Piper Laurie: Carrie's mum dies at age 91

With such a long career, exactly how you remember this actress, depends on how you know her. Some remember her as Paul Newman’s love interest in 'The Hustler,' but she was also magnificently terrifying as Carrie’s mother in the 1976 horror film 'Carrie'. Or, you may know her as George Clooney’s mum in ‘ER’.

On the 14th of October 2023, 'old age' finally took the life of this 3-time Oscar nominee. Her manager, Marion Rosenberg, told The Associated Press via email, adding that she was “a superb talent and a wonderful human being.”

Let’s take a look at the wonderful career of Piper Laurie who was born Rosetta Jacobs, in Detroit, Michigan to parents of Russian and Polish heritage. At the age of 17 she was signed by Universal Studios and was made to change her name. A fact she was never happy about according to an article in AP news.

Laurie made her screen debut as Ronald Reagan’s teenage daughter in 'Louisa' (1950), and also stared in films with the likes of Rock Hudson and Tony Curtis.

Laurie moved to New York in 1958 and appeared in a number of T.V. roles that were gritty and could let her show her real talent. One critic (as quoted by The Guardian) wrote about her: “Miss Laurie turned in a performance that had depth, honesty and something else, something that I guess could be called glow.”

Arguably her greatest role was that of Sarah Packard in the 1961 film ‘The Hustler’ opposite Paul Newman. The film was a huge success and she was nominated for many awards for the role including the Academy Award for Best Actress.

She became increasingly frustrated with Hollywood and found the lack of decent female roles unsatisfying, so she took a break from the screen and focused on other things.

During a 15-year break from Tinseltown, Laurie used her time for good causes such as the Vietnam War and the civil rights movement.

“I gradually gave up acting,” she said, as The Guardian reports. “I started to lose interest. Lots of things were happening in the world, such as the Vietnam war. I just thought it was a really silly way for a grown-up to spend her time.”

In 1962 she married film critic Joe Morgenstern. The marriage lasted 20 years and they had one child together. After her marriage she only accepted occasional TV and theatre work, but not taking any film roles.

Did you know... Laurie also became well known as a baker, and some of her recipes appeared in The New York Times.

Laurie returned to the screen in 1976 when she portrayed the extremely religious mother of Carrie White in the hit film made from the Stephen King novel. And boy did she return, she gave a haunting performance and was nominated again for an Oscar.

She made a couple more horror films and enjoyed the fun on the set. Talking about these films she said that they were “a hoot. I’d do these grotesque, horrible things, and in between takes I’d laugh. It was wonderful to get all that stuff out, like childhood play-acting,” (The Guardian).

During the 80’s Laurie stared in the popular TV series ‘The Thorn Birds’ and also stared as Catherine Martell in David Lynch’s 'Twin Peaks'. But it wasn’t just the small screen. She found time to return to Hollywood and star in classics such as ‘Children of a Lesser God’ - giving her another Oscar nomination.

Laurie also starred in numerous TV shows including 'Will and Grace', 'Matlock', 'Murder She Wrote', 'Frazier' - and she also played George Clooney's character's mother on 'ER', Sarah Ross.

Marlee Matlin posted on X, sharing some photos from their 1986 movie 'Children of a Lesser God' and paid tribute to her co-star.
“She was my first onscreen mother and she was celebrated way before we worked together including 3 @TheAcademy Award nominations. I’ll never forget her kind, sweet spirit and fierce talent. RIP Piper Laurie,”.

In loving memory of a seasoned actress who put herself before 'Hollywood' and got the most out of her roles. We remember a well-known Piper Laurie quote: "It took a long time, but I have learned that you just can't take anything you want out of life without putting something back in exchange." RIP