Leaving home at age 18 to work as a model in Texas and NYC Ellen Burstyn (nee Edna Rae Gillooly) went through several stage names and an assortment of odd jobs before landing a regular gig as a dancer on "The Jackie Gleason Show" in the late 1950s (billed as Erica Dean). In 1957, she changed her stage name to Ellen McRae for her Broadway debut in "Fair Game" and continued to work under that moniker for over a decade, during which she found constant employment in TV appearances and minor film roles. In 1970, Burstyn began to gain attention for her screen work as Henry Miller's errant wife in Joseph Strick's "Tropic of Cancer", and as the title character's disenchanted spouse in "Alex in Wonderland". The following year, now using the name by which she has come to be known, Burstyn garnered critical praise and a Best Supporting Actress Oscar nod for her breakthrough performance as a frustrated wife and ambitious mother in Peter Bogdanovich's "The Last Picture Show" (1971). "The Exorcist" (1973) won her a second nomination (this time as Best Actress) for her fully believable performance as a resilient, middle-aged actress who refuses to yield against impossible odds to her daughter's demons, anchoring the film and acting as a counterpoint to the more fantastical elements of the plot. She finally won a Best Actress Oscar for her superb performance as an itinerant housewife turned waitress/singer supporting herself and her 12-year-old son in the poignant "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore" (1975). She recreated her Tony-winning stage triumph in the film adaptation of "Same Time, Next Year" (1978), and was affecting as a woman blessed with healing powers in the little-seen "Resurrection" (1980), both of which earned her additional Best Actress Academy Award nominations.

Burstyn spent the better part of the 1980s dividing her time between running the Actors Studio and establishing a notable and acclaimed television presence. She was exceptional as the accused in the telefilm "The People vs. Jean Harris" (NBC, 1981) and quite moving as a mother dealing with the suicide of her child in "Surviving" (ABC, 1985). For a change of pace, Burstyn headlined her own comedy series "The Ellen Burstyn Show" (ABC, 1986-87) playing a best-selling author sharing her home with her mother, daughter and grandson. She offered tour-de-force portrayals of a woman whose neighbors and best friends are suspected of being spies in "Pack of Lies" (CBS, 1987) and as Rebecca DeMornay's taxi-driving mother in "Getting Out" (1994).

The 90s saw Burstyn return to the screen in supporting roles, usually as grandmotherly types as in "When a Man Loves a Woman" (1994), "How to Make an American Quilt" (1995) and "The Spitfire Grill" (1996). She was quietly moving as a mother coming to terms with her son's battle against AIDS in the underrated ensemble comedy-drama "Playing by Heart" (1998). In 2000, Burstyn had little to do as Mark Wahlberg's mother in "The Yards" but she offered a stunning portrayal of a aging woman who becomes addicted to diet pills in Darren Aronofsky's relentless "Requiem for a Dream". That film courted controversy and earned an NC-17 rating for its drug and sex content but it also served as a showcase for the actress' peerless work. Later that same year, Burstyn returned to series TV work as the mother of young woman who returns home to resume her college studies in lieu of marriage in the CBS drama "That's Life".

from movies.yahoo.com

  30 Days (2006) (post-production)
The Cool Season (2006) (post-production) .... Diana Hunt
The Fountain (2006) (post-production) .... Lilian
The Wicker Man (2006) (post-production) .... Lady Summersisle

"The Book of Daniel" (2006) TV Series .... Dr. Beatrice Congreve
Cross the Line (2005) .... Maura
Mrs. Harris (2005)
Down in the Valley (2005) .... Ma
Our Fathers (2005) (TV) .... Mary Ryan
The Five People You Meet in Heaven (2004) (TV) .... Ruby
The Madam's Family: The Truth About the Canal Street Brothel (2004) (TV) .... Tommie
Brush with Fate (2003) (TV) .... Rika
Red Dragon (2002) (voice) (uncredited) .... Grandma Dolarhyde
... aka Roter Drache (Germany)
Distance (2002/I) .... Voice Over
Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002) .... Viviane Joan 'Vivi' Abbott Walker
Within These Walls (2001) (TV) .... Joan Thomas
Dodson's Journey (2001) (TV) .... Mother
"That's Life" (2000) TV Series .... Dolly DeLucca
Mermaid (2000) (TV) .... Trish Gill
Requiem for a Dream (2000) .... Sara Goldfarb
... aka Delusion Over Addiction
The Yards (2000) .... Val Handler

