Mercedes Ruehl Biography

Mercedes J. Ruehl (born February 28, 1948) is an American theater, television, and film actress. She won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress in 1992 for The Fisher King.

Personal life

Ruehl was born in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York City, the daughter of Mercedes J. Ruehl, a school teacher, and Vincent Ruehl, an FBI agent. She was raised Catholic. Her father was of German and Irish descent and her mother was of Cuban and Irish ancestry. Ruehl attended College of New Rochelle and graduated in 1969. She is married to painter David Geiser, with whom she adopted a son, Jake (born 1997). She had another son, Christopher, whom she placed in adoption in 1976; he later became Jake's godfather.

Her brother, Peter Ruehl, moved to Australia, where he became a popular newspaper columnist.

Career

Ruehl began her career in regional theatre with the Denver Center Theatre Company, taking odd jobs between engagements. Her first starring role on Broadway came in 1984's I'm Not Rappaport. She then went on to win the 1984 Obie Award for her performance in The Marriage of Bette and Boo and twenty years later, an Obie for Woman Before a Glass. She also received a 1991 Tony Award as Best Actress (Play) for Neil Simon's Lost in Yonkers. Her performances in two other plays earned her two other Tony nominations: in 1995, as Best Actress (Featured Role " Play) for a revival of The Shadow Box; and in 2002, as Best Actress (Play) for Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who is Sylvia?.

Her most acclaimed film role was in The Fisher King; her performance in the film earned her the 1991 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress as well as an American Comedy Award, a Boston Society of Film Critics Award, a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award, and a Golden Globe. Earlier she had won the 1989 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in Married to the Mob. She played KACL station manager Kate Costas in five episodes of Frasier, and had a major role in the made-for-TV film All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story. She is the first Cuban American female Academy Award winner. In 2005, she (along with Esai Morales) received the Rita Moreno HOLA Award for Excellence from the Hispanic Organization of Latin actresses. She also played the mother of main character Vincent Chase in HBO's Entourage.

In 2008, Ruehl returned to the Broadway stage in Manhattan Theater Club's production of Richard Greenberg's The American Plan playing the role of Eva Adler. The production opened at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre and the limited engagement ran until March 22, 2009. In his rave review in The New York Times, Ben Brantley called Ruehl's performance "masterly". Ruehl next appeared in the drama/horror film What Ever Happened to Barker Daniels?, which was released in 2009. Ruehl is currently starring in Sarah Treem's play The How and The Why, directed by Emily Mann at McCarter Theater.

Music

Though not a singer herself, Ruehl was involved in the production of the album Haunted by Poe; she also reads passages from the book House of Leaves by Poe's brother Mark Z. Danielewski on the CD Don't be Scared, issued to cross-promote both projects.

Work

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Other notes
1976	Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands	American girl in casino
1979	The Warriors	Policewoman in Central Park
1981	Four Friends	Woman in Taxi
1986	Twisted	Cybelle
	Heartburn	Eve
1987	Leader of the Band	Miss Cooper
	Radio Days	Ad Men
	84 Charing Cross Road	Kay
	The Secret of My Success	Sheila
1988	Big	Mrs. Baskin
	Married to the Mob	Connie Russo	National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress
1989	Slaves of New York	Samantha
	Crimes and Misdemeanors	Party Guest	uncredited
1990	Crazy People	Dr. Liz Baylor
1991	Another You	Elaine
	The Fisher King	Anne Napolitano	Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Pasinetti Award for Best Actress (Venice Film Festival) Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
1993	Lost in Yonkers	Bella Kurnitz
	Last Action Hero	Irene Madigan
1994	On Hope	Wendy
1995	Indictment: The McMartin Trial	Lael Rubin
1997	For Roseanna	Roseanna 'Rosa'
1999	The Minus Man	Jane Durwin
	Out of the Cold	Tina
2000	Spooky House	Boss
	What's Cooking?	Elizabeth 'Lizzy' Avila
	More Dogs Than Bones	Victoria 'Vic' Galletti
	The Amati Girls	Grace
2004	Zeyda and the Hitman	Esther
2007	A Happy Death	Aunt Rosa
2009	Loving Leah	Janice Lever

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1984	Mom's on Strike	Sandy
1985	Our Family Honor	Louise Taylor	Episode: "Homecoming"
1986	Kate & Allie	Millie	Episode: "Late Bloomer"
1990	'	Bernadette Foley	Episode: "The Moves"
1995	Indictment: The McMartin Trial	Lael Rubin	Nominated "? CableACE Award for Actress in a Movie or Miniseries
1995"1996	Frasier	Kate Costas	5 episodes
1997	SUBWAY Stories: Tales from the Underground	Leyla	Segment: "Underground"
	North Shore Fish	Florence
1998	Gia	Kathleen Carangi
2000	All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story	Jane Newhall
	'	Rebecca	Hallmark Hall of Fame
2001	Mr. Life
2002	Guilt by Association	Susan Walker
	Widows	Dolly Rawlins	Miniseries
2004	1-800-Missing	Emanuelle Baker	Episode: "These Dreams Before Me"
	Bad Apple	Lorraine Gibbons
	Law & Order	Zina Rybakov	Episode: "All in the Family"
2005	Mom at Sixteen	Terry Jeffries	Nominated "? Prism Award Performance in a TV Movie or Miniseries
2006	Entourage	Rita Chase	Episodes: "Aquamom" and "Return To Queens Blvd"
	A Girl Like Me: The Gwen Araujo Story	Sylvia Guerrero	Nominated "? Imagen Award for Best Actress - Television
2007	Psych	Detective Goochberg	Episode: "Scary Sherry: Bianca's Toast"
2009	Law & Order	Judge Clara Lloyd	Episode: "By Perjury"