# June Squibb

June Louise Squibb (born November 6, 1929) is an American actress. She began her career by making her Broadway debut in the musical Gypsy (1959). Her film debut was in Woody Allen's romantic comedy Alice (1990). She later had supporting roles in the films The Age of Innocence (1993), In & Out (1997), Meet Joe Black (1998), About Schmidt (2002), and Far from Heaven (2002). For her role in Alexander Payne's road film Nebraska (2013), she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.
Squibb starred in her first leading role in the action comedy film Thelma (2024). She also voiced roles in the animated films Ralph Breaks the Internet (2018), Toy Story 4 (2019), Soul (2020), and Inside Out 2 (2024).

## Personal life

Squibb was born in Vandalia, Illinois, on November 6, 1929. Her mother, JoyBelle, was a silent film pianist, her father, Lewis, an insurance agent. Squibb married Edward Sostek in 1953. They divorced in 1959. Squibb married acting teacher Charles Kakatsakis. They have a son, Harry, a filmmaker who directed the short film Admissions. Squibb converted to Judaism in the 1950s. When asked about ageism in show business, she said, "Well, it's like anything else. I always feel, rules are meant to be broken."

## Career
### Early appearances

Squibb worked at The Muny and trained at HB Studio. In 1951, she moved to Cleveland to sing and dance at the Cleveland Play House and starred in productions of Marseilles, The Play's the Thing, Goodbye, My Fancy, The Heiress, Detective Story, Antigone, Ladies in Retirement and Bloomer Girl. In the late 50s, she and her second husband, Charles Kakatsakis, moved to New York City for a career on Broadway. She played Dulcie in the 1958 off-Broadway The Boy Friend and starred in the 1959 Off-Broadway revival of Lend an Ear. She replaced Electra for her Broadway debut in the original production of Gypsy: A Musical Fable. Squibb appeared in the 1968 Broadway version of The Happy Time. The musical was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical. She did modeling work for romance novels, performed on road tours and cruise ships, and worked as Santa Claus’s helper at Christmas in the shopping malls.
In 1985, Squibb received her SAG/AFTRA card after appearing in an episode of CBS Schoolbreak Special. Five years later she made her big screen debut playing a supporting role in the romantic comedy film Alice by Woody Allen. During the 1990s, Squibb also played supporting and minor parts in the films Scent of a Woman (1992), The Age of Innocence (1993), In & Out (1997) and Meet Joe Black (1998). She appeared in the 1995 Broadway play Sacrilege. On television, she had a recurring role in the ABC daytime soap opera All My Children and made guest starring appearances on prime time series, such as Law & Order, ER, Just Shoot Me!, Judging Amy, Two and a Half Men and Curb Your Enthusiasm.
In 2002, Squibb co-starred opposite Jack Nicholson in the comedy-drama film About Schmidt playing his wife. After this role, she appeared in films Far from Heaven (2002), Welcome to Mooseport (2004), and Just Add Water (2008). From 2005 to 2007, she had a recurring role in the CBS crime series Ghost Whisperer, and from 2008 to 2009 played Pearl on the CBS soap opera, The Young and the Restless. She also appeared in the made-for-television films A Stranger's Heart (2007) and Shark Swarm (2008) and guest-starred on The Middle, Castle and Mike & Molly. In 2011, she played Stella Gordon in Dividing the Estate at the Dallas Theater Center and received standout reviews.

