Brenda Buell Vaccaro (born November 18, 1939) is an American stage, film and television actress. In a career spanning over half a century, she received one Academy Award nomination, three Golden Globe Award nominations (winning one), four Primetime Emmy Award nominations (winning one), and three Tony Award nominations.
Early life, family and education Vaccaro was born in Brooklyn, New York City, New York, to Italian-American parents Christine M. Pavia and Mario A. Vaccaro, a restaurateur. She was raised in Dallas, Texas, where her parents, in 1943, founded Mario's Restaurant. She attended the Hockaday School in Dallas before graduating from Thomas Jefferson High School in 1958.
At age 17, she returned to New York City to study acting under the guidance of Sanford Meisner at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre. She made her Broadway debut in the short-lived 1961 comedy Everybody Loves Opal, for which she won a Theatre World Award.
Career Vaccaro's Broadway credits include The Affair (1962), Cactus Flower (1965), the musical How Now, Dow Jones (1967), The Goodbye People (1968), the female version of The Odd Couple (1985), and Jake's Women (1992). The husky-voiced actress is a three-time Tony Award nominee, for Best Featured Actress in a Play (Cactus Flower), Best Actress in a Musical (Dow Jones), and Best Actress in a Play (The Goodbye People). She was featured on the May 29, 1970 cover of Life magazine.
Vaccaro appeared with Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight in the 1969 film Midnight Cowboy, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress. She played Ethel Rosenberg in Stanley Kramer's Judgment: The Trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg in 1974, and for her performance in the 1975 film adaptation of Jacqueline Susann's Once Is Not Enough, she gained an Academy Award nomination and won the Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress.
Additional screen credits include Airport '77; Capricorn One; The Pride of Jesse Hallam; Supergirl; The Mirror Has Two Faces; Heart of Midnight; Zorro, The Gay Blade; and Death Weekend, also known as The House by the Lake.
Her television credits include the title role in the 1976 series Sara, a number of television movies, and a regular role in the short-lived 1984 series Paper Dolls, in addition to guest appearances on Banacek, The Fugitive, The Defenders, Coronet Blue, The Name of the Game, Marcus Welby, M.D., McCloud, The Streets of San Francisco, The Love Boat, St. Elsewhere, Murder, She Wrote, The Golden Girls, Columbo, Touched by an Angel, Friends (as the mother of Matt LeBlanc's "Joey"), The King of Queens, and Nip/Tuck. She was nominated for an Emmy Award three times and won for Best Supporting Actress in Comedy-Variety, Variety or Music for The Shape of Things in 1974.
Vaccaro was lampooned by Andrea Martin on SCTV for a groundbreaking 1980 commercial appearance for feminine hygiene products.
She supplied the voice for Johnny Bravo'''s mother Bunny Bravo in the animated cartoon series. She was the first voice of Jay's (Jon Lovitz)'s ex-wife Ardeth on The Critic. She made an appearance on The Smurfs as Scruple, an apprentice of Gargamel, opposite Paul Winchell.
After ill health forced Valerie Harper to bow out of the production of Nice Work If You Can Get It at the Ogunquit Playhouse (Maine), Vaccaro took over the role of Millicent Winter for the remaining performances of the limited run from August 4–15, 2015.
She played Jack Kevorkian's (Al Pacino)'s sister in You Don't Know Jack (2010). She plays Gloria Marquette in the Sex and the City reboot, And Just Like That... Personal life She entered a nearly seven-year relationship with Summertree co-star Michael Douglas in 1971. She guest-starred in two episodes of The Streets of San Francisco, the TV crime drama in which Douglas co-starred from 1972 to 1977.
