Eventually, her stage acting noticed by producers and directors in Hollywood and she started acting in films. In 1964, she was in the film Lilith. In 1969, she performed in the film John and Mary, where she played mom to Dustin Hoffman. Eventually, at age 56 she became a household name after her performance in the romantic comedy Moonstruck in 1987.
Later Career
After her big break into the Hollywood film industry, she went back to her roots and acted in many more stage performances. She also continued occasionally acting in film and television roles. She was in several notable movies, such as Steel Magnolias, Dad, Look Who's Talking, The Cemetery Club, Mr. Holland's Opus, and Mother. Her television roles include Tales of the City and its sequels More Tales of the City and Further Tales of the City. She was also featured in several episodes of Bored to Death. She created and performed a one-woman play, titled “Rose” in 1999. She debuted “Rose” first at the National Theater of London and later on Broadway.
Eventually, Olympia Dukakis became a master instructor at New York University for fourteen years. She also taught courses at Columbia and Yale.
After her acting fame, she started producing many plays and movies. Two of her more well known producing credits were for "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Kennedy's Children".
In 2003, her the best-selling novel “Ask Me Again Tomorrow” was published. “Ask Me Again Tomorrow” is an autobiography which provides an introspective view of her life, career, and passions. In her book, she covers issues regarding feminism, diabetes, Alzheimer's, and osteoporosis.
As she gets older, she continues to grace the stage occasionally. She appeared in a production of "The Milktrain Doesn't Stop Here Anymore" in 2011, a production of "Vigil" also in 2011 and as "Prospera" in "The Tempest" in 2012. In 2013, she performed as the title role in "Mother Courage and Her Children” for Shakespeare & Co.
Major Accomplishments and Awards
Olympia Dukakis is very accomplished and has won many awards over the length of her career. In 1962, she won a prestigious Off-Broadway Obie Award for role in "A Man's a Man" and later won another for "The Marriage of Bette and Boo". Her role in the 1987 film “Moonstruck” brought her many awards and recognition, including an Oscar for Best Supporting Actress. She also won a Golden Globe award for this role, among other accolades. While touring the country for her one-woman show “Rose” she won an Outer Critics Circle Award and was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for said show. In 2011, she was named Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship Program 2011 Master Teacher. Dukakis has also won a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Greek America Foundation. Most recently, she was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2013.
References
“IMDb Olympia Dukakis Biography” https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001156/bio?ref_=nm_ov_bio_sm
“Olympia Dukakis Verified Twitter account” https://twitter.com/olympiadukakis?lang=en
“Ask Me Again Tomorrow: A Life in Progress” https://www.amazon.com/Ask-Me-Again-Tomorrow-Progress/dp/0060934093/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=
“Some Things You Probably Didn’t Know and Some Great Olympia Dukakis Moments to Celebrate Her Birthday” http://www.pappaspost.com/some-things-you-probably-didnt-know-and-some-great-olympia-dukakis-moments-to-celebrate-her-birthday/
“Turner Classic Movies Olympia Dukakis” http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/person/53935%7C119305/Olympia-Dukakis/
Return to the previous page| Birth Date: | 20 Jun, 1931 |
| Age: | 88 yrs |
| Occupations: | Television actor Film actor Stage actor |
| Citizenship: | United States of America |
| Birth Place: | Lowell |
| Education: | Boston University College of Fine Arts |
| Gender: | Female |
| Description: | American actress |
| Spouse: | Louis Zorich [M. 1962] |
| Net Worth 2021: | 6 million |
