Rosemary Murphy (born January 13, 1927) is an American actress of stage, film, and television.
Murphy was born in Munich, Germany, the daughter of American parents Mildred (née Taylor) and Robert D. Murphy, a diplomat. They left Germany in 1939, at the beginning of World War II.
She attended Manhattanville College and acting school at the Neighborhood Playhouse and the Actors Studio before beginning her career on stage. She made her stage debut in Germany, in a 1949 production of Peer Gynt. She made her Broadway debut in 1950 in The Tower Beyond Tragedy. She has gone on to appear in some 15 Broadway productions, most recently in Noel Coward's Waiting in the Wings (1999).
She also acts in films and on TV, most notably portraying Sara Delano Roosevelt in the TV miniseries Eleanor and Franklin (1976) (for which she won an Emmy) and Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years (1977). She played the role of Maudie Atkinson in To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), a motion picture based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel of the same name written by Harper Lee. She also played the infamous role of prostitute Callie Hacker in Walking Tall (1973).
Attended Manhattanville College and Sanford Meisner's acting school.
The daughter of a U.S. diplomat stationed in Germany, Rosemary Murphy did not come to the U.S. until 1939.
A brittle and fascinating actress on stage, Murphy earned Tony nominations for her supporting performances in "Period of Adjustment" (1961) and "Any Wednesday" (1965), as well as for her leading role in Edward Albee's Pulitzer Prize--winning "A Delicate Balance" (1967). The latter performance also earned for Murphy the Variety Critics Poll Award as Best Actress.
Was nominated for Broadway's Tony Award three times: twice as Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Dramatic), in 1961 for "Period of Adjustment" and in 1965 for "Any Wednesday," and once as Best Actress (Dramatic), in 1967 for Edward Albee's Pulitzer Prize-winning "A Delicate Balance." The latter performance also earned her the Variety Critics Poll Award as Best Actress.
Began her acting career in summer stock in Olney, Maryland.
Was raised in Paris, France.
