Bonnie Bedelia

Bonnie Bedelia, born Bonnie Bedelia Culkin on March 25, 1948, in New York City, is an American actress whose career has spanned theatre, film, and television across more than five decades. Her father, Philip Harley Culkin, worked in public relations, and her mother, Marian Ethel Culkin, was a writer and editor. Bedelia grew up during a financially difficult period after her father's firm went bankrupt, and the family lived in a cold-water tenement flat. Her mother died when Bedelia was 14, after which her father spent a year hospitalized. She has two brothers, one of whom is actor Kit Culkin, and an older sister, Candice Culkin. Through Kit Culkin, she is the aunt of actors Macaulay, Kieran, and Rory Culkin.

In her youth, Bedelia trained in dance at the School of American Ballet and later received acting training at HB Studio. Before focusing on acting, she studied ballet and performed in productions with the New York City Ballet, including The Nutcracker. Her only onscreen dancing role came in 1958, when she played Clara in a Playhouse 90 television production of the George Balanchine Nutcracker. Beginning in 1961, she joined the cast of the CBS daytime soap opera Love of Life, portraying the character Sandy Porter in a run that lasted until 1967.

Bedelia's Broadway career ran from 1962 to 1966 and included three productions: Isle of Children, The Playroom, and My Sweet Charlie. She made her Broadway debut in 1962 in Isle of Children, in which she appeared alongside Patty Duke. Her performance in My Sweet Charlie earned her a Theatre World Award in 1967. Her film career began with The Gypsy Moths in 1969, and later that same year she drew significant attention for her portrayal of a pregnant marathon dancer in They Shoot Horses, Don't They? She followed that with a role in the comedy Lovers and Other Strangers in 1970.

Among her most recognized film roles, Bedelia starred as drag racer Shirley Muldowney in Heart Like a Wheel in 1983, a performance that earned her a Golden Globe nomination. She played Holly Gennero McClane, the wife of Bruce Willis's character, in Die Hard in 1988 and reprised the role in Die Hard 2 in 1990. That same year she appeared opposite Harrison Ford in Presumed Innocent, playing Barbara Sabich. Bedelia also appeared in two Stephen King adaptations, Salem's Lot in 1979 and Needful Things in 1993, as well as in The Prince of Pennsylvania and Sordid Lives.

On television, Bedelia earned two Emmy Award nominations, one for her work in the Showtime anthology series Fallen Angels in 1993 and another for her leading role in the made-for-television film Locked in Silence in 1999. From 2001 to 2004, she starred as Captain Kate McCafferty in the Lifetime drama series The Division. She later guest-starred on Big Love and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and appeared alongside Rue McClanahan and Olivia Newton-John in the 2008 sitcom Sordid Lives: The Series. From 2010 to 2015, Bedelia starred as family matriarch Camille Braverman in the NBC drama series Parenthood. In 2017, she appeared in season two of the ABC series Designated Survivor, and in 2019 she guest starred on the Netflix series What/If.

Bedelia married screenwriter Ken Luber on April 24, 1969. The couple had two sons, Uri, born in 1970, and Jonah, born in 1976, before divorcing in 1980. She married actor Michael MacRae in 1995.