Katharine Ross

2.1. Childhood and Education

Katharine Juliet Ross was born in Los Angeles, California, on January 29, 1940. Her father, Dudley Tyng Ross (1906-1991), served as a Navy lieutenant and had previously worked for the Associated Press; he hailed from Sonyea, New York. Her mother, Katharine Elizabeth Washburn (1909-1993), was born in Indianapolis and later moved to the San Francisco Bay Area, where she married Ross's father in 1937. The family initially resided in Washington, D.C. before relocating to Walnut Creek, California. During her youth, Ross was an avid horse rider and developed a friendship with rodeo rider Casey Tibbs. She completed her high school education at Las Lomas High School, graduating in 1957. Following high school, she attended Santa Rosa Junior College for one year, where she was introduced to acting through a production of `The King and I`. It was at Santa Rosa Junior College that she met her first husband, future actor Joel Fabiani. In 1958, Ross transferred to Diablo Valley College, where she participated in a student film directed by Jim and Artie Mitchell.

2.2. Acting Training

Ross's formal acting training began when she moved to San Francisco and joined The Actors Workshop, where she studied for three years. Her theatrical work at the workshop included a notable performance in Jean Genet's play `The Balcony`, where she appeared nude on stage. While training, she also began taking roles in television series in Los Angeles to earn additional income. In 1964, she was cast by John Houseman as Cordelia in a stage production of `King Lear`.

3.1. Early Career

Ross's professional acting journey began in television. She auditioned for a role in the film `West Side Story` (1961) but was not cast. Her first television role was in `Sam Benedict` in 1962. She was signed by agent Wally Hiller, and in 1964, she appeared in numerous television series, including `Kraft Suspense Theatre`, `The Lieutenant`, `Arrest and Trial`, `The Virginian`, `The Great Adventure`, `Ben Casey`, `Mr. Novak`, `Wagon Train`, `Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre`, `Run for Your Life`, `Gunsmoke`, and `The Alfred Hitchcock Hour` ("Dividing Wall", 1963). She also played the love interest of Heath Barkley opposite Lee Majors on `The Big Valley` (season one, episode seven-"Winner Loses All"). She screen-tested for `The Young Lovers`.

Ross made her film debut in `Shenandoah` (1965), playing the daughter-in-law of James Stewart. She continued to guest-star on shows such as `The Loner`, `The Wild Wild West`, and `The Road West`. MGM borrowed her for supporting parts in `The Singing Nun` (1966) and `Mister Buddwing` (1966), the latter starring James Garner. She signed a long-term deal with Universal, which described her as an "American Samantha Eggar", despite her initial misgivings about long-term movie contracts.

3.2. Mainstream Breakthrough

At Universal, Ross starred in the television film `The Longest Hundred Miles` (1967) with Doug McClure. She then co-starred in Curtis Harrington's psychological thriller `Games` (1967) alongside Simone Signoret and James Caan, a film she later described as "terrible."

Ross's breakthrough role came as Elaine Robinson in Mike Nichols's comedy-drama `The Graduate` (1967), where she starred opposite Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft. Notably, Ross was only eight years younger than Bancroft, who portrayed her mother in the film. Her casting was recommended to director Nichols by Simone Signoret. This pivotal role, in which Ross played a young woman who elopes with a man who had an affair with her mother, earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress and a Golden Globe Award as New Star of the Year. Commenting on her sudden critical acclaim, Ross stated, "I'm not a movie star... that system is dying and I'd like to help it along."

Despite her success, Ross faced challenges with Universal, noting that she "got sent everything in town, but Universal wouldn't loan me out." After an eight-month period, she appeared in `Hellfighters` (1968), playing John Wayne's daughter. Ross was then cast as a Native American woman in Universal's Western film `Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here` (1969), starring Robert Redford. In August 1968, she signed a new contract with Universal to make two films a year for seven years. She notably refused several roles, including the part that went to Jacqueline Bisset in `Bullitt`. She then accepted the role of Etta Place in `Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid` (1969), co-starring Paul Newman and Robert Redford, which became another massive commercial success. She was paid 175.00 K USD for her performance in the film. For her roles in both `Tell Them Willie Boy is Here` and `Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid`, Ross won the BAFTA Award for Best Actress.

In the spring of 1969, Universal dropped her for refusing to play a stewardess in `Airport`, starring Burt Lancaster and Dean Martin, a role that also went to Jacqueline Bisset. This decision later cost her a role she greatly desired: the film adaptation of Joan Didion's novel `Play It as It Lays`, because it was a Universal production. Instead, she took a starring role in the drama `Fools` (1970) opposite Jason Robards.

