Actress. During her 45-year career, she is remembered mostly for her theater roles and was once regarded as “the Queen of Off-Broadway.” Born Colleen Rose Dewhurst in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, she was an only child whose father owned a chain of confectionery stores. When she was around four years old, her family moved to Massachusetts, then later to New York City, New York and Whitefish Bay, Wisconsin. She attended Whitefish Bay High School for her first two years of high school, moved to Shorewood High School for her junior year, and finally graduated from Riverside High School in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 1942. After attending Milwaukee-Downer College for two years, she moved to New York City to pursue an acting career. In 1952 she made her Broadway debut in “Desire Under the Elms” and went on to perform in 20 other theater productions, including “All the Way Home” (1960-1961), Eugene O’Neill’s “Mourning becomes Electra” (1972) and “A Moon for the Misbegotten” (1973-1974), Edward Albee’s “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf” (1976), George Kauffman and Moss Hart’s “You Can’t Take It with You” (1983-1984), and Eugene O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey into Night” (1988) and “Ah, Wilderness!” (1988). She played the role of ‘Katharina’ in a 1956 Joseph Papp production of “The Taming of the Shrew” and later for Papp in William Shakespeare’s “Cleopatra” and “Lady Macbeth.” She appeared in over 50 television and silver screen films, including “The Nun’s Story” (1959), “Man on a String” (1960), “The Last Run” (1971), The Cowboys” (1972), “McQ” (1974), “Annie Hall” (1977), “Ice Castles” (1978), “Guyana Tragedy: The Story of Jim Jones” (1979, television miniseries), “The Dead Zone” (1983), “The Glitter Dome’ (1984), “Anne of Green Gables” (1985), “The Boy Who Could Fly” (1986), “Between Two Women” (1986), “Anne of Avonlea” (1987), “Those She Left Behind” (1989), “Dying Young” (1991), and “Bed and Breakfast” (1992). Her television credits include “Kraft Television Theatre,” “The DuPont Show of the Month,” “Ben Casey,” “The United States Steel Hour,” “The Virginian,” “Dr. Kildare,” “The Alfred Hitchcock Hour,” “The F.B.I.,” “The Big Valley,” “The Virginian,” “The Love Boat,” “The Blue and the Gray” (miniseries), “Murphy Brown,” and the Canadian miniseries “Road to Avonlea.” She was nominated for numerous Tony and Primetime Emmy Awards, winning the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in Miniseries or a Movie for “Between Two Women” (1986), Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for “Murphy Brown” (1989), Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for “Those She Left Behind” (1989), and Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series for “Murphy Brown” and winning the Tony for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Play in “All the Way Home” (1961) and Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play for “A Moon for the Misbegotten” (1974). Her other awards include the 1974 Sarah Siddons Award for her work in Chicago theater, two Obie (Off-Broadway Theater) Awards, two Canadian Gemini Awards, and the 1989 Academy of Canadian Cinema and Television Genie Award for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role for her role in “Hitting Home.” She was president of the Actors’ Equity Association from 1985 until her death. A devout Christian Scientist, she refused medical treatment when she was diagnosed with cervical cancer, from which she died at the age of 67. She was married to James Vickery from 1947 until 1960 and actor George C. Scott from 1960 until 1965 and again from 1967 until 1972. She is the mother of actor Campbell Scott. (bio by: William Bjornstad)  Family links:  Spouse:  George C. Scott (1927 – 1999)* *Calculated relationship