With a net worth of $10 million and a career spanning nearly eight decades, Cloris Leachman is celebrated for her versatile performances, earning eight Emmy Awards. Explore her extraordinary journey and enduring legacy in Hollywood.

Cloris Leachman was a famous American actress and comedian who worked in movies and TV for almost 80 years. She was exceptionally talented and won numerous awards, including eight Emmy Awards. She was the most nominated person ever for an Emmy, winning more than anyone except Julia Louis-Dreyfus. Besides Emmys, she also won an Academy Award, a BAFTA Award, and a Golden Globe Award, solidifying her success in the entertainment world.

Cloris Leachman was born and grew up in Des Moines, Iowa. She attended Northwestern University and started acting in local plays as a teenager. After participating in the Miss America pageant in 1946, she received a scholarship to study acting under Elia Kazan at the Actors Studio in New York City. She made her professional acting debut in 1948.

In movies, she was notable for her role in “The Last Picture Show” (1971) directed by Peter Bogdanovich, where she played the wife of a teacher with a secret. This role earned her an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress and a BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role.

She was also part of Mel Brooks’s ensemble of actors, playing Frau Blücher in “Young Frankenstein” (1974), Nurse Diesel in “High Anxiety” (1977), and Madame Defarge in “History of the World, Part I” (1981). She appeared in numerous other movies and TV shows as well.

Cloris Leachman won more Emmys for her role on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” from 1970 to 1975, and a Golden Globe for the spinoff “Phyllis” (1975-1977), where she was the main star. She also acted in the TV movie “A Brand New Life” in 1973 and appeared on shows like “Cher” in 1975, “Promised Land” in 1998, and “Malcolm in the Middle” from 2000 to 2006.

Her TV appearances also included “Gunsmoke” (1961), “Wagon Train” (1962), “The Twilight Zone” (1961 and 2003), and “Raising Hope” (2010-2014). In films, she acted in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (1969), “WUSA” (1970), “Yesterday” (1981), “Castle in the Sky” (1986), “Spanglish” (2004), and “Mrs. Harris” (2005).

She wrote a book about her life called “Cloris: My Autobiography” in 2009.

Cloris Leachman – Early Days, Education and Ethnicity

Cloris Leachman was born on April 30, 1926, in Des Moines, Iowa. She was the oldest of three sisters. Their father worked at a lumber company owned by the family. One of her sisters, Claiborne Cary, was also an actress and singer, while the other sister, Mary, wasn’t in showbiz.

Their grandmother on their mother’s side was Czech. Cloris attended Theodore Roosevelt High School and acted in plays at Drake University on weekends.

Leachman took piano lessons as a child and participated in community theatre as she grew up. After high school, she went to Northwestern University, where she studied Education. She joined the Gamma Phi Beta sorority and was classmates with Paul Lynde and Charlotte Rae, who would later become famous comedians. Cloris began doing TV and movies after competing in Miss America in 1946 as Miss Chicago.

How Cloris Leachman rose in her Career

After winning a scholarship in the Miss America pageant and making it to the top 16, she went to study acting with Elia Kazan at the Actors Studio in New York City. She joined the original cast of the musical “South Pacific” as a replacement for Nellie Forbush.

She was also part of the play “Come Back, Little Sheba,” but left before it went to Broadway to join Katharine Hepburn in a Shakespeare play called “As You Like It.” She was also involved in a play called “The Crucible,” where she was going to play Abigail Williams.

In the 1950s, Cloris Leachman appeared in many live TV shows like “Suspense” and “Studio One.” She acted with John Forsythe in an episode of “Alfred Hitchcock Presents” in 1955. She played Timmy’s mom on the TV show “Lassie” for a short time but left due to some issues.

Her first movie part was a small one in “Carnegie Hall” in 1947, but she got a bigger role in the film noir “Kiss Me Deadly” in 1955. Despite being pregnant while filming, she performed a scene where she ran down a dark road in just a trench coat. A year later, she acted with Paul Newman and Lee Marvin in “The Rack.” In 1969, she had a small part in “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” with Paul Newman again.

Cloris Leachman kept busy with TV work, appearing on shows such as “Rawhide” and “Gunsmoke.” She appeared in “The Twilight Zone” episode “It’s a Good Life,” where she played a significant role.

In the 1960s, Cloris Leachman continued her TV appearances with roles on “One Step Beyond,” “Checkmate,” “The Donna Reed Show,” “Wagon Train,” “Alfred Hitchcock Presents,” and “Laramie.” In the 1970s, she guest-starred on “That Girl” as Don Hollinger’s sister, Sandy.

