Biography

Jeannie Berlin was born on November 1, 1949 in Los Angeles, California, USA. She is an actress and writer, known for The Heartbreak Kid (1972), Margaret (2011) and The Fabelmans (2022).

[on playing the jilted bride in The Heartbreak Kid (1972)] Nobody believes me, but yes, I did have to test for the part, just like anybody else - even though the director was my mother, Elaine May. I've been told I look like Anne Bancroft, Ingrid Bergman, and from some angles, Tiny Tim.

[on her mother, Elaine May] Professionally speaking, I'm one of her biggest fans, and out of all the theatre and movies I've done, she is my favorite director. As a mother, she's totally competent, a good sport, and my big thing is to work up to doing as many chin-ups as she can do.

[in an interview with the New York Times in 1973] Actually, the real reason I don't want to get married is that you have to get a blood test. I hate needles. I mean, injections, or anything like that, absolutely petrify me. I just faint immediately. I get this feeling I'm going to be murdered. I mean, doctors just terrify me.