Carrie Snodgress

Caroline Louise Snodgress (October 27, 1945 – April 1, 2004) was an American actress. She is best remembered for her role in the film Diary of a Mad Housewife, for which she was nominated for an Academy Award and a BAFTA Award as well as winning two Golden Globes and two Laurel Awards.

Early life Born in Barrington, Illinois, Snodgress attended Maine Township High School East in Park Ridge, then Northern Illinois University before leaving to pursue acting. She trained for the stage at the Goodman School of Drama at the Art Institute of Chicago (later DePaul University), graduating with a master's degree and earning the Sarah Siddons award as an outstanding graduate.

Career After some minor TV appearances, she made her film debut in an uncredited appearance in Easy Rider in 1969, followed by a credit in 1970 for Rabbit, Run. Her next film, Diary of a Mad Housewife (1970), earned her a nomination for Academy Award for Best Actress and two Golden Globe wins, as Best Actress in a Comedy or a Musical and New Star of the Year – Actress.

Between 1970 and 1978, Snodgress didn't make any acting appearances, in order to focus on raising her son. She returned to acting in 1978 in The Fury.

According to Sylvester Stallone, Snodgress was the first actress considered for the role of Adrian in Rocky. However, Snodgress declined the part because it was not well-paid. Rocky director John G. Avildsen cast Snodgress in two of his later films: A Night in Heaven and 8 Seconds.

Snodgress made her off-Broadway debut in 1981 as a replacement in John Ford Noonan's A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking. That year she married painter Robert Jones, but they separated within a few years.

In her final film, Katja von Garnier's Iron Jawed Angels (2004) about the women's suffrage movement during the 1910s, Snodgress portrayed the mother of Alice Paul, played by Hilary Swank.

Personal life From 1970 to 1975, Snodgress lived with musician Neil Young and their son Zeke, who was born with cerebral palsy. Young's song "A Man Needs a Maid" was inspired by Snodgress, featuring the lyric "I fell in love with the actress / she was playing a part that I could understand." She also inspired the songs "Heart of Gold", "Harvest" and "Out on the Weekend" from Young's album Harvest, as well as "Motion Pictures" from the 1974 album On the Beach. She and Young split in 1975, and his song "Already One", which later appeared on his 1978 album Comes a Time, bookends their relationship.

Later she and musician and film score composer Jack Nitzsche became lovers. Nitzsche had previously worked with Young on several albums. In 1979, Nitzsche was charged with threatening to kill her after he barged into her home and beat her with a handgun. He pleaded guilty to threatening her, was fined, and placed on three years' probation. She married Robert Jones in 1981.

Death While waiting for a liver transplant, Snodgress was hospitalized in Los Angeles, where she died of heart failure on April 1, 2004, at age 58. She was interred at Forest Lawn Memorial Park, Glendale.

Filmography

Film

Television

TV films and miniseries

Awards and nominations