Louise Fletcher

Estelle Louise Fletcher (July 22, 1934 – September 23, 2022) was an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her portrayal of the antagonist Nurse Ratched in the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), which earned her numerous accolades, including the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress.

Fletcher had a recurring role as the Bajoran religious leader Kai Winn Adami in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999). She was nominated for two Emmy Awards for her roles in the television series Picket Fences (1996) and Joan of Arcadia (2004). Her final role was as Rosie in the Netflix series Girlboss (2017).

Early life

Estelle Louise Fletcher was born on July 22, 1934, in Birmingham, Alabama,<ref>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref> the second of four children of Estelle (Template:Nee Caldwell)<ref name="LAT19920829">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> and the Reverend Robert Capers Fletcher, an Episcopal missionary from Arab, Alabama. Her parents were deaf and worked with the deaf/hard-of-hearing,<ref name=nurse/><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> but Fletcher and her siblings, Roberta, John,<ref>John "Caldwell" Fletcher obituary, Legacy.Com</ref> and Georgianna,<ref name="nytimes" /> were all hearing normally,<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> so the children were sent in turns to live with Estelle's hearing sister in Texas for three months at a time to ensure they learned spoken English.<ref name=nurse>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Fletcher's father founded more than 40 churches for the deaf in Alabama.<ref name="nytimes">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She received a bachelor's degree in drama from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill in 1957.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Career

File:James Garner Louise Fletcher Maverick 1959.JPG

James Garner and Fletcher in Maverick (1959)

Fletcher began appearing in several television series including Lawman (1958) and Maverick (1959). (The Maverick episode "The Saga of Waco Williams" with James Garner was the series's highest-rated episode.)<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Also in 1959, she appeared in an episode of the original Untouchables TV series starring Robert Stack, "Ma Barker and Her Boys", as Elouise.<ref name="BFI1959">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Fletcher recalled having greater success being cast in Westerns due to her height:

I was Template:Convert tall, and no television producer thought a tall woman could be sexually attractive to anybody. I was able to get jobs on westerns because the actors were even taller than I was.{{#if:|{{#if:|}}

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In 1960, Fletcher made two guest appearances on Perry Mason, as defendant Gladys Doyle in "The Case of the Mythical Monkeys", and as Susan Connolly in "The Case of the Larcenous Lady". In the summer of 1960, she was cast as Roberta McConnell in the episode "The Bounty Hunter" of Tate, starring David McLean.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1974, Fletcher returned to film in the crime drama Thieves Like Us, co-produced by her husband Jerry Bick and Robert Altman, who also directed. When the two had a falling out on Altman's next project (Nashville (1975), Altman decided to cast Lily Tomlin for the role of Linnea Reese, initially created for and by Fletcher. Meanwhile, director Miloš Forman saw Fletcher in Thieves and cast her as McMurphy's nemesis Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975).<ref name="nurse" /> She based her performance of the character on the paternalistic way she saw white people treat black people in her native Alabama.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Fletcher gained international recognition and fame for the role, winning the Academy Award for Best Actress, as well as a BAFTA Award and Golden Globe. She was only the third actress ever to win an Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Golden Globe Award for a single performance, after Audrey Hepburn and Liza Minnelli. When Fletcher accepted her Oscar, she used sign language to thank her parents.<ref name="fleeting">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref name="LAT19920829" />

After Cuckoo's Nest, Fletcher had mixed success in film. She made several financially and critically successful films, while others were box-office failures. Fletcher's film roles were in such features as Exorcist II: The Heretic (1977), The Cheap Detective (1978), The Lady in Red (1979), The Magician of Lublin (1979), Brainstorm (1983), Firestarter (1984), Invaders From Mars (1986), Flowers in the Attic (1987), Two Moon Junction (1988), Best of the Best (1989), Blue Steel (1990), Virtuosity (1995), High School High (1996), and Cruel Intentions (1999), as the aunt of Ryan Phillippe's Sebastian. Additionally, she played the character Ruth Shorter, a supporting role, in Aurora Borealis (2005), alongside Joshua Jackson and Donald Sutherland, and appeared in the Fox Faith film The Last Sin Eater (2007).<ref name="BFI filmography" />

