Judith Roberts (born November 30, 1934) is an American actress, who performed in various stage productions and appeared in film and television. She starred in the horror film '' Eraserhead'' (1977) by

David Lynch David Keith Lynch (January 20, 1946 – January 16, 2025) was an American filmmaker, visual artist, musician, and actor. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, Lynch was often called a "visionary" and received acclaim f ...

and in later age played the main antagonist Mary Shaw in

James Wan James Wan (born 26 February 1977) is an Australian filmmaker. He has primarily worked in the horror fiction, horror genre as the co-creator of the ''Saw (franchise), Saw'' and Insidious (film series), ''Insidious'' franchises and the creator of ...

's supernatural horror film, '' Dead Silence'' (2007). She also starred in films '' Fred Won't Move Out'' (2012), '' You Were Never Really Here'' (2017) and '' The Last Thing Mary Saw'' (2021). Roberts also played Erica Taslitz, one of "The Golden Girls", in the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

comedy-drama series ''

Orange Is the New Black ''Orange Is the New Black'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''OITNB'') is an American comedy-drama television series created by Jenji Kohan for Netflix. The series is based on Piper Kerman's memoir '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Pr ...

'' in 2014.

Career

Roberts made her big screen debut playing supporting role in the 1971 romantic comedy film '' Minnie and Moskowitz'', directed by

John Cassavetes John Nicholas Cassavetes (December 9, 1929 – February 3, 1989) was an American filmmaker and actor. He began as an actor in film and television before helping to pioneer modern American independent cinema as a writer and director, often self- ...

. She later had supporting parts in films '' The Swinging Barmaids'' (1975), '' Nashville Girl'' (1976) and '' The Student Body'' (1976). Her first notable role was in the 1977 black and white cult horror film '' Eraserhead'', by

, playing the "Beautiful Girl Across the Hall" opposite

Jack Nance Marvin John Nance (December 21, 1943 – December 30, 1996) was an American actor. A longtime collaborator of filmmaker David Lynch, Nance portrayed the lead in Lynch's directorial debut '' Eraserhead'' (1977). He continued to work with Lynch th ...

. The film shooting continued for several years from 1972 to 1976. In 1978 she appeared in the film adaptation of '' The Late Great Planet Earth'', and in 1980 had supporting role in the comedy-drama '' Stardust Memories'' by

Woody Allen Heywood Allen (born Allan Stewart Konigsberg; November 30, 1935) is an American filmmaker, actor, and comedian whose career spans more than six decades. Allen has received many List of awards and nominations received by Woody Allen, accolade ...

. The following years, Roberts made guest-starring appearances in television series, such as '' Remington Steele'', '' Trapper John, M.D.'' and ''

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 co-starred in films '' Silent Night, Deadly Night'' (1984), '' Sandino'' (1990), '' Mac'' (1992), '' Mother's Boys'' (1993) and '' Fast Food Fast Women'' (2000). Roberts performed in a many Off-Broadway, Broadway and regional theatre productions since 1970s, appearing in ''

The Threepenny Opera ''The Threepenny Opera'' ( ) is a 1928 German "play with music" by Bertolt Brecht, adapted from a translation by Elisabeth Hauptmann of John Gay's 18th-century English ballad opera, '' The Beggar's Opera'', and four ballads by François V ...

'', ''

Medea In Greek mythology, Medea (; ; ) is the daughter of Aeëtes, King Aeëtes of Colchis. Medea is known in most stories as a sorceress, an accomplished "wiktionary:φαρμακεία, pharmakeía" (medicinal magic), and is often depicted as a high- ...

'', ''

A Streetcar Named Desire ''A Streetcar Named Desire'' is a play written by Tennessee Williams and first performed on Broadway on December 3, 1947. The play dramatizes the experiences of Blanche DuBois, a former Southern belle who, after encountering a series of pe ...

'' and '' The Little Foxes''. In 1996 she made her Broadway debut starring as Lady Saltburn in play '' Present Laughter''. Her notable off-Broadway credits include '' Three Tall Women'', ''

Master Class ''Master Class'' is a 1995 play by American playwright Terrence McNally, presented as a fictional master class by opera singer Maria Callas near the end of her life, in the 1970s. The play features incidental vocal music by Giuseppe Verdi, Giac ...

