Born in Meridian, MS. A former secretary, model, and Copa show girl, and a cousin of Tennessee Williams, she first gained notice as a stage actress in the Equity Library revival of the playwright's Orpheus Descending and made her first film appearance in 1961 in an uncredited bit part in SOMETHING WILD. She played roles ranging from leads to bits in a number of films, mostly minor, before scoring as Flo, the tough-talking bleached-blonde waitress friend of Ellen Burstyn in ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE (1974). She was nominated for a best supporting actress Academy Award for her robust performance in that film and later co-starred in its offshoot TV series "Alice" (1980-1). She received another Oscar® nomination in 1990 for her appropriately histrionic characterization in David Lynch's WILD AT HEART, campaigning unsuccessfully in the trade papers to win the award. Her first husband was actor Bruce Dern. Their daughter is film star Laura Dern. In 1991, she played the mother of a family that takes in Dern's character in RAMBLING ROSE, and they both received acting nominations -- becoming the only mother and daughter to be nominated in the same year for the same film. Other notable (non-nominated) acting credits include THE CEMETERY CLUB (1993), CITIZEN RUTH (1996, again playing Dern's mother), GHOSTS OF MISSISSIPPI and MOTHER (both 1996) and PRIMARY COLORS (1998). More recent credits include MORE THAN PUPPY LOVE, 28 DAYS, THE LAW OF ENCLOSURES and CAN'T BE HEAVEN (all 2000), DADDY AND THEM (2001), REDEMPTION OF THE GHOST (2002), CHARLIE'S WAR (2003), THE WORLD'S FASTEST INDIAN (2005), COME EARLY MORNING, WHEN I FIND THE OCEAN and INLAND EMPIRE (all 2006), JAKE'S CORNER and AMERICAN COWSLIP (scheduled for 2008). She also works extensively in television, both in made-for-TV movies and in mini-series.  Nominated for Supporting Actress 1974: ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE  Nominated for Supporting Actress 1990: WILD AT HEART  Nominated for Supporting Actress 1991: RAMBLING ROSE 3 nominations