and literature, but ultimately decided to be an actress. She received her acting training at
HB Studio
The HB Studio (Herbert Berghof Studio) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization offering professional training in the performing arts through classes, workshops, free lectures, theater productions, theater rentals, a theater artist residency prog ...
.
Career
Early career
Clayburgh began acting as a student in summer stock and, after graduating, joined the Charles Street Repertory Theater in
Boston
Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
, where she met another up-and-coming actor and future
Academy Award
The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...
-winning star,
Al Pacino
Alfredo James Pacino ( ; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Known for his intense performances on stage and screen, Pacino is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. His career spans more than five decades, duri ...
, in 1967. They met after starring in
Jean-Claude Van Itallie's play ''America, Hurrah''. They had a five-year romance and moved back together to New York City.
[Yule, A. ''Al Pacino: Life on the Wire'', Time Warner Paperbacks (1992)]
In 1968, Clayburgh debuted off-Broadway in the double bill of
Israel Horovitz
Israel Horovitz (March 31, 1939 – November 9, 2020) was an American playwright, director, actor and co-founder of the Gloucester Stage Company in 1979. He served as artistic director until 2006 and later served on the board, ex officio and ...
's ''
The Indian Wants the Bronx
''The Indian Wants the Bronx'' is a one-act play by Israel Horovitz.
Gupta, the Indian of the title, has just arrived in New York City from his native country to visit his son and speaks only a few words of English. While waiting for a bus to T ...
'' and ''It's Called the Sugar Plum'', also starring Pacino. Clayburgh and Pacino were cast in "Deadly Circle of Violence", an episode of the
ABC television series ''
NYPD
The City of New York Police Department, also referred to as New York City Police Department (NYPD), is the primary law enforcement agency within New York City. Established on May 23, 1845, the NYPD is the largest, and one of the oldest, munic ...
'', premiering November 12, 1968. Clayburgh at the time was also appearing on the soap opera ''
Search for Tomorrow
''Search for Tomorrow'' is an American television soap opera. It began its run on CBS on September 3, 1951, and concluded on NBC, 35 years later, on December 26, 1986.
Set in the fictional town of Henderson in an unspecified state, the show f ...
'', playing the role of Grace Bolton. Her father would send the couple money each month to help with finances.
She eventually made her Broadway debut in 1968 in ''The Sudden and Accidental Re-Education of Horse Johnson'', co-starring
Jack Klugman
Jack Klugman (April 27, 1922 – December 24, 2012) was an American actor of stage, film, and television.
He began his career in 1949 and started television and film work with roles in ''12 Angry Men (1957 film), 12 Angry Men'' (1957) and ...
, which ran for 5 performances. In 1969, she starred in an off-Broadway production of the Henry Bloomstein play ''Calling in Crazy'', at the
Andy Warhol
Andy Warhol (;''Random House Webster's Unabridged Dictionary''"Warhol" born Andrew Warhola Jr.; August 6, 1928 – February 22, 1987) was an American visual artist, film director and producer. A leading figure in the pop art movement, Warhol ...
-owned Fortune theatre. She was in a TV pilot that did not sell, ''The Choice'' (1969) and appeared off Broadway in ''The Nest'' (1970).
In 1969, Clayburgh made her screen debut in ''
The Wedding Party'', written and directed by
Brian De Palma
Brian Russell De Palma (; born September 11, 1940) is an Americans, American film director and screenwriter. With a career spanning over 50 years, he is best known for work in the suspense, Crime film, crime, and psychological thriller genres. ...
. ''The Wedding Party'' was filmed in 1963 (during which Clayburgh was at Sarah Lawrence) but not released until six years later. The film focuses on a soon-to-be groom and his interactions with various relatives of his fiancée and members of the wedding party; Clayburgh played the bride-to-be. Her co-stars included
Robert De Niro
Robert Anthony De Niro ( , ; born August 17, 1943) is an American actor, director, and film producer. He is considered to be one of the greatest and most influential actors of his generation. De Niro is the recipient of List of awards and ...
, in one of his early film roles, and
Jennifer Salt
Jennifer Salt (born September 4, 1944) is an American producer, screenwriter, and former actress known for playing Eunice Tate on ''Soap'' (1977–1981).
Life and career
Salt was born in Los Angeles, California, to screenwriter Waldo Salt and ...
. In his review from ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'',
Howard Thompson wrote, "As the harassed engaged couple, two newcomers, Charles Pfluger and Jill Clayburgh, are as appealing as they can be."
Broadway success

Clayburgh attracted attention when she appeared in the Broadway musical ''
The Rothschilds'' (1970–72) which ran for 502 performances. She then went on to play
Desdemona
Desdemona () is a character in William Shakespeare's play ''Othello'' (c. 1601–1604). Shakespeare's Desdemona is a Venice, Italy, Venetian beauty who enrages and disappoints her father, a Venetian senator, when she elopes with Othello (char ...
opposite
James Earl Jones
James Earl Jones (January 17, 1931 – September 9, 2024) was an American actor. A pioneer for black actors in the entertainment industry, Jones is known for his extensive and acclaimed roles on stage and screen. Jones is one of the few perfor ...
in the 1971 production of ''
Othello
''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...
