Zoe Caldwell

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Zoe Caldwell
Born Ada Caldwell
September 14, 1933 (1933-09-14) (age 74)
Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Spouse(s) Robert Whitehead (1968-2002)

Ada "Zoe" Caldwell, OBE (born September 14, 1933) is an Australian-born actress. She was born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia and lived early-on in the nearby suburb, Balwyn on Yongala Street. Her father was a plumber and her mother was a taxi dancer.[1]

Zoe had a Peugeot of 1950 vintage. She would often load a bunch of the neighbourhood kids into it and take them to the Elizabethan Theatre in Richmond where they would go backstage and watch rehearsals and performances.[2][3]

She has won four Tony Awards—for her performances on Broadway in Slapstick Tragedy, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Medea and Master Class. In the last she portrayed opera diva Maria Callas. In Stratford, Ontario she played the role of Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra.

Other Broadway credits include The Creation of the World and Other Business and Macbeth. She has also appeared on film, most notably as an imperious dowager in Woody Allen's The Purple Rose of Cairo.

Zoe Caldwell was married in 1968 to Canadian-born Broadway producer Robert Whitehead, a cousin of actor Hume Cronyn. They had two sons and were married until Whitehead's death in 2002. She has not remarried.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Nightingale, Benedict. Her Infinite Variety, New York Times, October 21, 2001. Accessed May 27, 2008.
  2. ^ Zoe Caldwell's honorary degree. University of Melbourne. Retrieved on 2006-11-13.
  3. ^ New York State Writers Institute on Caldwell. State University of New York. Retrieved on 2006-11-13.
  • Caldwell, Zoe (2001). I will be Cleopatra: An Actress's Journey. Melbourne: Text Publishing. ISBN 1877008036. 

[edit] External links

Awards
Preceded by
Joan Copeland
for American Clock
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play
1981-1982
for Medea
Succeeded by
Jessica Tandy
for Foxfire
Preceded by
Cherry Jones
for The Heiress
Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play
1995-1996
for Masterclass
Succeeded by
Janet McTeer
for A Doll's House
Languages