Brenda Vaccaro

Brenda Buell Vaccaro (born November 18, 1939) She was raised in Dallas, Texas, where her parents, in 1943, founded Mario's Restaurant. She attended the Hockaday School in Dallas before graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1958.

At age 17, she returned to New York City to study acting under the guidance of Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. She made her Broadway debut in the short-lived 1961 comedy Everybody Loves Opal, for which she won a Theatre World Award.

Career Vaccaro's Broadway credits include The Affair (1962), Cactus Flower (1965), the musical How Now, Dow Jones (1967), The Goodbye People (1968), the female version of The Odd Couple (1985), and Jake's Women (1992). The husky-voiced actress is a three-time Tony Award nominee, for Best Featured Actress in a Play (Cactus Flower), Best Actress in a Musical (Dow Jones), and Best Actress in a Play (The Goodbye People). She was featured on the May 29, 1970 cover of Life magazine.

Vaccaro appeared with Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight in the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. She played Ethel Rosenberg in Stanley Kramer's Judgment: The Trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in 1974, and for her performance in the 1975 film adaptation of Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not Enough, she gained an Academy Award nomination and won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.

Additional screen credits include Airport '77; Capricorn One; The Pride of Jesse Hallam; Supergirl; The Mirror Has Two Faces; Heart of Midnight; Zorro, The Gay Blade; and Death Weekend, also known as The House by the Lake.

Her television credits include the title role in the 1976 series Sara, a number of television movies, and a regular role in the short-lived 1984 series Paper Dolls, in addition to guest appearances on Banacek, The Fugitive, The Defenders, Coronet Blue, The Name of the Game, Marcus Welby, M.D., McCloud, The Streets of San Francisco, The Love Boat, St. Elsewhere, Murder, She Wrote, The Golden Girls, Columbo, Touched by an Angel, Friends (as the mother of Matt LeBlanc's "Joey"), The King of Queens, and Nip/Tuck. She was nominated for an Emmy Award three times and won for Best Supporting Actress in Comedy-Variety, Variety or Music for The Shape of Things in 1974.

Vaccaro was lampooned by Andrea Martin on SCTV for a groundbreaking 1980 commercial appearance for feminine hygiene products.

She supplied the voice for Johnny Bravo'''s mother Bunny Bravo in the animated cartoon series. She was the first voice of Jay's (Jon Lovitz)'s ex-wife Ardeth on The Critic. She made an appearance on The Smurfs as Scruple, an apprentice of Gargamel, opposite Paul Winchell.

After ill health forced Valerie Harper to bow out of the production of Nice Work If You Can Get It at the Ogunquit Playhouse (Maine), Vaccaro took over the role of Millicent Winter for the remaining performances of the limited run from August 4–15, 2015.

She played Jack Kevorkian's (Al Pacino)'s sister in You Don't Know Jack (2010). She plays Gloria Marquette in the Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That...

Personal life She entered a nearly seven-year relationship with Summertree'' co-star Michael Douglas in 1971.

Stage

Accolades Award/association Year Category Nominated work Result Academy Awards 1976 Best Supporting Actress Once Is Not Enough Behind the Voice Actors Awards 2017 Best Supporting Female Vocal Performance in a Feature Film Kubo and the Two Strings Best Vocal Ensemble in a Feature Film Golden Globe Awards 1970 New Star of the Year – Actress Where It's At Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Midnight Cowboy 1976 Once Is Not Enough Laurel Awards 1970 Best Supporting Actress Midnight Cowboy 1976 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Sara 1991 Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series The Golden Girls 2010 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie You Don't Know Jack Satellite Awards 2011 Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Saturn Awards 1979 Best Supporting Actress Capricorn One Sitges Film Festival 1977 Best Actress Death Weekend Theatre World Awards 1961 Best Actress Everybody Loves Opal Tony Awards 1966 Best Featured Actress in a Play Cactus Flower 1968 Best Actress in a Musical How Now, Dow Jones 1969 Best Actress in a Play The Goodbye People