Veteran American actor Swoosie Kurtz has distinguished herself in theater, television, and movies with tremendous élan. She has won numerous honors, including two Tony awards and an Emmy. When she was a teenager, she entered the entertainment industry by appearing on “The Donna Reed Show.” She made her Broadway debut in 1975 with the revival of “Ah, Wilderness!” Later, she became well-known for her roles in the stage productions of “A History of the American Film” and “Uncommon Women and Others.” She gained notoriety by playing Gwen Landis in the play “Fifth of July,” which helped her win the “triple crown” of Broadway: the Tony, the Outer Critics Circle, and the Drama Desk honors. She won another “Tony Award” for her outstanding performance as Bananas in the 1986 revival of “The House of Blue Leaves.” Swoosie continued to perform on stage while also appearing in a number of well-known TV shows, including “Love, Sidney,” “Sisters,” “Pushing Daisies,” and “Mike & Molly.” She also appeared in well-known Hollywood films, including “Dangerous Liaisons,” “Cruel Intentions,” “Liar Liar,” and “Citizen Ruth.” She won a “Primetime Emmy Award” for her appearance as Laurie in the comedic anthology TV series “Carol & Company.”
Early Childhood & Life
The daughter of author Margaret “Margo” (née Rogers) and Air Force Colonel Frank Allen Kurtz, Jr., she was born on September 6, 1944, in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Their only child was her.
Her father was an “Olympic” diver from the United States who flew for the “United States Army Air Forces.”
He was an American bomber pilot who won numerous awards during World War II. He named his only daughter “Swoosie” after the two B-17s he flew with the 19th and 463rd Bomb Groups, dubbed “The Swoose” and “Swoose II.”
Swoosie’s father’s military service required repeated moves. She majored in drama while attending the “University of Southern California” before continuing her education at the “London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art.”
Swoosie Kurtz’s Career
She made her television debut in 1962, appearing in the episode named “The Golden Trap” of the well-known “ABC” sitcom “The Donna Reed Show.” In February of that year, during the fourth season of the show, the episode aired.
She participated in the American television panel game program “To Tell the Truth” when she was eighteen years old. There, she was able to identify her father among the two imposters.
On July 1 and July 7, 1968, she performed as Ann in the play “The Firebugs” at the “Martinique Theatre.”
She made her Broadway debut in the Ah, Wilderness! revival of 1975. She played Muriel McComber in the play, a well-known comedy by American playwright Eugene O’Neill. From September 18 to November 23, 1975, it was presented at the “Circle in the Square Theatre.”
She attracted much notice for her portrayal of Rita Altabel in Wendy Wasserstein’s debut play, “Uncommon Women and Others,” which is by a renowned American playwright. Swoosie first appeared in the play’s 1977 workshop at the “Eugene O’Neill Theater Center,” and then she appeared in the show’s “Off-Broadway” performance. The drama was presented in New York at the “Marymount Manhattan Theatre” from November 17 until December 4, 1977.
Swoosie made her film debut in the late 1970s while steadily garnering recognition for her work as a theater performer. Her first attempts at the big screen included roles in movies like “Slap Shot” (1977) and “Oliver’s Story” (1978).
She gained even more notoriety with the theater performance of the musical “A History of the American Film,” which ran from March 30 to April 16 at the “ANTA Playhouse.” She won a “Drama Desk Award” for her outstanding work in the play Bette.
She appeared in many TV movies beginning in the late 1970s, including “Walking Through the Fire” (1979), “Baja Oklahoma” (1988), “The Image” (1990), “And the Band Played On” (1993), and “A Promise to Carolyn” (1996). She was nominated for a “Golden Globe” for “Baja Oklahoma,” a “Primetime Emmy” for “The Image,” and a “Golden Globe” for “And the Band Played On.”
Swoosie later demonstrated her acting talent in the superb role of Gwen Landis in the Lanford Wilson drama “Fifth of July.” She received “Broadway’s” “triple crown” for the Broadway production of the play that was performed at the “New Apollo Theatre” from November 5, 1980, to January 24, 1982, namely the “Tony Award,” the “Drama Desk Award,” and the “Outer Critics Circle Award.”
She received her first “Emmy Award” nomination for the American TV sitcom “Love, Sidney,” in which she portrayed Laurie Morgan. From October 28, 1981, through June 6, 1983, a total of 44 episodes from two seasons of the show were shown on NBC.
Swoosie participated in a number of high-profile Hollywood films as she developed her career with important theater shows and television series. These included the 1988 historical drama “Dangerous Liaisons,” the 1983 Agatha Christie drama “Caribbean Mystery,” the comedy “Citizen Ruth,” the 1997 blockbuster fantasy comedy “Liar Liar,” and the 1999 romantic teen drama “Cruel Intentions.”
With the 1986 revival of the play “The House of Blue Leaves,” in which she played the character of Bananas, she won her second “Tony Award.” On March 19, 1986, the revival made its ‘Off-Broadway debut at the ‘Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater at the ‘Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts. It was moved to “Broadway” at the “Vivian Beaumont Theater” on April 29, 1986. On October 14, 1986, after performing there for five months, the play was moved to the “Plymouth Theatre,” where it performed until March 15, 1987.
Throughout her career, she was nominated for three further Tony Awards. These are the categories for Tartuffe (1988), “Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play,” and “Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play” for “Frozen” (2004) and “Heartbreak House” (2007).
She won the lone “Emmy Award” of her career in the category “Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series” for her guest appearance as Laurie in the 1990 episode of the American comedy-anthology series “Carol & Company,” titled “Reunion.”
She gained even more notoriety with the hit television drama “Sisters,” a “NBC” production that aired for six seasons from May 11, 1991, to May 4, 1996, totaling 127 episodes. She played Alex Reed Halsey in the series, which became a tremendous demographic success thanks to its strong female viewership. She received two “Emmy Award” nominations as a result.
In the well-known American sitcom “Mike & Molly,” she played Joyce Flynn in her next significant television role. From September 20, 2010, through May 16, 2016, 127 episodes were shown over six seasons on “CBS.”
Effie Conklin in 13 episodes of the sitcom “Love & Money” (1999-2000), Madeleine Sullivan in 8 episodes of the comedy series “Huff” (2004-2006), and Marilyn in 7 episodes of the sitcom “Rita Rocks” are among Swoosie’s other significant TV series appearances (2009). She was nominated for an “Emmy” for her role as Madeleine Sullivan in one of these.
Kurtz’s Individual Life
She isn’t married, and she doesn’t have any kids. Swoosie is a Democrat in good standing.
Estimated Net Worth
Swoosie is one of the wealthiest and most well-known TV actors. Our study of Swoosie Kurtz’s net worth from sources including Wikipedia, Forbes, and Business Insider indicates that it is roughly $1.5 million.