'' in
Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, and had another Broadway success with ''
Pippin'' (1972–75), which ran for 1,944 performances.
Clive Barnes
Clive Alexander Barnes (13 May 1927 – 19 November 2008) was an English writer and critic. From 1965 to 1977, he was the dance and theater critic for ''The New York Times'', and, from 1978 until his death, the ''New York Post''. Barnes had sign ...
of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' found Clayburgh to be "all sweet connivance as the widow out to get her man."
During this time, Clayburgh had a string of brief character parts in film and television. Some of these include ''
The Telephone Book'' (1971), ''
Portnoy's Complaint'' (1972), ''
The Thief Who Came to Dinner'' (1973) and ''
The Terminal Man'' (1974), opposite
George Segal
George Segal Jr. (February 13, 1934 – March 23, 2021) was an American actor. He became popular in the 1960s and 1970s for playing both dramatic and comedic roles. After first rising to prominence with roles in acclaimed films such as '' Ship o ...
.
After guest-starring on an episode of ''
The Snoop Sisters'', Clayburgh played
Ryan O'Neal's ex-wife in ''
The Thief Who Came to Dinner'' (1973) and starred in a TV pilot that was not picked up, ''Going Places'' (1973). She also guest starred on ''
Medical Center'', ''
Maude'', and ''
The Rockford Files
''The Rockford Files'' is an American detective drama television series starring James Garner, aired on NBC from September 13, 1974, to January 10, 1980. Garner portrays Los Angeles private investigator Jim Rockford, with Noah Beery Jr. in th ...
''. She hosted ''
Saturday Night Live
''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...
'' on February 28, 1976 (Season 1, Episode 15) with musical guest,
Leon Redbone. She later returned to Broadway for
Tom Stoppard
Sir Tom Stoppard (; born , 3 July 1937) is a Czech-born British playwright and screenwriter. He has written for film, radio, stage, and television, finding prominence with plays. His work covers the themes of human rights, censorship, and politi ...
's ''
Jumpers
Jumper or Jumpers may refer to:
Clothing
*Jumper (sweater), is a long-sleeve article of clothing; also called a top, pullover, or sweater
**A waist-length top garment of dense wool, part of the Royal Navy uniform and the Uniforms of the United St ...
'', which ran for 48 performances. Despite her success on Broadway, it was film acting that really excited Clayburgh: "One of the things I like about the movies is the adventure of it," she said. "I like going to different places and I like doing a different scene every day."
Clayburgh was praised for her performances in the TV movies ''
Hustling
Hustling is the deceptive act of disguising one's skill in a sport or game with the intent of luring someone of probably lesser skill into gambling (or gambling for higher than current stakes) with the hustler, as a form of both a confidence tri ...
'' (1975), in which she played a prostitute, and ''The Art of Crime'' (1975). ''Hustling'' was a departure for her: "Before I did ''Hustling'' I was always cast as a nice wife. I wasn't very good at it. Then with ''Hustling'', it was a nice role and it was a departure. People saw a different dimension."
Her performance in the TV film eventually earned her an Emmy nomination; she later said it revitalised her career.
"It changed my career,” Clayburgh said. “It was a part that I did well, and suddenly people wanted me.
Sidney Furie saw me, and wanted me for ''Gable and Lombard''."
''An Unmarried Woman'' and film stardom
Clayburgh was cast as
Carole Lombard
Carole Lombard (born Jane Alice Peters; October 6, 1908 – January 16, 1942) was an American actress, particularly noted for her energetic, often off-beat roles in screwball comedies. In 1999, the American Film Institute ranked Lombard ...
in the 1976 biopic ''
Gable and Lombard'' with
James Brolin
Craig Kenneth Bruderlin (born July 18, 1940), known professionally as James Brolin, is an American actor. Brolin has won two Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globes and an Emmy Awards, Emmy. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on August ...
as
Clark Gable
William Clark Gable (February 1, 1901November 16, 1960) was an American actor often referred to as the "King of Cinema of the United States, Hollywood". He appeared in more than 60 Film, motion pictures across a variety of Film genre, genres dur ...
. ''
Variety'' called it "a film with many major assets, not the least of which is the stunning and smashing performance of Clayburgh as Carole Lombard" and ''
Time Out London'' felt she "produced a very modern version of the Lombard larkishness."
Vincent Canby
Vincent Canby (July 27, 1924 – October 15, 2000) was an American film and theatre critic who was the chief film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1969 until the early 1990s, then its chief theatre critic from 1994 until his death in 2000. ...
of ''
The New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...