Fletcher co-starred in TV movies such as The Karen Carpenter Story (1989) (as Karen and Richard Carpenter's mother, Agnes), Nightmare on the 13th Floor (1990), The Haunting of Seacliff Inn (1994), and The Stepford Husbands (1996). From 1993 to 1999, she held a recurring role in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as the scheming Bajoran religious leader Kai Winn Adami.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> She also earned Emmy Award nominations for her guest roles on Picket Fences (1996), and later on Joan of Arcadia (2004).<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> In 2009, Fletcher appeared in Heroes as the physician mother of character Emma Coolidge. In 2011 and 2012, she appeared on four episodes of Shameless as Grammy Gallagher, Frank Gallagher's foul-mouthed and hard-living mother, who is serving a prison sentence for manslaughter related to a meth lab explosion. She portrayed the recurring role of Rosie on the series Girlboss (2017).<ref name="deadline" />

Personal life

File:Louise Fletcher 2014.jpg

Fletcher in 2014

Fletcher married producer Jerry Bick, divorcing in 1977.<ref name="fleeting" /> The couple had two sons, John Dashiell Bick and Andrew Wilson Bick.<ref name="variety">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> Fletcher took an 11-year break from acting to raise them.<ref name="fleeting"/>

Fletcher received an honorary degree from Gallaudet University in 1982.<ref name="gallaudet">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Fletcher died at her home in Montdurausse, France, on September 23, 2022, at the age of 88.<ref name="deadline">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Template:Tooltip
1963	A Gathering of Eagles	Mrs. Kemler		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1974	Thieves Like Us	Mattie		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1975	Russian Roulette	Midge		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest	Nurse Ratched		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1977	Exorcist II: The Heretic	Dr. Gene Tuskin		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1978	The Cheap Detective	Marlene DuChard		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1979	The Lady in Red	Anna Sage		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	The Magician of Lublin	Emilia		citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Natural Enemies	Miriam Steward		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1980	The Lucky Star	Loes Bakker		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	Mama Dracula	Mama Dracula		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1981	Strange Behavior	Barbara Moorehead		<ref name="TCM Filmography" />
	Be Pretty and Shut Up	Herself	Documentary	<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1982	Talk to Me	Richard's Mother		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1983	Strange Invaders	Mrs. Benjamin		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	Brainstorm	Lilian Reynolds		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1984	Firestarter	Norma Manders		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	Once Upon a Time in America	Cemetery Directress	Extended cut only	<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	Overnight Sensation	Evie Peregrine aka "E.K. Hamilton"	Short	<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1986	Invaders from Mars	Mrs. McKeltch		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	The Boy Who Could Fly	Dr. Grenader		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	Nobody's Fool	Pearl		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1987	Flowers in the Attic	Grandmother		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1988	Two Moon Junction	Belle Delongpre		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1989	Best of the Best	Mrs. Grady		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1990	Shadowzone	Dr. Erhardt		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	Blue Steel	Shirley Turner		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1992	The Player	Louise Fletcher		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	Blind Vision	Miss Taylor		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1994
	Giorgino	Innkeeper		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	Tryst	Maggie		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	Tollbooth	Lillian		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1995	Return to Two Moon Junction	Belle Delongpre		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	Virtuosity	Elizabeth Deane		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1996	Mulholland Falls	Esther	Uncredited	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	Edie & Pen	Judge		<ref name="TCM Filmography" />
	Frankenstein and Me	Mrs. Perdue		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	2 Days in the Valley	Evelyn		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	High School High	Principal Evelyn Doyle		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1997	Gone Fishin'	Restaurant Owner	Uncredited	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
	The Girl Gets Moe	Gloria		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1998	Johnny 316	Sally's Mother		<ref name="TCM Filmography" />
	Love Kills	Alena Heiss		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1999	Cruel Intentions	Helen Rosemond		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	A Map of the World	Nellie Goodwin		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	The Contract	Grandma Collins		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
2000	Big Eden	Grace Cornwell		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	Very Mean Men	Katherine Mulroney		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	More Dogs Than Bones	Iva Doll		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
2001	After Image	Aunt Cora		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	Touched by a Killer	Judge Erica Robertson		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
2002	Manna from Heaven	Mother Superior		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
2003	Silver Man	Val		<ref name="TCM Filmography" />
	Finding Home	Esther		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
2004	Clipping Adam	Grammy		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
2005	Aurora Borealis	Ruth Shorter		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	Dancing in Twilight	Evelyn		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
2006	Fat Rose and Squeaky	Bonnie		<ref name="TCM Filmography" />
2007	The Last Sin Eater	Miz Elda		<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	A Dennis the Menace Christmas	Mrs. Martha Wilson		<ref name="TCM Filmography" />
2010	The Genesis Code	Ellen Taylor		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
