Deanna Dunagan (born May 25, 1940) is a Chicago-based American
actress. Although Dunagan has appeared on television and in films, she
is most admired for her work as a stage actress. She is best known for
her Tony Award-winning portrayal of Violet Weston in Tracy Letts'
August: Osage County and for her portrayal of Nana in M. Night
Shyamalan's 2015 film The Visit. She has also appeared in the
recurring role of Mother Bernadette on the Fox television series The
Exorcist, and Dr. Willa Sipe in the 2018 film An Acceptable Loss by
writer Joe Chappelle.Dunagan was born and raised in Monahans, Texas,
United States, the daughter of Kathlyn (Cosper) and John Conrad
Dunagan. The eldest of five children, her father was a Coca-Cola
bottler and president of the Texas Historical Association; her mother
was a stay-at-home parent with an active presence in the community. In
an interview, Dunagan light-heartedly described her extended family,
"My heritage is a long line of Southern Baptist and Methodist
preachers. And aren't they all just frustrated actors?"Dunagan earned
a degree in music education from the University of Texas, Austin. She
married her high school sweetheart and gave birth to a son; but the
marriage ended a few years later. Following her divorce, Dunagan's
parents agreed to fund graduate studies at Trinity University, Texas
through the Dallas Theater Center. While writing her Master's thesis,
Dunagan lived in Mexico. She was engaged to a bullfighter, but they
never married, and she went on to pursue her acting career in the
United States.
actress. Although Dunagan has appeared on television and in films, she
is most admired for her work as a stage actress. She is best known for
her Tony Award-winning portrayal of Violet Weston in Tracy Letts'
August: Osage County and for her portrayal of Nana in M. Night
Shyamalan's 2015 film The Visit. She has also appeared in the
recurring role of Mother Bernadette on the Fox television series The
Exorcist, and Dr. Willa Sipe in the 2018 film An Acceptable Loss by
writer Joe Chappelle.Dunagan was born and raised in Monahans, Texas,
United States, the daughter of Kathlyn (Cosper) and John Conrad
Dunagan. The eldest of five children, her father was a Coca-Cola
bottler and president of the Texas Historical Association; her mother
was a stay-at-home parent with an active presence in the community. In
an interview, Dunagan light-heartedly described her extended family,
"My heritage is a long line of Southern Baptist and Methodist
preachers. And aren't they all just frustrated actors?"Dunagan earned
a degree in music education from the University of Texas, Austin. She
married her high school sweetheart and gave birth to a son; but the
marriage ended a few years later. Following her divorce, Dunagan's
parents agreed to fund graduate studies at Trinity University, Texas
through the Dallas Theater Center. While writing her Master's thesis,
Dunagan lived in Mexico. She was engaged to a bullfighter, but they
never married, and she went on to pursue her acting career in the
United States.
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