Piper Laurie died on October 14 at the age of 91. She had been nominated three times for an Oscar, and was known to the general public for playing the mother in “Carrie at the Devil’s Ball”.
“A magnificent human being and one of the great talents of our time” : it is with his words that Piper Laurie’s agent confirmed to our colleagues at Variety the disappearance of the American actress, who died at the age of 91 in Los Angeles. Unforgettable (and terrifying) in the role of Carrie’s mother, nominated three times for an Oscar, she also distinguished herself, among others, in Twin Peaks or The Faculty.
A stage name determined by contract
Rosetta Jacobs her real name, signed a contract with Universal Studios in 1949, when she was only 18 years old. It was this contract that fixed her stage name at “Piper Laurie”. She began her career at 18 in Louise then The Milkman and got her first big break in the comedy Francis at the Races (1951), the second part of the adventures of Francis, the talking mule.
Then followed a shower of leading female roles, often for “exotic” characters like Princess Azura from The Son of Ali-Baba, Angelique Dureau in The Gentleman of Louisiana, Tina from The Thief of Tangier or Khairuzan from The Legend of the magic sword. Her last film for the studio was Kelly and Me (1956), before she met Paul Newman.
Piper Laurie in “No Room For The Groom” (1952) Zuma Press / Bestimage
A career relaunched with “Carrie”
She filmed Guilty Women (1957) with him, then found him again on The Arnaqueur in 1961, which earned her an Oscar nomination for Best Actress for her alcoholic character. From 1955 to 1966, she appeared on television and performed in theater. We will not see her again on screen before the film which marks her big comeback: Carrie at the Devil’s Ballreleased in 1976.
Piper plays Margaret White, Carrie’s mother, a religious extremist. His performance earned him another Oscar nomination, this time for Best Supporting Actor. His career is relaunched. She obtained the first roles in Ruby, a horror film by Curtis Harrington and in the melodrama Tim with Mel Gibson.
She played Lady Macbeth (1981) and Mae West’s mother (1982) before obtaining her third and final Oscar nomination, for her supporting role in Children of Silence (1988), where she played Mae West’s mother. a deaf child.
Piper Laurie in “Carrie” in 1976
Splendor Films
One last role in 2018
During the decades 1990 – 2000, she made a series of appearances in TV films, series and at the cinema, but no longer reached the top of the bill. We see her in turn in Larry the Liquidator, Trauma, Two Funny Birds or The Faculty.
Piper Laurie then plays Ernest Borgnine suffering from dementia and wanting to end it in Another Harvest Moon (2010). We find her in the horror genre in Bad Blood (2012) then, after an appearance in the series MacGyver for one episode, she plays the mother of Matthew McConaughey’s character in Undercover: a true story, which will be her last role on the screen.