Shelley Winters

American actress

Also known as: Shirley Schrift

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Mar 21, 2025 • Article History

Quick Facts

Original name:: Shirley Schrift

Born:: August 18, 1920, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.

Died:: January 14, 2006, Beverly Hills, California, U.S. (aged 83)

Awards And Honors:: Academy Award (1966); Academy Award (1960); Academy Award (1966): Actress in a Supporting Role; Academy Award (1960): Actress in a Supporting Role; Emmy Award (1964): Outstanding Single Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role; Golden Globe Award (1973): Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture

Married To:: Gerry DeFord (married 2006); Anthony Franciosa (1957–1960); Mack Paul Mayer (1942–1948); Vittorio Gassman (1952–1954)

Movies/Tv Shows (Acted In):: "A Place in the Sun" (1951); "I Am a Camera" (1955); "Play of the Week" (1960); "Stepping Out" (1991); "Playgirl" (1954); "Diamonds" (1975); "Déjà Vu" (1985); "Susie Steps Out" (1946); "Chico and the Man" (1975); "Touch of a Stranger" (1990); "A Double Life" (1947); "Alcoa Premiere" (1962); "Kojak" (1978); "The Three Sisters" (1966); "Backfire!" (1995); "Whoever Slew Auntie Roo?" (1971); "Bob Hope Presents the Chrysler Theatre" (1964–1967); "Next Stop, Greenwich Village" (1976); "Stridulum" (1979); "My Man and I" (1952); "Purple People Eater" (1988); "Johnny Stool Pigeon" (1949); "The Greatest Story Ever Told" (1965); "Schlitz Playhouse of Stars" (1957); "Something to Hide" (1972); "How Do I Love Thee?" (1970); "Journey Into Fear" (1975); "Take One False Step" (1949); "Kraft Television Theatre" (1957); "The Scalphunters" (1968); "City on Fire" (1979); "The Love Boat" (1982); "To Dorothy, a Son" (1954); "Sailor's Holiday" (1944); "Gideon" (1998); "Mrs. Munck" (1995); "The Great Gatsby" (1949); "The Young Savages" (1961); "Lolita" (1962); "Producers' Showcase" (1955); "Flap" (1970); "Meet Danny Wilson" (1952); "I Died a Thousand Times" (1955); "Let No Man Write My Epitaph" (1960); "Hawaiian Heat" (1984); "Mambo" (1954); "Larceny" (1948); "Il silenzio dei prosciutti" (1994); "A Patch of Blue" (1965); "The Raging Tide" (1951); "Tennessee Champ" (1954); "The Chapman Report" (1962); "La bomba" (1999); "An Unremarkable Life" (1989); "Harper" (1966); "The United States Steel Hour" (1957); "He Ran All the Way" (1951); "Alfie" (1966); "Bloody Mama" (1970); "Un borghese piccolo piccolo" (1977); "Armchair Theatre" (1967); "King of the Gypsies" (1978); "Over the Brooklyn Bridge" (1984); "The Ford Television Theatre" (1954); "Odds Against Tomorrow" (1959); "The Night of the Hunter" (1955); "Arthur? Arthur!" (1969); "Raging Angels" (1995); "Winchester '73" (1950); "La dahlia scarlatta" (1976); "Heavy" (1995); "McCloud" (1974); "The Magician of Lublin" (1979); "Behave Yourself!" (1951); "Climax!" (1954–1957); "That Lucky Touch" (1975); "The French Atlantic Affair" (1979); "S.O.B." (1981); "Buona Sera, Mrs. Campbell" (1968); "Saskatchewan" (1954); "South Sea Sinner" (1950); "Le locataire" (1976); "That's Life" (1968–1969); "The Mad Room" (1969); "Frenchie" (1950); "ITV Saturday Night Theatre" (1972); "Tentacoli" (1977); "The Poseidon Adventure" (1972); "Cry of the City" (1948); "The Big Knife" (1955); "Blume in Love" (1973); "What's the Matter with Helen?" (1971); "Knickerbocker Holiday" (1944); "Witchfire" (1986); "Looping" (1981); "Poor Pretty Eddie" (1975); "Untamed Frontier" (1952); "Wives and Lovers" (1963); "The Pickle" (1993); "Mimì Bluette... fiore del mio giardino" (1976); "Fanny Hill" (1983); "Batman" (1966); "The DuPont Show of the Month" (1957); "The Delta Force" (1986); "Hotel" (1984); "Wild in the Streets" (1968); "Cleopatra Jones" (1973); "A House Is Not a Home" (1964); "Pete's Dragon" (1977); "The Portrait of a Lady" (1996); "The Diary of Anne Frank" (1959); "Wagon Train" (1957); "Thirty-Minute Theatre" (1965); "Vega$" (1979); "Phone Call from a Stranger" (1952); "The Balcony" (1963); "Gran bollito" (1979); "Ellie" (1984); "Gli indifferenti" (1964); "Ben Casey" (1964); "The Alcoa Hour" (1957); "Executive Suite" (1954); "Very Close Quarters" (1986); "Here's Lucy" (1968); "The Treasure of Pancho Villa" (1955); "Enter Laughing" (1967); "Roseanne" (1991–1996); "Jury Duty" (1995)

See all related content

Shelley Winters (born August 18, 1920, St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.—died January 14, 2006, Beverly Hills, California, U.S.) was an American actor who had a career that spanned more than half a century, well over 100 films, and a variety of colourful characters. She won two best supporting actress Academy Awards, for The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) and A Patch of Blue (1965), and received nominations as best actress for A Place in the Sun (1951) and supporting actress for The Poseidon Adventure (1972).

Winters got her big break with the role of a murder victim in A Double Life (1947). Notable films that followed included Cry of the City (1948), Meet Danny Wilson (1952), and The Night of the Hunter (1955). Winters then returned to New York City, where she joined the Actors Studio and starred in A Hatful of Rain on Broadway. She thereafter split her time between stage, motion picture, and television appearances.

Making the transition from glamorous roles to more matronly character parts, Winters added to her credits such films as Lolita (1962), Harper (1966), Alfie (1966), Bloody Mama (1970), and Next Stop, Greenwich Village (1976). Besides appearing in numerous TV films and series, including several episodes of Roseanne in the 1990s as the title character’s grandmother, Winters was a favourite guest on talk shows, where she regaled audiences with sometimes bawdy stories of her life and loves in show business. Winters also published two autobiographies, Shelley: Also Known as Shirley (1980) and Shelley II: The Middle of My Century (1989).

Empty movie theater and blank screen (theatre, motion pictures, cinema).

Britannica Quiz

Oscar-Worthy Movie Trivia

The Editors of Encyclopaedia BritannicaThis article was most recently revised and updated by Encyclopaedia Britannica.