Carole "Kelly" Bishop (born February 28, 1944) is an American actress
and dancer, best known for her roles as matriarch Emily Gilmore on the
series Gilmore Girls and as Marjorie Houseman, the mother of Jennifer
Grey's Frances "Baby" Houseman in the film Dirty Dancing. Bishop
originated the role of Sheila in A Chorus Line, for which she won a
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical.
She also starred as Fanny Flowers in the ABC Family short-lived
comedy-drama series Bunheads.Bishop was born in Colorado Springs,
Colorado, to Jane Lenore (née Wahtola) and Lawrence Boden
Bishop.[better source needed] She grew up in Denver, Colorado, where
she trained to be a ballet dancer, attending the San Jose Ballet
School. At eighteen, she headed to New York City and landed her first
job dancing in a year-round ballet company at Radio City Music Hall.
Bishop continued to dance 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 the Broadway production of A Chorus Line. Her performance
earned her the 1976 Tony Award as "Best Supporting or Featured Actress
(Musical)" as well as the 1976 Drama Desk Award for "Outstanding
Actress in a Musical". She also acted in the Broadway productions of
Six Degrees of Separation, Neil Simon's Proposals, the Tony
Award-winning The Last Night of Ballyhoo and Bus Stop. It wasn't long
before she was cast opposite Jill Clayburgh in Paul Mazursky's
big-screen drama An Unmarried Woman (1978). Bishop was initially cast
in a much smaller part in the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, but was called
upon to play Mrs. Houseman when Lynne Lipton, the actress assigned the
role, fell ill during the first week of shooting.Bishop went on to
play a "mom" to high-profile stars in features: Howard Stern's in the
Betty Thomas-directed comedy Private Parts (1997), and Tobey Maguire's
in Wonder Boys (2000). Additional feature credits include Ich und Er
(USA: Me and Him, 1988), Queens Logic (1991), Café Society (1995),
Miami Rhapsody (1995) and Blue Moon (2002). On television, Bishop
starred in the Mike Nichols' The Thorns opposite Tony Roberts and
Marilyn Cooper. She played Lisa Ann Walter's mother on My Wildest
Dreams. She has guest-starred on Kate & Allie, Law & Order, Law &
Order: Special Victims Unit and Murphy Brown.
and dancer, best known for her roles as matriarch Emily Gilmore on the
series Gilmore Girls and as Marjorie Houseman, the mother of Jennifer
Grey's Frances "Baby" Houseman in the film Dirty Dancing. Bishop
originated the role of Sheila in A Chorus Line, for which she won a
Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical.
She also starred as Fanny Flowers in the ABC Family short-lived
comedy-drama series Bunheads.Bishop was born in Colorado Springs,
Colorado, to Jane Lenore (née Wahtola) and Lawrence Boden
Bishop.[better source needed] She grew up in Denver, Colorado, where
she trained to be a ballet dancer, attending the San Jose Ballet
School. At eighteen, she headed to New York City and landed her first
job dancing in a year-round ballet company at Radio City Music Hall.
Bishop continued to dance 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 the Broadway production of A Chorus Line. Her performance
earned her the 1976 Tony Award as "Best Supporting or Featured Actress
(Musical)" as well as the 1976 Drama Desk Award for "Outstanding
Actress in a Musical". She also acted in the Broadway productions of
Six Degrees of Separation, Neil Simon's Proposals, the Tony
Award-winning The Last Night of Ballyhoo and Bus Stop. It wasn't long
before she was cast opposite Jill Clayburgh in Paul Mazursky's
big-screen drama An Unmarried Woman (1978). Bishop was initially cast
in a much smaller part in the 1987 film Dirty Dancing, but was called
upon to play Mrs. Houseman when Lynne Lipton, the actress assigned the
role, fell ill during the first week of shooting.Bishop went on to
play a "mom" to high-profile stars in features: Howard Stern's in the
Betty Thomas-directed comedy Private Parts (1997), and Tobey Maguire's
in Wonder Boys (2000). Additional feature credits include Ich und Er
(USA: Me and Him, 1988), Queens Logic (1991), Café Society (1995),
Miami Rhapsody (1995) and Blue Moon (2002). On television, Bishop
starred in the Mike Nichols' The Thorns opposite Tony Roberts and
Marilyn Cooper. She played Lisa Ann Walter's mother on My Wildest
Dreams. She has guest-starred on Kate & Allie, Law & Order, Law &
Order: Special Victims Unit and Murphy Brown.
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