Perky, lightweight ingenue of frothy 1950s romances and comedies, including four opposite Tony Curtis, the likes of which ("The Prince Who Was a Thief" 1951, "No Room for the Groom" 1952) hardly made her a critic's darling. Laurie's first substantial screen role, however--as the lame, self-destructive alcoholic involved with Paul Newman in Robert Rossen's gritty drama, "The Hustler" (1961)--earned her an Oscar nomination. She had previously won acclaim for her moving portrayal of an alcoholic in J.P. Miller's Golden Age of Television gem, "The Days of Wine and Roses" (1958) opposite Cliff Robertson on "Playhouse 90".
Laurie took a break from film to marry critic Joseph Morgenstern in 1962. She has latterly re-emerged as a rather more flamboyant character player, co-starring with Sissy Spacek as the title character's deranged religious-fanatic mother in "Carrie" (1976), Marlee Matlin's cold mother in "Children of a Lesser God" (1986) and the scheming mill owner Catherine Martell on David Lynch's cult TV soap opera "Twin Peaks" (ABC, 1990-91). In 1995, she reteamed with Spacek, this time playing her sister, in Charlie Matthau's feature adaptation of Truman Capote's "The Grass Harp".
Family
FATHER: Alfred Jacobs. Furniture dealer. Polish immigrant.
MOTHER: Charlotte Sadie Jacobs. Russian-American.
SISTER: Sherrye Arlene Jacobs. Older; suffered with asthma.
DAUGHTER: Anne Grace Morgenstern. Born in 1971; had daughter Grace Anne born in 1993.
Companion
HUSBAND: Joseph Morgenstern. Film critic. Married in 1962; divorced in 1981; met when Morgenstern, writing for the New York Herald, interviewed Laurie, who was doing publicity for "The Hustler" (1961).
Milestone
Began acting career on stage at age three
Family moved to Los Angeles when Laurie was six; she was placed in a Los Angeles children's home by her parents to keep her asthmatic sister company
Acted in school plays during high school
1949: Signed contract with Univeral-International at age 17
1950: Feature acting debut, "Louisa"; played Ronald Reagan's daughter
1951: First of four films in which she played opposite Tony Curtis, "The Prince Who Was a Thief"
1955: TV acting debut on "Best of Broadway" series
1955: Broke studio contract; abandoned Hollywood for New York
Starred in New York stage productions (including "Rosemary" and "The Alligators", two one-act plays by Molly Kazan) and on live TV
1957: Moved back to Hollywood; returned to acting in films with "Until They Sail"
1958: Earned first Emmy nomination for performance in "The Deaf Heart" (CBS)
1959: Cast as an alcoholic opposite Cliff Robertson in "The Days of Wine and Roses"
1961: Earned Best Actress Oscar nomination for performance as Fast Eddie Felsen's girlfriend in "The Hustler"; last film for 15 years
1967: Starred as Laura on Broadway in the 20th anniversary production of "The Glass Menagerie"
1967 - 1973: Took hiatus from acting; moved to Woodstock, New York and baked, worked on pottery, paintings and sculptures
1973: Returned to stage in John Guare's "Marco Polo Sings a Solo"
1976: Returned to films in "Carrie", playing the title character's devoutly religious mother; received a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nomination
1979: Cast as a widow who hires a mentally challenged handyman (Mel Gibson) in "Tim"
1981: Offered strong turn as Magda Goebbels in "The Bunker" (CBS); received third Emmy nomination
1983: Garnered fourth Emmy nomination for supporting role of Anne Mueller in "The Thorn Birds" (ABC)
1984: Received fifth career Emmy nomination for guest appearance on the NBC drama "St. Elsewhere"
1985: Portrayed Auntie Em in the sequel "Return to Oz"
1986: Garnered third Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination for "Children of a Lesser God"
1986: Co-starred with James Garner and James Woods in the acclaimed CBS TV-movie "Promise"; won Emmy award for role
Toured in one-woman stage show, "The Last Flapper" by William Luce, portraying Zelda Fitzgerald (date approximate)
1990: Starred as Catherine Martell in David Lynch's eerie, quirky drama series "Twin Peaks" (ABC); received two Emmy nominations for work in show; for the 1989-1990 season as Best Actress in a Drama Series and as Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for the 1990-1991 season
1991: Cast in featured role in "Other People's Money"
1993: Co-starred in Off-Broadway production of Larry Kramer's "The Destiny of Me"
1994: Had regular role on the short-lived CBS series "Traps"
1996: Reteamed with Sissy Spacek, this time playing sisters in "The Grass Harp"
1998: Had featured role in the horror film "The Faculty"
1999: Picked up ninth career Emmy nod for guest appearance in an episode of the NBC sitcom "Frasier"
2000: Co-starred in the based-on-fact Showtime drama "Possessed"
2004: Starred in the black comedy "Eulogy" which follows three generations of a family, who come together for the funeral of the patriarch
Education
Los Angeles High School - Los Angeles, California
Los Angeles High School - Los Angeles, California - 1950
David Lynch described Piper Laurie: "There's a mystique about her. She has kind of a wild streak that's interesting because it could become dangerous." (quoted in PEOPLE, April 30, 1990)
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