June Squibb

June Louise Squibb (born November 6, 1929) is an American actress. She has played supporting roles in films like Alice, Scent of a Woman, The Age of Innocence, In & Out, and Far from Heaven. She has also performed on television series such as Ghost Whisperer and on Broadway, including performing in the original production of Gypsy. She played the wife of Jack Nicholson in Alexander Payne's film About Schmidt, and the wife of Bruce Dern in Payne's Nebraska, which premiered at the 2013 Cannes Film Festival and for which she received an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. Squibb will also appear on season three of Girls. --- Squibb was born and raised in Vandalia, Illinois, the only child of JoyBelle (née Force) Squibb (1905–1996) and Lewis Squibb (1905–1996). Her mother was an avid golfer and well-known piano player who began playing for silent movies in the 1920s, and later entered piano competitions, winning the World Championship Old Time Piano Playing Contest in 1975 and 1976. Her father was in the insurance business and was in the Navy during World War II. June is the widow of renowned acting teacher Charles Kakatsakis (1929–1999) (his parents were immigrants from Greece), with whom she has one child, Harry Kakatsakis, a filmmaker best known for his short film Admissions, a transformational tale about what it takes to find lasting peace, starring Academy Award nominee James Cromwell. June started her career in musical theatre in St. Louis, and trained at the Cleveland Play House, and also trained at the HB Studio after moving to New York City. When asked about ageism in show business, June commented "Well, it’s like anything else. I always feel, rules are meant to be broken." June got her big break in New York by landing the role of Dulcie in The Boyfriend Off-Broadway in 1958. In 1959 she performed in an Off-Broadway revival of Lend an Ear starring Elizabeth Allen. She made her Broadway debut in the original production of Gypsy starring Ethel Merman, taking over the role of stripper Electra in 1960. She next appeared in The Happy Time, which opened in 1968 and was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Musical. In-between these periods June also did modeling work for romance novels and did commercials. In 1995 she appeared in the play Sacrilege on Broadway, which starred Ellen Burstyn. June has also played many roles in national tours, regional theatre, summer stock, and Off-broadway. In 2012 she played the matriarch Stella Gordon in Dividing the Estate at the Dallas Theater Center for which she received standout reviews.