Rutanya Alda

Rutanya Alda (born Rūta Skrastiņa; October 13, 1942) is a Latvian-American actress. She began her career in the late 1960s, and went on to have supporting parts in The Deer Hunter (1978), Rocky II (1979), and Mommie Dearest (1981). She also appeared in a lead role in the horror films Amityville II: The Possession and Girls Nite Out (both 1982). Life Rutanya Alda was born Rutanja Skrastiņa (Rūta Skrastiņa) in Riga, in German-occupied Latvia, the daughter of Vera (née Ozoliņa), a businesswoman, and Jānis Skrastiņš, a poet. Alda, her grandmother, her mother and her brother spent seven years in a displaced persons camp in Allied-occupied Germany after World War II. She then relocated with her family to the United States, briefly living in Chicago before settling in Flagstaff, Arizona. Alda studied at Northern Arizona University, where she earned a Bachelor of Science degree in economics. She stated in later interviews that she chose to study economics as "a way of pleasing my mother, who wanted me to be a doctor or a lawyer. Economics was considered a pre-law degree at the time. I wanted to be an actress, from the age of 5, when I saw my first play and movie, in the displaced person camps. I never wavered from this passion." Career Alda studied acting with Barbara Loden and Paul Mann in New York City. With a career spanning nearly 50 years in show business and over 100 roles, Alda might be best known for her performances in The Deer Hunter as Steven's wife, Angela, as well as for the cult classic Mommie Dearest, as loyal Crawford housekeeper Carol Ann, and Amityville II: The Possession, having been nominated for the Golden Raspberry Award two years in succession (1982 and 1983) for the latter roles. She has also won a Clio and is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. Additionally, Alda has appeared in numerous television programs, such as Cold Case and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, and as a featured character in the Ron Perlman/Linda Hamilton TV series Beauty and the Beast, as well as commercials and stage work.