Film & TV / Theatre & dance
Ellen Burstyn
born 1932 · actress
Oscar-, Tony- and Emmy-winning actress born Edna Rae Gillooly in Detroit, where she went to Cass Tech and modeled for Hudson's before leaving for the stage.
- Born
Detroit, Michigan
age 93- Birth name
- Edna Rae Gillooly
- Detroit years
- 1932–c. 1951
- Field
- Film & TV, Theatre & dance
01 / The Detroit story
The Detroit story
Ellen Burstyn was born Edna Rae Gillooly in Detroit on December 7, 1932. After her parents divorced she grew up in the city with her mother, her two brothers and a stepfather she later described as abusive. At Cass Technical High School she studied fashion illustration, cheered, sat on the student council and was president of her junior class, but she failed her senior classes and left without graduating. At 18 she was modeling for J. L. Hudson's, the huge downtown department store on Woodward Avenue, and early on she worked under names such as Erica Dean, Keri Flynn and Ellen McRae. From there she moved on to modeling, dancing and, from 1957, Broadway. Her Oscar for Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore, a Tony for Same Time, Next Year and two Emmys give her the rare Triple Crown of Acting. Michigan inducted her into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame in 1997.
Highlights
- Academy Award for Best Actress, Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)
- Tony Award for Same Time, Next Year (1975)
- Oscar nominations for The Last Picture Show, The Exorcist and Requiem for a Dream
- Co-president of the Actors Studio since 2000
- Michigan Women's Hall of Fame, 1997
02 / Their Detroit places
Their Detroit places 2
Where they lived, worked, performed and liked to hang out. Closed and demolished places stay here too, because they are part of the city's history.
Studied here · late 1940s–c. 1950
Cass Technical High School
She studied fashion illustration here and was junior class president. The school now uses a 2005 building next to the site of the old one, which was demolished in 2011.
Worked here · c. 1950–1951
J. L. Hudson's department store (flagship)
Demolished · 1911–1983
She modeled for Hudson's at 18. The store closed in 1983 and the building was imploded in 1998; the Hudson's Detroit development now occupies the site.