3.3. Television and Post-Breakthrough Film Roles

After marrying cinematographer Conrad Hall, Ross temporarily stepped back from Hollywood, though she continued to act occasionally. Her roles during this period included `Get to Know Your Rabbit` (1972), `They Only Kill Their Masters` (1972), which reunited her with James Garner, and `Chance and Violence` (1974) with Yves Montand. She continued to turn down roles, including a part in `The Towering Inferno`. Ross expressed a preference for stage acting and spent much of the 1970s performing in small playhouses in Los Angeles. She acknowledged at the time, "I'm aware that I have the reputation for being difficult."

One of her most recognized roles came in the 1975 film `The Stepford Wives`, for which she won the Saturn Award for Best Actress. She reprised her role as Etta Place in `Wanted: The Sundance Woman` (1976), an ABC television film that served as a sequel to `Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid`. Ross subsequently appeared in the drama film `Voyage of the Damned` (1977), which depicted a doomed ocean liner carrying Jewish refugees from Nazi Germany, earning her a second Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. She also featured in `The Betsy` (1978) and the disaster film `The Swarm` (1978). Next, Ross co-starred opposite Sam Elliott in the supernatural horror film `The Legacy` (1978), portraying a woman who finds herself subject to an ancestral curse at an English estate. Ross had previously worked with Elliott on `Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid`.

From 1979, Ross starred in several television movies, including `Murder by Natural Causes` (1979) with Hal Holbrook, Barry Bostwick, and Richard Anderson; `Rodeo Girl` (1980); `Murder in Texas` (1981); and `Marian Rose White` (1982). She had supporting roles in `The Final Countdown` (1980) and `Wrong Is Right` (1982), but primarily focused on television films. These included `The Shadow Riders` (1982), a remake of `Wait Until Dark` (1983), `Travis McGee` (1982) with Elliott, `Secrets of a Mother and Daughter` (1983), `Red Headed Stranger` (1986), and `Houston: The Legend of Texas` (1986), also with Elliott. In the 1980s, she took on a significant role in the television series `The Colbys` (1985-1987), starring opposite Charlton Heston as Francesca Scott Colby, the mother of `Dynasty` crossover character Jeff Colby.

3.4. Later Career

Ross spent the majority of the 1990s in semi-retirement. During this period, she also ventured into writing, publishing two children's books. In 1976, she became an image character for the Isetan department store in Japan, appearing in a Japanese television commercial. The commercial, filmed in Los Angeles with the cooperation of the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, featured Ross riding an elephant and dancing with a clown. The production cost, including her fee, was approximately 60.00 M JPY.

She returned to film with a supporting part as Donnie's therapist in Richard Kelly's 2001 cult film `Donnie Darko`. She also appeared in `Don't Let Go` (2002) and `Capital City` (2004), and played Carly Schroeder's grandmother in the 2006 independent film `Eye of the Dolphin`. Her later film credits include `Slip, Tumble & Slide` (2015).

In January 2015, Ross participated in the "A Conversation With" series at the Malibu Playhouse, where she was interviewed by Steven Gaydos. The following February, she co-starred with her husband, Sam Elliott, in a stage production of `Love Letters`, also at the Malibu Playhouse. In 2016, she provided a voice role for the animated comedy series `American Dad!`. Her most recent film appearance was in `The Hero` (2017), where she played Sam Elliott's former wife, as he portrayed an aging Western star.

4.1. Marriages and Relationships

Ross has been married five times. Her first marriage was to her college sweetheart, actor Joel Fabiani, on February 28, 1960. This union lasted two years, concluding in divorce in 1962. In 1964, she married her second husband, John Marion, and they divorced in 1967. After completing `Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid`, Ross married the film's cinematographer, three-time Oscar-winner Conrad Hall, in 1969. Their marriage ended in divorce in 1973. Her fourth marriage was to Gaetano "Tom" Lisi in 1974; they met on the set of `The Stepford Wives`, where he was employed as a chauffeur and technician. This marriage concluded in divorce in 1979.

On May 1, 1984, Ross married actor Sam Elliott. They had previously worked together on `Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid` and began dating in 1978 after being reacquainted on the set of `The Legacy`. On September 17, 1984, four months after her marriage to Elliott and four months before her 45th birthday, Ross gave birth to their daughter, Cleo Rose Elliott. In 2011, Ross filed a restraining order against Cleo Elliott, alleging that her daughter had attacked her with a pair of scissors. In court documents, Ross stated that Cleo had experienced violent episodes since childhood.