### Breakthrough

In 2013, Squibb starred opposite Bruce Dern in the road comedy-drama film Nebraska, directed by Alexander Payne. She received positive reviews for her performance. Film critic Christy Lemire from RogerEbert.com called her a "scene-stealer", while Peter Travers from the Rolling Stone called her "priceless". She received Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress and Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture, as well as being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture, the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role and the Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female among other accolades for the film. Following her big break, Squibb guest-starred on Girls, Glee, Devious Maids, Mom and Getting On. She was inducted into the Cleveland Play House Hall of Fame in 2016.
In 2015, Squibb starred opposite Blythe Danner in the comedy-drama film I'll See You in My Dreams. Later that year, she appeared in the Christmas comedy-drama Love the Coopers. In 2016, she guest-starred on The Big Bang Theory as Sheldon's meemaw. Later that year, she had a recurring role as Etta Teasdale in the Showtime comedy-drama series Shameless. In 2017, she guest-starred alongside Hal Holbrook on Grey's Anatomy. She also appeared in the films Other People (2016), Father Figures (2017), Blow the Man Down (2019), Palm Springs (2020), Hubie Halloween (2020), The Humans (2021) and Family Squares (2022). She played Old Josie in the 2018 Broadway production of Waitress. She had a supporting role in the Disney+ fantasy film Godmothered in 2020. She played Vivian, the grandmother of Eddie Palmer (Justin Timberlake), in Apple TV+ 2021 film Palmer. From 2018 to 2019, she had a recurring role in the NBC crime comedy-drama Good Girls. She also played Mrs. Danforth, a rich benefactor, in "The Indoor Arm", the final episode of the second season of the Apple TV+ series Little America.
In 2024, Squibb had a first leading role in the action comedy film, Thelma. It received positive reviews from critics. Mae Abdulbaki wrote in her Screen Rant review: "June Squibb proves she's still on top of her acting game in an energetic, charming adventure comedy that is actually genuinely funny." That same year, she appeared in the black comedy Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead. Squibb starred in another leading role in Scarlett Johansson's directorial debut film Eleanor the Great.

## Acting credits
### Film

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1990 | Alice | Hilda | |
| 1992 | Scent of a Woman | Mrs. Linda Hunsaker | |
| 1993 | The Age of Innocence | Delores | |
| 1997 | In & Out | Cousin Gretchen | |
| 1998 | Meet Joe Black | Helen | |
| 2002 | About Schmidt | Helen Schmidt | |
| 2002 | Far from Heaven | Bessie | |
| 2004 | Welcome to Mooseport | Irma | |
| 2008 | Just Add Water | Mother Mattie | |
| 2011 | Atlas Shrugged: Part I | Mrs. Ida Hastings | |
| 2011 | The Perfect Family | Mrs. Dawn Punch | |
| 2011 | The Big Year | Doris | |
| 2012 | The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernandez | Irma | |
| 2012 | Would You Rather | Linda | |
| 2013 | Nebraska | Kate Grant | |
| 2015 | I'll See You in My Dreams | Georgina | |
| 2015 | A Country Called Home | Judy | |
| 2015 | Love the Coopers | Aunt Fishy | |
| 2016 | Other People | Ruth-Anne | |
| 2017 | Table 19 | Jo Flanagan | |
| 2017 | Amanda & Jack Go Glamping | Jude | |
| 2017 | Father Figures | Agnes Hunt | |
| 2018 | Summer '03 | Dotty Winkle | |
| 2018 | Ralph Breaks the Internet | Bertha (voice) | |
| 2019 | Blow the Man Down | Susie Gallagher | |
| 2019 | Toy Story 4 | Margaret the Store Owner (voice) | |
| 2020 | Palm Springs | Nana Lena Schlieffen | |
| 2020 | Hubie Halloween | Mrs. Estelle Dubois | |
| 2020 | Soul | Gerel (voice) | |
| 2020 | Godmothered | Agnes | |
| 2021 | Palmer | Vivian Palmer | |
| 2021 | The Humans | Momo | |
| 2022 | Family Squares | Mabel | |
| 2024 | Thelma | Thelma Post | Also executive producer |
| 2024 | Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead | Carly Sturak | |
| 2024 | Inside Out 2 | Nostalgia (voice) | |
| TBA | Lost & Found in Cleveland | Gladys Sokolowski | Completed |
| TBA | Eleanor the Great | Eleanor Morgenstein | Post-production |

