Lainie Kazan

Early life Kazan was born Lainie Levine in Brooklyn, the daughter of Carole (née Kazan) and Ben Levine. She is of Ashkenazi and Sephardic Jewish descent, with Russian and Turkish roots. and graduated from Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, in 1960. While at Hofstra, Kazan appeared in school musicals written and directed by a classmate, director Francis Ford Coppola, as well as actor James Caan.

Along with appearing in numerous supper clubs across the country, Kazan guest-starred on Dean Martin's variety series 26 times. Other television work includes a recurring role as Aunt Frieda on the Fran Drescher sitcom The Nanny, the mother of Kirstie Alley's character on Veronica's Closet, and various guest roles, including one on St. Elsewhere that resulted in an Emmy nomination. Her other television work has included The Paper Chase, Columbo, Touched by an Angel, and Will & Grace.

Kazan played Maria Portokalos, the mother of Toula Portokalos (Nia Vardalos) in the My Big Fat Greek Wedding franchise. Following the first film in the franchise, Kazan was featured in My Big Fat Greek Life, a short-lived series based on the film series. Other recent film work includes the mother of Adam Sandler’s character in I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry. Although the scene was deleted in the feature film, it is included on the DVD in the special features section. Kazan appeared as singer Ava St. Clair with Kevin James in two episodes of The King of Queens.

A life member of The Actors Studio, Kazan returned to Broadway to re-create her film role for the musical adaptation of My Favorite Year, earning a Tony Award nomination for her performance. She completed a stint in The Vagina Monologues. She has appeared in regional productions of A Little Night Music, Man of La Mancha, Gypsy, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Hello, Dolly!, and Fiddler on the Roof. In 1984, she made a guest appearance on the Faerie Tale Theatre episode “Pinocchio” as Sophia the Blue Fairy.

In the Ugly Betty episode "Fire and Nice," Kazan played Dina Talercio, the mother of Bobby (Adam Rodriguez), who becomes the character's brother-in-law. In 2010, Kazan joined the cast of Desperate Housewives for season 7. She played the role of Mrs. Maxine Rosen, a self-employed business owner and neighbor to Susan Delfino.

Personal life After meeting musical director-arranger Peter H.B. Daniels on the Broadway musical Funny Girl, in which Kazan was a cast member and he was associate orchestra conductor, the two began a five-year relationship. They married sometime after the 1971 birth of their daughter Jennifer.

In the 1970s, Kazan was diagnosed with a deep vein thrombosis (DVT). Since then, she has dedicated time to public education about DVT.

Beginning in 2012, Kazan became an adjunct professor at UCLA, teaching acting classes and directing her students in drama-department productions. She has served on the boards of the Young Musicians Foundation, AIDS Project LA, B'nai B'rith, the California Jazz Foundation, and her alma mater, Hofstra University.

On April 9, 2016, Kazan was injured in a head-on traffic collision. Kazan was driving her car when the collision occurred in Sherman Oaks, California, which necessitated hospitalization.

In December 2017, outside a California supermarket, Kazan was arrested for shoplifting. Prosecutors reached a plea deal with her.

In a 2022 Vanity Fair article, Kazan gave an interview alleging incidents of the late comic actor Jerry Lewis sexually harassing her.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage work

Other

Leave It to Jane (1959, Off-Broadway) Man of La Mancha (1972, Westbury Music Fair) Gypsy (1992, Westbury Music Fair) Rags (2006, World AIDS Day benefit concert)

Discography Lainie Kazan (1966) SE-4385 MGM Records (original studio album) Right Now (1966) SE-4340 MGM Records (original studio album; with sleeve notes by Dean Martin) Love Is Lainie (1967) SE-4496 MGM Records (original studio album) The Love Album (1967) SE 4451 MGM Records (original studio album) The Best of Lainie Kazan (1969) SE-4631 MGM Records (compilation album) The Chanteuse is Loose (1977) LK515 Lainie & Co. (original Live album) Body & Soul (1995) 65126 MusicMasters (original studio album) In the Groove (1998) 65168 MusicMasters (original studio album)

As guest vocalist With Benny Carter Benny Carter Songbook Volume II (MusicMasters, 1997)