- Mercedes Ruehl
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Mercedes Ruehl 
Ruehl in East Hampton, New York in October 2009Born Mercedes J. Ruehl
February 28, 1948
Queens, New York, U.S.Occupation Actor Years active 1976–present Spouse David Geiser Mercedes J. Ruehl (born February 28, 1948) is an American theater, television and film actor.
Contents
Personal life
Ruehl was born in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City,[1] the daughter of Mercedes J., a school teacher, and Vincent Ruehl, an FBI agent.[2][3] She was raised Catholic.[4] Her father was of German and Irish descent and her mother was of Cuban and Irish ancestry.[5][6] Ruehl attended College of New Rochelle[7] and graduated in 1969. She is married to painter, David Geiser, with whom she adopted a son, Jake (born 1997).[8] She had another son, Christopher, whom she placed in adoption in 1976; he later became Jake's godfather.[8]
Her brother, Peter Ruehl, moved to Australia, where he became a popular newspaper columnist.[9]
Career
Ruehl began her career in regional theatre with the Denver Center Theatre Company, taking odd jobs between engagements. In the late 1970s, Ruehl began chalking up New York stage successes, notably in I'm Not Rappaport (1984). On the stage, she won the 1984 Obie Award for her performance in The Marriage of Bette and Boo and twenty years later, an Obie for Woman Before a Glass. She also received a 1991 Tony Award as Best Actress (Play) for Neil Simon's[10] Lost in Yonkers. Her performances in two other plays earned her two other Tony nominations:
- In 1995 as Best Actress (Featured Role – Play) for a revival of The Shadow Box;
- In 2002 as Best Actress (Play) for Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?.
Her most acclaimed film role was in The Fisher King; her performance in the film earned her the 1991 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as an American Comedy Award, a Boston Society of Film Critics Award, a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, and a Golden Globe. Earlier she had won the 1989 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Married to the Mob. She played KACL station manager Kate Costas in five episodes of Frasier, and had a major role in the made-for-TV film All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story. She is the first Cuban American female Academy Award winner. In 2005, she (along with Esai Morales) received the Rita Moreno HOLA Award for Excellence from the Hispanic Organization of Latin Actors.
She has also played the mother of Vincent Chase in HBO's Entourage.
In 2008, Ruehl returned to the Broadway stage in Manhattan Theater Club's production of Richard Greenberg's The American Plan playing the role of Eva Adler.[11] The production opened at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre and the limited engagement ran until March 22, 2009.[12] In his rave review in The New York Times, Ben Brantley called Ruehl's performance "masterly".[13] Next up for Ruehl is the drama/horror film What Ever Happened to Barker Daniels?; the film is currently in production and has a release date of 2009.[14] Ruehl is currently starring in Sarah Treem's play The How and The Why, directed by Emily Mann at McCarter Theater.[15]
Music
Though not a singer herself, Ruehl was involved in the production of the album Haunted by Poe; she also reads passages from the book House of Leaves by Poe's brother Mark Z. Danielewski on the CD Don't be Scared, issued to cross-promote both projects.
Work
Filmography
Television
Year Title Role Other notes 1984 Mom's on Strike Sandy 1985 Our Family Honor Louise Taylor Episode "Homecoming" 1986 Kate & Allie Millie Episode "Late Bloomer" 1990 The Cosby Show Bernadette Foley Episode "The Moves" 1995 Indictment: The McMartin Trial Lael Rubin 1995
-1996Frasier Kate Costas 5 episodes 1997 SUBWAY Stories: Tales from the Underground Leyla segment "Underground" North Shore Fish Florence 1998 Gia Kathleen Carangi 2000 All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story Jane Newhall The Lost Child Rebecca Hallmark Hall of Fame 2001 Mr. Life 2002 Guilt by Association Susan Walker Widows Dolly Rawlins TV mini-series 2004 1-800-Missing Emanuelle Baker Episode "These Dreams Before Me" Bad Apple Lorraine Gibbons Law & Order Zina Rybakov Episode "All in the Family" 2005 Mom at Sixteen Terry Jeffries Nominated — Prism Award Performance in a TV Movie or Miniseries 2006 Entourage Rita Chase Vincent and Drama's mother on episodes "Aquamom" and "Return To Queens Blvd" A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story Sylvia Guerrero Nominated — Imagen Award for Best Actress - Television 2007 Psych Detective Goochberg Episode "Scary Sherry: Bianca's Toast" 2009 Law & Order Judge Clara Lloyd Episode "By Perjury" References
- ^ Trescott, Jacqueline. "Mercedes Ruehl, Driven; The Manic Actress On the Road to Oscar", The Washington Post, March 26, 1992. Accessed May 28, 2009.