'', '' The Clean House'', '' A Little Night Music'', ''

Richard III Richard III (2 October 1452 – 22 August 1485) was King of England from 26 June 1483 until his death in 1485. He was the last king of the Plantagenet dynasty and its cadet branch the House of York. His defeat and death at the Battle of Boswor ...

'', '' The Voysey Inheritance'' and ''Close Ties''. In 2014, Roberts originared the role of Miss Ruby in the Steppenwolf Theatre Company play Airline Highway and the following year performed on its Broadway production. In 2007, Roberts had her most notable film role, playing Mary Shaw, the main antagonist in the supernatural horror film, '' Dead Silence'' directed by

. That same year, Roberts collaborated with Wan again in his action thriller film ''

Death Sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty and formerly called judicial homicide, is the state-sanctioned killing of a person as punishment for actual or supposed misconduct. The sentence ordering that an offender be punished in s ...

'', playing Judge Shaw. She later appeared in '' The Nanny Diaries'' and in the film adaptation of '' The Aspern Papers''. In 2012 she starred alongside

Elliott Gould Elliott Gould (; né Goldstein; born August 29, 1938) is an American actor. Gould's breakthrough role was in the film ''Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice'' (1969), for which he received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor. The ...

in the drama film, '' Fred Won't Move Out'' directed by Richard Ledes. In 2013, Roberts appeared in

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, actor, record producer, and dancer. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Prince of Pop", ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'' honored him as the b ...

's music video for "

Mirrors A mirror, also known as a looking glass, is an object that reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror forms an image of whatever is in front of it, which is then focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the ...

". In 2014, she had the recurring role in the

comedy-drama series ''

'' as inmate Erica Taslitz, one of "The Golden Girls". Along with the cast, Roberts received the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. She later made guest starring appearances in the television series ''

2 Broke Girls ''2 Broke Girls'' (stylized as ''2 Broke Girl$'') is an American television sitcom that aired on CBS from September 19, 2011, to April 17, 2017. The series was produced for Warner Bros. Television and created by Michael Patrick King and Whitn ...

'', '' Girls'', '' The Mick'', '' Great News'' and '' The Last O.G.''. Roberts starred in a number of short films in her later career. In 2017, Roberts played

Joaquin Phoenix Joaquin Rafael Phoenix ( ; ; born October 28, 1974) is an American actor. Widely described as one of the most preeminent actors of his generation and known for Joaquin Phoenix filmography, his roles as dark, unconventional and eccentric charact ...

's character mother in the psychological thriller film, '' You Were Never Really Here'' by Lynne Ramsay. The film premiered at the

2017 Cannes Film Festival The 70th Cannes Film Festival took place from 17 to 28 May 2017, in Cannes, France. Spanish filmmaker Pedro Almodóvar was the president of the jury for the main competition. Italian actress Monica Bellucci hosted the opening and closing cerem ...

to positive reviews. Film critics

Mark Kermode Mark Kermode (, ; ; born 2 July 1963) is an English film critic, musician, radio presenter, television presenter, author and podcaster. He is the co-presenter (with Ellen E. Jones) of the BBC Radio 4 programme ''Screenshot'', and co-presenter ...

of ''

The Observer ''The Observer'' is a British newspaper published on Sundays. First published in 1791, it is the world's oldest Sunday newspaper. In 1993 it was acquired by Guardian Media Group Limited, and operated as a sister paper to ''The Guardian'' ...

'' praised her performance. She received

National Film Awards UK The National Film Awards UK are presented in an annual award show hosted by the National Film Academy (NFA). As of 2015, it has taken place in Central London at the Porchester Hall. The most recent 10th National Film Awards UK was held on 3 J ...

nomination for Best Supporting Actress. In 2021, Roberts appeared in the comedy-drama film '' Giving Birth to a Butterfly'', and starred in the period horror film '' The Last Thing Mary Saw''. Film critics Matt Zoller Seitz of '' RogerEbert.com'' and Dennis Harvey of '' Variety'' praised her performance in the latter.

Personal life

Roberts was married to actor Pernell Roberts from 1962 to 1971.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Judith Living people American film actresses American television actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Place of birth missing (living people) 1934 births American stage actresses