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Christine Ebersole

Christine Ebersole
Ebersole on February 7, 2005
Born	(1953-02-21) February 21, 1953 (age 71) Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Alma mater	MacMurray College (1975) American Academy of Dramatic Arts
Occupation(s)	Actress, singer
Years active	1972–present
Spouses	Peter Bergman ​ ​ (m. 1976; div. 1981)​ Bill Moloney ​ (m. 1988)​
Children	3

Christine Ebersole (born February 21, 1953) is an American actress and singer. She has appeared in film, television, and on stage. She starred in the Broadway musicals 42nd Street and Grey Gardens, winning two Tony Awards. In 1984, she appeared as Caterina Cavalieri in the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, Golden Globe Award, and Directors Guild of America Award-winning period biographical drama film Amadeus.

She has co-starred on the TBS sitcom Sullivan & Son, in which she played Carol Walsh, and earned an Emmy Award nomination for her work in One Life to Live. She is also known for her recurring roles as Ms. Newberg on Royal Pains and White Diamond in the Steven Universe franchise. Since 2019, she has played the role of Dottie on Bob Hearts Abishola.

Early life, family and education[edit]

Ebersole was born outside of ChicagoinWinnetka, Illinois, the daughter of Marian Esther (née Goodley) and Robert "Bob" Ebersole.^[1][2] Her father was the president of a steel company in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.^[3] She has Swiss-German and Irish ancestry.^[4]

Ebersole graduated from New Trier High School in 1971. She attended MacMurray CollegeinJacksonville, Illinois,^[5] class of 1975, and the American Academy of Dramatic Arts.^[6]

Career[edit]

She met Marc Shaiman when he was 19 and the musical director of her first club act.^[7] She appeared in two different parts on Ryan's Hope in 1977 (as a nurse) and 1980 (asLily Darnell).

Ebersole was a cast member of Saturday Night Live during 1981–82, the first full season under new producer Dick Ebersol (their similar surnames being a coincidence),^[8] acting as "Weekend Update" co-anchor with Brian Doyle-Murray. Among her impersonations were Mary Travers, Cheryl Tiegs, Barbara Mandrell, Diana, Princess of Wales, and Rona Barrett.^[9]

Following SNL, she appeared in One Life to Live as daffy Maxie McDermott (receiving an Emmy nomination) and Valerie. She co-starred with Barnard Hughes on the sitcom The Cavanaughs, played the title role in the short-lived sitcom Rachel Gunn, R.N., and guest-starred on Will & Grace, Dolly!, Just Shoot Me, Murphy Brown, Ally McBeal, Samantha Who, Boston Legal, The Colbert Report, and Royal Pains. In 1991, she appeared as the titular Miss Jones in a pilot for an ABC series about a single mother, but the series was not taken up.^[10]

She appeared in the 1993 television film adaptation of Gypsy starring Bette Midler, and in the 2000 ABC-TV film Mary and Rhoda starring Mary Tyler Moore and Valerie Harper.

In 2011, she had a recurring role on the TV Land sitcom Retired at 35.^[11] In 2014, she played Carol Walsh on the TBS sitcom Sullivan & Son. She has a recurring role on the USA Network television show Royal Pains as Ms. Newberg.^[12][13]

Ebersole's films have included Tootsie (1982), Amadeus (1984), Three Men and a Baby (1987), Mac and Me (1988), My Girl 2 (1994), Richie Rich (1994), Black Sheep (1996), and My Favorite Martian (1999).

Stage career[edit]

Ebersole has found considerable success on stage. She appeared in Going Hollywood, a musicalbyDavid Zippel and Jeremy Shaeffer. She was in the chorus in 1983 with Jerry Mitchell. They were both excited about the possibility of going to Broadway but never made it.^[7] She was featured in Paper MoonbyLarry Grossman and Ellen Fitzhugh and Carol Hall, which ran at the Paper Mill Playhouse (Millburn, New Jersey) in September 1993.^[14] Off-Broadway, she has appeared in Three Sisters and Talking Heads, and her Broadway credits include On the Twentieth Century, the 1979 revivalofOklahoma! (as Ado Annie), the 1980 revival of Camelot and the 2000 revival of Gore Vidal's The Best Man.