'' suggested that her performance "comes off better" than Brolin's Gable, as "she appears to be creating a character whenever the fearfully bad screenplay allows it." Despite this, he felt both actors were miscast as the famous couple, writing further, "Miss Clayburgh could be an interesting actress, but there are always problems when small performers try to portray the kind of giant legends that Gable and Lombard were. Because both Gable and Lombard are still very much alive in their films on television and in repertory theaters, there is difficulty in responding to Mr. Brolin and Miss Clayburgh in any serious way."
She starred in the acclaimed TV movie ''
Griffin and Phoenix'' (1976) co-starring with
Peter Falk
Peter Michael Falk (September 16, 1927 – June 23, 2011) was an American film and television actor. He is best known for his role as Columbo (character), Lieutenant Columbo on the NBC/American Broadcasting Company, ABC series ''Columbo'' (196 ...
. It tells the story of two ill-fated middle-aged characters who both face a terminal cancer diagnosis and have months left to live. Notably, Clayburgh developed the same type of cancer her character had in this film, succumbing to it in 2010. Also in 1976, she had her first big box office success playing the love interest of
Gene Wilder
Gene Wilder (born Jerome Silberman; June 11, 1933 – August 29, 2016) was an American actor, comedian, writer, and filmmaker. He was mainly known for his comedic roles, including his portrayal of Willy Wonka in ''Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Fa ...
's character in the comedy-mystery ''
Silver Streak'', also starring
Richard Pryor
Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Known for reaching a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, he is widely regarded ...
. Critics felt Clayburgh had little to do in ''Silver Streak'', and ''The New York Times'' called her "an actress of too much intelligence to be able to fake identification with a role that is essentially that of a liberated ingenue."
In 1977, she had another hit with ''
Semi-Tough
''Semi-Tough'' is a 1977 American sports comedy film directed by Michael Ritchie and starring Burt Reynolds, Kris Kristofferson, Jill Clayburgh, Robert Preston, Lotte Lenya, and Bert Convy. It is set in the world of American professional fo ...
'', a comedy set in the world of American professional football, which also starred
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor most famous during the 1970s and 1980s. He became well known in television series such as ''Gunsmoke'' (1962–1965), '' Hawk'' (1966) and '' Dan Augus ...
and
Kris Kristofferson
Kristoffer Kristofferson (June 22, 1936 – September 28, 2024) was an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He was a pioneering figure in the outlaw country movement of the 1970s, moving away from the polished Nashville sound and toward a m ...
. Clayburgh played Barbara Jane Bookman, who has a subtle love triangle relationship with both Reynolds and Kristofferson's characters. Vincent Canby liked her performance, writing, "Miss Clayburgh, who's been asked to play zany heroines in ''Gable and Lombard'' and ''Silver Streak'' by people who failed to provide her with material, has much better luck this time. She's charming," and ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'', locally known as ''The'' ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'' or ''WP'', is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., the national capital. It is the most widely circulated newspaper in the Washington m ...
'' enjoyed her chemistry with Reynolds: "Reynolds and Clayburgh look wonderful together. They seem to harmonize in a way that would only be more apparent - and make their eventual recognition of being in love seem more appropriate." Both ''Semi-Tough'' and ''Silver Streak'' earned her a reputation "as a popular modern stylist of screwball comedy" and ''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' noted how Clayburgh "had the kind of warmth and witty sophistication barely seen in Hollywood since Carole Lombard and
Jean Arthur
Jean Arthur (born Gladys Georgianna Greene; October 17, 1900 – June 19, 1991) was an American film and theater actress whose career began in silent films in the early 1920s and lasted until the early 1950s.
Arthur had feature roles in three F ...
".
Clayburgh's breakthrough came in 1978 when she received the first of her two
Academy Award for Best Actress
The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It has been awarded since the 1st Academy Awards to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a lead ...
nominations for
Paul Mazursky
Irwin Lawrence "Paul" Mazursky (; April 25, 1930 – June 30, 2014) was an American film director, screenwriter, and actor. Known for his dramatic comedies that often dealt with modern social issues, he was nominated for five Academy Awards for '' ...
's ''
An Unmarried Woman''. In what would be her career-defining role, Clayburgh was cast as Erica, the courageous abandoned wife who struggles with her new 'single' identity after her stockbroker husband leaves her for a younger woman. Upon release, ''An Unmarried Woman'' drew praise and was popular at the box office, briefly making Clayburgh, at 34, a star. Clayburgh's performance garnered some of the best reviews of her career:
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert ( ; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American Film criticism, film critic, film historian, journalist, essayist, screenwriter and author. He wrote for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. Eber ...
called the film "a journey that Mazursky makes into one of the funniest, truest, sometimes most heartbreaking movies I've ever seen. And so much of what's best is because of Jill Clayburgh, whose performance is, quite simply, luminous. Clayburgh takes chances in this movie. She's out on an emotional limb. She's letting us see and experience things that many actresses simply couldn't reveal" while ''The New York Times'' wrote, "Miss Clayburgh is nothing less than extraordinary in what is the performance of the year to date. In her we see intelligence battling feelingreason backed against the wall by pushy needs."
