Anne Bancroft Biography

Birthday: 1931-09-17
Place of Birth: The Bronx, New York
Height: 5' 6½" (1.69 m)
Wiki Biography: Anna Maria Italiano was born in the Bronx, New York. She was the second of three daughters born to Michael Italiano (1906-2001) and Mildred DiNapoli (1908-2010).
After changing her name to Anne Bancroft, she made her cinema debut in 1952's Don't Bother to Knock (1952). Over the next five years, she appeared in a lot of forgettable movies as a supporting actress. Then, in 1957 she left the film industry and was offscreen until 1962, when she played Annie Sullivan in The Miracle Worker (1962), for which she won an Oscar. Despite her Oscar win, Bancroft was not given the kinds of parts that created big screen stardom. She worked only occasionally during the next 30 years, but did give great performances as a lead actress in The Pumpkin Eater (1964), Young Winston (1972), The Prisoner of Second Avenue (1975), To Be or Not to Be (1983), and 84 Charing Cross Road (1987).
The most famous role of her career was a supporting role, as Mrs. Robinson in The Graduate (1967). Her status as the "older woman" in the film is iconic, although in real life Bancroft was just 35 and only five years older than costar Dustin Hoffman, who at age 30 played a 20 year old being seduced by a woman more than twice his age. Bancroft would later express her frustration over the fact that the film overshadowed her other work.
By the nineties, her transition to full-time supporting actress in feature films was complete. She appeared in such movies as Point of No Return (1993), G.I. Jane (1997), Great Expectations (1998), and Keeping the Faith (2000), but television provided Bancroft with larger and often meatier roles. She starred in seven made-for-TV films during her later years, all of which earned her major award nominations, including an Emmy win for Deep in My Heart (1999) (TV).
Sadly, on June 6, 2005, Anne Bancroft died at age 73 of uterine cancer. Her death surprised many, as she had not released any details of her illness to the public. Among her survivors was her mother Mildred, her husband of forty years (Mel Brooks), and her only child (Max Brooks) who was born in 1972. Her final film, the animated feature Delgo (2008), was released posthumously in 2008 and dedicated to her memory.
Anne BancroftPhotos & Pictures






Filmography
TV Title | Appeared As | Year | Genre |
---|---|---|---|
New York Confidential | 1955 | Crime | |
Alcoa Hour | 1955 | Drama | |
The Last Frontier | 1955 | History | |
Jesus of Nazareth | Mary Magdalene | 1977 | Drama |
Freddie and Max | 1990 | Comedy | |
Home For The Holidays | Adele Larson | 1995 | Comedy |
Miracle Workers | Annie Sullivan | 2006 | Drama |
Movies Title | Appeared As | Year | Genre |
---|---|---|---|
Great Expectations | Ms. Dinsmoor | 1946 | Biography |
Don't Bother to Knock | Lyn Leslie | 1952 | |
Gorilla at Large | 1954 | ||
Demetrius and the Gladiators | 1954 | Action, Drama, History | |
New York Confidential | 1955 | Crime, Drama | |
The Last Frontier | 1956 | History | |
The Miracle Worker | Annie Sullivan | 1962 | |
The Pumpkin Eater | 1964 | ||
The Graduate | Mrs. Robinson | 1967 | Comedy, Drama, Romance |
Young Winston | Lady Jennie Churchill | 1972 | 0, 0 |
The Prisoner of Second Avenue | 1975 | Comedy | |
The Hindenburg | 1975 | Adventure, Drama, History | |
Lipstick | Carla Bondi | 1976 | 0 |
The Turning Point | 1977 | 0 | |
Jesus of Nazareth | Mary Magdalene | 1977 | Drama, History |
The Elephant Man | Mrs. Kendal | 1980 | Drama, History |
Garbo Talks | 1984 | Comedy, Drama | |
Agnes of God | Mother Miriam Ruth | 1985 | Drama, Mystery, Thriller |
84 Charing Cross Road | Helene Hanff | 1987 | Drama, Romance |
Nightfall | Marie Gardner | 1988 | Game Show |
Torch Song Trilogy | 1988 | Comedy, Drama, Romance | |
Bert Rigby, You're a Fool | Meredith Perlestein | 1989 | |
Honeymoon in Vegas | 1992 | Comedy, Romance, Thriller | |
Love Potion No. 9 | Madame Ruth | 1992 | Comedy, Fantasy, Romance |
Mr. Jones | 1993 | 0 | |
Point of No Return | 1995 | ||
How to Make an American Quilt | 1995 | Comedy, Drama, Romance | |
Home for the Holidays | Adele Larson | 1995 | Comedy, Drama, Romance |
The Sunchaser | 1996 | Drama | |
G.I. Jane | Lillian DeHaven | 1997 | Action, Drama |
Critical Care | Nun | 1997 | Comedy, Drama |
Antz | Queen | 1998 | 0, 0, Drama |
Keeping the Faith | Ruth Schram | 2000 | Comedy, Drama, Romance |
Up at the Villa | Princess San Ferdinando | 2000 | Drama, Romance |
Heartbreakers | Gloria Vogal | 2001 | Comedy, Crime, Romance |
The Heart Breaker | Gloria Vogal | 2001 | Comedy, Crime, Romance |
The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone | Contessa | 2003 | |
The Roman Spring of Mrs Stone | Contessa | 2003 | Drama |
Delgo | Sedessa | 2008 | 0, 0, Drama, 0, Sport |
Homecoming | 2009 | Reality Tv |