Who is Ellen Burstyn? Her Wiki/Bio, Net Worth, Career and More

Ellen Burstyn is a famous actress with a net worth of $23 million. She’s well-known for her great acting in movies and TV shows. Burstyn has won awards like an Emmy, an Oscar, and a Tony. Also, she started as a dancer and model before acting on Broadway. Moreover, she became popular for roles in movies like The Last Picture Show and The Exorcist, which got her Oscar nominations. She also did well on TV with shows like Political Animals and House of Cards. Besides acting, she helps run the Actors Studio in New York City.

Biography

Edna Rae Gillooly, also known as Burstyn, was born in Detroit in 1932. She comes from different backgrounds like Pennsylvania, Irish, French, Dutch, and Canadian Indian. Burstyn grew up with her 2 brothers after her parents split. Also, she went to Cass Technical High School, where she learned fashion and did activities like cheerleading and drama. Burstyn left high school during senior year and worked as a dancer and model before becoming an actress. Furthermore, she appeared on The Jackie Gleason Show as a dancer and later decided to be an actress, changing her name to Ellen McRae and later to Burstyn after getting married.

Career

In the 1960s, Ellen started as a model and dancer before her first movie role. She got attention for acting in “The Exorcist” and “The Last Picture Show,” which got her an Academy Award nomination. Furthermore, she won an Academy Award for “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.” Burstyn was in other successful movies during that time. She also appeared on TV shows like “Dr. Kildare” and “Perry Mason.”

From the 70s to the 90s, she did TV movies and had her sitcom called “The Ellen Burstyn Show.” Burstyn was on CBS series “That’s Life” from 2000 to 2002. Also, she got Emmy nominations for “Big Love” and won an Emmy for “Law & Order: SVU.” On Broadway, she started in 1958 and won a Tony for her role in “Same Time, Next Year.”

Personal Life

Burstyn married Bill Alexander in 1950 and they divorced in 1957. The next year, she married Paul Roberts and they adopted a son named Jefferson in 1961. But they also divorced in the same year. In 1964, she married actor Neil Nephew, who later changed his name to Neil Burstyn. Also, he had a mental illness that made him violent, and they eventually divorced in 1972. She wrote in her book that he stalked her after the divorce, broke into her house, and raped her.

He died by suicide in 1978. Burstyn used to be Catholic but now follows different faiths, including Sufism. Furthermore, she prays to different spiritual figures from various religions. Moreover, she learned about spirituality from Pir Vilayat Inayat Khan, who gave her the name Hadiya, meaning “she who is guided” in Arabic. As we can see, her life has had a very eventful life. It is really tragic and happy in equal measure. 

Net Worth

As Ellen became more successful in movies, her net worth grew. Furthermore, she got nominated for Academy Awards for her roles in “The Last Picture Show” and “The Exorcist,” and she won Best Actress for “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.” Also, she got more nominations later on. Besides acting, she’s involved in many organizations and roles, like being a former president of the Actors’ Equity Association and co-president of the Actors Studio. She’s also on the Board of the Jefferson Awards for Public Service and is in the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.

Assets

Ellen owns a big and beautiful house in New York’s Hudson Valley. She got it in 1989 for $750,000 and spent lots of money making it even better. Furthermore, she turned it into a luxury home that mixes old-style looks with modern comforts. Also, the house has a fancy entrance, big rooms with lots of sunlight, and nice details all around. It’s really nice and valuable because it’s in a great area where similar homes sell for $4-5 million.

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