A promising star of the mid-to-late 1960s, Katharine Ross first attracted attention as Anne Bancroft's daughter in Mike Nichols' "The Graduate" (1967). With her luxuriously long hair and delicate features, she perfectly embodied the dream girl image the role required. Ross added impressive credits to her resume as the female lead in George Roy Hill's blockbuster "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969). As Etta Place, the woman in love with Redford's Sundance Kid, she skillfully negotiated the film's seriocomic tone. She and Redford worked together in "Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here" (also 1969), Abraham Polonsky's period drama about an American Indian (Robert Blake) who kidnaps his white lover (Ross) and is reluctantly pursued by the local sheriff (Redford). While her character was perhaps the least defined in the piece, Ross delivered a fine performance. avoiding cliche. While much of her subsequent film work was in sub-standard features, she gave strong performances in the modern whodunit "They Only Kill Their Masters" (1972) and the scary "The Stepford Wives" (1975). Perhaps her most notable performance may have been her award-winning supporting turn as the hooker daughter of Jewish refugees in "Voyage of the Damned" (1976). She was paired with future husband Sam Elliott in the misfire "The Legacy" (1979), after which her big screen career seemed to peter out. More recently, Ross was cast as the overly proper, somewhat fragile aunt of a young girl whose mother has attempted suicide in "Home Before Dark" (1997).
After reprising one of her best feature roles in the above average TV-movie "Wanted: The Sundance Woman" (ABC, 1976), Ross accepted the regular role of the much married socialite Francesca Scott Colby Hamilton on the ABC primetime soap opera "The Colbys" (1985-87). She has frequently worked on the small screen opposite her husband, notably as the second wife of a Houston plastic surgeon (Elliott) who may have been involved in the death of his first wife in "Murder in Texas" (NBC, 1981). The pair have also starred together in the likable Western "Louis L'Amour's 'The Shadow Riders'" (CBS, 1982) and the biopic "Houston: The Legend of Texas" (CBS, 1986). Most recently, they co-wrote and co-starred in the 1991 TNT movie "Conagher", based on another Louis L'Amour novel.
Family
DAUGHTER: Cleo Elliot. Born c. 1985.
Companion
COMPANION: Conrad L Hall. Director of photography. Together the the late 1960s and early 1970s.
HUSBAND: Sam Elliot. Actor. Met while filming "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969); together since 1978 when they co-starred in "The Legacy"; married in 1984.
Milestone
1962: Joined San Francisco Workshop; appeared in "The Devil's Disciple" at The Balcony Theater (date approximate)
1962: TV acting debut, an episode of the NBC series "Sam Benedict"
1965: Film acting debut in "Shenandoah"
1967: Nominated for an Oscar as Best Suporting Actress for her performance as Elaine Robinson in "The Graduate"
1969: Played probably her best known role, Etta Place, opposite Paul Newman and Robert Redford in George Roy Hill's "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid"
1969: Acted opposite Redford in "Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here", blacklisted director Abraham Polonsky's first film in 21 years
1975: Starred in the sci-fi horror film, "The Stepford Wives"
1976: Reprised the role of Etta Place in the ABC movie "Wanted: The Sundance Woman" (retitled "Mrs Sundance Rides Again")
1976: Earned a Golden Globe for her role as the prostitute daughter of Jewish refugees in "Voyage of the Damned"
1979: Starred opposite future husband Sam Elliott in "The Legacy"
1981: Co-starred with Elliott in "Murder in Texas", an NBC miniseries
1985 - 1987: Had regular role as Francesca Scott Colby Hamilton in the ABC primetime soap opera "The Colbys"
1982: Appeared in first Louis L'Amour Western "The Shadow Riders" (CBS); starred opposite Elliott
1991: Co-wrote and starred in the TNT movie "Conagher"; fifth TV project with Elliott
1997: Had featured role in "Home Before Dark"; screened at film festivals
2001: Played a psychiatrist treating the title character (Jake Gyllenhaal) in cult film, "Donnie Darko"
2007: Co-starred in the indie film, "Eye of the Dolphin"
"She brought a very important woman's touch to Evie's story, taking it even one step furtjer than even Louis [L'Amour] had," said producer John Kuri. According to husband Sam Elliott, "Of all the times that Katharine and I have worked together, her work has never been better than in this film. Louis was right, Kate was the one to play Evie Teale." --from TNT's "Conagher" press material
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