Overview
Piper Laurie (born Rosetta Jacobs; January 22, 1932 – October 14, 2023) was an American actress. She is known for her roles in the films The Hustler (1961), Carrie (1976), and Children of a Lesser God (1986), and the miniseries The Thorn Birds (1983). She is also known for her performances as Kirsten Arnesen in the original TV production of "Days of Wine and Roses", and as Catherine Martell in the television series Twin Peaks.
She received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards and a BAFTA Award.
Early life
Piper Laurie was born Rosetta Jacobs in Detroit, Michigan, on January 22, 1932. Laurie was the younger of two children (both girls) of Alfred Jacobs, a furniture dealer, and his wife, Charlotte Sadie ( Alperin) Jacobs. Her paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Poland and her maternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Russia.
Laurie was delivered, according to her 2011 autobiography Learning to Live Out Loud, in a one-bedroom walk-up on Tyler Street in Detroit, where the family lived. To combat her shyness, her parents provided her with weekly elocution lessons; she eventually landed minor roles at Universal Studios.
From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0).