Dangerous Citizen: The Life and Times of Abraham Polonsky
2026 · Movie
as self
Lee Grant
1925-10-31
•
New York City, New York, USA
Writers: ,
Lee Grant (born Lyova Haskell Rosenthal; October 31, 1925) is an American actress and director. She made her film debut in 1951 as a young shoplifter in William Wyler's Detective Story, co-starring Kirk Douglas and Eleanor Parker. This role earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress as well as the Best Actress Award at the 1952 Cannes Film Festival. In 1952 she was blacklisted from most acting jobs for the next 12 years. She was able to find only occasional work onstage or as a teacher during this period. It also contributed to her divorce. She was removed from the blacklist in 1962 and rebuilt her acting career. She starred in 71 TV episodes of Peyton Place (1965–1966), followed by lead roles in films such as Valley of the Dolls, In the Heat of the Night (both 1967), and Shampoo (1975), for the last of which she won an Oscar. In 1964, she won the Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actress for her performance in The Maids. During her career she was nominated for the Emmy Award seven times between 1966 and 1993, winning twice. In 1986 she directed Down and Out in America which tied for the Academy Award for Best Documentary Feature, and in the same year she also won a Directors Guild of America Award for Nobody's Child.
Filmography
Turning Point: The Bomb and the Cold War
2024 · TV Show
as Self - Actress
Sidney Poitier - The Man Who Changed Hollywood
2023 · Movie
as Self
Boris Karloff: The Man Behind the Monster
2021 · Movie
as Self
Killian & the Comeback Kids
2020 · Movie
as Ms. Hunter (voice)
Hal
2019 · Movie
as Self
Scandal: The Trial of Mary Astor
2018 · Movie
as Narrator (voice)
Seeing is Believing: Women Direct
2017 · Movie
as Self
Truth and Lies: The Family Manson
2017 · Movie
Actresses Turned Producer/Directors
2014 · Movie
Reel Herstory: The Real Story of Reel Women
2014 · Movie
as Self
No image
Tribute To Burgess Meredith
2006 · Movie
as Self (voice)
Gotta Get Off This Merry-Go-Round: 'Valley of the Dolls'
2006 · Movie
as Miriam (archive footage)
Going Shopping
2005 · Movie
as Winnie
The John Garfield Story
2003 · Movie
as Self
Arthur Miller, Elia Kazan and the Blacklist: None Without Sin
2003 · Movie
as Self
Mulholland Drive
2001 · Movie
as Louise
The Amati Girls
2001 · Movie
as Aunt Spendora
Hidden Values: The Movies of the Fifties
2001 · Movie
as Self
The Omen Legacy
2001 · Movie
as Self
Dr. T & the Women
2000 · Movie
as Dr. Harper
Poor Liza
2000 · Movie
as Countess Ekaterina
Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light
2000 · Movie
as Narrator
No image
Confronting the Crisis: Childcare in America
1999 · Movie
as Narrator
No image
Say It, Fight It, Cure It
1997 · Movie
as Narrator/Host
Who Is Henry Jaglom?
1997 · Movie
as Self
The Substance of Fire
1996 · Movie
as Cora Cahn
It's My Party
1996 · Movie
as Amalia Stark
Rod Serling: Submitted for Your Approval
1995 · Movie
as Narrator
Under Heat
1994 · Movie
as Jane
Inside the Actors Studio
1994 · TV Show
as Self
Intimate Portrait
1993 · TV Show
as Self
The Iceman Tapes: Conversations with a Killer
1992 · Movie
as Narrator
Something to Live for: The Alison Gertz Story
1992 · Movie
as Carol Gertz
Citizen Cohn
1992 · Movie
as Dora Cohn
Women on Trial
1992 · Movie
as Narrator
Earth and the American Dream
1992 · Movie
as Reader (voice)
In My Daughter's Name
1992 · Movie
as Maureen Leeds
Defending Your Life
1991 · Movie
as Lena Foster
No image
Sanford Meisner: The American Theatre's Best Kept Secret
1990 · Movie
as Self
She Said No
1990 · Movie
as D.A. Doris Cantore
The Hijacking of the Achille Lauro
1989 · Movie
as Marilyn Klinghoffer
Battered
1989 · Movie
as Narrator
Hello Actors Studio
1988 · Movie
as Self
Calling the Shots
1988 · Movie
as Self
Empty Nest
1988 · TV Show
The Big Town
1987 · Movie
as Ferguson Edwards
Down and Out in America
1986 · Movie
as Narrator (voice)
No image
Wedden, dat..?
