Home   >   Movie Stars   >   H   >   Rosemary Harris

Rosemary Harris

The veteran film and stage actress, Rosemary Harris, returns to her role as Aunt May in Spider-Man 3, after having portrayed Peter Parker's beloved aunt in the blockbuster hits Spider-Man and Spider-Man 2.

Harris received an Academy Award nomination for her performance in 1994's Tom & Viv opposite Willem Dafoe, and more recently portrayed the widowed matriarch Valerie in the critically acclaimed Sunshine with Ralph Fiennes. In the film, Valerie's younger incarnation is played by Harris' own daughter, the Tony-winning actress Jennifer Ehle.

Harris appeared opposite Annette Bening in Being Julia and she recently completed work on Sidney Lumet's forthcoming Before The Devil Knows You're Dead opposite Philip Seymour Hoffman, Ethan Hawke, and Albert Finney.

Harris first worked with director Sam Raimi in the supernatural thriller The Gift. She made her feature film debut in 1954 opposite Elizabeth Taylor, Stewart Granger, and Peter Ustinov in the classic Beau Brummell and has appeared in such films as The Boys From Brazil, Crossing Delancey, director Kenneth Branagh's Hamlet, and My Life So Far.

Harris is an eight-time Tony Award nominee for her theater work and won a Tony in 1966 for her performance as Queen Eleanor of Aquitane in A Lion in Winter opposite Robert Preston. Her seven other Tony nominations were for her stage roles in Old Times, The Royal Family, Heartbreak House, Pack of Lies, Noel Coward's Hay Fever, A Delicate Balance, and Waiting in the Wings opposite Lauren Bacall.

Harris was recently honored with an Obie Award for her performance in Edward Albee's All Over. She made her Broadway stage debut with Moss Hart's Climate of Eden and her extensive credits include performances in The Seven Year Itch in London and the Broadway production of Lost in Yonkers. Harris' classical work at the Old Vic and the Royal National Theater includes roles as Desdemona opposite Richard Burton's Othello, Ophelia to Peter O'Toole's Hamlet, and Ilyena in Chekov's Uncle Vanya with Laurence Olivier and Michael Redgrave.

Harris received a Golden Globe award for her work in the television production of The Holocaust and an Emmy Award for Notorious Woman - The Life of George Sand. Her other television credits include The Chamomile Lawn and Death of a Salesman.


Note: This profile was written in or before 2007.
Read earlier biographies on this page.

Rosemary Harris Facts

OccupationActress
BirthdaySeptember 19, 1927 (96)
SignVirgo
BirthplaceAshby, United Kingdom
Awards1979 Golden Globe Awards: Best Actress in a Television Series - Drama (for Holocaust)

Selected Filmography

Spider-Man
The Gift
Spider-Man 2
Spider-Man 3
Lemony Snicket's A Series of Unfortunate Events
Hamlet
Crossing Delancey
Mercury Rising
Holocaust
Continue » Find more details on the Rosemary Harris Movies page