Grant, Lee
GRANT, LEE
GRANT, LEE (Lyova Rosenthal ; 1927– ), U.S. actress. Born in New York, Grant was nominated for an Oscar in her first screen role as the young shoplifter in Detective Story (1951), but soon after was blacklisted because of her refusal to testify against her then-husband, tv/screenwriter Arnold Manoff (aka Joel Carpenter), before the House Un-American Activities Committee. After more than a decade, Grant returned to films and television, winning both an Oscar (Best Supporting Actress, Shampoo, 1975) and Emmy Awards (Peyton Place, 1966 and Neon Ceiling, 1971). Appearing in more than 70 films, she played diverse roles in such motion pictures as Middle of the Night (1959); The Balcony (1963); In the Heat of the Night (1967); Valley of the Dolls (1967); The Landlord (Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, 1970); Plaza Suite (1971); Portnoy's Complaint (1972); Voyage of the Damned (Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress, 1976); Little Miss Marker (1980); Teachers (1984); The Big Town (1987); It's My Party (1996); The Substance of Fire (1996); Under Heat (1996); Dr. T and the Women (2000); Mulholland Drive (2001); and Going Shopping (2005).
She directed the films Tell Me a Riddle (1980); What Sex Am I? (1985); Down and Out in America (Academy Award for Best Documentary, 1986); and Staying Together (1989). In addition to directing several tv movies, such as Nobody's Child (1986) and Seasons of the Heart (1994), from 1998 Grant directed dozens of biographical tv documentaries entitled Intimate Portrait. The subjects of these personal profiles included such figures as Vanessa Redgrave, Gloria *Steinem, Bella *Abzug, Jessica Tandy, Betty *Friedan, Bo Derek – and herself (2001).
In 1983 she received the Congressional Arts Caucus Award for Outstanding Achievement in Acting and Independent Filmmaking; in 1989, Women in Film granted her their first-ever Lifetime Achievement Award.
Grant's daughter, Dinah Manoff, is also an actress (Grease; Ordinary People; I Ought to Be in Pictures; Staying Together; and the tv series Soap; Celebrity; Empty Nest; and State of Grace).
[Jonathan Licht /
Ruth Beloff (2nd ed.)]