Geraldine Page

American actress noted for her theater roles in Tennessee Williams' plays. Page preferred the stage to film roles and considered by many to be one of the finest dramatic actresses of the American Theater. With eight nominations for Best Actress, including her work in such films as "Summer and Smoke" and "Sweet Bird of Youth," she finally took home the Oscar for Best Actress on 25 March 1986 for her superlative performance in "The Trip To Bountiful." She earned two Emmy awards for "A Christmas Memory," 1966 and "The Thanksgiving Visitor" in 1967. The actress called "Gerry" by her friends was appearing on Broadway with the revival of Noel Coward's "Blithe Spirit" when she died in 1987.

Page lived with her osteopath father and homemaker mother in Kirksville, Missouri. The family moved to Chicago when she was five years old. She gave up her dream of music because her parents could not afford a piano and lessons during the Great Depression. While performing in a Sunday school play, she was bitten by the acting bug and was appearing on-stage by the time she was 17. She enrolled at the Goodman School of Drama in Chicago and graduated in 1945. Between the years of 1945 to 1949, Page spent her winters looking for work in New York and working in summer stock in the Midwest. In New York City, the 5' 8" actress worked as a hat-check girl and lingerie model to pay her rent. By 1949, Page moved permanently to New York City and enrolled in the Actors Studio.

Page was cast in the off-Broadway revival of Tennessee Williams' "Summer and Smoke" in 1952 and garnered attention and excellent notices from New York theater critics. A Hollywood talent scout encouraged the actress to make a screen test and soon she played opposite John Wayne in "Hondo," 1953. Page turned down a career in Hollywood even though the money was tempting. She preferred to concentrate on roles in the theater.