# Betty Buckley

Betty Buckley (born July 3, 1947) is an American actress and singer. Buckley is the winner of a Tony Award, and was nominated for an additional Tony Award, two Daytime Emmy Awards, two Grammy Awards, and an Olivier Award. In 2012, she was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame.
Buckley won the 1983 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for her role as Grizabella in the original Broadway production of Cats. She went on to play Norma Desmond in Sunset Boulevard (1994–96) in both London and New York, receiving a 1995 Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical, and was nominated for the 1997 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for Triumph of Love. Her other Broadway credits include 1776 (1969), Pippin (1973), and The Mystery of Edwin Drood (1985). From September 2018 to August 2019, she starred as the title role in the U.S. national tour of Hello, Dolly.
Buckley starred in the TV series Eight Is Enough from 1977 to 1981 and played gym teacher Miss Collins in the 1976 film Carrie, before going on to star in the short-lived Broadway musical version of Carrie in 1988, playing Carrie White's mother, Margaret. Her other film roles include Dixie Scott in Tender Mercies (1983), Sondra Walker in Frantic (1988), Kathy in Another Woman (1988) and Mrs. Jones in The Happening (2008). She received a Saturn Award nomination for her role as Dr. Karen Fletcher in the 2016 film Split. Her other television credits include series Oz (2001–03), and Preacher (2018).

## Career
### Film and television

A native of Fort Worth, Texas, Buckley is known for the 1977–81 TV dramedy Eight Is Enough. She joined the show in its second season when the original star, Diana Hyland, died after the first four episodes of season one, and her character Joan Bradford died as well. Buckley was cast as the widower's new romantic interest, Sandra Sue "Abby" Abbott, who became stepmother of the eight children to which the series' title refers.
Buckley appeared in the original movie version of Carrie in 1976, playing Miss Collins, Carrie's gym teacher. In 1977, she recorded an uncredited solo on the song "Walking in Space", in the movie Hair.
On television, she received two Daytime Emmy Award nominations for Outstanding Performer in a Children's Program/Special, for NBC Special Treat - Bobby and Sarah (1984) and ABC Afterschool Special - Taking a Stand (1989).
Her screen roles during the 1980s include Bruce Beresford's film Tender Mercies, where she played a country music singer and sang the Academy Award-nominated song "Over You". She also appeared in the Woody Allen film Another Woman (1988), Roman Polanski's Frantic (1988), Lawrence's Kasden's Wyatt Earp (1994).
From 2001 to 2003, she played the role of Suzanne Fitzgerald in seasons 4–6 of the HBO series Oz.
She also has guest-starred in a number of television series, including Without a Trace, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and Monk. She guest-starred in a Christmas special of the TV series Remember WENN, created and written by Rupert Holmes for the cable channel American Movie Classics, in which she sang two Holmes original songs: "Christmas is Waiting", and "You Make It Christmas". She appeared as Marion Leckie, mother of Robert Leckie in the HBO series The Pacific, which aired in 2010.
Also in 2010, she appeared in the 18th episode of Melrose Place as a food critic cast by her brother Norman Buckley, who directed the episode. She also guest-starred in an episode of the Fox series The Chicago Code. She was a recurring guest star on Pretty Little Liars as Regina Marin, also directed by her brother Norman. In 2008, Buckley played Mrs. Jones in M. Night Shyamalan's The Happening. In 2017, Buckley was one of the stars of M. Night Shyamalan's Split, the number-one film at the box office for three weeks.
Her other television credits include guest-starring as Meg's mother in The Leftovers on November 30, 2015, appearing in five episodes of the 2017-2021 series Supergirl. Buckley was also cast in season three of the series Preacher in 2018.

