🎬 Movies Mates PEOPLE
Eileen Brennan
Acting
Biography
Eileen Brennan (September 3, 1932 – July 28, 2013) was an American actress who was known for her versatile performances in film, television, and theater. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Captain Doreen Lewis in the 1980 comedy film Private Benjamin. She also won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Mrs. Hughes in the television series Newhart.
Brennan was born in Los Angeles, California, and began her acting career in the theater. She made her Broadway debut in 1963 in the musical Little Mary Sunshine. She went on to appear in several other Broadway musicals, including Hello, Dolly! and…
Read full biography
Eileen Brennan (September 3, 1932 – July 28, 2013) was an American actress who was known for her versatile performances in film, television, and theater. She was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role as Captain Doreen Lewis in the 1980 comedy film Private Benjamin. She also won a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Mrs. Hughes in the television series Newhart. Brennan was born in Los Angeles, California, and began her acting career in the theater. She made her Broadway debut in 1963 in the musical Little Mary Sunshine. She went on to appear in several other Broadway musicals, including Hello, Dolly! and Annie. Brennan made her film debut in the 1967 satire Divorce American Style. She followed this with supporting roles in the films The Last Picture Show (1971), The Cheap Detective (1978), and The First Wives Club (1996). She also starred in the films Clue (1985) and Sister Act (1992). In addition to her film and theater work, Brennan also had a successful television career. She appeared in numerous television shows, including The Mary Tyler Moore Show, The Bob Newhart Show, Cheers, and Will & Grace. She died on July 28, 2013, at the age of 80, from complications of multiple myeloma. Multiple myeloma is a type of cancer that affects plasma cells, a type of white blood cell that helps the body fight infection. Brennan was diagnosed with multiple myeloma in 2001. She underwent treatment, including chemotherapy and radiation therapy. She continued to work and act throughout her treatment, and she even appeared in the 2011 film The Big Year. In 2013, Brennan's health began to decline. She died on July 28, 2013, at her home in Los Angeles. She was survived by her husband, David John Lampson, and her daughter, Emily.
Biography expanded
BODY OF WORK
Eileen Brennan's Filmography
Select any movie to open its full Movies Mates details page.
Who Done It: The Clue Documentary
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Naked Run
as Gram Malone
The Amateurs
as Mrs. Cherkiss
The Art of 'The Sting'
as Self
Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous
as Carol Fields
The Hollow
as Joan Van Etten
Dumb Luck
as Minnie Hitchcock
Comic Book Villains
as Mrs. Cresswell
Jeepers Creepers
as The Cat Lady
The Last Great Ride
as Pamela 'Mimi' Applegate
Pants on Fire
as Mom
No Poster
Le petomane: Fin de siècle fartiste
Toothless
as Joe #1
Changing Habits
as Mother Superior
Boys Life 2
as Mrs. Randozza
If These Walls Could Talk
as Tessie
Reckless
as Sister Margaret
Trail of Tears
as Clara
Freaky Friday
as Principal Handel
The Lies Boys Tell
as Sada
In Search of Dr. Seuss
as The Who-Villain
Nunzio's Second Cousin
as Mrs. Randazzo
My Name Is Kate
as Barbara Mannix
Precious Victims
as Minnie
Recycle Rex
as Rose (voice)
Murder So Sweet
as Martha Catlin
I Don't Buy Kisses Anymore
as Frieda
Taking Back My Life: The Nancy Ziegenmeyer Story
as Vicky Martin
Picture This
as Self
Deadly Intentions... Again?
as Charlotte
White Palace
as Judy
Texasville
as Genevieve Morgan
Stella
as Mrs. Wilkerson
No Poster
It Had to Be You
as Judith
Going to the Chapel
as Maude
Rented Lips
as Hotel Desk Clerk
Sticky Fingers
as Stella
The New Adventures of Pippi Longstocking
as Miss Bannister
Blood Vows: The Story of a Mafia Wife
as Sylvia
The Fartiste
Babes in Toyland
as Mrs. Piper / Widow Hubbard
The History of White People in America: Volume II
Clue
as Mrs. Peacock
The History of White People in America
Answers
as Amanda Jackson (Segment "Twinkle, Twinkle")
The Fourth Wise Man
as Judith
The Funny Farm
as Gail Corbin
Lily for President?
as Maggie
Working
as Millworker
Pandemonium
as Candy's Mom
Kraft Salutes Walt Disney World's 10th Anniversary
as Aunt Angelique Lane
Incident at Crestridge
as Sara Davis
When the Circus Came to Town
as Jessy
Private Benjamin
as Capt. Doreen Lewis
My Old Man
as Marie
When She Was Bad...
as Mary Jensen
The Cheap Detective
as Betty DeBoop
The Great Smokey Roadblock
as Penelope
FM
as Mother
The Death of Richie
as Carol Werner
Murder by Death
as Tess Skeffington
Hustle
as Paula Hollinger
The Night That Panicked America
as Ann Muldoon
Knuckle
as Delafield's Mistress
My Father's House
as Mrs. Lindholm Sr.
At Long Last Love
as Elizabeth
Nourish the Beast
as Baba Goya
Daisy Miller
as Mrs. Walker
Come Die with Me
as Mary Thatcher
The Sting
as Billie
The Blue Knight
as Glenda
Scarecrow
as Darlene
Playmates
as Amy
The Last Picture Show
as Genevieve
Divorce American Style
as Eunice
The Star Wagon
as Hallie