Frances Fisher

Posted July 24, 201113 yr

Frances Fisher (born 11 May 1952) is a British actress. She is known for her roles as Strawberry Alice, the madame prostitute in Unforgiven (1992), directed by Clint Eastwood; and Ruth DeWitt Bukater, the mother of Kate Winslet's character in Titanic (1997); directed by James Cameron. Both films won the Academy Award for Best Picture.

Early life and education

Fisher was born in Milford on Sea, Hampshire, England, the daughter of Olga, a homemaker, and William I. "Bill" Fisher, Sr., an oil refinery construction superintendent. Before she reached the age of fifteen, she had moved nine times because of her father's job. Upon completing high school in Orange, Texas, she worked as a secretary, until she moved to Virginia to perform at the Barter Theatre.

Career

Fisher first made a name for herself playing Detective Deborah Saxon on the soap opera The Edge of Night from 1976 to 1981; she later was in the cast of Guiding Light as Suzette Saxon. She then spent the next 10 years working on stage in New York and in regional theatres all over the East Coast. Fisher was cast as Lucille Ball in the television film Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter, which aired to strong ratings and good reviews in 1991.

Fisher has played numerous roles on American television, including parts in the series Strange Luck, Becker, and Titus. She also played a key role in the recent television drama The Lyon's Den and Glory Days. She was the producers' first choice to play Jill Taylor on the ABC sitcom Home Improvement, but was replaced by Patricia Richardson due to a lack of chemistry with Tim Allen. Fisher has guest starred as a bartender, Suzanna, at "The Lobo" in the first season of Roseanne. However, her most famous role has been that of society matron Ruth DeWitt Bukater, the mother of Rose DeWitt Bukater (played by Kate Winslet), in the 1997 blockbuster film Titanic.

In 1999, Fisher portrayed Audrey Hepburn's mother, Ella Hepburn, in the biographical film of the actress's life. She has appeared in two other Academy Awarded films, House of Sand and Fog and Unforgiven. Her numerous theatre credits make up the bulk of her resume: Most recently, she appeared in the last play written by Arthur Miller, Finishing the Picture at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, and The Cherry Orchard, at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in 2006.

Fisher worked on four films in 2006, including Peter Berg's The Kingdom, and Paul Haggis' In the Valley of Elah, in addition to a pilot for NBC/USA entitled To Love and Die. In 2008, she appeared in a guest-starring role on the Sci-Fi Channel television series Eureka, portraying the character of Eva Thorne. In 2011, she wil appear in Torchwood: Miracle Day.

Personal life

Fisher has a daughter, Francesca Ruth Fisher-Eastwood, with actor Clint Eastwood. She and Eastwood had fallen in love during the filming of "Unforgiven". She served on the national board of directors of the Screen Actors Guild.

Filmography

This filmography is currently incomplete.

1976: The Edge of Night (1976–1981)

1983: Can She Bake a Cherry Pie?

1985: Guiding Light

1988: Patty Hearst

1989: Pink Cadillac

1990: Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael

1991: L.A. Story

1991: Lucy & Desi: Before the Laughter (TV movie)

1992: Unforgiven

1993: Law & Order (TV series)