### Stage

Buckley made her Broadway debut in 1969 in the original production of the musical 1776; she has been called "The Voice of Broadway" by New York magazine.
In 1982, Buckley starred as Grizabella in the original Broadway production of the musical Cats, which features the song "Memory". She stayed with the production for 18 months. For this role, she won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical.
Buckley starred in both London (1994) and New York (1995) as Norma Desmond in the musical Sunset Boulevard. For her role in the London production, she received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.
In 1997, she starred as Hesione in the Broadway musical Triumph of Love and received a Tony Award nomination for Best Actress in a Musical.
Buckley sang "Memory" from Cats at the Kennedy Center Honors in December 2006 as part of the tribute to Andrew Lloyd Webber. In 2007, Buckley appeared with Quintessence at Lincoln Center in its Great American Songbook series.
Buckley participated in a reading of the musical Ruthless! in September 2010, playing the role of Sylvia St. Croix/Ruth DelMarco. She then played Mrs. White in the off-Broadway comedy White's Lies from March–May 2010. In 2011, Buckley starred in the Dallas Theater Center production of Arsenic and Old Lace by Joseph Kesselring with Tovah Feldshuh.
In 1988, Buckley starred as Margaret White in Carrie: The Musical.
On January 28, 2013, she was inducted into The American Theater Hall of Fame. From January–March 2013, she starred in the London Premiere of Jerry Herman's Dear World, receiving rave reviews. The musical was directed and choreographed by Gillian Lynne, with whom Buckley had previously worked on Cats.
In September 2013, she starred in the world premiere of Horton Foote's The Old Friends at the Signature Theatre off-Broadway. She repeated her performance in 2014 at Houston's famed Alley Theatre.
In May 2015, it was announced that Buckley would appear as Big Edie in the musical, Grey Gardens at Bay Street Theater in Sag Harbor, NY. The production ran August 4, 2015 through August 30, 2015. She reprised the role from July 13 to August 14, 2016, at the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles.
On February 12, 2018, it was announced that Buckley would portray the title role in the first national tour of the 2017 Broadway revival of Hello, Dolly!, beginning performances in October 2018 in the Connor Palace at Cleveland's Playhouse Square. The cast included Lewis J. Stadlen as Horace Vandergelder, Nic Rouleau as Cornelius, Analisa Leaning as Irene Molloy, Jess LeProtto as Barnaby, Kristen Hahn as Minnie Fay, Colin LeMoine as Ambrose Kemper, Morgan Kirner, as Ermengarde, and Jessica Sheridan as Ernestina. Buckley dedicated the January 15th, 2019 performance in San Diego to Carol Channing following her death. Ms. Buckley finished her leg of the tour in September 2019 and prepared concerts scheduled in early 2020 at the Cafe Carlyle in NYC and other venues.

### Music

Hope, Buckley's 18th solo album, was released on June 8, 2018, and she continues to appear in concert across the U.S. each year. She is also a composer; her first recording contains mostly songs she wrote. She is also featured on many Broadway compilation recordings, and on the original cast recording of 1776; the original Broadway recording of Cats; the London recording of Promises, Promises; Triumph of Love and The Mystery of Edwin Drood.
In 2002, Buckley was nominated for a Grammy Award in the Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album Category, for her album Stars and the Moon: Live at the Donmar, which was recorded at the Donmar Warehouse Theatre in London. This was her second Grammy nomination; she had previously been nominated in 2000, in the Best Spoken Word Album category for The Diaries of Adam and Eve.
Her albums Quintessence and 1967 were released by Playbill Records in February 2008. Quintessence features jazz arrangements of standards by her former collaborator, jazz pianist Kenny Werner; while 1967 is a recording produced by T-Bone Burnett, and made when Buckley was just 19.
Her album Bootleg: Boardmixes From the Road was released in 2010, and her recording of her hit show at Feinstein's at the Regency with pianist/collaborator Christian Jacob, entitled Ah, Men: The Boys of Broadway debuted on 28 August 2012.
Her album Ghostlight was produced by the T Bone Burnett and was released on September 16, 2014.

## Personal life

Buckley was married to Peter Flood in 1972, divorced in 1979, and has no children.
She has received two Honorary Doctorates for her contribution to the Musical Theater from The Boston Conservatory and Marymount Manhattan College.