Writing for ''
The New Yorker
''The New Yorker'' is an American magazine featuring journalism, commentary, criticism, essays, fiction, satire, cartoons, and poetry. It was founded on February 21, 1925, by Harold Ross and his wife Jane Grant, a reporter for ''The New York T ...
'', veteran critic
Pauline Kael
Pauline Kael (; June 19, 1919 – September 3, 2001) was an American film critic who wrote for ''The New Yorker'' from 1968 to 1991. Known for her "witty, biting, highly opinionated and sharply focused" reviews, Kael often defied the conse ...
noted:
In addition to her Oscar nomination, Clayburgh also earned her first
Golden Globe
The Golden Globe Awards are awards presented for excellence in both international film and television. It is an annual award ceremony held since 1944 to honor artists and professionals and their work. The ceremony is normally held every Januar ...
nomination for
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama (both of which she lost to
Jane Fonda
Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress and activist. Recognized as a film icon, Jane Fonda filmography, Fonda's work spans several genres and over six decades of film and television. She is the recipient of List of a ...
for ''
Coming Home'') and won the
Best Actress Award at the
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes Film Festival (; ), until 2003 called the International Film Festival ('), is the most prestigious film festival in the world.
Held in Cannes, France, it previews new films of all genres, including documentaries, from all around ...
, which she and
Isabelle Huppert shared.
During this time, she turned down the lead in ''Norma Rae'', a film that earned
Sally Field
Sally Margaret Field (born November 6, 1946) is an American actress. She has performed in movies, Broadway theater, television, and made records of popular music. Known for her extensive work on screen and stage, she has received many accola ...
her first Oscar. Still, in 1979, Clayburgh had a career peak after starring in two movies that garnered her widespread acclaim. The first was
Bernardo Bertolucci
Bernardo Bertolucci ( ; ; 16 March 1941 – 26 November 2018) was an Italian film director and screenwriter with a career that spanned 50 years. Considered one of the greatest directors in the history of cinema, Bertolucci's work achieved inte ...
's ''
La Luna'' (1979), which she made in Italy. The film presents an incestuous relationship between a mother and her drug-addicted son, and was poorly received at the time.
Clayburgh agreed to star in this film because she felt that "most great roles explore something that is socially taboo."
Bertolucci was especially impressed with her work, having complimented her ability "to move from one extreme to the other in the same shot, be funny and dramatic within the same scene." Despite the film's controversy, Clayburgh's performance as a manipulative opera singer was generally praised: Critic Richard Brody called it "her most extravagant role" and a review in ''The New York Times'' felt she was "extraordinary under impossible circumstances." Also, in the ''
London Review of Books
The ''London Review of Books'' (''LRB'') is a British literary magazine published bimonthly that features articles and essays on fiction and non-fiction subjects, which are usually structured as book reviews.
History
The ''London Review of Book ...
'',
Angela Carter
Angela Olive Pearce (formerly Carter, Stalker; 7 May 1940 – 16 February 1992), who published under the name Angela Carter, was an English novelist, short story writer, poet, and journalist, known for her feminist, magical realism, and picar ...
wrote, "Jill Clayburgh, seizing by the throat the opportunity of working with a great European director, gives a bravura performance: she is like the life force in person".
Her second and last film of 1979 was
Alan J. Pakula's ''
Starting Over'', a romantic comedy with
Burt Reynolds
Burton Leon Reynolds Jr. (February 11, 1936 – September 6, 2018) was an American actor most famous during the 1970s and 1980s. He became well known in television series such as ''Gunsmoke'' (1962–1965), '' Hawk'' (1966) and '' Dan Augus ...
and
Candice Bergen
Candice Patricia Bergen (born May 9, 1946) is an American actress. She won five Primetime Emmy Awards and two Golden Globe Awards as the title character on '' Murphy Brown'' (1988–1998, 2018). She is also known for her role as Shirley Schmi ...
. Pakula hired her because, “the extraordinary thing is that she’s so many people. In a Jill Clayburgh movie you don’t know what you’re going to get."
As a nursery-school teacher who falls reluctantly in love with Reynolds’s divorced character, her performance was lauded by ''The New York Times'': "Miss Clayburgh delivers a particularly sharp characterization that's letter-perfect during the first part of the story and unconvincing in the second, through no fault of her own." ''Starting Over'' earned her a second Oscar and Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress. Also that year, she later returned to the stage with ''
In the Boom Boom Room'' as a go-go dancer.
