Biography

Anne Bancroft

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Overview

Born
September 17, 1931 · The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA
Died
June 6, 2005 · Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA (uterine cancer)
Birth name
Anna Maria Louise Italiano
Nicknames
- Annie
- Obi-Wan
- Anne St. Rlaymond
- Anne Marno
Height
5′ 8″ (1.73 m)

Mini bio

Anne Bancroft was born on September 17, 1931 in The Bronx, NY, the middle daughter of Michael Italiano (1905-2001), a dress pattern maker, and Mildred DiNapoli (1907-2010), a telephone operator. She made her cinema debut in Don't Bother to Knock (1952) in 1952, and over the next five years appeared in a lot of undistinguished movies such as Gorilla at Large (1954), Demetrius and the Gladiators (1954), New York Confidential (1955), Nightfall (1956) and The Girl in Black Stockings (1957). By 1957 she grew dissatisfied with the scripts she was getting, left the film business and spent the next five years doing plays on Broadway. She returned to screens in 1962 with her portrayal of Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker (1962), for which she won an Oscar. Bancroft went on to give acclaimed performances in The Pumpkin Eater (1964), The Slender Thread (1965), Young Winston (1972), The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975), The Elephant Man (1980), To Be or Not to Be (1983), 84 Charing Cross Road (1987) and other movies, but her most famous role would be as Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate (1967). Her status as the "older woman" in the film is iconic, although in real life she was only eight years older than Katharine Ross and just six years older than Dustin Hoffman. Bancroft would later express her frustration over the fact that the film overshadowed her other work. Selective for much of her intermittent career, she appeared onscreen more frequently in the '90s and early '00s, playing a range of characters in such films as Love Potion No. 9 (1992), Point of No Return (1993), Home for the Holidays (1995), G.I. Jane (1997), Great Expectations (1998), Keeping the Faith (2000) and Up at the Villa (2000). She also started to make some TV films, including Deep in My Heart (1999) for which she won an Emmy. Sadly, on June 6, 2005, Bancroft passed away at the age of 73 from uterine cancer. Her death surprised many, as she had not disclosed her illness to the public. Among her survivors was her husband of 41 years, Mel Brooks, and their son Max Brooks, who was born in 1972. Her final film, the animated feature Delgo (2008), was released posthumously in 2008 and dedicated to her memory.
- IMDb mini biography by: Volker Boehm

Family

Spouses
Children
Parents
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Trademarks

In most of her films, she habitually removes an earring before answering a telephone
Husky resonant voice
Often played characters much older than her actual age

Trivia

In June 2005 at her memorial service in New York City, Paul Simon sang "Mrs. Robinson" and she was eulogized by her The Miracle Worker (1962) co-star Patty Duke.
She and Mel Brooks married at New York City Hall, where a passer-by served as their witness.
She, Mel Brooks and their son Max Brooks all are Emmy-winners.
Said that for many years after doing The Graduate (1967), young men would tell her that she was the first woman they had sexual fantasies about.
In 1999 she became the 15th performer to win the Triple Crown of acting. Oscar: Best Actress, The Miracle Worker (1962), Tonys: Best Supporting Actress-Play, "Two for the Seesaw" (1958) and Best Actress-Play, "The Miracle Worker" (1960), and Emmy: Best Supporting Actress-Miniseries/Movie, Deep in My Heart (1999).

Quotes

I was at a point where I was ready to say, "I am what I am because of what I am and if you like me I'm grateful, and if you don't, what am I going to do about it?"
Life is here only to be lived so that we can, through life, earn the right to death, which to me is paradise. Whatever it is that will bring me the reward of paradise, I'll do the best I can.
The best way to get most husbands to do something is to suggest that perhaps they're too old to do it.
When [Mel Brooks] told his Jewish mother he was marrying an Italian girl, she said: "Bring her over. I'll be in the kitchen - with my head in the oven".
[of her Mrs. Robinson role in The Graduate (1967)] Film critics said I gave a voice to the fear we all have: that we'll reach a point in our lives, look around and realize that all the things we said we'd do and become will never come to be - and that we're ordinary.