### Television

| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 1985 | CBS Schoolbreak Special | Sylvia the Landlady | Episode: "The Day the Senior Class Got Married" |
| 1995; 1999 | Law & Order | Sylvia Sherman / Eileen De Rose | 2 episodes |
| 2001 | Ed | Dr. Bernaman | Episode: "Valentine's Day" |
| 2003–2004 | Judging Amy | Louise Flowers | 5 episodes |
| 2003 | ER | Agnes | Episode: "No Strings Attached" |
| 2003 | Just Shoot Me! | Mrs. Nora Pebbles | Episode: "Son of a Preacher Man" |
| 2005 | House | Ramona | Episode: "Love Hurts" |
| 2005 | The Bernie Mac Show | Sister Rosetta Hamillton | Episode: "Night of Terror" |
| 2005 | Two and a Half Men | Margaret | Episode: "Sleep Tight, Puddin' Pop" |
| 2005 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Mrs. Edie Cone | Episode: "The End" |
| 2005–2007 | Ghost Whisperer | Grandma Mary-Anne | 6 episodes |
| 2006 | 7th Heaven | Ms. Bessie Rusnak | Episode: "Love and Obsession" |
| 2007 | The Bill Engvall Show | Edda | 2 episodes |
| 2007 | A Stranger's Heart | Aunt Cass | Television film |
| 2008 | Cold Case | Annette Hicks | Episode: "Slipping" |
| 2008 | The Office | Michael's mother (Voice role) | Episode: "Customer Survey" |
| 2008 | Shark Swarm | Bess Wilder | Television film |
| 2008–2009 | The Young and the Restless | Pearl | 19 episodes |
| 2011 | Eagleheart | Esther | Episode: "Once in a Wattle" |
| 2012 | Castle | Jamie Isaacson | Episode: "Once Upon a Crime" |
| 2012 | Mike & Molly | Francine | Episode: "The Rehearsal" |
| 2013–2015 | Getting On | Varla Pounder | 3 episodes |
| 2013 | The Millers | Blanche | Episode: "Carol's Parents Are Coming to Town" |
| 2014 | Girls | Grandma Flo | Episode: "Flo" |
| 2014 | Glee | Maggie Banks | Episode: "Old Dog, New Tricks" |
| 2014 | Devious Maids | Velma Mudge | 2 episodes |
| 2015 | The Jack and Triumph Show | June Gregory | 7 episodes |
| 2015 | 7 Days in Hell | Elizabeth II | Television film |
| 2015 | Axe Cop | June Esther (voice) | Episode: "The Ultimate Mate" |
| 2015 | Wander Over Yonder | Stella Starbella (voice) | Episode: "The Loose Screw" |
| 2015 | Mom | Dottie | Episode: "Terrorists and Gingerbread" |
| 2015 | Code Black | Dorothy | Episode: "Buen Árbol" |
| 2016 | The Big Bang Theory | Constance, Sheldon's 'Meemaw' | Episode: "The Meemaw Materialization" |
| 2016 | Shameless | Etta | 7 episodes |
| 2016 | Modern Family | Auntie Alice | 2 episodes |
| 2016 | Dream Corp, LLC | Nora | Episode: "The Smoking Nun" |
| 2016 | Clarence | Rosie Randell (voice) | Episode: "Cloris" |
| 2017 | Bones | Barbara Baker | Episode: "The Final Chapter: The New Tricks in the Old Dogs" |
| 2017 | Grey's Anatomy | Elsie Clatch | Episode: "Til I Hear It From You" |
| 2017 | I'm Sorry | Diane | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2018 | Living Biblically | Mrs. Mary Jean Murphy | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 2018–2019 | Good Girls | Marion Peterson | 7 episodes |
| 2019 | The Good Doctor | Ida Guelph | Episode: "Trampoline" |
| 2019 | Room 104 | Jean | Episode: "Crossroads" |
| 2020 | Solar Opposites | Ruth (voice) | Episode: "The Unstable Grey Hole" |
| 2020 | Little Voice | Mrs. Esther Finch | 5 episodes |
| 2020–2021 | The Fungies! | Granny Tullabett Grancie (voice) | 11 episodes |
| 2021 | No Activity | (voice) | Episode: "40 Days & 40 Nights" |
| 2021–2022 | Little Ellen | Gramsy (voice) | 18 episodes |
| 2022 | Life & Beth | Elena | Episode: "Pancakes" |
| 2022 | Little America | Mrs. Danforth | Episode: "The Indoor Arm" |
| 2024 | Velma | Older Woman (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2024 | American Horror Stories | Grams | Episode: "Leprechaun" |