She had wanted to play this role since 1972 when the play originally premiered on Broadway, but she lost the role to
Madeline Kahn
Madeline Gail Kahn (''née'' Wolfson; September 29, 1942 – December 3, 1999) was an American actress, comedian, and singer. She was known for her comedic roles in films directed by Peter Bogdanovich and Mel Brooks, including '' What's Up, Doc ...
. Although she wasn't cast in
David Rabe’s play, she later married him in 1979.
Her back-to-back success with ''An Unmarried Woman'' and ''Starting Over'' led writer Mel Gussow to suggest that Clayburgh was one of the few "stars for the 80's, fresh, natural anti‐ingenues" alongside
Meryl Streep
Mary Louise "Meryl" Streep (born June 22, 1949) is an American actress. Known for her versatility and adept accent work, she has been described as "the best actress of her generation". She has received numerous accolades throughout her career ...
and
Diane Keaton
Diane Keaton (née Hall; born January 5, 1946) is an American actress. She has received List of awards and nominations received by Diane Keaton, various accolades throughout her career spanning over five decades, including an Academy Award, a Bri ...
, adding, "These are stage actresses who have become movie stars on their own terms, free of “glamour,” ready to clown as well as to play heroines." In 1980, she was cast opposite
Michael Douglas
Michael Kirk Douglas (born September 25, 1944) is an American actor and film producer. He has received numerous accolades, including two Academy Awards, five Golden Globe Awards, a Primetime Emmy Award, the Cecil B. DeMille Award, and the ...
in a romantic comedy, ''
It's My Turn'', in which she teaches the proof of the
snake lemma
The snake lemma is a tool used in mathematics, particularly homological algebra, to construct long exact sequences. The snake lemma is valid in every abelian category and is a crucial tool in homological algebra and its applications, for instance ...
. Novelist
Eleanor Bergstein, who had written the screenplay, was delighted with Clayburgh's casting. “To me,” says Bergstein, “Jill is one of the few actresses who looks like she has imagined her life, made her life happen. I think that divides women in a way, women whose intelligence animates their faces. They have willed themselves to be beautiful, to be exactly who they are. Their minds inform their faces. I think Jill is like that. Lots of actresses are just the opposite.” Clayburgh herself was attracted to the part because “Kate is the closest person to myself that I have ever played. People always say, ‘Oh, ''An Unmarried Woman'', that’s you.' But really, of course, it’s not.” The following year, she was a conservative Supreme Court justice in ''
First Monday in October'', a comedy with
Walter Matthau. Her performance was praised and earned her a Golden Globe nomination for
Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical.
Career setbacks and TV films
By the mid-1980s, Clayburgh appeared in fewer and less successful films, despite turning to more dramatic material. She played a valium addict and documentarist in ''
I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can'' (1981), written by David Rabe, her husband. "I guess people look at me and they think I'm a ladylike character," said Clayburgh, "but it's not what I do best. I do best with characters who are coming apart at the seams."
The film received negative reviews, but
Janet Maslin
Janet R. Maslin (born August 12, 1949) is an American journalist, who served as a film critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1977 to 1999, serving as chief critic for the last six years, and then a literary critic from 2000 to 2015. In 2000, M ...
of ''The New York Times'' liked Clayburgh's performance and wrote that she played her high-powered career woman "earnestly and vigorously." In the controversial ''
Hanna K.'' (1983), she was a court-appointed Israeli-American lawyer assigned to defend a Palestinian man for director
Costa-Gavras
Konstantinos "Kostas" Gavras (; born 12 February 1933), known professionally as Costa-Gavras, is a Greek-French film director, screenwriter, and producer who lives and works in France. He is known for political films, such as the political thril ...
. The film was a box office failure and hurt her career.
[JILL CLAYBURGH EMERGES BRIGHTLY FROM A TEMPORARY ECLIPSE: INAL EDITION, C Murphy, Ryan. ''Chicago Tribune'' 1 May 1988: 32.] Upset by the film's reception, Clayburgh gave up cinema for three years, during which time she was busy bringing up her children.

Alongside then-rising stars
Raúl Julia and
Frank Langella
Frank A. Langella Jr. (; born January 1, 1938) is an American actor. He eschewed the career of a traditional film star by making the stage the focal point of his career, appearing frequently on Broadway. He has received four Tony Awards (out of ...
, Clayburgh returned to Broadway for a revival of Noël Coward's ''
Design for Living'' (1984–85), directed by
George C. Scott, which ran for 245 performances. Writing for the ''
Christian Science Monitor
''The Christian Science Monitor'' (''CSM''), commonly known as ''The Monitor'', is a nonprofit news organization that publishes daily articles both in electronic format and a weekly print edition. It was founded in 1908 as a daily newspaper b ...
'', John Beaufort wrote, "Jill Clayburgh's Gilda is not merely sexy and volatile. She can be sweetly feminine. She is a woman struggling both to find herself and to discover where she belongs in this triangle. In more than one respect, Miss Clayburgh grasps the deeper as well as the more superficially amusing aspects of her dilemma."
