Born: November 19, 1954
Age: 69
Birthplace: Pasadena, California, U.S.
Kathleen Denise Quinlan (born November 19, 1954) is an American film and television actress. She received a Best Actress Golden Globe nomination for the 1977 film I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, and a Best Supporting Actress Academy Award nomination for her role in the 1995 film Apollo 13. Her other film appearances include Airport '77 (1977), The Promise (1979), The Runner Stumbles (1979), Sunday Lovers (1980), Sunset (1988), Clara's Heart (1988), The Doors (1991), Breakdown in (1997), and Breach (2007).
Quinlan was born in Pasadena, California, the daughter of Josephine (née Zachry), a military supply supervisor, and Robert Quinlan, a television sports director. She was raised in Mill Valley, California, where she attended Tamalpais High School, studied drama and began her acting career. She has been married to actor Bruce Abbott since April 12, 1994. They have a son, Tyler (born 1990).
Quinlan made her film debut in George Lucas' 1973 nostalgic look at the early sixties, American Graffiti, at the age of 19 (although she did appear in an uncredited role in 1972's One is a Lonely Number). As a young actress, she guest-starred in several 1970s television series including Police Woman, Ironside, Emergency!, Kojak and The Waltons.
She has appeared in over 50 films, but is perhaps best known for her roles as Deborah, a schizophrenic, in the film version of I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, for which she earned a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress in a Motion Picture-Drama, and for a Golden Globe and Oscar nominated turn in the Best Supporting Actress category as an astronaut's wife, Marilyn Lovell, in the 1995 true story Apollo 13 opposite Tom Hanks.
Quinlan also made a mark as Jim Morrison's Celtic Pagan lover Patricia Kennealy in Oliver Stone's The Doors, and won a Blockbuster Entertainment Award as Favorite Supporting Actress-Suspense, for Breakdown (1997) with Kurt Russell. Her recent work includes the TV series House, the 2006 remake of the horror classic The Hills Have Eyes, the wife of a government traitor in the 2007 film Breach, the mother of the brothers in the Fox drama Prison Break, and a Senator in a 2011 episode 'Alliances' of the sci-fi series Stargate Universe.
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1972 | One Is a Lonely Number | (uncredited) | |
1973 | American Graffiti | Peg | (as Kathy Quinlan) |
1974 | Can Ellen Be Saved? | Melissa | (TV) |
Lucas Tanner | Joyce Howell | (TV) | |
Where Have All The People Gone? | Deborah Anders | (TV) | |
1974/1976 | The Waltons | Selina Linville | (2 episodes) |
1975 | The Missing Are Deadly | Michelle | (TV) |
The Abduction of Saint Anne | Anne Benedict | (TV) | |
John O'Hara's Gibbsville (a.k.a. The Turning Point of Jim Malloy) |
Edith Evans | (TV) | |
1976 | Lifeguard | Wendy | |
1977 | Little Ladies of the Night | Karen Brodwick | (TV) |
Airport '77 | Julie | ||
I Never Promised You a Rose Garden | Deborah Blake | Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama | |
1978 | Nightmare in Blood | ||
1979 | The Runner Stumbles | Sister Rita | |
The Promise | Nancy McAllister/Marie Adamson | ||
1980 | Sunday Lovers | Laurie | (segment "Skippy") |
1981 | She's in the Army Now | Pvt. Cass Donner | (TV) |
1982 | Hanky Panky | Janet Dunn | |
1983 | Independence Day | Mary Ann Taylor | |
Twilight Zone: The Movie | Helen Foley | (Segment #3) | |
1984 | The Last Winter | Joyce | |
When She Says No | Rose Michaels | (TV) | |
1985 | Blackout | Chris Graham | (TV) MystFest Award for Best Actress |
Warning Sign | Joanie Morse | ||
Children of the Night | Lois Lee | (TV) | |
1986 | Man Outside | Grace Freemont | |
1987 | Wild Thing | Jane | |
Dreams Lost, Dreams Found | Sarah McAllister | (TV) | |
1988 | Sunset | Nancy Shoemaker | |
Clara's Heart | Leona Hart | ||
1989 | Trapped | Mary Ann Marshall | (TV) |
1990 | The Operation | Ginnie | (TV) |
1991 | The Doors | Patricia Kennealy | |
Strays | Lindsey Jarrett | (TV) | |
1992 | An American Story | Hope Tyler | (TV) |
1993 | Stolen Babies | Bekka | (TV) |
Last Light | Kathy Rubicek | (TV) | |
1994 | Trial by Jury | Wanda | |
1995 | Apollo 13 | Marilyn Lovell | Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture Nominated — Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Nominated — Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress |
Perfect Alibi | Melanie Bauers | ||
1996 | In the Lake of the Woods | Kathy Waylan | (TV) |
1997 | Zeus and Roxanne | Mary Beth Dunhill | |
Breakdown | Amy Taylor | ||
Event Horizon | Peters, Med Tech | ||
Lawn Dogs | Clare Stockard | ||
1998 | My Giant | Serena Kamin | |
A Civil Action | Anne Anderson | ||
1999-2002 | Family Law | Lynn Holt | (TV Series) (68 episodes) |
1999 | Too Rich: The Secret Life of Doris Duke | Nanaline Duke | (TV) |
2003 | The Battle of Shaker Heights | Eve | |
Blessings | Meredith Blessing | (TV) | |
2004 | Perfect Romance | Tess Kelley | (TV) |
The Riverman | Sande Keppel | (TV) | |
El Padrino | Judge Scorsi | ||
The Dead Will Tell | Beth Hytner | (TV) | |
2006 | The Hills Have Eyes | Ethel Carter | |
House | Arlene McNeil | Episode "House" | |
2007 | American Fork | Agnes Orbison | |
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation | Barbara Tallman | Episode "Monster in the Box" | |
Breach | Bonnie Hanssen | ||
Harm's Way | Bea | ||
2008 | Poundcake | Carol | |
Made of Honor | Joan | ||
2008-2009 | Prison Break | Christina Rose Scofield | (7 episodes) |
2009 | Adult Film: A Hollywood Tale | Mary Bernstein | |
Empire State | Colleen Cochrane | (TV) | |
The River Why | Ma | ||
2011 | Cinema Verite | Mary | |
Glee | Dr. Shane | Episode "Born This Way" | |
2013 | Chicago Fire | Nancy Casey | (7 episodes) |
2014 | After | Nora Valentino |