# Bonnie Bedelia

Bonnie Bedelia (born Bonnie Bedelia Culkin; March 25, 1948) is an American actress. After beginning her career in theatre in the 1960s, Bedelia starred in the CBS daytime soap opera Love of Life and made her film debut in The Gypsy Moths. Bedelia subsequently appeared in the films They Shoot Horses, Don't They?, Lovers and Other Strangers, Heart Like a Wheel, The Prince of Pennsylvania, Die Hard, Presumed Innocent, Sordid Lives, and Needful Things.
For her television work, Bedelia has earned two Emmy Awards nominations. From 2001 to 2004, Bedelia played the lead role in the Lifetime television drama series The Division. She also starred as family matriarch Camille Braverman in the NBC family drama series Parenthood (2010–15).

## Early life

Bedelia was born in New York City, the daughter of Marian Ethel (née Wagner), a writer and editor, and Philip Harley Culkin, who was in public relations and 50 years old at the time. She was born in a difficult financial period when her father's firm went bankrupt, and they lived in a cold-water tenement flat. Her mother died when she was 14, and her father, who always had ulcers, spent a year in hospital following her death. She has two brothers, one of whom is actor Kit Culkin, and a sister, Candice Culkin. She is the aunt of actors Macaulay, Kieran, and Rory Culkin.
Bedelia studied dance in her youth, at School of American Ballet. She received her acting training at HB Studio.

## Career

Before becoming an actress, Bedelia studied ballet and appeared in a few productions with the New York City Ballet, including The Nutcracker. Her only dancing role onscreen was that of Clara in the Playhouse 90 television production of the George Balanchine Nutcracker (1958). From 1961 to 1967, Bedelia was a regular on the CBS soap opera Love of Life, portraying Sandy Porter. She also worked on Broadway, where she debuted supporting Patty Duke in 1962, in Isle of Children, and won a Theatre World Award for playing the lead of in My Sweet Charlie, in 1966.
Bedelia made her film debut in The Gypsy Moths in 1969; later that year she attracted attention as the pregnant marathon dancer in They Shoot Horses, Don't They? She starred in the comedy Lovers and Other Strangers (1970), had dramatic roles in The Strange Vengeance of Rosalie (1972), Bonanza (1972), and Between Friends (1973), and appeared opposite Richard Dreyfuss in the comedy The Big Fix (1978). On television she played the leading role in the short-lived ABC drama series, The New Land (1974).
In 1984, Bedelia received critical acclaim and was nominated for a Golden Globe for her starring role in Heart Like a Wheel (1983), as drag racer Shirley Muldowney. Other well-known performances include her portrayals of Holly Gennero McClane, the wife of Bruce Willis's character John McClane in Die Hard (1988) and Die Hard 2 (1990), and of Barbara Sabich, the wife of Harrison Ford's character in Presumed Innocent (1990).
Bedelia appeared in two Stephen King screen adaptations: Salem's Lot (1979) and Needful Things (1993). She was nominated for Emmy Awards for her performance in the Showtime anthology series Fallen Angels (1993) and for the leading role in the made-for-television movie Locked in Silence (1999). She played a number of leading roles in television films and miniseries, such as Switched at Birth, A Mother's Right: The Elizabeth Morgan Story, Her Costly Affair, and Picnic. From 2001 to 2004, Bedelia starred as Capt. Kate McCafferty in the Lifetime television drama series The Division. She later guest-starred in Big Love and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and starred opposite Rue McClanahan and Olivia Newton-John in the 2008 sitcom Sordid Lives: The Series.
Bedelia starred in the NBC drama series Parenthood (2010–15) as the family matriarch, Camille Braverman.
In 2017, she appeared in season 2 of the ABC crime drama series Designated Survivor, and in two Hallmark movies. In 2019, she guest starred on the Netflix series What/If.

