Shirley Knight

2.1. Childhood and Family

Shirley Knight was born on July 5, 1936, in Goessel, Kansas. Her parents were Virginia (née Webster, 1916-1977) and Noel Johnson Knight (1913-1985), an oil company executive. She grew up with a brother and a sister. Knight spent her formative years in Mitchell, Kansas, and later resided in Lyons, Kansas, where she completed her high school education. At the young age of 11, she began studying to become an opera singer, showcasing an early interest in performing arts. By 14, her literary talents were recognized when a short story she wrote was published in a national magazine.

2.2. Education and Early Activities

Following her high school graduation, Knight continued her academic pursuits at Phillips University and Wichita State University. These educational experiences laid a foundation before she formally embarked on her acting journey.

2.3. Acting Training

Knight's formal acting education began at the Pasadena Theatre School, where she commenced her film career in 1959. She then moved to New York to pursue her theatre career, undergoing rigorous training with renowned acting coaches such as Jeff Corey, Erwin Piscator, Lee Strasberg, and Uta Hagen at HB Studio. Her dedication to her craft was further solidified by becoming a life member of The Actors Studio, an esteemed organization known for its method acting approach.

3.1. Film Career

Knight's film career began in 1955 with an uncredited minor role in Picnic. Her early notable performances led to two Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress: for her role as Reenie Flood in The Dark at the Top of the Stairs (1960) and as Heavenly Finley in Sweet Bird of Youth (1962), where she starred opposite Paul Newman. In the 1960s, she took on leading roles in several Hollywood films, including The Couch (1962), House of Women (1962), The Group (1966), The Counterfeit Killer (1968), and The Rain People (1969), directed by Francis Ford Coppola. She earned international recognition when she received the Volpi Cup for Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival for her performance as Lula in the British film Dutchman (1966).

Other significant film appearances include Petulia (1968), for which she received a Laurel Award for Top Female Supporting Performance, Secrets (1971), Juggernaut (1974), and Beyond the Poseidon Adventure (1979). In later years, Knight continued to play supporting roles in many films, such as Endless Love (1981), Color of Night (1994), As Good as It Gets (1997), where she played the mother of Helen Hunt's character, Angel Eyes (2001), Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002), The Salton Sea (2002), Grandma's Boy (2006), Paul Blart: Mall Cop (2009) and its sequel Paul Blart: Mall Cop 2 (2015), Our Idiot Brother (2011), and Elevator (2011), where she portrayed one of several people trapped with a bomber. Her final film role was in Periphery (2018).

3.2. Television Career

Knight had an extensive career in television, appearing in numerous series and made-for-television films. She was a contract star for Warner Brothers Television, making appearances in series such as Maverick, Bourbon Street Beat, Sugarfoot, Cheyenne, and The Roaring 20s. She had a recurring role as Mrs. Newcomb in 20 episodes of the series Buckskin from 1958 to 1959.

Her television credits include guest appearances on popular shows like Target: The Corruptors!, The Eleventh Hour, The Outer Limits (in the episode "The Man Who Was Never Born"), The Reporter, The Fugitive (three episodes), The Invaders, The Virginian, Murder, She Wrote, Law & Order, L.A. Law, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, ER, House M.D., Crossing Jordan, Cold Case, and Hot in Cleveland. She also had a recurring role as Phyllis Van de Kamp in five episodes of Desperate Housewives between 2005 and 2007.

Knight was highly recognized for her work in television films. She won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie and a Golden Globe Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television for her role as Peggy Buckey in Indictment: The McMartin Trial (1995). Her guest performance in Thirtysomething earned her a 1988 Emmy for Best Guest Performer in a Drama Series, and she won another Emmy in 1995 for her guest performance in the NYPD Blue episode "Large Mouth Bass". Other significant television films include Playing For Time (1980), 21 Hours at Munich (1976), The Defection of Simas Kudirka (1978), and If These Walls Could Talk (1996).

3.3. Theatre Career

Knight's stage career was significant, particularly on Broadway and Off-Broadway. Her stage credits include Three Sisters (1964), We Have Always Lived in the Castle (1966), and A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur (1979). In 1976, she won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her performance as Carla in Kennedy's Children, a play by Robert Patrick. She was also nominated for the Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play twice, for Landscape of the Body and The Young Man from Atlanta. For the latter, she received another Tony nomination for Best Actress in a Play. Her other notable theatre appearances include Rooms (1966), The Watering Place (1969), Happy End (1977), Losing Time (1979), Come Back, Little Sheba (1984), The Vagina Monologues (1999), Necessary Targets (2002), Cycling Past the Matterhorn (2005), Love, Loss, and What I Wore (2009), and In Masks Outrageous and Austere (2012). She also appeared in Come Back, Come Back, Wherever You Are (2009), an original play by Arthur Laurents.