Add/Update Information: Cloris Leachman - Actor

An American actress, who joined Theodore Roosevelt High School, then joined Illinois State University and Northwestern University and specialized in drama. She began appearing on television in films shortly after her participation in the Miss America and Miss Chicago beauty pageants in 1946. She made her debut in 1948. Her best roles include: Castle in the Sky (1986), The Animal (2001), and Ponyo (2008).

Cloris Leachman is an incredibly versatile actress who has proved her flexibility time and time again in diverse roles in film and television since the 1950s. She was born in Des Moines, Iowa, on April 30, 1926. Following a period of doing theater productions, Leachman went on to compete in the Miss America pageant as Miss Chicago 1946; she came in at 16th place. She studied acting at the Actors Studio alongside director Elia Kazan and first gained recognition for strong performances in "Kiss Me Deadly" (1955), "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid" (1969), and "The Last Picture Show" (!971), for which she won an Oscar, a BAFTA and a Golden Globe for best supporting actress. Leachman has been a staple of American television for decades. She played the mother on "Lassie" from 1957 to 1958, then Phyllis Lindstrom on both "The Mary Tyler Moore Show" (1970-1977) as well as her spinoff show "Phyllis" (1975-1977). Leachman has won a record-setting eight primetime Emmies and one daytime Emmy. She's been nominated more than 20 times for her television work over the years, mostly for "The Mary Tyler Moore Show." She's acted in three Mel Brooks films, including the cult classic "Young Frankenstein" (1974) starring Gene Wilder. She's done voice work, as a Granny, in "Beavis and Butt-Head Do America" (1996) and "The Croods" (2013). In 2008, Leachman broke records for being the oldest contestant on "Dancing with the Stars." At 82, she danced on the competition show with her partner Corky Ballas.