Anne Bancroft

Anne Bancroft was born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano on September 17, 1931, in New York, New York. She was an American actress of Caucasian ethnicity, and her career spanned over five decades, from 1951 to 2005. Standing 5'6" with a slim build and natural 32B bust, she appeared in numerous films and stage productions, earning critical acclaim and numerous awards.

Bancroft studied method acting under Lee Strasberg at the Actors Studio. Her film debut came in the noir thriller Don't Bother to Knock in 1952. She made her Broadway debut in 1958 with Two for the Seesaw, winning a Tony Award. The following year, she portrayed Anne Sullivan in The Miracle Worker on Broadway, winning another Tony. Her film career was revived with the 1962 adaptation of The Miracle Worker, for which she won an Academy Award for Best Actress. She received Oscar nominations for The Pumpkin Eater (1964), The Graduate (1967), The Turning Point (1977), and Agnes of God (1985).

She continued acting into her later years, with roles in The Elephant Man (1980), To Be or Not to Be (1983), and Torch Song Trilogy (1988). She won a Primetime Emmy for Deep in My Heart (1999). Bancroft was married to Mel Brooks, and they had a son, author Max Brooks. She died on June 6, 2005, at age 73, from uterine cancer.