- ^ Mercedes Ruehl biography. Film Reference.com.
- ^ http://www.people.com/people/archive/article/0,,20099839,00.html
- ^ Ruehl, Mercedes. Casting a new light on a dark subject - novelist Cynthia Ozick - Interview. Interview. August 1994. FindArticles.com.
- ^ Corliss, Richard. That Old Feeling: The Oscar Race. Time magazine. 6 April 2002.
- ^ http://www.playbill.com/features/article/125033-STAGE-TO-SCREENS-Mercedes-Ruehl-the-Macy-Mamet-Connection-and-Remembering-Brad-Sullivan
- ^ About CNR. College of New Rochelle. Access date 6 January 2008.
- ^ a b Mercedes Ruehl. Yahoo Movies.
- ^ "Newspaper columnist Peter Ruehl dies". Sydney Morning Herald. 12 April 2011. http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-national/newspaper-columnist-peter-ruehl-dies-20110412-1dbza.html. Retrieved 14 April 2011.
- ^ www.amazon.com/Lost-Yonkers-Drama-Plume-Simon/dp/0452268834
- ^ Ruehl & Rabe Are Mother and Daughter in Broadway's American Plan, Opening Jan. 22 Playbill.com
- ^ Broadway's American Plan Is Extended to March 22 Playbill.com
- ^ THEATER REVIEW | 'THE AMERICAN PLAN' MORE ON 'The American Plan' Rapunzel in the Catskills NY Times
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0950776/ Retrieved on 2009-24-04
- ^ http://www.mccarter.org/howandwhy/
External links
- Mercedes Ruehl at the Internet Broadway Database
- Mercedes Ruehl at the Internet Movie Database
- ITDb
- Ruehl Rules, a May 2005 Playbill article
- Brief Encounter with Mercedes Ruehl, a May 2002 Playbill interview
Awards for Mercedes Ruehl Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (1981–2000) Maureen Stapleton (1981) · Jessica Lange (1982) · Linda Hunt (1983) · Peggy Ashcroft (1984) · Anjelica Huston (1985) · Dianne Wiest (1986) · Olympia Dukakis (1987) · Geena Davis (1988) · Brenda Fricker (1989) · Whoopi Goldberg (1990) · Mercedes Ruehl (1991) · Marisa Tomei (1992) · Anna Paquin (1993) · Dianne Wiest (1994) · Mira Sorvino (1995) · Juliette Binoche (1996) · Kim Basinger (1997) · Judi Dench (1998) · Angelina Jolie (1999) · Marcia Gay Harden (2000)
Complete list · (1936–1940) · (1941–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001–2020) Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play (1975–2000) Ellen Burstyn (1975) · Rosemary Harris (1976) · Irene Worth (1977) · Jessica Tandy (1978) · Constance Cummings / Carole Shelley (1979) · Pat Carroll (1980) · Joan Copeland (1981) · Zoe Caldwell (1982) · Jessica Tandy (1983) · Joan Allen (1984) · Rosemary Harris (1985) · Lily Tomlin (1986) · Linda Lavin (1987) · Stockard Channing (1988) · Pauline Collins (1989) · Geraldine James (1990) · Mercedes Ruehl (1991) · Laura Esterman (1992) · Jane Alexander (1993) · Myra Carter (1994) · Cherry Jones (1995) · Zoe Caldwell (1996) · Janet McTeer (1997) · Cherry Jones (1998) · Kathleen Chalfant (1999) · Eileen Heckart (2000)
