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Mary Kay Place Biography

(Actress, Director and Screenwriter Known for Her Role as ‘Loretta Haggers’ in the TV Series ‘Mary Hartman’)

Birthday: September 23, 1947 (Libra)

Born In: Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States

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Mary Kay Place is an American actress, director, screenwriter and singer-songwriter whose career in showbiz has spanned well over 50 years. She is best known for her role of Loretta Haggers on the TV series 'Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman', which also earned her an 'Emmy Award'. With dreams of becoming an actress and writer, she entered Hollywood and started working as a production assistant under the directors who eventually gave her the first break in writing, acting and singing. Since then, she has done a number of movies like 'The Rainmaker', 'Captain Ron', 'Diane', etc. She started her singing career with her self-penned song, 'If Communism Comes Knocking on Your Door, Don’t Answer It.' Later on, she recorded three studio albums under 'Columbia Records', which included the chartbuster 'Baby Boy'. Besides this, she has voice-acted for several characters, written scripts and songs, in addition to directing TV show episodes and music videos. The multi-talented artist counts centering prayer and mindful meditation among important tools that help her tackle stress and prepare her for life's ups and downs.

Birthday: September 23, 1947 (Libra)

Born In: Tulsa, Oklahoma, United States

18
Actresses #2300
Directors #592
Film & Theater Personalities #5121
Actresses #2300
Directors #592
Film & Theater Personalities #5121
18

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Quick Facts

Age: 77 Years, 77 Year Old Females

Family:

father: Bradley E. Place

mother: Gwendolyn Lucille

Actresses Directors

Height: 5'1" (155 cm), 5'1" Females

Notable Alumni: University Of Tulsa, The University Of Tulsa

U.S. State: Oklahoma

City: Tulsa, Oklahoma

More Facts

education: University Of Tulsa, The University Of Tulsa

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You wanted to know

  • 1

    What is Mary Kay Place's most famous role?

    Mary Kay Place is best known for her role as Loretta Haggers on the television series "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman."
  • 2

    Has Mary Kay Place ever appeared in any movies?

    Yes, Mary Kay Place has appeared in numerous films throughout her career, including "The Big Chill," "Being John Malkovich," and "Sweet Home Alabama."
  • 3

    Did Mary Kay Place ever write or direct any projects?

    Yes, Mary Kay Place has worked as a writer and director in addition to her acting career. She wrote and directed the film "The Big Chill" and has written for various television shows.
  • 4

    What genres of music does Mary Kay Place enjoy?

    Mary Kay Place is known for her love of country music and has even released albums featuring her own music.
  • 5

    Has Mary Kay Place ever won any major awards for her work?

    Yes, Mary Kay Place has been recognized for her talents with various awards, including an Emmy for her performance in the television series "Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman."