As her feature film career waned, Clayburgh began accepting roles in television films, including ''
Where Are the Children?'' (1986) as a divorcée who gets revenge on her ex-spouse, and ''Miles to Go...'' (1986). She returned to film in 1987 when she drew praise for portraying a shallow, sophisticated
Manhattan
Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...
magazine writer in
Andrei Konchalovsky
Andrei Sergeyevich Konchalovsky (; né Mikhalkov; born 20 August 1937) is a Russian film and theatre director, screenwriter, and producer. His filmmaking career spans over 60 years in Cinema of the Soviet Union, Soviet, Cinema of the United St ...
's little-seen independent film ''
Shy People''; although the film flopped, this was her most substantial film role after ''Hanna K''.
''
The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' found her "amusing" while Ebert called Clayburgh's work "sadly overlooked" and her "other best role" after ''An Unmarried Woman''.
After ''Shy People'', Clayburgh took on a series of roles in the television films ''Who Gets the Friends?'' (1988) and ''
Fear Stalk'' (1989), in which she portrayed a budding cartoonist and a strong-willed soap opera producer, respectively. She then played an investigator studying a child-abuse case in ''
Unspeakable Acts'' (1990). In 1991, Clayburgh earned decent reviews for her role as English actress and singer
Jill Ireland
Jill Dorothy Ireland (24 April 1936 – 18 May 1990) was an English actress and singer.
Early life
Ireland was born in Hounslow, South West London, England. She was the daughter of a wine importer. She was educated at Chatsworth Junior School i ...
in the television biopic ''Reason for Living: The Jill Ireland Story'' (1991), which detailed Ireland's struggle to beat cancer and to help her adopted son get past his heroin addiction. Although Clayburgh never met Ireland, she read her book and listened to taped interviews with her in preparation. Ken Tucker of ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American online magazine, digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, ...
'' praised Clayburgh's accent in ''Reason for Living'', writing, "Quite aside from her smooth assurance, Clayburgh pulls off Ireland's English accent without calling attention to herself." This performance led ''The New York Times'' to write that her small-screen work was "a sign of the times: older actresses accustomed to playing strong roles are finding their best work
n filmon television."
Gradually, Clayburgh shifted into being more of a supporting character actress in the 1990s, taking on roles as diverse as an antagonistic judge in ''Trial: The Price of Passion'' (1992) and the interfering wife of
Alan Alda
Alan Alda (; born Alphonso Joseph D'Abruzzo; January 28, 1936) is an American actor. A six-time Emmy Award and Golden Globe Award winner and a three-time Tony Award nominee, he is best known for playing Captain Benjamin Franklin "Hawkeye" Pier ...
's character in ''
Whispers in the Dark'' (1992). After appearing in
Ben Gazzara
Biagio Anthony "Ben" Gazzara (August 28, 1930 – February 3, 2012) was an American actor and director of film, stage, and television. He received numerous accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Drama Desk Award, in addition to nomina ...
's ''Beyond the Ocean'' (1990), which was shot in
Bali
Bali (English:; Balinese language, Balinese: ) is a Provinces of Indonesia, province of Indonesia and the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands. East of Java and west of Lombok, the province includes the island of Bali and a few smaller o ...
, and the unreleased ''Pretty Hattie's Baby'' (1991), she became
typecast as an attractive maternal figure: she was the long-missing matriarch in ''
Rich in Love'' (1992), a wheelchair-user mother in ''Firestorm: 72 Hours in Oakland'' (1993), and
Eric Stoltz's single mother in ''
Naked in New York'' (1993). A review in ''
People
The term "the people" refers to the public or Common people, common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for claims of popular sovereignty. I ...
'' magazine felt Clayburgh "
idher best as the footloose mother" in ''Rich in Love'', while Roger Ebert praised her casting in ''Naked in New York'' as "exactly on target". She also played
Kitty Menendez, who was murdered by her sons, in ''Honor Thy Father and Mother: The True Story of the Menendez Murders'' (1993), a role which ''Variety'' perceived to be "incomplete, but that has more to do with the script than Clayburgh’s performance." She continued to play concerned, protective mothers in ''
For the Love of Nancy'' (1994), ''
The Face on the Milk Carton'' (1995), ''
Going All the Way'' (1997), ''
Fools Rush In'' (1997), ''
When Innocence Is Lost'' (1997) and ''
Sins of the Mind'' (1997), and was in "good form" as the forceful, pushy
stage mother in ''
Crowned and Dangerous'' (1997).
In the late 1990s, Clayburgh guest-starred on episodes of ''
Law & Order
''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise.
''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...
'' and ''
Frasier
''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Casey, and David Lee (scr ...
'', and starred in another short-lived sitcom, ''
Everything's Relative'' (1999), and a short-lived series, ''
Trinity
The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, thr ...