2011	Cassadaga	Claire		<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
2013	A Perfect Man	Abbie	filmed in 2000	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
2020	Grizzly II: Revenge	Eileene Draygon	filmed in 1983	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes	Template:Tooltip
1958	Flight	unknown role	"Red China Rescue"	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
	Playhouse 90	Pete's Girl	2 episodes	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Bat Masterson	Sarah Lou Conant	"Cheyenne Club"	<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	Yancy Derringer	Miss Nellie / Alithea	"Old Dixie"	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
1959	Lawman	Betty Horgan	"The Encounter"	<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	Maverick	Kathy Bent	"The Saga of Waco Williams"	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	77 Sunset Strip	Julia Murphy	"A Bargain in Tombs"	<ref name="deadline" />
	The Untouchables	Eloise	"Ma Barker and Her Boys"	<ref name="BFI1959" /><ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	Alcoa Presents: One Step Beyond	Jeannie	"The Open Window" (broadcast Nov. 3., US)	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	Markham	Ellen Amery	"Strange Visitor"	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1959–60	Wagon Train	Elizabeth / Martha English	2 episodes	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
1960	The Millionaire	Holly	"Millionaire Vance Ludlow"	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
	Sugarfoot	Julie Frazer	"Funeral at Forty Mile"	<ref name="deadline" />
	Tate	Mrs. McConnell	"The Bounty Hunter"	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
	Perry Mason	Susan Connolly / Gladys Doyle	2 episodes	<ref name="TVG Filmography" /><ref name="deadline" />
1961	The Best of the Post	unknown role	"Groper in the Dark"	<ref name=EBfacts>Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>
	The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp	Aithra McLowery	"The Law Must Be Fair"	<ref name="deadline" />
1973	Medical Center	unknown role	"Child of Violence"	<ref name=Dagan>Template:Cite news</ref>
1974	Can Ellen Be Saved?	Bea Lindsey	TV movie	<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1978	Thou Shalt Not Commit Adultery	Sally Kimball	TV movie	<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1984	Islands	Maureen Davis	TV movie	<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1985	A Summer to Remember	Dr. Dolly McKeever	TV movie	<ref name="TCM Filmography" />
1986	Last Waltz on a Tightrope	Cynthia Diamond	TV movie	<ref name="TCM Filmography"/><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>
	Second Serve	Dr. Sadie M. Bishop	TV movie	<ref name="TCM Filmography" />
1987	J. Edgar Hoover	Annie M. Hoover	TV movie	<ref name="TCM Filmography" />
1988	Worlds Beyond	Karen Earl	"Home"	<ref name=EBfacts/>
	The Twilight Zone	Dr. Cline	"The Hunters"	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
1989	The Karen Carpenter Story	Agnes Carpenter	TV movie	<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	Final Notice	Mrs. Lord	TV movie	<ref name="TCM Filmography" />
1990	In the Heat of the Night	Catherine Tyler	"December Days"	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	Nightmare on the 13th Floor	Letti Gordon	TV movie	<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1991	The Hitchhiker	Mother Birch	"Offspring"	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	Tales from the Crypt	Agent	"Top Billing"	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	In a Child's Name	Jean Taylor	Miniseries (2 episodes)	<ref name="TCM Filmography" />
1992	The Boys of Twilight	Genelva McPherson / Genelva	4 episodes	<ref name="BFI filmography" /><ref name="TCM life events"/>
	The Ray Bradbury Theater	Miss Weldon	"The Dead Man"	<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/>
	Civil Wars	Judge Francis Wyler	"The Triumph of DeVille"	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
1993	The Fire Next Time	Sarge	Miniseries	<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1993–99	Star Trek: Deep Space Nine	Kai Winn / Vedek Winn	recurring role (14 episodes)	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
1994	The Haunting of Seacliff Inn	Dorothy O'Hara	TV movie	<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	Someone Else's Child	Faye Maddox	TV movie	<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1995	Dream On	Joanna	"Try Not to Remember"	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
1995–97	VR.5	Mrs. Nora Bloom	recurring role (6 episodes)	<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1996	Picket Fences	Christine Bey	2 episodes	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	The Stepford Husbands	Miriam Benton	TV movie	<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1997	Sins of the Mind	D. Anna Bingham	TV movie	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	Married to a Stranger	Nana, Megan's Mother	TV movie	<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	Heartless	Aunt Lydia McGuffy	TV movie	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	Breast Men	Mrs. Saunders	TV movie	<ref name="BFI filmography" />
1998	Profiler	Miriam Newquay, Jack's Mother	2 episodes	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	The Practice	Judge N. Swanson	"Rhyme and Reason"	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	Fantasy Island	Doris Leeman	"Dying to Dance"	<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/>
	Brimstone	Evelyn McNabb	"Encore"	<ref name="Rotten Tomatoes"/>
1999	The Devil's Arithmetic	Aunt Eva	TV movie	<ref name="BFI filmography" />
	Time Served	Warden Mildred Reinecke	TV movie	<ref name="BFI filmography" />
2003	A Time to Remember	Billy Calhoun	TV movie	<ref name="BFI filmography" />
2004	It's All Relative	ER Nurse	"Oscar Interrupts"	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	Joan of Arcadia	Eva Garrison	"Do the Math"	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	Wonderfalls	Vivian Caldwell	"Barrel Bear"	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
2005	7th Heaven	Mrs. Wagner	"Honor Thy Mother"	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
	ER	Roberta "Birdie" Chadwin	2 episodes	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
2006	A Dad for Christmas	Glennie	TV movie	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
2009	Heroes	Dr. Coolidge	2 episodes	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
2010–11	Private Practice	Frances Wilder	2 episodes	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
2011–12	Shameless	Peg Gallagher	(4 episodes)	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
2012	Of Two Minds	Aunt Will	TV movie	<ref name="TVG Filmography" />
2017	Girlboss	Rosie	2 episodes	<ref name="deadline" />

