THE LUCKY ONE

BLYTHE DANNER (Ellie Green) is a prolific, Emmy Award and Tony Award-winning actress who has appeared in numerous stage, television and film roles.

Danner first appeared on stage with the Theater Company of Boston and the Trinity Square Repertory Company (now Trinity Repertory Company) in Providence. She gained national attention at age 25 by winning the Theatre World Award for her performance in the Lincoln Center Rep's production of "The Miser,” and went on to win a Tony Award in 1970 for her Broadway debut in "Butterflies Are Free.”

Danner received three additional Tony nominations: in 1980 for the original Broadway production of Harold Pinter's "Betrayal”; in 1988 for a revival of the Pulitzer Prize-winning drama "A Streetcar Named Desire”; and in 2001 for a revival of Stephen Sondheim's "Follies.” For more than 20 years, she has been a regular performer at the Williamstown Summer Theater Festival. On PBS, Danner has been seen in Chekov's "The Seagull,” Shaw's "Candida,” and Williams's "Eccentricities of a Nightingale.”

One of her earliest starring film roles was in the title role of "Lovin' Molly,” directed by Sidney Lumet. She has appeared in two films based on novels by Pat Conroy, "The Great Santini” and "The Prince of Tides,” in the beloved musical "1776," and two television movies adapted from books by Anne Tyler, "Saint Maybe” and "Back When We Were Grownups.” For director Woody Allen, she has appeared in "Another Woman,” "Alice” and "Husbands and Wives.”

More recently, Danner starred in "Hello I Must Be Going,” which was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in January; with Robert De Niro in the hit comedy "Meet the Parents” and its sequel, "Meet the Fockers,” alongside Barbra Streisand and Dustin Hoffman; the romantic comedy "The Last Kiss,” for director Tony Goldwyn; and the biographical drama "Sylvia,” about poet Sylvia Plath, in which she shared the screen with daughter Gwyneth Paltrow. Danner also lent her vocal talents to the animated adventure "Howl's Moving Castle.”

In 2002, Danner's performance in the television adaptation of Joyce Carol Oates' "We Were the Mulvaneys” earned an Emmy Award nomination. In both 2005 and 2006, she won back-to-back Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Izzy in Showtime's acclaimed series "Huff,” and garnered an Outstanding Guest Actress nomination for her work on "Will & Grace,” and Outstanding Lead Actress nomination for her role in Hallmark Hall of Fame's "Back When We Were Grownups,” the latter of which also earned Danner a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress.

Danner sits on several environmental advisory boards and holds honorary Doctorates of Arts from her alma mater Bard College, Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and Williams College.

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