Kathleen Chalfant

Kathleen Ann Chalfant (née Bishop) is an American actress. She has appeared in many stage plays, both on Broadway and Off-Broadway, as well as making guest appearances on television series, including the Law & Order franchise.

Kathleen Chalfant
Chalfant at Make It Fair in 2015
Born	Kathleen Ann Bishop San Francisco, California, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1974–present
Spouse	Henry Chalfant ​ (m. 1966)​
Children	2

Early life

Chalfant was born Kathleen Ann Bishop^[1] in San Francisco, California, and was raised in her parents' boarding house in Oakland. Her father, William Bishop, was an officer in the Coast Guard. She studied acting in New York with Wynn Handman, who was a protégé of Sanford Meisner,^[2] and with Alessandro Fersen in Rome.^[3]

Career

Chalfant worked as a Production Coordinator at Playwrights Horizons in the mid-1970s, beginning with Demons: A Possession by Robert Karmon.^[4] She made her Off-Broadway acting debut in Cowboy Pictures in June 1974.^[5] She has since appeared in over three dozen Off-Broadway productions. In 2015, she appeared in the Women's Project Theater production of Dear Elizabeth by Sarah Ruhl^[6] and as Rose Kennedy in the Nora's Playhouse production of Rose by Laurence Leamer.^[7]

Chalfant was nominated for her official Broadway debut role^[8] at the 1993 Tony Awards for Best Actress (Featured Role - Play) in Tony Kushner's Angels in America: Millennium Approaches. She earned the Outer Circle Critics, Drama Desk, Obie and Lucille Lortel awards for her performance as Vivian Bearing in Margaret Edson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play Wit in 1998; she shaved her head for the role.^[9] During her work with Wit, she incorporated her experiences dealing with terminal cancer of her half-brother, Alan Palmer, who died in 1998.^[10]

For her 2003 performance in Alan Bennett's Talking Heads,^[11] Chalfant won a second Obie award. In 2009, Chalfant performed in The People Speak, a documentary feature film^[12] utilizing dramatic and musical performances of the letters, diaries, and speeches of everyday Americans, based on historian Howard Zinn's A People's History of the United States.

Chalfant has played recurring roles in a number of television series including House of Cards, Law & Order, Rescue Me, and The Guardian. Her roles in feature films have included Isn't It Delicious and Kinsey.

Chalfant recently played Margaret Butler in The Affair on Showtime.

She was presented with the 2018 Obie Award for Lifetime Achievement.^[13]

In 2018, Chalfant read T. S. Eliot's Four Quartets at the Bard SummerScape Festival as part of a new performance with choreography by Pam Tanowitz, music by Kaija Saariaho, and images by Brice Marden.^[14]

Personal life

In 1966, Chalfant married Henry Chalfant, a photographer and documentary filmmaker. They have a son, David Chalfant, who was the bass player for the folk-rock band The Nields, and a daughter, Andromache, a set designer in New York.

Activism

Chalfant has spoken about the role of art and artists in advocating for civil rights and social justice,^[15] and "theater as a platform for social change."^[16] She has been hosted by the Center for Constitutional Rights as part of the Guantanamo Lawyers Panel,^[17] and was among a group of artists endorsing a cultural boycott of Israel as part of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) campaign to advocate for Palestinian rights.^[18]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	Five Corners	Mrs. Fitzgerald
1989	Miss Firecracker	Miss Lily
1990	Tales from the Darkside: The Movie	Dean	Segment: "Lot 249"
1991	Dangerous Music	Therapist	Short
	Out of the Rain	Ruth
1992	Bob Roberts	Constance Roberts
1996	MURDER and murder	Mildred
1998	The Last Days of Disco	Zenia
	Side Streets	Nanda
1999	QM, I Think I Call Her QM	Dr. Ruth Fielding	Short
2000	Company Man	Mother Quimp
	Woman Found Dead in Elevator	Woman	Short
2002	Book of Kings	Nina	Short
2004	Kinsey	Barbara Merkle
2007	First Born	Mrs. Kasperian
	Perfect Stranger	Elizabeth Clayton
	The Last New Yorker	Mimi
2008	Second Guessing Grandma	Jean	Short
2009	Duplicity	Pam Frailes
2012	Lillian	Lillian Manning	Short
2013	Isn't It Delicious	Joan Weldon
	The Bath	Liz	Short
	A Dream of Flying	Old Woman	Short
2017	They Shall Not Perish: The Story of Near East Relief	Mabel Elliot	Documentary
	Class Rank	Editor in Chief
	In the Studio	Ilene
2020	Before/During/After	Olga
2021	Old	Agnes
2024	Familiar Touch	Ruth

