"Anna Maria Louisa Italiano, known professionally as Anne Bancroft, was an American actress, director, screenwriter and singer associated with the method acting school, having studied under Lee Strasberg. Respected for her acting prowess and versatility, Bancroft was acknowledged for her work in film, theater and television. She won one Academy Award, three BAFTA Awards, two Golden Globes, two Tony Awards, and two Emmy Awards and several other awards and nominations."[1]
"After her film debut in Don't Bother to Knock (1952) and a string of supporting film roles during the 1950s, Bancroft won an Academy Award for Best Actress for her lead role in The Miracle Worker (1962) as the teacher of young Helen Keller, reprising her role from the 1959 Broadway stage play in which she had won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play. On Broadway in 1965, she played a medieval nun obsessed with a priest (Jason Robards) in John Whiting's play The Devils, based on the Aldous Huxley novel The Devils of Loudun. Bancroft was perhaps best known as seductress Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate (1967), a role that she later said had come to overshadow her other work." [1]
"Bancroft received several other Oscar nominations and continued in lead roles until the late 1980s; notable film roles during this time include The Turning Point (1977) and Agnes of God (1985)."[1]
Anna Maria Louisa Italiano was born 17 September 1931 in The Bronx, New York, the daughter of Michael Italiano and Mildred Di Napoli. She had two sisters, Joan and Phyllis.[2] Anne graduated from the American Academy of Dramatic Arts in Manhattan. At the start of her career she used the name Anne Marno; however, later, after being told this name sounded too ethnic, she adopted the professional name of Anne Bancroft.
She was married twice. Her first husband was Martin Alexander May[3], an attorney, whom she married 1 July 1953 in Riverside, California.[4] They separated in 1955 and divorced two years later in 1957.
Her second husband was Mel Brooks, who turned out to be the love her life. He later said that after their first date, they were connected like glue. They were married August 5, 1964 in Manhattan at New York City Hall. [5]Their son, Max, was born in 1972, and Anne and Mel were together for 40 years until her death.
Anne died 6 June 2005 at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York after suffering uterine cancer. She was 73.[6] Her remains were buried at Forest Lawn Cemetery in the Hollywood Hills, Los Angeles.[7][8]
Have you taken a DNA test? If so, login to add it. If not, see our friends at Ancestry DNA.
Anne is 37 degrees from Zendaya Coleman, 39 degrees from Sting Sumner, 29 degrees from Josh Brolin, 31 degrees from Timothée Chalamet, 28 degrees from José Ferrer, 29 degrees from Frank Herbert, 29 degrees from Richard Jordan, 34 degrees from David Lynch, 31 degrees from Virginia Madsen, 33 degrees from Charlotte Rampling, 40 degrees from Patrick Stewart and 29 degrees from Denis Villeneuve on our single family tree. Login to find your connection.
I > Italiano | B > Bancroft > Anne Maria Louisa (Italiano) Bancroft
Categories: Famous Actors of the 20th Century | Directors | Screenwriters | Singers | Academy Award Winners of the 20th Century | Golden Globe Winners of the 20th Century | Emmy Award Winners of the 20th Century | Tony Award Winners of the 20th Century | Hollywood Walk of Fame | Screen Actors Guild Award Winners of the 20th Century | BAFTA Award Winners of the 20th Century | American Theater Hall of Fame | Notables | Italian Roots
Hi! If a profile displays a project box, the corresponding project must be a manager. See Project: Italy & Template: Italy Project#Notes for more information.
edited by Liz (Noland) Shifflett