At 92, Film Icon Ellen Burstyn Overcame Traumatic Marriage To Schizophrenic Spouse To Score ‘Triple Crown Of Acting’

Feb 20, 2025 by apost team

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This iconic actress is renowned for starring in classics like “The Exorcist” and “Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore.” She has had a career marked by several accolades, including an Academy Award and multiple Emmy wins. The actress, who turned 92 in 2024, became one of few women to win the “triple crown of acting”: a Tony, an Emmy and an Oscar proving outstanding talent on the small screen, big screen and the stage. Born Edna Rae Gillooly in Detroit, Michigan, the star had already experienced her share of struggles before achieving stardom. She started her career working as a model and stage actress, battling sexism in a male-dominated industry. 

In the later years of her career, she starred in blockbusters such as 2014’s “Interstellar” and the enigmatic “The Age of Adaline” in 2015. In addition to being an actress, she is also a director. She explained that she wanted to leave a legacy as more than just a good-looking actress in the entertainment industry. Reflecting on this, she shared: 

“It occurred to me, I could have a career based on my looks,” she said. “But if I did, it would be a very short career and that I’d better not rely on that. So, I went to (Lee) Strasberg and I studied the art of acting. And it makes me so happy to be 85 and still working.”

That meant that besides being beautiful, she had to hone her craft. And hone her craft she did, eventually becoming the Academy Award-winning actress we know and love today.

This talented actress is none other than Ellen Burstyn! Since making her career debut on Broadway in the ’50s, Burstyn has become widely recognized for her emotional depth, versatility, and naturalistic acting style.    

Yet, beneath her Hollywood success lies a lesser-known story of resilience and survival: her harrowing experience as the wife of a man whose schizophrenia manifested in terror and violence. This further complicated her rise to fame and her journey to the top. Her turbulent marriage to her third husband, Neil Nephew, tested her strength in ways few could imagine.

Known for portraying complex women, not many knew that behind the scenes, Burstyn was in a complex, toxic situation herself. Discussing how this happened behind the scenes of her successful career, Burstyn revealed:

“...at the same time all of that was happening, I was going through a difficult time with my husband, who was schizophrenic and psychotic. So I was spending a lot of time in and out of mental institutions with him. It was both a wonderful time and a difficult time.”

The actress also disclosed in her memoir, “Lessons In Becoming Myself,” the extent of the horrors she suffered at the hands of Nephew, sharing that after their divorce in 1972, he stalked her for six years. He also broke into her home and assaulted her. Nephew committed suicide in 1978.

“It was bizarre,” she recalled. “It was pretty strange, because my personal life was so traumatic and my public life was so fortunate that it was a strange contrast to be able to juggle.”

Despite her personal struggles, the actress has expressed appreciation for her career for enriching her life, as well as for her wonderful family, which includes her son, Jefferson Burstyn, whom she adopted in 1961. She is also a doting grandmother to one granddaughter, whom she started sharing her love for the theater with at the tender age of 3. While Burstyn's life has been marked by tragedy, it is now filled with joy. She shared:

“I’ve been able to have a family and a career. My son is a wonderful human being. I’ve traveled. I think I’ve lived the life that I hoped to live.”

apost.com

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