### Theater

| Year | Title | Role | Venue |
| 1958 | The Boy Friend | Dulcie | Cherry Lane Theatre, Off-Broadway |
| 1959 | Lend an Ear | Ensemble | Renata Theatre, Off-Broadway |
| 1959 | Gypsy | Electra (replacement) | Broadway Theatre, Broadway |
| 1962 | No Shoestrings | Ensemble | Upstairs at the Downstairs, Off-Broadway |
| 1968 | The Happy Time | Felice Bonnard | Broadway Theatre, Broadway |
| 1976 | The Public Good | Ensemble | Playwrights Horizons, Off-Broadway |
| 1978 | Gorey Stories | Mary Rosemarsh | Booth Theatre, Broadway |
| 1995 | Sacrilege | Sister Joseph / Virgilia | Belasco Theatre, Broadway |
| 2011 | Dividing the Estate | Stella | Dallas Theater Center, Regional |
| 2016 | Waitress | Josie (replacement) | Brooks Atkinson Theatre, Broadway |

## Awards and nominations

| Year | Association | Category | Name of Project | Result |
| 2013 | Academy Award | Best Supporting Actress | Nebraska | Nominated |
| 2013 | Critics' Choice Movie Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Nebraska | Nominated |
| 2013 | Independent Spirit Award | Best Supporting Female | Nebraska | Nominated |
| 2013 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture | Nebraska | Nominated |
| 2013 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role | Nebraska | Nominated |
| 2013 | AARP Movies for Grownups Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Nebraska | Nominated |
| 2013 | American Comedy Awards | Best Comedy Supporting Actress - Film | Nebraska | Nominated |
| 2013 | Boston Society of Film Critics | Best Supporting Actress | Nebraska | Won |
| 2013 | Chicago Film Critics Association | Best Supporting Actress | Nebraska | Nominated |
| 2013 | Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association | Best Supporting Actress | Nebraska | Nominated |
| 2013 | Denver Film Critics Society | Best Supporting Actress | Nebraska | Nominated |
| 2013 | Detroit Film Critics Society | Best Supporting Actress | Nebraska | Nominated |
| 2013 | Georgia Film Critics Association | Best Supporting Actress | Nebraska | Nominated |
| 2013 | Houston Film Critics Society Awards | Best Supporting Actress | Nebraska | Nominated |
| 2013 | Indiana Film Journalists Association | Best Supporting Actress | Nebraska | Runner-Up |
| 2013 | Los Angeles Film Critics Association | Best Supporting Actress | Nebraska | Nominated |
| 2013 | London Critics Circle Film Awards | Supporting Actress of the Year | Nebraska | Nominated |
| 2013 | New York Film Critics Circle | Best Supporting Actress | Nebraska | 3rd Runner-Up |
| 2013 | Phoenix Film Critics Society Award | Best Actress in a Supporting Role | Nebraska | Nominated |
| 2013 | Phoenix Film Critics Society Award | Breakthrough Performance on Camera | Nebraska | Nominated |
| 2013 | San Francisco Film Critics Circle | Best Supporting Actress | Nebraska | Nominated |
| 2013 | Satellite Award | Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture | Nebraska | Won |
| 2013 | Santa Barbara International Film Festival | Virtuoso Award | Nebraska | Won |
| 2013 | Seattle Film Critics Society | Best Supporting Actress | Nebraska | Nominated |
| 2013 | St. Louis Film Critics Association | Best Supporting Actress | Nebraska | Nominated |
| 2013 | Toronto Film Critics Association | Best Supporting Actress | Nebraska | Nominated |
| 2013 | Vancouver Film Critics Circle | Best Supporting Actress | Nebraska | Nominated |
| 2013 | Washington D.C. Area Film Critics Association | Best Supporting Actress | Nebraska | Nominated |
| 2014 | Online Film & Television Association | Best Guest Actress in a Comedy Series | Girls | Nominated |
| 2024 | San Diego Film Critics Society Awards | Best Comedic Performance | Thelma | Won |
| 2024 | AARP Movies for Grownups Awards | Best Actress | Thelma | Nominated |
| 2024 | Satellite Awards | Best Actress in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical | Thelma | Nominated |
| 2024 | Saturn Awards | Best Actress in a Film | Thelma | Nominated |
| 2024 | Independent Spirit Awards | Best Lead Performance | Thelma | Nominated |
| 2024 | Alliance of Women Film Journalists | Best Actress | Thelma | Nominated |
| 2024 | Alliance of Women Film Journalists | Best Women's Breakthrough Performance | Thelma | Nominated |
| 2024 | Alliance of Women Film Journalists | Best Stunt Performance | Thelma | Won |