Ruth Gordon

Alumna of the AADA (American Academy of Dramatic Arts), Class of 1914.

When Ruth Gordon convinced her father, a sea captain, to let her pursue acting she came to New York and studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts. She acted in a few silents made at Fort Lee, New Jersey, in 1915. She made her Broadway debut in "Peter Pan" as Nibs the same year.

Twice married, she gave birth to her only child at age 32, to a son, Jones Harris on October 16, 1929. The child's father was Jed Harris, to whom she was not married. Her only grandchild was Jack Gwynne Emmet Harris (b. March 17, 1972).

The next 20 years she spent on stage, even appearing at the Old Vic in London in the successful run of "The Country Wife" in 1936. Nearly 25 years after her film debut, she returned to movies briefly.

Her most memorable role during this period in the early 1940s was as Mary Todd in Abe Lincoln in Illinois (1940). She left Hollywood to return to theater.

Back in New York, she married Garson Kanin in 1942 (her first husband Gregory Kelly, a stage actor, died in 1927). She began writing plays, and, later, her husband and she collaborated on screenplays for Katharine Hepburn and Spencer Tracy, whose screen relationship was modeled on their own marriage.

A character based on Gordon was portrayed by Jean Simmons in the movie The Actress (1953).

Was nominated for Broadway's 1956 Tony Award as Best Actress (Dramatic) for portraying Dolly Levi in Thornton Wilder's "The Matchmaker."

She returned to film acting during the 1960s.

Was excited about returning to films after 22 years with a role in "The Loved One" in 1965 and looked forward to having a movie career despite her advanced age. When her role was cut from the final release print, it was a major disappointment, but she persevered and won an Oscar three years later for "Rosemary's Baby.".

It is during this last period of her career that she became a movie star, with memorable roles in Rosemary's Baby (1968) and Harold and Maude (1971).

Was the 65th actress to receive an Academy Award: she won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for Rosemary's Baby (1968) at The 41st Annual Academy Awards (1969) on April 14, 1969.

She wrote several books during the mid-1970s and appeared on TV.

Was a close friend of actor Bud Cort, with whom she costarred in Harold and Maude (1971).

Had one grandson; Jack Gwynne Emmet Harris (b. March 17, 1972).

Biography in "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives, Volume One: 1981-1985," pp. 330-332. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998.

There is a 2009 biography of the lives and careers of the Kanin family (Garson Kanin, Ruth [Gordon], Michael Kanin and Fay Kanin): "A Family Affair - The Kanins in Hollywood and on Broadway," written by Josh Kanin (her nephew by marriage) and Wayne Lindholm.