June Squibb

June Squibb spent most of her six-decade acting career in small supporting roles until she finally gained recognition for her sterling performance in the comedy-drama "Nebraska" (2013). Squibb was born on November 6, 1929 in Vandalia, Illinois. In the first half of her acting career, Squibb focused entirely in theater. She trained at the Cleveland Play House, and later moved to New York City where she joined the Herbert Berghof Studio in Greenwich Village. Squibb landed her first big role as Dulcie in an off-Broadway production of "The Boyfriend" in 1958. For most actresses, thirty years spent in Broadway, regional theater, musicals, and cabaret would have been a lifetime's worth of acting. However, June's acting career had more to offer when she made her first feature film debut in 1990 alongside Al Pacino in "Scent of a Woman." Except for a recurring role as Pearl in "The Young and the Restless" (CBS 1973-), most of her ensuing roles were bit parts in big movies and popular television shows such as "About Schmidt" (2002) and "Two and a Half Men" (CBS 2003-). However, she surprised everyone in the role of Kate Grant in the 2013 film "Nebraska." Director Alexander Payne, whom Squibb worked with previously in "About Schmidt," did not initially think to cast her for the role until she sent her audition tape with her two interpretations of Kate's character, one combative and the other restrained. The former won out as Squibb's Kate became the crass and potty-mouthed wife of the movie's central character, Woody Grant (Bruce Dern). Her performance was critically acclaimed, nominated for numerous film critics awards and a Golden Globe nomination for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture. In January 2014, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announced that Squibb was one of the year's Best Supporting Actress nominees.

June Squibb was a big screen film actress known for powerful performances. Squibb's career in acting began with her roles in various films like the Joe Mantegna comedic fantasy "Alice" (1990), the Al Pacino dramatic adaptation "Scent of A Woman" (1992) and the dramatic adaptation "The Age of Innocence" (1993) with Daniel Day-Lewis. She also appeared in the comedy "In & Out" (1997) with Kevin Kline, "Meet Joe Black" (1998) featuring Brad Pitt and "Far From Heaven" (2002) with Julianne Moore. She continued to work steadily in film throughout the early 2000s and the 2010s, appearing in "Welcome to Mooseport" (2004) with Gene Hackman, the dramatic adaptation "Atlas Shrugged Part One" (2011) with Taylor Schilling and the Steve Martin comedic adaptation "The Big Year" (2011). She also appeared in "The Man Who Shook the Hand of Vicente Fernández" (2012). Film continued to be her passion as she played roles in the dramedy "The Perfect Family" (2012) with Kathleen Turner and the horror flick "Would You Rather" (2013) with Brittany Snow. She also worked in television during these years, including a part on "Mom" (CBS, 2013-). She followed this honor with a role in the dramatic comedy "I'll See You In My Dreams" (2015) with Blythe Danner, Squibb most recently acted in the Anna Kendrick comedic drama "Table 19" (2017).