1986 · TV Show
as Self
What Sex Am I?
1985 · Movie
as Self
The Ray Bradbury Theater
1985 · TV Show
Mussolini: The Untold Story
1985 · TV Show
as Rachele Mussolini
Teachers
1984 · Movie
as Dr. Donna Burke
A Billion for Boris
1984 · Movie
as Sascha Harris
Will There Really Be a Morning?
1983 · Movie
as Lillian Farmer
When Women Kill
1983 · Movie
as Herself
Visiting Hours
1982 · Movie
as Deborah Ballin
A Crime to Fit the Punishment
1982 · Movie
as Narrator
Plaza Suite
1982 · Movie
as Norma Hubley / Muriel Tate / Karen Nash
Thou Shalt Not Kill
1982 · Movie
as Maxine Lochman
Bare Essence
1982 · TV Show
as Ava Marshall
Charlie Chan and the Curse of the Dragon Queen
1981 · Movie
as Mrs. Sylvia Lupowitz
For Ladies Only
1981 · Movie
as Anne Holt
The Willmar 8
1981 · Movie
as Narrator
The Million Dollar Face
1981 · Movie
as Evalyna
Little Miss Marker
1980 · Movie
as The Judge
Tell Me a Riddle
1980 · Movie
as Flight Attendant (voice)
When You Comin' Back, Red Ryder?
1979 · Movie
as Clarisse Ethridge
You Can't Go Home Again
1979 · Movie
as Esther Jack
Backstairs at the White House
1979 · TV Show
as Grace Coolidge
Damien - Omen II
1978 · Movie
as Ann Thorn
The Swarm
1978 · Movie
as Anne MacGregor
The Mafu Cage
1978 · Movie
as Ellen
The Good Doctor
1978 · Movie
as Various Roles
Airport '77
1977 · Movie
as Karen Wallace
The Spell
1977 · Movie
as Marion Matchett
TVTV Looks at the Oscars
1976 · Movie
as Self
Voyage of the Damned
1976 · Movie
as Lili Rosen
Perilous Voyage
1976 · Movie
as Virginia Monroe
Shampoo
1975 · Movie
as Felicia Karpf
The Seagull
1975 · Movie
as Irina Arkadina
No image
Fay
1975 · TV Show
as Fay Stewart
People's Choice Awards
1975 · TV Show
as Self
The Internecine Project
1974 · Movie
as Jean Robertson
Why Me?
1974 · Movie
as Narrator/Self
Dinah!
1974 · TV Show
as Self
What Are Best Friends For?
1973 · Movie
as Adele Ross
Partners in Crime
1973 · Movie
as Judge Meredith Leland
The American Film Institute Salute to ...
1973 · TV Show
as Self
Lieutenant Schuster's Wife
1972 · Movie
as Ellie Schuster
Portnoy's Complaint
1972 · Movie
as Sophie Portnoy
Ransom for a Dead Man
1972 · Movie
as Leslie Williams
Plaza Suite
1971 · Movie
as Norma Hubley
The Neon Ceiling
1971 · Movie
as Carrie Miller
Great Performances
1971 · TV Show
as Irina Arkadina
No image
Film '72
1971 · TV Show
as Self
There Was a Crooked Man...