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978- 1979	The Edge of Night	Louise	TV series
1991	American Playhouse	Mrs. Hauser	"The Hollow Boy"
1992	L.A. Law	Marlene Branson	"Zo Long"
1994	All My Children	Rae Ella	1 episode
1997	Spin City	Mother Superior	"Hot in the City"
1997–00	Prince Street		TV series
1999	Storm of the Century	Joanna Stanhope	TV miniseries
2000	The Beat	Mrs. Waclawek	"Someone to Watch Over Me"
	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Mrs. Nash	"Noncompliance"
2001	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Priscilla Van Acker	"Smothered"
2001–09	Law & Order	Lisa Cutler	"Phobia", "Shrunk", "Illegitimate"
2001–04	The Guardian	Laurie Solt	Main role
2002	Benjamin Franklin	Silence Dogood	TV miniseries documentary
	A Death in the Family	Aunt Hannah	TV film
2005	Lackawanna Blues	Mrs. Carmichael	TV film
2006	The Book of Daniel	Catherine Webster	Regular role
2007	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Bessie Holland	"Bombshell"
	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	Judge Cutress	"Haystack"
2009	Rescue Me	Sean's Ma	Recurring role
	Georgia O'Keeffe	Mrs. Stieglitz	TV film
	Mercy	Mrs. Borghouse	"Can We Get That Drink Now?"
2012	NYC 22	Ginny Williams	"Pilot"
2013	Elementary	Mrs. Clennon	"An Unnatural Arrangement"
	Muhammad Ali's Greatest Fight	Ethel Harlan	TV film
2013–16	House of Cards	Margaret Tilden	Recurring role
2014	The Americans	Aunt Helen	"The Walk In"
	Good Medicine	Coco LaRue	"Raj"
	Forever	Gloria Carlyle	"The Art of Murder"
2014–15	The Strain	Abraham's Grandmother	"Runaways", "BK, NY"
2014–15	Law & Order: Special Victims Unit	President Roberts	"Pornstar's Requiem", "Devastating Story"
2014–19	The Affair	Margaret Butler	Recurring role
2015–16	Madam Secretary	Dean Ward	"The Ninth Circle", "Unity Node", "Render Safe"
2017	Doubt	Margaret Brennan	5 episodes
2019	High Maintenance	Mamie	"Fingerbutt"
	New Amsterdam	Molly	"The Denominator"
2021	The Blacklist	Alberta Gilbert	"The Skinner (No. 45): Conclusion"
TBA	Copenhagen	St. George	Filming

Theatre

Year	Venue	Show	Role
1974	Playwrights Horizons	Cowboy Pictures	n/a
1975		The Coronor's Plot
		Mississippi Moonshine
1976		Paradise
1977	Westside Theatre	Jules Feiffer's Hold Me!
1978	American Place Theatre	Fefu and Her Friends	n/a (Understudy)
1980		Killings on the Last Time	n/a
1982	Westside Theatre	Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You/ The Actor's Nightmare	Sister Mary Ignatius/ Sarah Siddons (Replacement)
1988	WPA Theatre	Just Say No	Mrs. Potentate
1989	Perry Street Theater	The Investigation of the Murder in El Salvador	Lady Aitkin
1990	Union Square Theater	The Crucible	Mrs. Ann Putnam
	Eugene O'Neill Theatre	M. Butterfly	Helga (Understudy)
1992	Vineyard Theater	The Party	Women
1994	Walter Kerr Theatre	Angels in America: Millennium Approaches	Rabbi Chemelwitz, Henry, Hannah Pitt, Ethel Rosenberg
		Angels in America: Perestroika	Prelapsarianov, Hannah Pitt, Henry, Ethel Rosenberg, Council of Principalities, Rabbi Chemelwitz
1995	East 13th Street Theatre/Classic Stage Company	Iphigenia and Other Daughters	Clymenestra
	Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater	Twelve Dreams	Jenny
	East 13th Street Theatre/Classic Stage Company	Endgame	Clov
	Vivian Beaumont Theatre	Racing Demon	Heather Espy
1996	Delacorte Theatre	Henry V	Mistress Quickly/Queen Isabel
	New York City Center-Stage I	Nine Armenians	Non/Marie
1998	East 13th Street Theatre/Classic Stage Company	Phaedra in Delirium	n/a
	MCC Theater	Wit	Vivian Bearing Ph.D.
	Union Square Theatre
1999	Westside Theatre	The Vagina Monologues	n/a
	Vineyard Theatre	True History and Real Adventures	n/a
2003	Minetta Lane Theatre	Talking Heads	Susan (Bed Among the Lentils)
	East 13th Street Theatre/Classic Stage Company	Savannah Bay	Madeleine
	Lucille Lortel Theatre	The Last Letter	Anna Semyonova
2004	Theatres at 45 Bleecker/Bleecker Street Theatre	Guantanamo: Honor Bound to Defend Freedom	Gareth Peirce
	New York City Center-Stage II	Five By Tenn	Anna/Vera Cartwright/Frieda/One
2006	Barrow Street Theatre	an oak tree	Father
	Lucille Lortel Theatre	Great Expectations	Mrs. Havisham
2007	Minetta Lane Theatre	Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell	Love
	Harold Clurman Theatre	A Hard Heart	n/a
2008	Playwrights Horizons	Dead Man's Cell Phone	Mrs. Gottlieb
2010	Lucille Lortel Theatre	Family Week	Lena
2012	New York Theatre Workshop	Red Dog Howls[19]	Rose Afratian
2013	Vineyard Theatre	Somewhere Fun	Evelyn Armstrong
2014	New York City Center- Stage I	Tales From Red Vienna	Edda Schmidt
2015	McGinn-Cazale Theatre	Dear Elizabeth	Elizabeth
2017	Playwrights Horizons	For Peter Pan on her 70th birthday	Ann
2018	Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre	St. Vincent's Project: Novenas for a Hospital	Sister Elizabeth Ann Seton
2021	Brooklyn Academy of Music	Four Quartets	Narrator