She has been friends with Barbra Streisand since they both appeared on Broadway in the early 1960s. Streisand directed her in The Mirror Has Two Faces''.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1969 Where It's At Molly Hirsch 1969 Midnight Cowboy Shirley 1970 I Love My Wife Jody Burrows 1971 Going Home Jenny 1972 Summertree Vanetta 1975 Once Is Not Enough Linda Riggs 1976 Death Weekend Diane Released in the USA under the title The House by the Lake 1977 Capricorn One Kay Brubaker 1977 Airport '77 Eve Clayton 1979 Fast Charlie... the Moonbeam Rider Grace Wolf 1980 Monica Gilbert 1981 Zorro, The Gay Blade Florinda 1984 Supergirl Bianca 1985 Water Dolores Thwaites 1988 Heart of Midnight Betty 1989 Ten Little Indians Marion Marshall 1989 Cookie Bunny 1990 Lethal Games Stella Hudson 1991 Masque of the Red Death Elaina Hart 1994 Love Affair Nora Stillman 1996 Doris 2002 Sonny Meg 2003 Charlotte's Web 2: Wilbur's Great Adventure Mrs. Hirsch Voice 2005 Boynton Beach Club Marilyn 2016 Kubo and the Two Strings Kameyo Voice 2017 The Clapper Ida Krumble 2017 30-Love Hellen 2019 Once Upon a Time in Hollywood Mary Alice Schwarz 2025 Burt Patty Green 2025 Nonnas Antonella
Television Year Title Role Notes 1961 Naked City Rosa Alloro Episode: "The Corpse Ran Down Mulberry Street" 1963 Joanne Spencer Episode: "See Hollywood and Die" 1966 Vacation Playhouse Jenny Penny Episode: "My Lucky Penny" 1969 The F.B.I. Gerri Coates, the waitress Episode: "Scapegoat" 1971 What's a Nice Girl like You...? Shirley ABC Movie of the Week written by Howard Fast and directed by Jerry Paris 1972 Marcus Welby, M.D. Marilyn Hoffman Episode: "House of Mirrors" 1972 The Streets of San Francisco Police Officer Sherry Reese Episode: "Act of Duty" 1972 McCloud Police Officer Margaret Sereno Episode: "The Park Avenue Rustlers" 1972 Banacek Sharon Clark Episode: "To Steal a King" 1973 Honor Thy Father Rosalie Bonnano Television movie 1973 The Shape of Things Herself Television special 1974 The Streets of San Francisco Hit Woman Sidney (AKA Sally Banning) Episode: "The Most Deadly Species" 1974 Judgment: The Trial of Julius and Ethel Rosenberg Ethel Rosenberg TV film directed by Stanley Kramer 1976 Sara Sara Yarnell 12 episodes 1976 Territorial Men Sara Yarnell Television movie – compiled from footage shot for the television series Sara 1977 Nestor, the Long-Eared Christmas Donkey Tilly (voice) Television special 1979 Dear Detective Det. Sgt. Kate Hudson 4 episodes 1980 Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones Jane Briggs Television movie 1981 A Long Way Home Lillian Jacobs Television movie 1981 The Star Maker Dolores Baker Television movie 1981 The Pride of Jesse Hallam Marion Galucci Television movie 1983 Fame Herself Episode: "Blood Sweat & Circuits" 1984 Paper Dolls Julia Blake 13 episodes 1984 St. Elsewhere Rose Orso Episode: "The Women" 1984 Eleanor Savage 2 episodes 1984–1989 The Smurfs Scruple / various (voice) 53 episodes 1985 Deceptions Helen Adams Television miniseries 1985 Care Bears Auntie Freeze (voice) 2 episodes; uncredited 1986–1987 Hollywood Squares Herself Episodes airing December 22-26, 1986 & March 9-13, 1987 1987 Didi (voice) Television movie 1988 Murder, She Wrote Mimi Harcourt Episode: "Just Another Fish Story" 1990 Murder, She Wrote Didi Blair Episode: "The Fixer-Upper" 1990 Murder, She Wrote Sheila Kowalski Finley Episode: "The Family Jewels" 1990 Angela Petrillo Episode: "Ebbtide's Revenge" 1990 Columbo Jess McCurdy Episode: "Murder in Malibu" 1990 Stolen: One Husband Lisa Jarrett Television movie 1991 Darkwing Duck Slim (voice) Episode: "You Sweat Your Life" 1992 Civil Wars Actress Episode: "Oceans White the Phone" 1992 Red Shoe Diaries