Kate Nelligan
Acting • Born 1950-03-16
Biography
Kate Nelligan, born Patricia Colleen Nelligan on March 16, 1950, in London, Ontario, Canada, is a retired stage, film, and television actress celebrated for her commanding performances and versatility. She trained at Glendon College in Toronto and London's Central School of Speech and Drama before launching her professional career in 1972 with the Bristol Old Vic, appearing in productions like Barefoot in the Park. Nelligan rose to prominence in the UK with the National Theatre in plays such as David Hare's Knuckle (1974) and Tales from the Vienna Woods (1977), alongside early television roles in The Onedin Line and her film debut in The Romantic Englishwoman (1975). In the early 1980s, she relocated to New York, where she garnered critical acclaim on Broadway, earning four Tony Award nominations for Plenty (1983), A Moon for the Misbegotten (1984), Serious Money (1988), and Spoils of War (1989). Her film career flourished with standout roles in Eye of the Needle (1981) opposite Donald Sutherland, Without a Trace (1983), and later Frankie and Johnny (1991), for which she won a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress; she also received an Academy Award nomination for The Prince of Tides (1991). Other notable films include Wolf (1994), U.S. Marshals (1998), and The Cider House Rules (1999).
Filmography
64 credits
The Cider House Rules
Movie • 1999
Olive Worthington
The Prince of Tides
Movie • 1991
Lila Wingo Newbury
Wolf
Movie • 1994
Charlotte Randall
Frankie and Johnny
Movie • 1991
Cora
The Count of Monte-Cristo
Movie • 1975
Mercédès
Eye of the Needle
Movie • 1981
Lucy
In from the Night
Movie • 2006
Vera Miller
Into the Deep
Movie • 1994
Narrator
U.S. Marshals
Movie • 1998
Walsh
How to Make an American Quilt
Movie • 1995
Constance Saunders
Heritage Minutes: Emily Murphy
Movie • 1992
Emily Murphy
Dracula
Movie • 1979
Lucy Seward
Up Close & Personal
Movie • 1996
Joanna Kennelly
Premonition
Movie • 2007
Joanne
Fatal Instinct
Movie • 1993
Lana Ravine
A Wrinkle in Time
Movie • 2003
Mrs. Which
The Romantic Englishwoman
Movie • 1975
Isabel
The Arcata Promise
Movie • 1974
Laura
Without a Trace
Movie • 1983
Susan Selky
Margaret's Museum
Movie • 1995
Catherine MacNeil
Old Times
Movie • 1991
Terror Stalks the Class Reunion
Movie • 1992
Kay
White Room
Movie • 1990
Jane
Blessed Stranger: After Flight 111
Movie • 2000
Kate O'Rourke
Revisiting Brideshead
Movie • 2005
Self (archive footage)
Control
Movie • 1987
Sarah Howell
Eleni
Movie • 1985
Eleni
Swing Vote
Movie • 1999
Justice Sara Marie Brandwynne
Shadows and Fog
Movie • 1991
Eve
Licking Hitler
Movie • 1978
Anna Seaton
Calm at Sunset
Movie • 1996
Margaret Pfeiffer
A Mother's Prayer
Movie • 1995
Sheila Walker
Love Is Strange
Movie • 1999
Kathryn McClain
Kojak: The Price of Justice
Movie • 1987
Kitty
Stolen Moments
Movie • 1998
Narrator (voice)
Captive Heart: The James Mink Story
Movie • 1996
Elizabeth Mink
The Diamond Fleece
Movie • 1992
Bethune
Movie • 1977
Frances Bethune
Walter and Henry
Movie • 2001
Elizabeth
Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story
Movie • 1993
Stephanie Chadford
Dreams of Leaving
Movie • 1980
Charlotte
The Lady of the Camellias
Movie • 1976
Marguerite Gautier
Spoils of War
Movie • 1994
Elise
Measure for Measure
Movie • 1979
Isabella
Boy Meets Girl
Movie • 1998
Mrs. Jones
Love & Hate: The Story of Colin and Joanne Thatcher
Movie • 1989
JoAnn Thatcher
Mr. Patman
Movie • 1981
Peabody
Victims
Movie • 1982
Ruth Hession
Do as I Say
Movie • 1977
Hilary
Liar, Liar
Movie • 1993
Susan Miori
By Woman's Hand
Movie • 1994
Self - Narrator (voice)
Rape: A Crime of War
Movie • 1997
Narrator
The Four Beauties
Movie • 1973
Christie
Hallmark Hall of Fame
TV • 1951
Margaret Pfeiffer
Eleventh Hour
TV • 2008
Gepetto
Human Cargo
TV
Golden Fiddles
TV • 1991
Anne Balfour
Law & Order: Special Victims Unit
TV • 1999
Sylvia Quinn
Therese Raquin
TV • 1980
Thérèse
Hallmark Hall of Fame
TV • 1951
Vera Miller
Million Dollar Babies
TV • 1994
Helena Reid
Performance
TV • 1991
Kate
Play for Today
TV • 1970
Hilary
The Edwardians
TV • 1972
Alice Keppel