## Filmography

Film :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1976 | Carrie | Miss Collins | |
| 1983 | Tender Mercies | Dixie | |
| 1987 | Wild Thing | Leah | |
| 1988 | Frantic | Sondra Walker | |
| 1988 | Another Woman | Kathy | |
| 1992 | Rain Without Thunder | Beverly Goldring | |
| 1994 | Last Time Out | Maxine Black | |
| 1994 | Wyatt Earp | Virginia Earp | |
| 1995 | Ride for Your Life | | Short film |
| 1998 | Of Love & Fantasy | Dr. Tania Brandt | Video |
| 1999 | Simply Irresistible | Aunt Stella | |
| 2002 | New World Order | Rose Kross | |
| 2004 | Mummy an' the Armadillo | Let | |
| 2008 | The Happening | Mrs. Jones | |
| 2011 | 5 Time Champion | Fran | |
| 2016 | Split | Dr. Karen Fletcher | |
| 2024 | Imaginary | Gloria | |
| 2025 | By Design | Cynthia | |
Television :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1977 | Ryan's Hope | Divorced Lady | Episode: "1.405" |
| 1977 | The Rubber Gun Squad | Rosie | TV movie |
| 1977–1981 | Eight Is Enough | Sandra Sue 'Abby' Abbott Bradford | 102 episodes |
| 1981 | The Ordeal of Bill Carney | Barbara Slaner | TV movie |
| 1984 | Special Treat | Mrs. Lawson | Episode: "Bobby and Sarah" |
| 1984 | The Three Wishes of Billy Grier | Nancy Grier | TV movie |
| 1985 | Evergreen | Mrs. Bradford | TV miniseries |
| 1987 | Roses Are for the Rich | Ella | TV movie |
| 1987 | Cagney & Lacey | Marci Bruckman | Episode: "You've Come a Long Way, Baby" |
| 1989 | ABC Afterschool Specials | Lillian Robinson | Episode: "Taking a Stand" |
| 1989 | Babycakes | Wanda | TV movie |
| 1991 | L.A. Law | Elisa Chandler | 2 episodes: "Something Old, Something Nude" "TV or Not TV" |
| 1992 | Mathnet | Sally Storm | Episode: "The Case of the Mystery Weekend" |
| 1992 | Bonnie & Clyde: The True Story | Mrs. Parker | TV movie |
| 1992 | Square One TV | Sally Storm | 3 episodes |
| 1993 | Tribeca | Ruth | Episode: "The Rainmaker" |
| 1994 | Betrayal of Trust | Dr. Jan Galanti | TV movie |
| 1996 | Critical Choices | Dr. Margaret Ludlow | TV movie |
| 1996 | Remember WENN | Gloria Redmond | Episode: "Christmas in the Airwaves" |
| 2001–2003 | Oz | Suzanne Fitzgerald | 18 episodes |
| 2003 | Monk | Mrs. Fleming | Episode: "Mr. Monk Goes to the Theater" |
| 2004 | The Jury | Carla Kohler | Episode: "Last Rites" |
| 2005 | Vinegar Hill | Mary Margaret Grier | TV movie |
| 2006 | Brothers & Sisters | Iva March | Episode: "Unaired Pilot" |
| 2006 | Without a Trace | Catherine Ryder | Episode: "Expectations" |
| 2006 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Attorney Walsh | 3 episodes: "Manipulated", "Clock", "Lunacy" |
| 2010 | Melrose Place | Bernadette Reese | Episode: "Sepulveda" |
| 2010 | The Pacific | Marion Leckie | Episode: "Home" |
| 2011 | The Chicago Code | Sister Paul | Episode: "Hog Butcher" |
| 2011 | Pretty Little Liars | Regina Marin | Episode: "I Must Confess" |
| 2013 | Pretty Little Liars | Regina Marin | Episode: "She's Better Now" |
| 2014 | Getting On | Dottie Levy | Episode: "Is Soap A Hazardous Substance?" |
| 2015 | The Leftovers | Jane | Episode: "Ten Thirteen" |
| 2016 | Chicago Med | Olga Barlow | Episode: "Extreme Measures" |
| 2017–2020 | Supergirl | Patricia Arias | 4 episodes |
| 2018 | Preacher | Madame Marie L'Angelle | Season 3 |
| 2021 | Supergirl | Owl (voice) | Episode: "Dream Weaver" |
| 2021–2022 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Trial Division Chief Lorraine Maxwell | Recurring role (seasons 23-24) |
Theatre :
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1969 | 1776 | Martha Jefferson | 46th Street Theatre |
| 1969 | Promises, Promises | Fran Kubelik | Prince of Wales Theatre |
| 1972 | What's A Nice Girl Like You Doing in a State Like This | | Off-broadway |
| 1973 | Pippin | Catherine (replacement) | Imperial Theatre |
| 1980–1981 | I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking it on the Road | Heather | Circle in the Square Theatre Downtown Huntington Hartford Theatre, Los Angeles |
| 1982–1984 | Cats | Grizabella | Winter Garden Theatre |
| 1985 | Song and Dance | Emma (replacement) | Royale Theatre |
| 1985 | Drood | Edwin Drood / Miss Alice Nutting | Shakespeare in the Park Imperial Theatre |
| 1985 | Juno's Swans | | Second Stage Theatre |
| 1988 | Carrie | Margaret White | Virginia Theatre |
| 1992 | The Threepenny Opera | Jenny Diver | Williamstown Theatre Festival |
| 1992 | Gypsy | Mama Rose | Arizona Civic Light Opera |
| 1993 | The Fourth Wall | | Chicago Opera Theatre |
| 1994–1996 | Sunset Boulevard | Norma Desmond (replacement) | Adelphi Theatre Minskoff Theatre |
| 1997 | Triumph of Love | Hesione | Royale Theatre |
| 1998 | Gypsy | Mama Rose | Paper Mill Playhouse |
| 1998 | Camino Real | | Hartford Stage |
| 2003 | Elegies: A Song Cycle | | Lincoln Center |
| 2003 | The Threepenny Opera | Jenny Diver | Williamstown Theatre Festival |
| 2010 | White's Lies | Mrs. White | New World Stages |
| 2011 | Arsenic and Old Lace | Martha Brewster | Dallas Theater Center |
| 2013 | Dear World | Countess Aurelia | Charing Cross Theatre, London |
| 2013–2014 | The Old Friends | Gertrude | Pershing Square Signature Center Alley Theatre, Houston |
| 2015 | Follies | Carlotta Campion | Royal Albert Hall, London |
| 2015–2016 | Grey Gardens | Big Edie | Bay Street Theater, Sag Harbour, New York Ahmanson Theater, Los Angeles |
| 2018–2019 | Hello, Dolly! | Dolly Gallagher Levi | National Tour |