In 2001, she appeared in the Broadway revival of 42nd Street as Dorothy Brock, for which she won her first Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical,^[15] She next appeared in the 2002 Broadway revival of Dinner at Eight as Millicent Jordan for which she was nominated for the Tony Award, Featured Actress in a Play.^[16] In 2005, she played M'Lynn in the Broadway production of Steel Magnolias.^[17]

In 2006, Ebersole took the dual roles of Edith Ewing Bouvier Beale ("Big Edie") and Edith Bouvier Beale ("Little Edie") in Grey Gardens, a musical based upon the film of the same name. After a sold-out off-Broadway run, Ebersole remained with the roles when the production moved to Broadway in November 2006, and remained with the show through its closing in July 2007. For this role, she won her second Tony Award for Best Leading Actress in a Musical.^[18] She appeared as Elvira in the 2009 Broadway revival of the Noël Coward comedy Blithe Spirit.^[19]

She appeared in the musical War Paint, which premiered at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago on June 28, 2016, for a run through August 2016. The show began previews at the Nederlander Theatre on Broadway on March 7, 2017, and opened on April 6, 2017. It closed on November 5, 2017. She played the role of Elizabeth Arden, opposite Patti LuPoneasHelena Rubinstein. The musical had a book by Doug Wright with the music composed by Scott Frankel (music) and Michael Korie (lyrics).^[20][21]

Concerts[edit]

Ebersole appears in concerts and cabaret engagements at venues such as the Cinegrill and Cafe Carlyle. She won the 2010 Nightlife Award for Outstanding Cabaret Vocalist in a Major Engagement for her 2009 Café Carlyle cabaret.^[22] In 2009 she performed with Michael Feinstein at his club, Feinstein's at Loews Regency, (New York City) in a cabaret titled "Good Friends".^[23] She was one of the performers on the Playbill Cruise in September 2011.^[24] In November 2011, she performed for two sold-out nights at Birdland in New York City with jazz violinist Aaron Weinstein and his trio.^[25]

In 2015, Ebersole toured her show Big Noise from Winnetka, which included the 1938 jazz song Big Noise from Winnetka and a stop in Illinois.^[26]

Recording[edit]

She also has appeared on several albums. She was featured on the Bright Lights, Big City concept album.^[7] She also released an album of Noël Coward songs after browsing through them for scene change music for Blithe Spirit.^[27] She also voiced White Diamond in Steven Universe.

Personal life[edit]

Ebersole has been married twice, to actor Peter Bergman from 1976 through 1981, and since 1988 to Bill Moloney, with whom she has adopted three children.^[28] She lives in Maplewood, New Jersey, with her family.^[29]

Ebersole claims to have experienced psychic phenomena.^[30] In 2012, Ebersole appeared on InfoWars' radio program The Alex Jones Show, expressing her misgivings about the Federal Reserve System and the Council on Foreign Relations.^[31] She has professed belief in the debunked conspiracy theory that the September 11 attacks were carried out by the United States government.^[30][32]

Filmography[edit]

Film[edit]

Television[edit]

Theatre[edit]

References[edit]

External links[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Christine Ebersole.

• Official website
• Christine EbersoleatIMDb
• Christine Ebersole at the Internet Broadway Database
• Christine Ebersole at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Production: Grey Gardens Working in the Theatre by the American Theatre Wing, November 2006
• Performance Working in the Theatre video from the American Theatre Wing, September 2001
• Star File: Christine EbersoleatBroadway.com
• Interview with Christine Ebersole, TonyAwards.com
• interview with Christine Ebersole, BroadwayWorld.com, August 16, 2007