1970 · Movie
as Mrs. Bullard
The Landlord
1970 · Movie
as Joyce Enders
Night Slaves
1970 · Movie
as Marjorie Howard
Marooned
1969 · Movie
as Celia Pruett
The Big Bounce
1969 · Movie
as Joanne
Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell
1968 · Movie
as Fritzie Braddock
The Love Song of Barney Kempinski
1968 · Movie
as Laura
The Mod Squad
1968 · TV Show
The Dick Cavett Show
1968 · TV Show
as Self - Guest
The Name of the Game
1968 · TV Show
as Edwina Booker
Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In
1968 · TV Show
as Self
Valley of the Dolls
1967 · Movie
as Miriam Polar
In the Heat of the Night
1967 · Movie
as Mrs. Leslie Colbert
No image
Deadlock
1967 · Movie
as Virginia Cloyd
Divorce American Style
1967 · Movie
as Dede Murphy
Judd, for the Defense
1967 · TV Show
Ironside
1967 · TV Show
as Francesca Kirby
Mission: Impossible
1966 · TV Show
as Susan Buchanan
ABC Stage 67
1966 · TV Show
as Laura, Ruth
The Big Valley
1965 · TV Show
as Rosemary
Pie in the Sky
1964 · Movie
as Suzy
Peyton Place
1964 · TV Show
as Stella Chernak
The Balcony
1963 · Movie
as Carmen
An Affair of the Skin
1963 · Movie
as Katherine McCleod
The Fugitive
1963 · TV Show
as Millie Hallop
No image
Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre
1963 · TV Show
as Virginia Cloyd
No image
Festival
1963 · TV Show
as Lizzie
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson
1962 · TV Show
as Self
Ben Casey
1961 · TV Show
The Defenders
1961 · TV Show
as Norma Burgess, Maria Edwards
The Mike Douglas Show
1961 · TV Show
as Self
Middle of the Night
1959 · Movie
as Marilyn
The World of Sholom Aleichem
1959 · Movie
as The Goatseller / Avenging Angel
Three Plays by Tennessee Williams
1958 · Movie
as Jane (Segment "Moony's Kid Don't Cry")
Tony Awards
1956 · TV Show
as Self - Presenter
Storm Fear
1955 · Movie
as Edna
No image
Playwrights '56
1955 · TV Show
The Oscars
1953 · TV Show
as Self
Detective Story
1951 · Movie
as Shoplifter
Studio One
1948 · TV Show
as Emily Brooks
The Philco Television Playhouse
1948 · TV Show
Crew Credits
Baghdad ER
2006 · Movie
Executive Producer
A Father… A Son… Once Upon a Time in Hollywood
2005 · Movie
Director, Producer
The Golden Girls: Lifetime Intimate Portrait Series
2003 · Movie
Director
No image
The Gun Deadlock
2001 · Movie
Director
The Loretta Claiborne Story
2000 · Movie
Director
Sidney Poitier: One Bright Light
2000 · Movie
Director
No image
Confronting the Crisis: Childcare in America
1999 · Movie
Director, Producer
No image
Intimate Portrait: Lauren Bacall
1999 · Movie
Director
No image
Say It, Fight It, Cure It
1997 · Movie
Director, Producer
Seasons of the Heart
1994 · Movie
Director
Reunion
1994 · Movie
Director
Following Her Heart
1994 · Movie
Director
Intimate Portrait
1993 · TV Show
Director, Writer
Women on Trial
1992 · Movie
Director, Producer
Battered
1989 · Movie
Director, Producer
Staying Together
1989 · Movie
Director
No Place Like Home
1989 · Movie
Director
Nobody's Child
1986 · Movie
Director
Down and Out in America
1986 · Movie
Director
Cindy Eller: A Modern Fairy Tale
1985 · Movie
Director
What Sex Am I?
1985 · Movie
Director
A Matter of Sex
1984 · Movie
Director
When Women Kill
1983 · Movie
Director
American Playhouse
1982 · TV Show
Director
The Willmar 8
1981 · Movie
Writer, Director
Tell Me a Riddle
1980 · Movie
Director
The Stronger
1976 · Movie
Writer, Director
For the Use of the Hall
1975 · Movie
Director
ABC Afterschool Special
1972 · TV Show
Director