## Personal life

Bedelia married scriptwriter Ken Luber on April 24, 1969. The couple had two sons, Uri (b. 1970) and Jonah (b. 1976), before divorcing in 1980. She wed actor Michael MacRae in 1995.

## Filmography
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1969 | The Gypsy Moths | Annie Burke | |
| 1969 | They Shoot Horses, Don't They? | Ruby Bates | |
| 1970 | Lovers and Other Strangers | Susan Henderson | |
| 1972 | In Pursuit of Treasure | | |
| 1972 | The Strange Vengeance of Rosalie | Rosalie | |
| 1973 | Between Friends | Ellie | |
| 1978 | The Big Fix | Suzanne | |
| 1983 | Heart Like a Wheel | Shirley Muldowney | |
| 1986 | Death of an Angel | Deacon Grace McKenzie | |
| 1986 | Violets Are Blue | Ruth Squires | |
| 1986 | The Boy Who Could Fly | Charlene Michaelson | |
| 1987 | Like Father Like Son | Lady with Gum in Hair | |
| 1987 | The Stranger | Alice Kildee | |
| 1988 | The Prince of Pennsylvania | Pam Marshetta | |
| 1988 | Die Hard | Holly Gennaro McClane | |
| 1989 | Fat Man and Little Boy | Kitty Oppenheimer | |
| 1990 | Die Hard 2 | Holly Gennaro McClane | |
| 1990 | Presumed Innocent | Barbara Sabich | |
| 1993 | Needful Things | Polly Chalmers | |
| 1994 | Speechless | Annette | |
| 1994 | Judicial Consent | Gwen Warwick | |
| 1997 | Bad Manners | Nancy Westlund | |
| 1999 | Gloria | Brenda | |
| 1999 | Anywhere But Here | Carol | |
| 2000 | Sordid Lives | Latrelle Williamson | |
| 2003 | Manhood | Alice | |
| 2005 | Berkeley | Hawkins | |
| 2013 | Munchausen | Mother | Short film |
| 2016 | Broken Links | Melanie | |
| 2017 | A Very Sordid Wedding | Latrelle Williamson | |
| 2017 | The Scent of Rain and Lightning | Annabelle | |
| 2019 | A Stone in the Water | Martha | |
| 2021 | Violet | Aunt Helen | |
| 2022 | The Noel Diary | Ellie Foster | |
| 2023 | The Hill | Gram | |

### Television films

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1968 | The High Chaperral | Tina Granger | |
| 1969 | Then Came Bronson | Temple Brooks | Television Pilot (NBC) |
| 1972 | Sandcastles | Jenna Hampshire | Television film (NBC) |
| 1973 | A Time for Love | Kitty | Television film (CBS) |
| 1973 | Message to My Daughter | Janet Thatcher | Television film (NBC) |
| 1974 | Heatwave! | Laura Taylor | Television film (ABC) |
| 1978 | A Question of Love | Joan Saltzman | Television film (ABC) |
| 1979 | Walking Through the Fire | Dr. Rand | Television film (CBS) |
| 1979 | Salem's Lot | Susan Norton | Miniseries (CBS) |
| 1980 | Tourist | Mandy Burke | Television film |
| 1980 | Fighting Back: The Rocky Bleier Story | Aleta | Television film (ABC) |
| 1982 | Million Dollar Infield | Marcia Miller | Television film (CBS) |
| 1983 | Memorial Day | Cass | Television film (CBS) |
| 1985 | The Lady from Yesterday | Janet Weston | Television film (CBS) |
| 1986 | Alex: The Life of a Child | Carole Deford | Television film (ABC) |
| 1987 | When the Time Comes | Liddy Travis | Television film (ABC) |
| 1990 | Somebody Has to Shoot the Picture | Hannah McGrath | Television film (HBO) |
| 1991 | Switched at Birth | Regina Twigg | Television film (NBC) |
| 1992 | A Mother's Right: The Elizabeth Morgan Story | Elizabeth Morgan | Television film (ABC) |
| 1993 | The Fire Next Time | Suzanne Morgan | Television film (CBS) |
| 1995 | Legacy of Sin: The William Coit Story | Jill Coit | Television film (Fox) |
| 1995 | Shadow of a Doubt | Robin Harwell | Television film (NBC) |
| 1996 | Homecoming | Eunice Logan | Television film (Showtime) |
| 1996 | A Season in Purgatory | Valerie Sabbath | Miniseries (CBS) |
| 1996 | Her Costly Affair | Dr. Diane Weston | Television film (NBC) |
| 1997 | Any Mother's Son | Dorothy Hajdys | Television film (Lifetime) |
| 1998 | To Live Again | Iris Sayer | Television film (CBS) |
| 1999 | Locked in Silence | Lydia | Television film (Hallmark) |
| 2000 | Flowers for Algernon | Rose | Television film (CBS) |
| 2000 | Picnic | Flo Owens | Television film (CBS) |
| 2017 | A Joyous Christmas | Joy | Television film (Hallmark) |
| 2017 | Christmas on the Coast | Ellie Cassadine | Television film (Hallmark) |
| 2022 | The Noel Diary | Ellie Foster | Netflix film |