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Childhood & Early Life
Mary Kay Place was born on September 23, 1947 to Gwendolyn Lucille and Bradley Eugene Place in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA. Her father was an art professor and held the chairmanship of the art department at the ‘University of Tulsa’. Her mother worked as a teacher in Sydney Lanier Elementary School, Tulsa.
Her ancestry includes English, Polish, Swedish, as she had a Swedish father and a Polish mother.
She has two siblings, Brad Place Jr. and Ken Place.
After graduating from Nathan Hale High School, she studied at the ‘University of Tulsa’ to earn a speech degree. She was a member of the Kappa Alpha Theta sorority and was initiated into the Gamma Tau (Tulsa) chapter.
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Career
Mary Kay Place moved to Hollywood to become an actress. Unlike other struggling actors, who choose to work as waiters and waitresses, she started working as a production assistant to Conway and Norman Lear for the show 'The Tim Conway Comedy Hour' in the 1970s.
Impressed by her work, Lear gave her a writing assignment for the show 'All in the family'. She received her first on-camera break from Conway in 1973 for the same show. In its episode 'Archie Goes Too Far', she appeared as Betty Sue, in addition to singing the song: 'If Communism Comes Knocking on Your Door, Don’t Answer It.'
She wrote for and appeared on the 'Springtime' episode in the third season of the TV show M-A-S-H.
In 1976, Mary appeared in 'Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman', the satirical soap opera, as Loretta Haggers. The show was a big success. She reprised her role in 'Forever Fernwood'.
She wrote two songs 'Vitamin L' and 'Baby Boy' for her music album, 'Tonite! At the Capri Lounge Loretta Haggers'. She was one of the backing vocal providers for the song 'All I can do'.
Her duet with Willie Nelson 'Something to Brag About' from the album 'Aimin' to Please' placed the duo on music charts in 1977. In the same year, she sang 'Blue Moon' with Robert De Niro in Martin Scorsese-directed musical drama 'New York, New York'. She also hosted 'Saturday Night Live' around the same time.
Meanwhile, Mary continued writing scripts for several sitcoms like 'Phyllis' and 'The Mary Tyler Moore Show', in collaboration with 'Designing Women' fame Linda Bloodworth-Thomason.
In 1979, she starred in 'Starting Over', a romantic comedy by Burt Reynolds. Four years later, she appeared as Meg in 'The Big Cill' by Lawrence Kasdan.
In the 1990s, Mary worked in a number of TV series and movies like: 'Captain Ron' (movie), 'My So-Called life' (TV show), 'Citizen Ruth' (movie), 'The Rainmaker' (movie), 'Manny & Lo' (movie), 'Being John Malkovich' (movie), 'Girl, Interrupted' (movie) and 'Pecker' (movie).
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Besides acting, she also directed some episodes of these sitcoms: HBO's 'Dream On', NBS's 'Friends' and 'Baby Boom'.
In the 2000s, she appeared in movies like 'Committed', 'Sweet Home Alabama', 'Human Nature', 'A woman's a helluva thing', 'My first mister' and 'Latter Days'. She also co-directed Don Henley's video for the song 'Taking You Home'.
She played important roles in 'The West Wing' (TV show), 'Tales of the city' (TV show), 'Further tales of the city' (TV show), 'Big Love' (TV show), '12 Miles of Bad Road' (TV show), 'The New Normal' (TV show), 'Last Weekend' (movie), 'I'll See You in My Dreams' (movie), 'The Breakup Girl' (movie), 'The Hollars' (movie), 'Youth in Oregon' (movie) and 'Downsizing' (movie).
She provided her voice for the character of Julie Powell's mother in 'Julie & Julia' (2009), Anne Hathaway's mother in 'The Intern' (2015) and two characters in the episode 'Peggy's Pageant Fever' of Fox's animated show 'King of the hill'.
Her most recent works include the movie 'Diane' (2018), HBO's comedy 'Bored to Death' and the Netflix series 'Lady Dynamite'.
Family & Personal Life
Mary Kay Place never got married and has no children.
She owns apartments in Los Angeles and New York, and divides her time shuffling between the two.
She lost her father in 2015.
Facts About Mary Kay Place
Mary Kay Place is not only a talented actress, but she is also an accomplished singer-songwriter who has released several albums and even won a Grammy Award for her musical contributions.
In addition to her work in film and television, Mary Kay Place is also a skilled director, having helmed episodes of popular shows like "Friends" and "The Big C."

Mary Kay Place is known for her love of animals and is a passionate advocate for animal welfare. She has worked with various organizations to raise awareness about animal rights issues.

Despite her success in Hollywood, Mary Kay Place is known for her down-to-earth personality and humility. She is often described as approachable and kind by those who have worked with her.

In her free time, Mary Kay Place enjoys gardening and has a green thumb. She has even been known to share gardening tips and tricks with her fans on social media.

Awards

Primetime Emmy Awards
1977 Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman (1976)

See the events in life of Mary Kay Place in Chronological Order

How To Cite

Article Title
- Mary Kay Place Biography
Author
- Editors, TheFamousPeople.com
Website
- TheFamousPeople.com
URL
- https://www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/mary-kay-place-44290.php

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