Estelle Parsons

Estelle Parsons is an American actress and stage director whose career spans film, television, and Broadway. Her roles include Blanche Barrow in Bonnie and Clyde and Beverly Harris in Roseanne.

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Bonnie and Clyde: A 1967 American crime film directed by Arthur Penn, starring Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway. Parsons won an Academy Award for playing Blanche Barrow, the gang’s reluctant companion.
Arthur Penn: An American film and theater director known for Bonnie and Clyde and The Miracle Worker. Penn directed the film that brought Parsons her most celebrated screen role.
Marilyn Maye: An American jazz singer and actress known for her recordings and nightclub performances. Maye was Parsons’s mother and an early influence in a household centered on performance.
Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress: An annual Academy Award honoring a film performance in a supporting role by an actress. Parsons won this award for Bonnie and Clyde in 1968.
Stage direction: The artistic leadership and coordination of a theatrical production’s performance and staging. Parsons directed plays as well as performing in them, including Broadway productions.
Roseanne: An American sitcom that aired from 1988 to 1997 and was revived in 2018. Parsons played Beverly Harris, Roseanne’s mother, in the long-running series.
Paul Newman: An American actor, film director, and philanthropist whose films include Hud and The Verdict. Newman directed Parsons in Rachael, Rachael, one of her early major film roles.
Illinois State University: A public university in Normal, Illinois, founded in 1857. Parsons studied drama there before beginning her professional acting career.
Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play: A Tony Award category recognizing a featured performance by an actress in a Broadway play. Parsons won the award for The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds in 1972.
The Cherry Orchard (1981 Broadway revival): A Broadway revival of Anton Chekhov’s The Cherry Orchard that opened in 1981. Parsons directed this production, demonstrating her work behind the scenes.