While attempting to break into Hollywood, this star worked at a deli. She had no idea that her determination and love of performing would eventually gain her a highly sought award, beating out other actresses.
This actress, known for her part in the 1996 film “Twister,” has spent the majority of her life on stage. She has now become an industry icon.
Celebrity’s Journey to Stardom
This iconic star was born in Topeka, Kansas, on November 3, 1930. Her father worked for the telephone business during the day and directed biblical plays at a Protestant church in the evening. Acting appeared to be a natural fit for her.
She added, “They weren’t for entertainment,” but admitted that she enjoyed the plays. The celebrity recalls enjoying rehearsals, and when her father needed someone to step in, she already knew all of the lines.
Eventually, her father gave his youngest daughter an Old Testament clothing and starring roles. She fondly remembered the excitement of performing, saying, “That was the beginning.” She married at the age of 18.
She married Wesley Smith, a teacher, and the couple moved to New York shortly after. During the audition, the actress worked at a deli slicing salami and checked hats at the Russian Tea Room.
When she obtained her first acting job, she pondered changing her name to one more glamorous than the one she currently uses. However, she realised that it was not worth the bother.
She eventually decided to keep her married name, which was ideal for her—straightforward, simple, and honest. Her primary concentration was on acting rather than the fame that came with it.
In 1955, she achieved a huge milestone by appearing in LIFE Magazine among three young Broadway performers, including Jayne Mansfield. She shrugged and remarked, “Somebody must have gotten the idea to put us all on the cover.”
She dressed in her stage costume, an off-the-shoulder red dress, and stared directly at the camera throughout the shot. The magazine lauded her “pale-faced intensity,” while Mansfield stood behind her in a strapless sequin gown.
The actress was 25 years old at the time, making her the oldest of the photographed stars, many of whom were still teenagers. By 2017, the celebrity had been acting for so long that when she mentioned adopting a new line-learning approach in “recent years,” she meant “the last 25 or so.”
By that time, she was the sole star who had survived the filming. Her longevity in the profession appears to be the result of an actor’s impulse to seek out new jobs rather than a premeditated career route. The star said, “I don’t think I was ever a particularly good planner.”
Around the time of the magazine cover, she told a reporter that she hadn’t “realised all my stage ambitions.” She was not talking to fame or prizes; she simply wanted to play Nina in “The Seagull.”
On Broadway, the star appeared in works by Harold Pinter, Bertolt Brecht, Tennessee Williams, Eugene O’Neill, John Steinbeck, Sam Shepard, and Tony Kushner, as well as three Chekhov plays. However, by the time she took on “The Seagull,” she had outgrown Nina and was now playing the ferocious Madame Arkadina.
She’s also noted for her roles in “Minority Report” (2002) and “Lady Bird.” Despite beginning her work at a time when women’s appearance standards were strict and cosmetic operations were becoming more common, she preferred to mature naturally.
Working with other greats and staying true to natural beauty.
She was concerned about her age at one point, but it wasn’t for vanity. She let her dark hair turn white on top as she grew older. She remarked, “Nature just decided to grey me that way,” and added, “I really liked the way it happened.”
Until then, her challenge had been to appear younger than her age, and even younger than her driver’s license. For example, in her Broadway debut in “Time Out for Ginger,” she was 22 years old and played a 16-year-old drama queen.
A few years later, while working on a sketch for “The Loretta Young Show,” a director commented that she didn’t appear old enough to deliver one of her character’s lines. She answered, “Why don’t we say I’m between 15 and 100?”
The actress liked the ad-lib so much that she utilised it in the skit and interviews. Her career has progressed consistently across stage and screen since her 1952 Broadway debut in “Time Out for Ginger,” which was quickly followed by her film debut in “East of Eden.”
She has cooperated with great theatre characters over the years and will share insights from those encounters in a 2020 episode of Stagecraft, Variety’s theatre podcast. Lee Strasberg, a famed acting teacher, was one of these figures.
During her Broadway stint in “The Inheritance” and prior to playing in Wes Anderson’s “The French Dispatch,” she stated that she learnt as much by observing other performers as from performing. She made history that year by receiving a coveted prize.
Making history.
Lois Smith received her first Tony Award nomination in 1990 for “The Grapes of Wrath,” and she was nominated again in 1996 for “Buried Child.” Both were for Best Featured Actress in a Play.
She won her first Tony Award for acting at the age of 90, making her the oldest actress to do so. Lois was honoured for her role as Margaret, a caretaker in an AIDS-related men’s refuge, in Part 2 of Matthew López’s six-hour-plus epic “The Inheritance.”
When asked about the piece, she stated, “I love the processes of live theatre.” She joined the production at the workshop period, while López was still finishing the script, which was inspired by E. M. Forster’s novel “Howards End.”
“E. M. Forster gave us—there’s a famous two-word message from Howards End, which is so apt, I think, tonight for all of us who are here celebrating the importance, the functions, of live theatre: ‘Only connect,'” she exclaimed.
Ben Brantley of The New York Times described her performance—the play’s sole female role—as “quietly brilliant.” She beat several excellent candidates, including Jane Alexander for “Grand Horizons,” Cora Vander Broek for “Linda Vista,” and Annie McNamara and Chalia La Tour for “Slave Play.”
The former record-holder, Cicely Tyson, won a Tony at the age of 88 in 2013 for Horton Foote’s “The Trip to Bountiful.” In a March 2020 interview with Variety, Lois stated that her schedule filming “The Inheritance” was fairly low.
She claimed that she didn’t come on stage until late in the play’s two-part run and only performed three times per week. The actress stated, “I think to myself, ‘Now what’s going to happen to me?'”
She continued, “This might be the last of me. What would I say if asked to do eight shows per week? It’s difficult to imagine at this point!” Years later, she continued to act and attend red carpet events. Fans who saw her in her 90s only had positive things to say.
Still acting and gracing red carpets
Lois attended the South by Southwest (SXSW) film festival in 2024 with her film “The Uninvited.” She portrayed Helen, a strange interloper at a Hollywood party. When asked about the role’s allure, she explained that “a part of complexity and mystery” pulled her in.
She was intrigued by the question of whether her character was sick or something else was going on. Lois was frequently approached to provide guidance to aspiring actresses. She remembered being asked this in another interview years before.
Her advice was simple: “Be on time and enjoy yourself.” In 2023, an X account commemorated her 93rd birthday with photographs from her youth and a recent photograph. The caption read: “Happy 93rd Birthday, Lois Smith! Born on November 3, 1930… She has almost 140 film roles, including her debut in East of Eden.
Lois Smith’s incredible career is a testament to tenacity, passion, and genuineness. Her path has inspired generations of artists and lovers throughout the world.
