Kelly Bishop stars in "Bunheads" on ABC Family as Fanny Flowers.
Veteran actress Kelly Bishop has portrayed many memorable roles in film, television and the theater since her breakout performance as one of the original cast members of the hit Broadway musical "A Chorus Line." On television, she is best known for playing Emily Gilmore on all seven seasons of The CW's drama series "Gilmore Girls," alongside Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel.
The Colorado Springs native grew up in Denver, where
Bishop's big break came when she was cast as the sexy, hard-edged Sheila in "A Chorus Line." She won Tony and Drama Desk Awards for her performance, giving her the confidence she needed to eventually leave the acclaimed original ensemble to pursue a dramatic acting career.
It wasn't long before Bishop was cast opposite Jill Clayburgh in Paul Mazursky's big-screen drama "An Unmarried Woman." Bishop went on to play "mom" to several high-profile stars in numerous features: Jennifer Grey's mother in the box-office hit "Dirty Dancing," Howard Stern's mother in the Betty Thomas-directed comedy "Private Parts" and Tobey Maguire's mom in "Wonder Boys." Bishop's additional feature credits include "Blue Moon," "Cafe Society," "Miami Rhapsody," "Queens Logic" and "Me and Him."
On television, Bishop starred in the Mike Nichols' series "The Thorns" and played Lisa Ann Walter's mother on "My Wildest Dreams." She has guest-starred on "Law & Order," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and "Murphy Brown."
Bishop's extensive theater credits include the lead in the Broadway production of "Six Degrees of Separation," as well as Broadway productions of Neil Simon's "Proposals," the Tony Award-winning "The Last Night of Ballyhoo" and "Bus Stop." She also has starred in numerous regional theater and off-Broadway productions.
When she's not working, Bishop practices Pilates and aerobics, and enjoys gardening and hiking near her home in New Jersey, where she lives with her husband, TV talk show host Lee Leonard.
Veteran actress Kelly Bishop has portrayed many memorable roles in film, television and the theater since her breakout performance as one of the original cast members of the hit Broadway musical "A Chorus Line." On television, she is best known for playing Emily Gilmore on all seven seasons of The CW's drama series "Gilmore Girls," alongside Lauren Graham and Alexis Bledel.
The Colorado Springs native grew up in Denver, where
Kelly Bishop Bunheads Kelly Bishop Gilmore Girls Kelly Bishop and Sutton Foster Bunheads Kelly Bishop and Sutton Foster Bunheads Kelly Bishop Pictures
she trained to be a ballet dancer. At 18, Bishop headed to New York and landed her first job dancing in a year-round ballet company at Radio City Music Hall. She danced in Las Vegas, summer stock and on television until she was cast in 1967 in "Golden Rainbow," her first Broadway role.Bishop's big break came when she was cast as the sexy, hard-edged Sheila in "A Chorus Line." She won Tony and Drama Desk Awards for her performance, giving her the confidence she needed to eventually leave the acclaimed original ensemble to pursue a dramatic acting career.
It wasn't long before Bishop was cast opposite Jill Clayburgh in Paul Mazursky's big-screen drama "An Unmarried Woman." Bishop went on to play "mom" to several high-profile stars in numerous features: Jennifer Grey's mother in the box-office hit "Dirty Dancing," Howard Stern's mother in the Betty Thomas-directed comedy "Private Parts" and Tobey Maguire's mom in "Wonder Boys." Bishop's additional feature credits include "Blue Moon," "Cafe Society," "Miami Rhapsody," "Queens Logic" and "Me and Him."
On television, Bishop starred in the Mike Nichols' series "The Thorns" and played Lisa Ann Walter's mother on "My Wildest Dreams." She has guest-starred on "Law & Order," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" and "Murphy Brown."
Bishop's extensive theater credits include the lead in the Broadway production of "Six Degrees of Separation," as well as Broadway productions of Neil Simon's "Proposals," the Tony Award-winning "The Last Night of Ballyhoo" and "Bus Stop." She also has starred in numerous regional theater and off-Broadway productions.
When she's not working, Bishop practices Pilates and aerobics, and enjoys gardening and hiking near her home in New Jersey, where she lives with her husband, TV talk show host Lee Leonard.
Kelly Bishop Bunheads Kelly Bishop Gilmore Girls Kelly Bishop and Sutton Foster Bunheads Kelly Bishop and Sutton Foster Bunheads Kelly Bishop Pictures
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