The death of Piper Laurie, Carrie’s mother, at the Devil’s Ball

“A great man and one of the greatest talents of our time” : It was in his words that Piper Lau’s agent confirmed to our colleagues variety The disappearance of an American actress who died at the age of 91 in Los Angeles. Unforgettable (and terrifying) in the role of Carrie’s mother, nominated for an Oscar three times, she also excelled in, among others, Twin Peaks or The Faculty.

Contractual stage name

Rosetta Jacobs His real name signed a contract with Universal Studios in 1949 when he was just 18 years old. It was this contract that fixed her stage name “Piper Laurie”. He began his career at age 18 in Louise, then The Milkman, and got his first big break in comedy in Francis’ Race (1951), the second installment in The Adventures of Francis the Talking Mule.

Then followed a shower of leading female roles, often for “exotic” characters such as Princess Azura from Ali Baba’s Son, Angelique Dureau in A Gentleman of Louisiana, Tina from Thief of Tangiers or Khairuzan from Legend of the Magic Sword. Her last film for the studio was Kelly and Me (1956) before she met Paul Newman.

Career resumed with “Cher”

He made Guilty Women with her (1957), then found her again in The Arnaqueur in 1961, which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her alcoholic character. From 1955 to 1966, he appeared on television and acted in theater. We won’t see him on screen again until the film marks his big comeback: Kerry on the Devil’s BallReleased in 1976.

Piper plays Margaret White, Carrie’s mother, a religious extremist. His performance earned him another Academy Award nomination, this time for Best Supporting Actor. His career is renewed. He got his first roles in Ruby, a Curtis Harington horror film, and Timmy, a melodrama with Mel Gibson.

She played Lady Macbeth (1981) and Mae West’s mother (1982) before earning her third and final Academy Award nomination for her supporting role in Children of Silence (1988), where she played Mae West’s mother, a deaf child.

Last role in 2018

During the 1990s and 2000s, he made several appearances in TV movies, TV series, and movies, but never again reached the top. We see him in turn in Larry the Liquidator, Trauma, Two Merry Birds or Faculty.

Piper Laurie then plays Ernest Borgnine, who suffers from dementia and wants to end it in Another Harvest Moon (2010). We find her in the horror film Bad Blood (2012), then, after appearing in one episode of MacGyver, she plays the mother of Matthew McConaughey’s character in Undercover: The True Story, which will be her last screen role. .