### Television series

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1958 | Playhouse 90 | Clara | Episode: "The Nutcracker" |
| 1961–1967 | Love of Life | Sandy Porter | Series regular |
| 1964 | East Side/West Side | Linda Stuart | Episode: "The $5.98 Dress" |
| 1968 | Judd, for the Defense | Ellie | Episode: "The Death Farm" |
| 1968 | The High Chaparral | Tina Granger | Episode: "The Deceivers" |
| 1969 | Then Came Bronson | Temple Brooks | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1969, 1972 | Bonanza | Laurie Mansfield /Alice Harper | Episodes: "The Unwanted" and "Forever" |
| 1973 | Hawkins | Edith Dayton-Thomas | Episode: "Death and the Maiden" |
| 1973 | Love Story | Alice Hartman | Episode: "Love Came Laughing" |
| 1974 | The New Land | Anna Larsen | Series regular, 13 episodes |
| 1993 | Fallen Angels | Sally Creighton | Episode: "The Quiet Room" |
| 1996 | The Outer Limits | Nancy McDonald | Episode: "Worlds Apart" |
| 2001–2004 | The Division | Capt. Kate McCafferty | Series regular, 88 episodes |
| 2007 | Big Love | Virginia "Ginger" Heffman | Episode: "Good Guys and Bad Guys" |
| 2008 | CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | DDA Madeline Klein | Episode: "Grissom's Divine Comedy" |
| 2008 | Sordid Lives: The Series | Latrelle Williamson | Series regular, 12 episodes |
| 2010–2015 | Parenthood | Camille Braverman | Series regular, 103 episodes |
| 2017 | Designated Survivor | Eva Booker | 5 episodes |
| 2019 | What/If | Margaret Denner | Episode: "What Secrets" |
| 2021 | Panic | Anne McCarthy | 8 episodes |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Award | Category | Work | Result |
| 1967 | Theatre World Award | Theatre World Award | My Sweet Charlie | Won |
| 1984 | Golden Globe Award | Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama | Heart Like a Wheel | Nominated |
| 1989 | Independent Spirit Awards | Best Supporting Female | The Prince of Pennsylvania | Nominated |
| 1994 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series | Fallen Angels | Nominated |
| 1997 | CableACE Award | Outstanding Actress in a Movie or Miniseries | Any Mother's Son | Nominated |
| 1999 | Lone Star Film & Television Awards | Best TV Actress | To Live Again | Won |
| 2000 | Emmy Award | Outstanding Actress in a Movie or Miniseries | Locked in Silence | Nominated |
| 2012 | Ojai Film Festival | Lifetime Achievement Award | | Won |
| 2017 | FilmOut Festival Award | Best Actress | A Very Sordid Wedding | Won |