Accolades

Association	Year	Category	Nominated Work	Results	Template:Tooltip
AARP Movies for Grownups Awards	2007	Best Grownup Love Story (shared with Donald Sutherland)	Aurora Borealis	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Academy Awards	1975	Best Actress	One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest	Template:Won	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
BAFTA Awards	1977	Best Actress in a Leading Role		Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
CinEuphoria Awards	2020	Career — Honorary Award	Template:N/A	Template:Won	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Genie Awards	1981	Best Performance by a Foreign Actress	The Lucky Star	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Gold Derby Awards	2012	Drama Guest Actress	Shameless	Template:Nom	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Golden Globes	1976	Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture — Drama	One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest	Template:Won	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Golden Raspberry Awards	1987	Worst Supporting Actress	Invaders from Mars	Template:Nom	<ref name="TCM Filmography" />
Online Film & Television Association	1997	Best Guest Actress in a Syndicated Series	Star Trek: Deep Space Nine	Template:Won	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
		Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series		Template:Won
	1998	Best Guest Actress in a Syndicated Series		Template:Won	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	1999	Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series		Template:Nom	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
		Best Guest Actress in a Syndicated Series		Template:Won
	2012	Best Guest Actress in a Drama Series	Shameless	Template:Won	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Palm Beach International Film Festival	2005	Legend in Film Award	Template:N/A	Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>
Primetime Emmy Awards	1996	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (for episode "Bye Bye, Bey Bey")	Picket Fences	Template:Nom	<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	2004	Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (for episode "Do the Math")	Joan of Arcadia	Template:Nom
Satellite Awards
	2016	Mary Pickford Award	Template:N/A	Template:Won	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
Saturn Awards	1984	Best Actress	Brainstorm	Template:Won	citation	CitationClass=web }}</ref>
	1988	Best Supporting Actress	Flowers in the Attic	Template:Nom	<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

External links

• [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if:

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• Template:TCMDb name
• Template:Rotten Tomatoes
• [{{fullurl:MemoryAlpha:Template:Trim}} Louise Fletcher] at Memory Alpha