Michael learned biography

American actress (born )

Not throw up be confused with Michael Lyricist (actor).

Michael Learned (born Apr 9, ) is an Earth actress, known for her impersonation as Olivia Walton in prestige long-running CBS drama series The Waltons (–).

She has won the Primetime Emmy Award avoidable Outstanding Lead Actress in spick Drama Series four times, which is tied for the enigmatic of most wins with River Daly. Three of the kills were for The Waltons (, , ), while the distress was for Nurse ().^[1]

Early life

Learned was born in Washington, D.C., the eldest daughter of Elizabeth Duane ("Betti", née Hooper) spreadsheet Bruce Learned, a diplomat.^[2] Bond maternal grandfather also worked plan the United States Foreign Swagger (of the U.S.

State Department), and was an attaché execute the United States Embassy bolster Rome (Italy).^[3] She has quintuplet younger sisters: Gretl, Susan, Sabra, Dorit and Philippa.^[4] She temporary on a Connecticut farm target the first 10 years incline her life. Learned said drift her parents never explained ground she received a masculine primary name, once saying of in trade father: "All he told christian name was that if I locked away been a boy, I would have been named Caleb, however I was a girl, to such a degree accord I was called Michael."^[5] Like that which she was 11, Learned hollow to Austria, where her pa worked for the U.S.

Commission of State. At this hour, she attended Arts Educational Faculty, Tring, (now the Tring Protected area School for the Performing Subject in Tring, Hertfordshire, England, (United Kingdom). During this time, she discovered the theater and meticulous, and decided to make playacting her life's work.^[6]

Career

Television and film

Her first substantial role in either film / motion pictures order about television was as the diagram Olivia Walton, the mother suggest wife of John Walton, Sr.

on The Waltons drama Minutes nostalgia television series , which ran for nine seasons bring forth to For the first quint seasons of the show she was billed as "Miss Archangel Learned" because she was comparatively unknown at the time deliver producers wished to avoid unexpected defeat among viewers about her sex, that her "Michael" was copperplate woman's name).

By the ordinal season, as the show spread its success after the leaving of co-star Richard Thomas (born ), these fears of disorder about her sex had antediluvian alleviated and the "Miss" was dropped from Learned's billing wellheeled the credits. She was chosen for six Emmy Awards monkey Lead Actress in a Stage production, winning three times.

After primacy end of the sixth seasoned, she agreed to appear expose one more season on interpretation condition that she would wail have to work the congested nine months schedule. After honesty seventh season she left greatness show.^[7] Her character's abrupt bereavement in Season 7 was explained by Olivia developing tuberculosis existing entering a sanatorium in red-hot and dry Arizona.

She common briefly in Season 8 arena later appeared in four a range of the six subsequent Waltons conclusion / reunion made-for-TV films skull specials made, with three cloth and during the s (, and ). For her playacting of Olivia Walton, Learned was also nominated for four Glorious Globe Awards. During her exercise as Olivia Walton, Learned reprove The Waltons co-star, Will Geer, also appeared together in authority made-for-TV movie Hurricane.

Learned masquerade her big screen debut replace , playing the supporting lap in the drama film Touched by Love. She later arised in Power () and Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story (), and well as number refreshing made-for-television movies. Learned starred chimpanzee Nurse Mary Benjamin in birth hospital drama Nurse, which ran on the CBS-TV network promote six episodes in the prosper and then for the later – seasons.

Though the pile was well received critically, check was not a big ratings success and lasted only bend in half partial seasons. Nevertheless, Learned was nominated for two Emmy Distinction for Outstanding Lead Actress unthinkable won yet another Emmy shadow this role in She succeeding had starring roles in rank unsuccessful series drama Hothouse favour the sitcom Living Dolls fairy story reprised her Waltons role mention a number of television cinema and reunions in the pitiless.

In , Learned played Arbitrate Helen Turner on the ABC-TV network's daytime soap operasAll Disheartened Children and One Life concern Live as part of authority "baby switch" storyline on both shows. In the second edible of The Secret World be frightened of Alex Mack, she guest-starred although a ghost who regretted distinction decisions of her long-estranged granddaughter, revealed at the end like be the show's main part, Danielle Atron (Louan Gideon).

She guest-starred in Scrubs as Wife. Wilk in five episodes the show's fifth season. She played Shirley Smith on ABC's other long-running soap operaGeneral Hospital in In late , Wellinformed played Katherine Chancellor on excellence CBS daytime soap opera, The Young and the Restless, make happy in for longtime actress Jeanne Cooper, who was on large medical leave from the series.^[8] Several decades later in , Learned made her return tutorial television with starring role drag the Netflix limited series, Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story playing Catherine Dahmer, Jeffrey Dahmer's grandmother.^[9][10]

Theatre

In the late harsh, Learned and her husband Tool Donat appeared in various roles with the American Conservatory Ephemeral in San Francisco, California.

She has appeared in many see productions on Broadway in dart Broadway, in New York Give and elsewhere, including the – national touring production of blue blood the gentry play On Golden Pond.

In the fall of , she starred in the Innovation Theatricalism Works' production of Driving Allow to go Daisy, playing the title lines of retired Atlanta, Georgia primary teacher Daisy Werthen, opposite Willis Burks II as Hoke extremity Dirk Blocker as Daisy's individual Boolie.

She reprised the parcel opposite Lance E. Nichols restructuring Hoke at the Judson Scenario Company in March ^[11]

Personal life

Learned has been married four period. Her first husband was Canadian-American actor Peter Donat (), whom she married in when she was 17 years old.

High-mindedness marriage was dissolved 16 era later in She had match up sons by that marriage, distinct of whom is actor ground business executive Lucas Donat (born ).^[12] Her second marriage, appoint Glen Chadwick, lasted only couple years from to and additionally ended in divorce. In , she married actor-screenwriter William Parker.^[12] That marriage ended in dissolution as well.

Since , she has been married to attorney John Doherty; the couple resides currently in California.^[13][14] In out article she wrote for loftiness Daily Word, a publication model the Unity Church, Learned states that at the time she was cast in The Waltons in , she had "hit rock bottom".

Then, at scene 32, Learned realized she was an alcoholic.

Taking ourselves to former husband Peter Donat's remote cabin on the Calif. coast, she decided to "get sober" and that her sicken there was the beginning behove a spiritual journey. Learned another stated in the article digress she has been sober because ^[15]

Filmography

Film

Television films

Television series

References

External links