'' (1999).
Later career and final roles
After appearing in ''My Little Assassin'' (1999) and ''The Only Living Boy in New York'' (2000), she had her first prominent lead role since ''Hanna K.'' and ''Shy People'' in
Eric Schaeffer's comedy ''
Never Again'' (2001). Roger Ebert praised Clayburgh "for do
ngeverything humanly possible to create a character who is sweet and believable" and called it "a reminder of Clayburgh's gifts as an actress", while
Stephen Holden
Stephen Holden (born July 18, 1941) is an American writer, poet, and music and film critic.
Biography
Holden earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in English from Yale University in 1963. He worked as a photo editor, staff writer, and eventually be ...
of the ''New York Times'' credited her for lending "emotional weight" to the part of "a desperately lonely 54-year-old single mother." Also in 2001, she appeared in ''Falling'' and had a semi-recurring role on ''
Ally McBeal
''Ally McBeal'' is an American legal comedy-drama television series created by David E. Kelley that originally aired on Fox from September 8, 1997, to May 20, 2002. It revolves around Calista Flockhart in the title role as a lawyer working ...
'' as Ally's mother and on ''
The Practice
''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy i ...
'', before becoming a regular in another short-lived show, ''
Leap of Faith
In philosophy, a leap of faith is the act of belief, believing in or accepting something not on the basis of reason. The phrase is commonly associated with Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.
Idiomatic usage
As an idiom, ''leap of faith'' ca ...
'' (2002).
She returned to off-Broadway as a falsely convicted mother-of-two in
Bob Balaban
Robert Elmer Balaban (born August 16, 1945) is an American actor, director, producer and writer. Aside from his acting career, Balaban has directed three feature films, in addition to numerous television episodes and films, and was one of the pro ...
's production of ''The Exonerated'' (2002–04) with
Richard Dreyfuss
Richard Stephen Dreyfuss ( ; Dreyfus; born October 29, 1947) is an American actor. He emerged from the New Hollywood wave of American cinema, finding fame with a succession of leading man parts in the 1970s. He has received an Academy Award, a ...
. Writing for ''
Variety'' magazine,
Charles Isherwood
Charles Splaine Isherwood Jr. (born October 1964) is an American theater critic.
Career
A graduate of Stanford University, Isherwood wrote for '' Backstage West'' in Los Angeles. In 1993, he joined the staff of '' Variety'', where he was promote ...
commended Clayburgh for playing her part "with clear-eyed dignity." She then appeared in ''
Phenomenon II'' (2003) and received an Emmy nomination for guest appearances in the series ''
Nip/Tuck'' in 2005. That year she continued her resurgent stage career in ''
A Naked Girl on the Appian Way'', which ran for 69 performances. More successful was ''The Busy World is Hushed'' (2005–06) on off-Broadway, where she replaced
Christine Lahti and played a widowed Episcopal minister and scholar. ''Variety'' critic David Rooney praised Clayburgh's "wisdom and quiet humor while refusing to define Hannah’s questionable behavior and convictions as right or wrong, sound or unsound" and her "embrace of the woman’s uncertainties, mak
ngher all the more human."
In 2006, she appeared on Broadway in
Neil Simon
Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He received three ...
's ''
Barefoot in the Park
''Barefoot in the Park'' is a romantic comedy stage play by Neil Simon. The play premiered on Broadway in 1963, starring Robert Redford and Elizabeth Ashley. It was made into a film in 1967, which starred Redford and Jane Fonda.
Productions
...
'' with
Patrick Wilson
Patrick Joseph Wilson (born July 3, 1973) is an American actor. He began his career in 1995, starring in Broadway theatre, Broadway musicals. He received nominations for two Tony Awards for his roles in ''The Full Monty (musical), The Full Mont ...
and
Amanda Peet
Amanda Peet (born January 11, 1972) is an American actress. She began her career with small parts on television before making her feature film debut in ''Animal Room'' (1995). Her portrayal of Jill St. Claire in ''The Whole Nine Yards (film), Th ...
; she played Peet's mother, a role originated by
Mildred Natwick. It ran for 109 performances and was met with mixed reviews. Still, Clayburgh's performance drew praise and the ''New York Times'' critic
Ben Brantley
Benjamin D. Brantley (born October 26, 1954) is an American theater critic, journalist, editor, publisher, and writer. He served as the chief theater critic for ''The New York Times'' from 1996 to 2017, and as co-chief theater critic from 2017 t ...
lauded "her winning way with dialogue that can make synthetic one-liners sound like filigree epigrams. Trim and dazzlingly blond, she is a glamorous eyeful in
Isaac Mizrahi's rich dowager costumes." She returned to the screen that same year as a therapist's eccentric wife in
Ryan Murphy's all-star ensemble
dramedy
Comedy drama (also known by the portmanteau dramedy) is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and Drama (film and television), drama. In film, as well as scripted television series, serious dramatic subjects (such as death, il ...