Complete list · (1975–2000) · (2001–2025) Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture (1981–2000) Joan Hackett (1981) · Jessica Lange (1982) · Cher (1983) · Peggy Ashcroft (1984) · Meg Tilly (1985) · Maggie Smith (1986) · Olympia Dukakis (1987) · Sigourney Weaver (1988) · Julia Roberts (1989) · Whoopi Goldberg (1990) · Mercedes Ruehl (1991) · Joan Plowright (1992) · Winona Ryder (1993) · Dianne Wiest (1994) · Mira Sorvino (1995) · Lauren Bacall (1996) · Kim Basinger (1997) · Lynn Redgrave (1998) · Angelina Jolie (1999) · Kate Hudson (2000)
Complete List · (1943–1960) · (1961–1980) · (1981–2000) · (2001–present) Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress Ida Lupino (1974/75) · Bette Davis (1976) · Susan Tyrrell (1977) · Dyan Cannon (1978) · Veronica Cartwright (1979) · Eve Brent (1980) · Frances Sternhagen (1981) · Zelda Rubinstein (1982) · Candy Clark (1983) · Polly Holliday (1984) · Anne Ramsey (1985) · Jenette Goldstein (1986) · Anne Ramsey (1987) · Sylvia Sidney (1988) · Whoopi Goldberg (1989/90) · Mercedes Ruehl (1991) · Isabella Rossellini (1992) · Amanda Plummer (1993) · Mia Sara (1994) · Bonnie Hunt (1995) · Alice Krige (1996) · Gloria Stuart (1997) · Joan Allen (1998) · Patricia Clarkson (1999) · Rebecca Romijn-Stamos (2000) · Fionnula Flanagan (2001) · Samantha Morton (2002) · Ellen DeGeneres (2003) · Daryl Hannah (2004) · Summer Glau (2005) · Famke Janssen (2006) · Marcia Gay Harden (2007) · Tilda Swinton (2008) · Sigourney Weaver (2009) · Mila Kunis (2010)
Note: The years are listed as per convention, usually the year of film release; the ceremonies are usually held the next year.Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play (1976–2000) Irene Worth (1976) · Julie Harris (1977) · Jessica Tandy (1978) · Constance Cummings / Carole Shelley (1979) · Phyllis Frelich (1980) · Jane Lapotaire (1981) · Zoe Caldwell (1982) · Jessica Tandy (1983) · Glenn Close (1984) · Stockard Channing (1985) · Lily Tomlin (1986) · Linda Lavin (1987) · Joan Allen (1988) · Pauline Collins (1989) · Maggie Smith (1990) · Mercedes Ruehl (1991) · Glenn Close (1992) · Madeline Kahn (1993) · Diana Rigg (1994) · Cherry Jones (1995) · Zoe Caldwell (1996) · Janet McTeer (1997) · Marie Mullen (1998) · Judi Dench (1999) · Jennifer Ehle (2000)
Complete list · (1947–1975) · (1976–2000) · (2001–2025) Categories:- 1948 births
- Actors from New York City
- Alumni of women's universities and colleges
- American film actors
- American people of Cuban descent
- American people of German descent
- American people of Irish descent
- American Roman Catholics
- American stage actors
- American television actors
- Best Supporting Actress Academy Award winners
- Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (film) winners
- College of New Rochelle alumni
- Drama Desk Award winners
- Living people
- People from Jackson Heights, Queens
- People from the Bronx
- Saturn Award winners
- Tony Award winners
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