Mary Beth Hurt

Mary Beth Hurt, born Mary Beth Supinger on September 25, 1946, in Marshalltown, Iowa, is an American actress whose career has spanned stage and screen over several decades. She is the daughter of Delores Lenore (née Andre) and Forrest Clayton Supinger. Among the notable figures from her hometown was actress Jean Seberg, who served as Hurt's childhood babysitter. Hurt pursued formal training in drama at the University of Iowa and subsequently at New York University's Graduate Acting Program at the Tisch School of the Arts.

Hurt made her New York stage debut in 1974, launching a Broadway career that extended through 2011. Her theatrical work earned her three Tony Award nominations: one for Trelawny of the Wells, a Best Featured Actress in a Play nomination in 1982 for Crimes of the Heart, and a Best Actress in a Play nomination in 1986 for Benefactors. Additional Broadway credits include The Misanthrope, The House of Blue Leaves, Top Girls, and A Delicate Balance. Her performance in Crimes of the Heart also brought her a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Actress in a Play and an Obie Award. Earlier in her career, she received a Clarence Derwent Award in 1975 for Best Supporting Female for her work in the Off-Broadway production of Love for Love, a production in which actress Glenn Close served as her understudy.

Hurt made her film debut in Woody Allen's Interiors (1978), playing Joey, one of three sisters navigating family dissolution and their mother's mental decline, portrayed by Geraldine Page. That performance earned her a BAFTA nomination for Most Promising Newcomer to Leading Film Roles at the 32nd British Academy Film Awards. Subsequent film roles included Laura in Chilly Scenes of Winter (1979), Helen Holm Garp in The World According to Garp (1982), and Regina Beaufort in Martin Scorsese's The Age of Innocence (1993). She appeared alongside her husband, filmmaker Paul Schrader, on projects including Light Sleeper (1992) and Affliction (1997). In 1993 she also appeared in Six Degrees of Separation, and in 1995 she provided the voiceover portrayal of Jean Seberg in Mark Rappaport's documentary From the Journals of Jean Seberg. Her performance in The Dead Girl (2006) earned her an Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Supporting Female at the 22nd Independent Spirit Awards.

Hurt was married to actor William Hurt from 1971 to 1982. She married Paul Schrader in 1983, and the couple have a daughter and a son. In February 2023, Schrader publicly disclosed that Hurt had been placed in memory care due to advancing Alzheimer's disease.