Martha Television movie 1992 Goof Troop Gilda (voice) Episode: "Date with Destiny" 1994 Following Her Heart Cecile Television movie 1994 The Critic Ardeth (voice) 5 episodes 1994–1995 Captain Planet and the Planeteers Chi / Marge (voice) 2 episodes 1995 Friends Gloria Tribbiani Episode: "The One with the Boobies" 1996 Touched by an Angel Al Episode: "Out of the Darkness" 1996 Siegfried & Roy: Masters of the Impossible (voice) Unknown episodes 1997 What a Cartoon! Melissa (voice) Episode: "Johnny Bravo and the Amazon Women" 1997 Ally McBeal Karen Horowitz Episode: "The Attitude" 1997–1999 Spawn Additional voices 5 episodes 1997–2004 Johnny Bravo Bunny Bravo / various (voice) 55 episodes 1998 Sheila Rednester Episode: "Paternal Affairs" 2001 Becker Bob's Mother Episode: "The Ghost of Christmas Presents" 2002 Just a Walk in the Park Selma Williams Television movie 2004 Just Desserts Lina Television movie 2005 American Dad! Strip Club Manager (voice) Episode: "Stan Knows Best" 2006 Nip/Tuck Beatrice Madsen Episode: "Diana Lubey" 2006 Barbara Episode: "The West Palm Beach Story" 2010 You Don't Know Jack Margo Janus Television movie 2011 Johnny Bravo Goes to Bollywood Bunny Bravo (voice) Television film 2017 Gypsy Claire Rogers 8 episodes 2017 Superior Donuts Ellen Episode: "Get It, Arthur" 2018 Summer Camp Island Godmonster (voice) Episode: "Monster Visit" 2020 The Boss Baby: Back in Business Midge Marksberry (voice) Episode: "Teambuilding" 2021 And Just Like That... Gloria Marquette 2 episodes
Video games Year Title Role Notes2006Cartoon Network RacingBunny Bravo
Stage +YearTitleRole(s)VenueNotesRef.1961Everybody Loves OpalGloriaLongacre TheatreBroadway debut1962The AffairLaura HowardHenry Miller's Theater1963Children From Their GamesMelissa PeabodyMorosco Theatre1965Cactus FlowerToniRoyale TheatreTony Award nomination1967The Natural LookReedy HarrisLongacre Theatre1967How Now, Dow JonesCynthiaLunt-Fontanne TheatreTony Award nomination1968The Goodbye PeopleNancy ScottEthel Barrymore TheatreTony Award nomination1971Father's DayLouiseJohn Golden Theatre1985The Odd CoupleOlive MadisonBroadhurst Theatre1992Jake's WomenKarenNeil Simon Theatre2015Nice Work If You Can Get ItMillicent WinterOgunquit Playhouse
Accolades Award/association Year Category Nominated work Result Academy Awards 1976 Best Supporting Actress Once Is Not Enough Behind the Voice Actors Awards 2017 Best Supporting Female Vocal Performance in a Feature Film Kubo and the Two Strings Best Vocal Ensemble in a Feature Film Golden Globe Awards 1970 New Star of the Year – Actress Where It's At Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Midnight Cowboy 1976 Once Is Not Enough Laurel Awards 1970 Best Supporting Actress Midnight Cowboy Los Angeles Italia Film Festival 2001 Outstanding Achievement Award Online Film & Television Association 2010 Best Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture or Miniseries You Don't Know Jack Primetime Emmy Awards 1974 Best Supporting Actress in Comedy - Variety, Variety or Music The Shape of Things 1976 Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Sara 1991 Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series The Golden Girls 2010 Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie You Don't Know Jack Satellite Awards 2011 Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Saturn Awards 1979 Best Supporting Actress Capricorn One Sitges Film Festival 1977 Best Actress Death Weekend Theatre World Awards 1961 Best Actress Everybody Loves Opal Tony Awards 1966 Best Featured Actress in a Play Cactus Flower 1968 Best Actress in a Musical How Now, Dow Jones 1969 Best Actress in a Play The Goodbye People
References
External links