Born Edna Rae Gillooly in Detroit, MI; trained at the Actors Studio, New York. Went through several stage names (Edna Rae, Keri Flynn, Erica Dean & Ellen McRae) and an assortment of odd jobs before making her Broadway debut in Fair Game in 1957. Burstyn earned Oscar nominations for her roles in THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (1971) and THE EXORCIST (1973); she anchored the latter film, with her fully believable performance as a resilient, middle-aged woman who refuses to yield against impossible odds acting as a counterpoint to the more fantastical elements of the plot. Burstyn then won the best actress Oscar® for another superb performance in ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE (1974), a project which she herself packaged and got off the ground. Unfortunately, though steadily employed in other media, Burstyn was given few opportunities to expand her body of film work during the 1980s. However, this changed in the 1990s. She appeared in such films as THE CEMETERY CLUB (1993), WHEN A MAN LOVES A WOMAN (1994), ROOMMATES, THE BABY-SITTERS CLUB and HOW TO MAKE AN AMERICAN QUILT (all 1995), THE SPITFIRE GRILL (1996), DECEIVER (1997), PLAYING BY HEART (1998), THE YARDS (2000), REQUIEM FOR A DREAM (2000 Oscar nomination), DIVINE SECRETS OF THE YA-YA SISTERHOOD (2002), THE ELEPHANT KING, THE WICKER MAN, THE FOUNTAIN and 30 DAYS (all 2006), THE STONE ANGEL and OUR LADY OF VICTORY (both 2007), and THE LOSS OF A TEARDROP DIAMOND (2008). Her television credits include recurring roles on series such as "The Ellen Burstyn Show" (1986), "That's Life" (2000-02), and "The Book of Daniel" (2006). Burstyn became the first female president of Actor's Equity Association from 1982 to 1985, and she acted as co-artistic director, with Al Pacino, of the Actors Studio from 1982 to 1988. She is thrice married and divorced, the second time to director Paul Roberts and the third to actor Neil Burstyn.  Nominated for Supporting Actress 1971: THE LAST PICTURE SHOW  Nominated for Actress 1973: THE EXORCIST  Actress 1974: ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE  Nominated for Actress 1978: SAME TIME, NEXT YEAR  Nominated for Actress 1980: RESURRECTION  Nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role 2000: REQUIEM FOR A DREAM 6 nominations, 1 Award