In her long career, Beatrice Straight actually did very little work in the movies, plying her trade mostly onstage. But when she did grace the silver screen, she did it with great skill. Her first love was theater, having debuted on Broadway in the 1935 "Bitter Oleander". Her work garnered her much acclaim, including laurels in her Tony-winning performance for which she won the award for best supporting actress as Elizabeth Proctor in the 1953 production of 'Arthur Miller ; after only three days of work in that movie in just a few scenes that actually made it into the final cut, Beatrice Straight contributed such a stellar performance that she earned the Academy Award for the best performance by a supporting actress.
Sister of Michael Straight (writer and editor of The New Republic).
Cousin of fashion designer/socialite Gloria Vanderbilt.
Wife of actor Peter Cookson.
Mother of director/writer Tony Cookson.
At her death, her son, Tony Cookson , said that although some reference books listed her birth year as 1918, it was actually 1914, making her 86 when she died.
Her Oscar-winning role in Network lasted a mere 5 minutes and 2 seconds on screen, making her performance the briefest ever to win an acting Oscar.
Won Broadways 1953 Tony Award as Best Supporting or Featured Actress for "The Crucible."
Under the auspices of acting teacher Michael Chekhov , she played Viola in "Twelfth Night" and Goneril in "King Lear" in 1937, with the Dartington Hall Players in England.
In the 1940s she co-founded Theatre, Inc., which instigated the US visit of the Old Vic Company.
Succeeded Wendy Hiller as Catherine Sloper in the Broadway play "The Heiress" at the Biltmore Theatre in 1948. It was in this production that she met future husband/actor Peter Cookson , who was playing the role of Morris Townsend.
Brother Michael Straight was publisher of "The New Republic." He was married three times. His second wife was Nina Auchincloss Steers, writer and step-sister of Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis, and the half-sister of writer Gore Vidal.
Brother Whitney Willard Straight was a noted race car driver who later headed up the British Overseas Airway Corporation. Also made news for being the youngest licensed pilot ever in England (age 16).
Father Willard Straight was an investment banker who died of septic pneumonia while serving in France in 1919. Mother, heiress Dorothy Payne Whitney, subsequently married British educationist who founded Dartington Hall School in Devon. Beatrice moved with her family to England in 1925.
Her final film appearance was playing Goldie Hawn s mother in the thriller Deceived . Her role was a mere five seconds long.
Was the 78th actress to receive an Academy Award; she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Network at The 49th Annual Academy Awards on March 28, 1977.
Is one of 22 Oscar-winning actresses to have been born in the state of New York. The others are Alice Brady , Teresa Wright , Anne Revere , Celeste Holm , Claire Trevor , Judy Holliday , Shirley Booth , Susan Hayward , Patty Duke , Anne Bancroft , Barbra Streisand , Jane Fonda , Lee Grant , Whoopi Goldberg , Mercedes Ruehl , Marisa Tomei , Mira Sorvino , Susan Sarandon , Jennifer Connelly , Melissa Leo and Anne Hathaway.
She is buried at William Henry Lee Memorial Cemetery in New Marlborough, Massachusetts.
Gave birth to her 1st child at age 35, a son Gary Straight Cookson on July 31, 1950. Childs father is her 2nd husband, Peter Cookson.
Gave birth to her 2nd child at age 38, a son Anthony Straight Cookson - aka Tony Cookson - on June 23, 1953. Childs father is her 2nd husband, Peter Cookson.