## Discography

Albums :
| Name | Year | Label | Notes |
| Betty Buckley | 1985 | Rizzoli | |
| Children Will Listen | 1993 | Sterling | |
| With One Look | 1994 | Sterling | |
| New Ways to Dream – Songs from Sunset Boulevard | 1994 | Really Useful | |
| The London Concert | 1995 | Sterling | Recorded March 19, 1995 |
| An Evening at Carnegie Hall | 1996 | Sterling | Recorded June 10, 1996 |
| Betty Buckley's Broadway | 1996 | Sterling | Compilation album |
| Much More | 1997 | Sterling | |
| Betty Buckley (15 Year Anniversary Re-Release) | 2000 | KO | |
| Heart to Heart | 2000 | KO | |
| The Doorway | 2001 | Fynsworth Alley | |
| Stars and the Moon – Live at the Donmar | 2001 | Concord | Recorded August 31 and September 1, 2000 |
| 1967 | 2007 | Playbill | Recorded in 1967, released 40 years later |
| Quintessence | 2008 | Playbill | |
| Bootleg: Boardmixes from the Road | 2010 | Practical Magic | |
| Ah, Men! The Boys of Broadway | 2012 | Palmetto | Songs sung by men on Broadway |
| Ghostlight | 2014 | Practical Magic | Produced by T Bone Burnett |
| Story Songs | 2017 | Palmetto |
| Hope | June 8, 2018 | Palmetto | |
Cast recordings :
| Show | Cast | Year | Role |
| 1776 | Original Broadway Cast | 1969 | Martha Jefferson |
| Promises, Promises | Original London Cast | 1969 | Fran Kubelik |
| Hair | Film Soundtrack | 1979 | |
| I'm Getting My Act Together and Taking It on the Road | Off-Broadway Cast | 1980 | Heather |
| Cats | Original Broadway Cast | 1982 | Grizabella |
| The Mystery of Edwin Drood | Original Broadway Cast | 1985 | Edwin Drood / Dick Datchery / Miss Alice Nutting |
| Prom Queens Unchained | Studio Cast | 1997 | |
| The Civil War | Concept Album | 1998 | |
| Triumph of Love | Original Broadway Cast | 1998 | Hesione |
| Elegies, A Song Cycle | Original Off-Broadway Cast | 2003 | |
Other contributions :
| Album | Year | Notes |
| Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall | 1992 | Sings "Children Will Listen" |
| George & Ira Gershwin: A Musical Celebration | 1993 | Sings "How Long Has This Been Going On?" |
| Mathis on Broadway | 2000 | Sings "Children Will Listen" and "Our Children" |
| The Maury Yeston Songbook | 2003 | Sings "I Had a Dream About You" and "Be on Your Own" |
| The Diaries of Adam and Eve, by Mark Twain | ?? | Reads the part of Eve |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 1983 | Tony Award | Best Featured Actress in a Musical | Cats | Won |
| 1983 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Actress in a Musical | Cats | Nominated |
| 1985 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Performer in a Children's Program/Special | NBC Special Treat: Bobby and Sarah | Nominated |
| 1989 | Daytime Emmy Award | Outstanding Performer in a Children's Program/Special | ABC Afterschool Special: Taking a Stand | Nominated |
| 1995 | Olivier Award | Best Actress in a Musical | Sunset Boulevard | Nominated |
| 1998 | Tony Award | Best Actress in a Musical | Triumph of Love | Nominated |
| 1998 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical | Triumph of Love | Nominated |
| 2000 | Grammy Award | Best Spoken Word Album | The Diaries of Adam and Eve | Nominated |
| 2002 | Grammy Award | Best Traditional Pop Vocal Album | Stars and the Moon: Live at the Donmar | Nominated |
| 2014 | Drama Desk Award | Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play | The Old Friends | Nominated |
| 2016 | Fright Meter Awards | Best Actress | Split | Won |
| 2017 | Saturn Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Split | Nominated |

### Honorary awards

* 2004 Legend of Cabaret Award
* 2007 Texas Film Hall of Fame Inductee
* 2012 American Theater Hall of Fame Inductee