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
1993	Drama Desk Awards	Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play	Angels in America: Millennium Approaches	Nominated
	Tony Awards	Best Featured Actress in a Play
1994	Drama Desk Awards	Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play	Angels in America: Perestroika
1996	Actors' Equity Association	Joe A. Callaway Award	Henry V	Won
1997	Drama Desk Awards	Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play	Nine Armenians	Nominated
1999	Outer Critics Circle Awards	Outstanding Actress in a Play	Wit	Won
	Obie Awards	Outstanding Performance
	Drama League Awards	Distinguished Performance
		Outstanding Actress in a Play
	Lucille Lortel Awards	Outstanding Actress
2003	Obie Awards	Best Performance	Talking Heads
2004	Lucille Lortel Awards	Edith Oliver Award for Sustained Excellence	—
2015	Drama Desk Awards	Outstanding Actress in a Play	A Walk in the Woods	Nominated
2016	Drama Desk Awards	Outstanding Solo Performance	Rose
2024	Venice Film Festival	Orizzonti Award for Best Actress	Familiar Touch	Won

References

1. Search: Kathleen Bishop at familytreelegends.com; accessed April 3, 2014.
2. Ryzik, Melena (May 20, 2007). "Nearly 60 Years and Counting, Working on the Art of Theater". The New York Times. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
3. Sturner, Lynda (24 March 2000). "Brit Wit". TheaterMania. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
4. "Demons: A Possession". Internet Off-Broadway Database. Lucille Lortel Foundation. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
5. "Cowboy Pictures". Internet Off-Broadway Database. Lucille Lortel Foundation. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
6. Dear Elizabeth Archived 2015-12-22 at the Wayback Machine lortel.org, accessed December 18, 2015
7. Lloyd Webber, Imogen (14 September 2015). "Kathleen Chalfant Will Headline Laurence Leamer's Rose Off-Broadway". Broadway.com. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
8. Kathleen Henderson, "Painting Churches Star Kathleen Chalfant on Wit, Angels in America and a Naughty Role in Kinsey", Broadway.com, March 7, 2012
9. Canby, Vincent (October 18, 1998). "Battered and Broken, So That She May Rise". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
10. Pogrebin, Robin (October 20, 1998). "A Brother's Death Helps Bring a Performance to Life". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
11. Brantley, Ben (April 7, 2003). "Life a Bit of a Mess? Just Carry On, Dear". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-05.
12. "The People Speak". howardzinn.org. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
13. Gans, Andrew. "Kathleen Chalfant Will Receive 2018 Obie Award for Lifetime Achievement" Playbill, May 7, 2018
14. Bard College, Fisher Center for the Performing Arts. "Four Quartets at the Fisher Center". fishercenter.bard.edu. Retrieved 2018-07-03.
15. Steketee, Martha Wade (4 April 2013). "Kathleen Chalfant: Practicing 'Political Performance'". Urban Excavations. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
16. "Kathleen Chalfant to Join Playwrights Panel on January 31". Aspen Institute. 29 January 2015. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
17. "Guantanamo Lawyers Panel with CCR's Gitanjali Gutierrez and actress Kathleen Chalfant". Center for Constitutional Rights. 30 August 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
18. Norton, Ben (24 November 2015). "'Amplify your voice for justice': Roger Waters and prominent artists call for boycott of Israel in new video". Salon. Retrieved 24 April 2016.
19. "NYTW / Red Dog Howls". NYTW. Retrieved 2022-09-09.

External links

• Kathleen Chalfant at IMDb
• Kathleen Chalfant at the Internet Broadway Database
• Kathleen Chalfant at the Internet Off-Broadway Database