Olympia Dukakis mini-bio: Long a vital, respected lady of the classic and contemporary stage and the epitome
of Mediterranean-styled weariness, this grand lady with the perpetually forlorn
look and worldly wise demeanor did not become a household name and sought-after
film actress until age 56 when she turned in a glorious, Oscar-winning perf as
Cher's sardonic mother in the romantic comedy Moonstruck (1987). Since then movie
(and TV) fans have discovered what the East coast theater-going audiences had
uncovered decades before -- an acting treasure. Her adaptability to various
ethnicities (Greek, Italian, Jewish, Eastern European, etc.), as well her
chameleon-like versatility in everything from cutting edge comedy to stark tragedy,
has kept her in high demand for the past 30 years as of one of Hollywood's topnotch
character players.
Olympia Dukakis was born on June 20, 1931 in Lowell, Massachusetts), the daughter of
Greek immigrants (Constantine and Alexandra (nee Christos) Dukakis). Her father in
particular sparked an early passion in acting by having her perform with his amateur
theater troupe as a teen She majored, however, in physical therapy for a time at
Boston University, where she graduated with a BA. This came in quite handy later
during her fledgling actor days where she was able to support herself as a physical
therapist in between acting lessons and jobs. She later returned her alma mater and
entered eh graduate program in performing arts and attained an MFA.
Olympia took the long road to success by distinguishing herself first on stage
performing in summer stock and with several repertory and Shakespearean companies
throughout the county. She made her Broadway debut as an understudy in "The Aspern
Papers" at age 30, but did not make the grade there with very short runs in the
plays "Abraham Cochrane" (1964) and "Who's Who in Hell" (1974) following.
Olympia married Yugoslav-American actor Louis Zorich in 1962. The New York-based
couple went on to co-found The Whole Theatre Company in Montclair, New Jersey, and
ran the company for 15 years (1973-1988). As actress, director, producer and
teacher, she still found the time to raise their three young children. She also
became a master instructor at New York University for lengthy periods during the
60s, 70s and 80s. Preferring the smaller, more intimate stage she scored theater
triumphs in "A Man's a Man", for which she won an Off-Broadway Obie Award in 1962;
several productions of "The Cherry Orchard" and "Mother Courage"; "Six Character in
Search of an Author"; "The Rose Tattoo"; "The Seagull"; "The Marriage of Bette and
Boo" (another Obie Award); and, more notably, her many performances as the title
role in "Hecuba". A good portion of her successes were launched within the walls of
her own theater company, which encouraged the birth of new and untried plays. Her
prolific directing credits include many of the classics: "Orpheus Descending," "The
House of Bernarda Alba", "Uncle Vanya" and "A Touch of the Poet", as well as the
more contemporary ("One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" and "Kennedy's Children"). She
also adapted such plays as "Mother Courage" and "The Trojan Women" for the theater
company. Over the duration of their marriage, she and husband Zorich have
experienced shared successes, appearing together in "Long Day's Journey Into Night",
"Camino Real", The Three Sisters" and "The Seagull", among many others. Both are
master interpreters of Chekhovian plays -- one of their more recent acting
collaborations was in "The Chekhov Cycle" in 2003.
Making an inauspicious debut in a bit role as a mental patient in Lilith (1964), she
tended to gravitate toward off-the-wall films with various offshoots of the ethnic
mother. She played mom to such leads as Dustin Hoffman in John and Mary (1969),
Joseph Bologna in the cult comedy Made for Each Other (1971) and Ray Sharkey in The
Idolmaker (1980). Interestingly, it was her scene-stealing work on Broadway in the
comedy "Social Security" (1986) that caught director Norman Jewison's eye and earned
her the Moonstruck (1987) movie role. The Academy Award win for Best Supporting
Actress was the last of a stream of awards she earned for that part, including the
New York Film Critics, Los Angeles Film Critics, British Film and Golden Globe
awards. >From then on, silver-haired Olympia was first in line for a number of
cream-of-the-crop matron roles: Steel Magnolias (1989), Dad (1989), Look Who's
Talking (1989), The Cemetery Club (1993), Mr. Holland's Opus (1995) and Mother
(1996/I). On TV, she received kudos of the highest order, especially for her
sympathetic transgendered landlady in the acclaimed epic miniseries "Tales of the
City" (1993) (mini) and its sequel (the latter earning her an Emmy nomination).
An ardent liberal and Democrat, she is the cousin of one-time presidential candidate
Michael Dukakis. Moreover, she is a strong advocate of women's rights and
environmental causes. Olympia finally published her best-selling warts-and-all
autobiography "Ask Me Again Tomorrow: A Life in Progress" in 2003, a searing,
introspective chronicle chocked full of her trademark candor and wry humor. These
days she is also a well-oiled figure on the lecture circuit covering topics as
widespread as life in the theater to feminism and osteoporosis. A hardcore New
Yorker, she still resides there with her husband. In 2007 she revived her solo turn
in the play "Rose" (2000), which initially earned her an Outer Critics Circle Award
and Drama Desk Award nomination.