''
Running with Scissors'', an autobiographical tale of teenage angst and dysfunction based on the book by
Augusten Burroughs; also starring
Annette Bening
Annette Carol Bening (born May 29, 1958) is an American actress. With a career spanning over four decades, she is known for List of Annette Bening performances, her versatile work across screen and stage. Bening has received List of awards an ...
,
Gwyneth Paltrow
Gwyneth Kate Paltrow ( ; born September 27, 1972) is an American actress and businesswoman. The daughter of filmmaker Bruce Paltrow and actress Blythe Danner, she established herself as a leading lady appearing in mainly mid-budget and perio ...
and
Evan Rachel Wood
Evan Rachel Wood (born September 7, 1987) is an American actress. She is the recipient of a Critics' Choice Television Award as well as nominations for three Primetime Emmy Awards and three Golden Globe Awards.
She began acting in the 1990s, a ...
, Clayburgh's supporting performance earned her a
Best Supporting Actress nomination by the
St. Louis Gateway Film Critics Association. By the end of 2006, Clayburgh played a wistful eccentric in what was her last stage appearance, ''The Clean House'' (2006–07) on off-Broadway, and was praised for her "goofy lightness" by ''
The Post Gazette''.
During 2007–2009, Clayburgh appeared in the
ABC television series
A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, and cable, or distributed digitally on streaming plat ...
''
Dirty Sexy Money'', playing the wealthy socialite Letitia Darling. She then played
Jake Gyllenhaal's mother in
Edward Zwick
Edward M. Zwick (born October 8, 1952) is an American filmmaker. He has worked primarily in the comedy drama and historical drama, epic historical film genres and was awarded an Academy Awards, Academy Award, as well as a British Academy Film Aw ...
's ''
Love & Other Drugs'' (2010) and
Kristen Wiig
Kristen Carroll Wiig (; born August 22, 1973) is an American actress, comedian, screenwriter, and producer. First breaking through as a performer with the Los Angeles comedy troupe The Groundlings, Wiig achieved stardom in the late 2000s for her ...
's mother in
Paul Feig's acclaimed blockbuster comedy ''
Bridesmaids
Bridesmaids are members of the bride's party at some Western culture, Western traditional wedding ceremonies. A bridesmaid is typically a young woman and often the bride's close friend or relative. She attends to the bride on the day of a weddi ...
'' (2011), which was the last film that Clayburgh completed.
Death
Clayburgh died at her home in
Lakeville, Connecticut
Lakeville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States, close to Dutchess County, New York. It is within the town of Salisbury, but has its own ZIP Code (06039). As of the 2010 census, the population of L ...
, on November 5, 2010, after privately battling
chronic lymphocytic leukemia
Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a type of cancer that affects the blood and bone marrow. In CLL, the bone marrow makes too many lymphocytes, which are a type of white blood cell. In patients with CLL, B cell lymphocytes can begin to colle ...
for more than two decades.
Personal life
As a teenager, Clayburgh had two back-alley abortions, which she chronicled in the 1991 book ''
The Choices We Made: Twenty-Five Women and Men Speak Out About Abortion''. Clayburgh dated actor
Al Pacino
Alfredo James Pacino ( ; ; born April 25, 1940) is an American actor. Known for his intense performances on stage and screen, Pacino is widely regarded as one of the greatest actors of all time. His career spans more than five decades, duri ...
from 1967 to 1972. She married
screenwriter
A screenwriter (also called scriptwriter, scribe, or scenarist) is a person who practices the craft of writing for visual mass media, known as screenwriting. These can include short films, feature-length films, television programs, television ...
and
playwright
A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes play (theatre), plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between Character (arts), characters and is intended for Theatre, theatrical performance rather than just
Readin ...
David Rabe in 1979. They had two children: a son, Michael Rabe, and a daughter, the actress
Lily Rabe.
Filmography
Film
Television films
Television
Stage
References
External links
*
*
*
Jill Clayburgh– ''Downstage Center'' interview at
American Theatre Wing
The American Theatre Wing (the Wing for short) is a New York City–based non-profit organization "dedicated to supporting excellence and education in theatre", according to its mission statement. Originally known as the Stage Women's War Relief ...
.org
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Clayburgh, Jill
1944 births
2010 deaths
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
Deaths from cancer in Connecticut
Deaths from chronic lymphocytic leukemia
American film actresses
American stage actresses
American television actresses
Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni
Jill Clayburgh
Jill Clayburgh (April 30, 1944 – November 5, 2010) was an American actress known for her work in theater, television, and cinema. She received the Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress and was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actr ...
Actresses from New York City
Sarah Lawrence College alumni
Actresses from Connecticut
American people of Jewish descent
Brearley School alumni
Cannes Film Festival Award for Best Actress winners