Bonnie Bedelia

Bonnie Bedelia

  • Birthday: 1948-03-25
  • Place of birth: New York City, New York, USA
  • Also know as: Bonnie Bedelia Culkin

Biography

Bonnie Bedelia Culkin is an American actress, best known for her starring roles as Holly McClane in Die Hard and Die Hard 2, Barbara Sabich in Presumed Innocent, and Polly Chalmers in Needful Things, as well as the matriarch Camille Braverman on the drama series Parenthood. She is younger sister to actor Kit Culkin; aunt to his sons, actors Macaulay, Rory, and Kieran Culkin. Her and Kit's brother and sister, Terry and Candace, have also acted. Before becoming an actress, Bedelia studied ballet and appeared in a few productions with the New York City Ballet, including The Nutcracker. Her only dancing role onscreen was that of Clara in the Playhouse 90 television production of the George Balanchine Nutcracker (1958). From 1961 to 1967, Bedelia was a regular on the CBS soap opera Love of Life, portraying Sandy Porter. She also worked on Broadway, where she debuted supporting Patty Duke in 1962, in Isle of Children, and won a Theatre World Award for playing the lead of in My Sweet Charlie, in 1966. After beginning her career in theatre in the 1960s, Bedelia starred in the CBS daytime soap opera Love of Life and made her film debut in The Gypsy Moths. In 1969, she attracted attention as the pregnant marathon dancer in They Shoot Horses, Don't They? She starred in the comedy Lovers and Other Strangers (1970), had dramatic roles in The Strange Vengeance of Rosalie (1972) and Between Friends (1973), and appeared opposite Richard Dreyfuss in the comedy The Big Fix (1978). On television, she played the leading role in the short-lived ABC drama series, The New Land (1974). In 1984, Bedelia received critical acclaim and was nominated for a Golden Globe for her starring role in Heart Like a Wheel (1983), as drag racer Shirley Muldowney. Other well-known performances include her portrayals of Holly Gennero McClane, the wife of Bruce Willis's character John McClane in Die Hard (1988) and Die Hard 2 (1990), and of Barbara Sabich, the wife of Harrison Ford's character in Presumed Innocent (1990). She appeared in two Stephen King screen adaptations: Salem's Lot (1979) and Needful Things (1993). She was nominated for Emmy Awards for her performance in the Showtime anthology series Fallen Angels (1993) and for the leading role in the made-for-television movie Locked in Silence (1999). She played a number of leading roles in television films and miniseries, such as Switched at Birth, A Mother's Right: The Elizabeth Morgan Story, Her Costly Affair, and Picnic. From 2001 to 2004, Bedelia starred as Capt. Kate McCafferty in the Lifetime drama series The Division. She later guest-starred in Big Love and CSI, and starred opposite Rue McClanahan and Olivia Newton-John in the 2008 sitcom Sordid Lives: The Series. Bedelia starred in the NBC drama series Parenthood (2010-2015) as the family matriarch, Camille Braverman. In 2017, she appeared in season 2 of the TV series Designated Survivor, and in two Hallmark movies. In 2019, she guest starred on the Netflix series What/If.

Filmography

Die Hard

1988

As Holly Gennaro McClane

Die Hard 2

1990

As Holly McClane

Needful Things

1993

As Polly Chalmers

Presumed Innocent

1990

As Barbara Sabich

Anywhere but Here

1999

As Carol

The Boy Who Could Fly

1986

As Charlene

Fat Man and Little Boy

1989

As Kitty Oppenheimer

Heart Like a Wheel

1983

As Shirley Muldowney

The Big Fix

1978

As Suzanne

Speechless

1994

As Annette

Sordid Lives

2000

As Latrelle Williamson

Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture

1990

As Hannah McGrath

Switched at Birth

1991

As Regina Twigg

Locked in Silence

1999

As Lydia

Manhood

2003

As Alice

Homecoming

1996

As Eunice Logan

Judicial Consent

1994

As Gwen Warwick

Any Mother's Son

1997

As Dorothy Hajdys

Sand Castles

1972

As Jenna Hampshire

Then Came Bronson

1969

As Temple Brooks

Violets are Blue

1986

As Ruth Squires

Message to My Daughter

1973

As Janet Thatcher

Alex: The Life of a Child

1986

As Carole Deford

Heatwave!

1974

As Laura Taylor

Picnic

2000

As Flo Owens

The Stranger

1987

As Alice Kildee

A Question of Love

1978

As Joan Saltzman

Bad Manners

1998

As Nancy Westlund

When the Time Comes

1987

As Liddy Travis

Gloria

1999

As Brenda

The Prince of Pennsylvania

1988

As Pam Marshetta

Death of an Angel

1986

As Grace

Lovers and Other Strangers

1970

As Susan Henderson

Between Friends

1973

As Ellie

The Lady from Yesterday

1985

As Janet Weston

Memorial Day

1983

As Cass

A Very Sordid Wedding

2017

As Latrelle Williamson

A Joyous Christmas

2017

As Joy

Munchausen

2013

As Mother

Berkeley

2005

As Hawkins

Christmas on the Coast

2018

As Ellie Cassadine

Her Costly Affair

1996

As Dr. Diane Weston

A Season in Purgatory

1996

As Valerie Sabbath

To Live Again

1998

As Iris Sayer

The Gypsy Moths

1969

As Annie Burke

Violet

2021

As Aunt Helen

Walking Through the Fire

1979

As Dr. Rand

Sordid Lives

2020

As

The Noel Diary

2022

As Ellie Foster

A Stone in the Water

2019

As Martha

Tourist

1980

As Mandy Burke

Shadow of a Doubt

1996

As Robin Harwell

The Hill

2023

As Gram

The Million Dollar Infield

1982

As Marcia Miller

A Time For Love

1973

As Kitty

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