Biography

Rosalind Russell

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Overview

Born
June 4, 1907 · Waterbury, Connecticut, USA
Died
November 28, 1976 · Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, California, USA (breast cancer)
Birth name
Catherine Rosalind Russell
Nickname
- Roz
Height
5′ 8″ (1.73 m)

Biography

The middle of seven children, she was named, not for the heroine of "As You Like It" but for the S.S. Rosalind on which her parents had sailed, at the suggestion of her father, a successful lawyer.

After receiving a Catholic school education at Notre Dame Academy in Waterbury, Connecticut, she went to the American Academy of Dramatic Art in New York, having convinced her mother that she intended to teach acting. In 1934, with some stock company work and a little Broadway experience, she was tested and signed by Universal. Simultaneously, MGM tested her and made her a better offer. When she plead ignorance of Hollywood (while wearing her worst-fitting clothes), Universal released her and she signed with MGM for seven years.

For some time she was used in secondary roles and as a replacement threat to limit Myrna Loy's salary demands. Knowing she was right for comedy, she tested five times for the role of Sylvia Fowler in The Women (1939). George Cukor told her to "play her as a freak". She did and got the part. Her "boss lady" roles began with the part of reporter Hildy Johnson in His Girl Friday (1940), through whose male lead, Cary Grant, she met her future husband, Grant's house-guest at the time.

In her forties, she returned to the stage, touring "Bell, Book and Candle" in 1951 and winning a Tony Award for "Wonderful Town" in 1953. Columbia, worried the public would think she had the female lead in Picnic (1955), billed her "co-starring Rosalind Russell as Rosemary." She refused to be placed in the Best Supporting Actress category when Columbia Pictures wanted to promote her for an Academy Award nomination for her role in Picnic (1955). Many felt she would have won had she cooperated. "Auntie Mame" kept her on Broadway for two years followed by the movie version.

Oscar nominations: My Sister Eileen (1942), Sister Kenny (1946), Mourning Becomes Electra (1947), and Auntie Mame (1958). In 1972, she received the Jean Hersholt Humanitarian Award for contributions to charity.
- IMDb mini biography by: Ed Stephan <stephan@cc.wwu.edu>

Family

Spouse
Children
Parents
Relatives

Trademark

Deep, husky voice

Trivia

Cary Grant introduced her to her future husband and was the best man at their wedding.
Russell wanted the role of Sylvia Fowler in The Women (1939) so much that she did five screen tests. On the fifth one, she burlesqued the role, which pleased director George Cukor and won her the role. During filming, Russell actually bit Paulette Goddard in their fight sequence. Despite the permanent scar the bite left Goddard, the actresses remained friends.
Her performance as Hildy Johnson in His Girl Friday (1940) is ranked #28 on Premiere magazine's 100 Greatest Performances of All Time (2006).
In Gypsy (1962), Russell portrayed the mother of famed stripper Gypsy Rose Lee. In The Trouble with Angels (1966), Russell appeared with the real life Gypsy Rose Lee.
Russell gave birth to her only child at age 35. She and husband Frederick Brisson welcomed a son, Lance Brisson, on May 7, 1943.

Quotes

Acting is standing up naked and turning around very slowly.
Success is a public affair. Failure is a private funeral.
At MGM, there was a first wave of top stars, and a second wave to replace them in case they got difficult. I was second in line of defence, behind Myrna Loy.
Flops are part of a life's menu and I've never been a girl to miss out on any of the courses.
In all those types of films I wore a tan suit, a grey suit, a beige suit and then a negligee for the seventh reel near the end when I would admit to my best friend on the telephone that what I really wanted was to become a little housewife.