Her performance in “The Last Picture Show” (1971), based on Larry McMurtry’s book, as Ruth Popper, earned her critical acclaim. Cloris Leachman became well-known for her role as Phyllis Lindstrom on “The Mary Tyler Moore Show” on CBS. She worked with other famous actors like Mary Tyler Moore, Valerie Harper, Ed Asner, Ted Knight, and Betty White. After that, she starred in her own show, “Phyllis,” from 1975 to 1977.

Cloris Leachman starred in three movies by Mel Brooks, including “Young Frankenstein” (1974), “High Anxiety” (1977), and “History of the World: Part I” (1981). She also appeared in a Disney movie, “The North Avenue Irregulars” (1979).

In 1989, she starred in the short-lived TV show “The Nutt House” by Mel Brooks. Around that time, she began voice acting in animated movies like “My Little Pony: The Movie.” She voiced Queen Gnorga in “A Troll in Central Park” and Dola in “Castle in the Sky,” a film by Hayao Miyazaki.

She starred in “Prancer” (1989) as a neighbor who rediscovers the Christmas spirit and appeared in “The Beverly Hillbillies” (1993) as Granny. In 1999, she starred in the sitcom “Thanks.”

One of her most famous TV roles was as Grandma Ida on “Malcolm in the Middle,” for which she won an Emmy Award and received six consecutive nominations.

In her later years, Cloris Leachman appeared in the Lifetime miniseries “Beach Girls” (2005), the movie “Spanglish” (2004) with Adam Sandler, and a remake of “The Longest Yard” (2005) with Adam Sandler. She also appeared in “Sky High” (2005) with Kurt Russell.

In 2006, she starred alongside Sir Ben Kingsley and Annette Bening in the HBO special “Mrs. Harris,” earning nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

In 2008, Cloris Leachman joined the seventh season of “Dancing with the Stars,” partnered with Corky Ballas, the oldest professional dancer. She finished in seventh place.

Following “Dancing with the Stars,” she guest-starred on various shows like Disney Channel’s “Girl Meets World” (2015) and the Christian movie “I Can Only Imagine” (2018). She also appeared on “The Office,” “Hot in Cleveland,” “Hawaii Five-0,” and “Royal Pains,” often playing humorous elderly characters in movies like “Beerfest,” “Scary Movie 4,” and “The Wedding Ringer.”

From 2010 to 2014, she played Maw Maw on the Fox sitcom “Raising Hope,” earning an Emmy nomination.

One of Cloris Leachman’s last roles was as Zorya Vechernyaya in the first season of “American Gods” (2019). She also appeared in the 2021 movie “Not To Forget,” directed by Valerio Zanoli, featuring five Academy Award winners, including Cloris Leachman.

On May 14, 2006, she received an honorary doctorate in fine arts from Drake University.

In 2005, she guest-starred on “Two and a Half Men” as Charlie Harper’s neighbor, Norma.

In 2011, Cloris Leachman was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame and recognized as the 23rd funniest woman on TV by the TV Guide Network. In 2014, she received an honorary degree from Northwestern University. In 2017, she received PETA’s Lifetime Achievement Award for her work supporting animal rights. In 1980, she received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the Television Category at 6435 Hollywood Boulevard.

Personal Life

Cloris Leachman was married to director-producer George Englund from 1953 to 1979. They had five children together before their divorce. Cloris Leachman and George Englund’s children are Dinah, Bryan,

Morgan, George Jr., and Adam. Tragically, her son Bryan passed away in 1986. Her son Morgan had a notable role on the soap opera “Guiding Light,” where he played the character Dylan for several years. Cloris Leachman’s granddaughter, Anabel Englund, is a singer. In addition to Anabel, Cloris had other grandchildren and a great-grandson named Braden.

Cloris Leachman was a committed vegetarian and an advocate for animal rights. In 1997, she posed naked with her body painted with images of fruit for a PETA campaign, humorously referencing a famous photo of Demi Moore on a magazine cover. In 2009, she posed for another PETA ad, this time wearing a dress made entirely of lettuce. In 2013, she participated in a PETA ad promoting the spaying and neutering of pets, where she humorously pretended to open a condom wrapper with her teeth.

Death

On January 27, 2021, Cloris Leachman passed away peacefully in her sleep at her home in Encinitas, California, at the age of 94. The cause of her death was a stroke. Her body was cremated on February 7, 2021.

How tall was Cloris Leachman?

Cloris Leachman was 5 feet 4 inches tall, approximately 1.63 meters.

 

What was Cloris Leachman’s net worth and how was her wealth distributed?