Walking Across Egypt (1999) .... Mattie Rigsbee
Night Ride Home (1999) (TV) .... Maggie
Playing by Heart (1998) .... Mildred
"A Will of Their Own" (1998) (mini) TV Series .... Veronica Steward
The Patron Saint of Liars (1998) (TV) .... June Clatterbuck
You Can Thank Me Later (1998) .... Shirley Cooperberg
Flash (1997) (TV) .... Laura Strong
Deceiver (1997) .... Mook
... aka Liar (UK)
A Deadly Vision (1997) (TV) .... Yvette Watson
... aka Murder in Mind
Timepiece (1996) (TV) .... Maud Gannon
Our Son, the Matchmaker (1996) (TV) .... Iva Mae Longwell
The Spitfire Grill (1996) .... Hannah Ferguson
... aka Care of the Spitfire Grill
How to Make an American Quilt (1995) .... Hy Dodd
The Baby-Sitters Club (1995) .... Emily Haberman
Follow the River (1995) (TV) .... Gretel
My Brother's Keeper (1995) (TV) .... Helen
Roommates (1995) .... Judith
Trick of the Eye (1994) (TV) .... Frances Griffin
... aka Primal Secrets
Getting Gotti (1994) (TV) .... Jo Giacalone
When a Man Loves a Woman (1994) .... Emily
... aka To Have and to Hold
Getting Out (1994) (TV) .... Arlie's Mother
The Color of Evening (1994) .... Kate O'Rielly
Shattered Trust: The Shari Karney Story (1993) (TV) .... Joan Delvecchio
... aka Shattered Trust
The Cemetery Club (1993) .... Esther Moskowitz
... aka Looking for a Live One
Taking Back My Life: The Nancy Ziegenmeyer Story (1992) (TV) .... Wilma
Grand Isle (1991) .... Mademoiselle Reisz
Dying Young (1991) .... Mrs. O'Neil
Mrs. Lambert Remembers Love (1991) (TV) .... Lillian 'Lil' Lambert
When You Remember Me (1990) (TV) .... Nurse Cooder

Hanna's War (1988) .... Katalin
Look Away (1987) (TV) .... Mary Todd Lincoln
Pack of Lies (1987) (TV) .... Barbara Jackson
"The Ellen Burstyn Show" (1986) TV Series .... Ellen Brewer
Act of Vengeance (1986) (TV) .... Margaret Yablonski
Something in Common (1986) (TV) .... Lynn Hollander
Into Thin Air (1985) (TV) .... Joan Walker
Twice in a Lifetime (1985) .... Kate MacKenzie
Surviving (1985) (TV) .... Tina Brogan
... aka Surviving: A Family In Crisis
... aka Tragedy (USA: video title)
The Ambassador (1984) .... Alex Hacker
... aka Peacemaker
Silence of the North (1981) .... Olive Frederickson
The People vs. Jean Harris (1981) (TV) .... Jean Harris
Resurrection (1980) .... Edna Mae McCauley

A Dream of Passion (1978) .... Brenda
... aka Kravyi yinekon (Greece)
Same Time, Next Year (1978) .... Doris
Providence (1977) .... Sonia Langham
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974) .... Alice Hyatt
Harry and Tonto (1974) .... Shirley Mallard
Thursday's Game (1974) (TV) .... Lynne Evers
... aka The Berk (USA)
The Exorcist (1973) .... Chris MacNeil
... aka The Exorcist: The Version You Haven't Seen Yet (USA: recut version)
... aka The Exorcist: The Version You've Never Seen (USA: promotional title)
... aka William Peter Blatty's The Exorcist (USA: reissue title)
The King of Marvin Gardens (1972) .... Sally
The Last Picture Show (1971) .... Lois Farrow
Alex in Wonderland (1970) .... Beth Morrison
Tropic of Cancer (1970) (as Ellen McRae) .... Mona Miller

The Winner (1969) (as Ellen McRae) .... Ellen McLeod
... aka Pit Stop (USA: video title)
"The Iron Horse" (1966) TV Series (as Ellen McRae) .... Julie Parsons (1966-1967)
"The Doctors" (1963) TV Series (as Ellen McRae) .... Dr. Kate Bartok (1964-1965)
Goodbye Charlie (1964) (as Ellen McRae) .... Franny Salzman
For Those Who Think Young (1964) (as Ellen McRae) .... Dr. Pauline Thayer
The Big Brain (1963) (TV) (as Ellen McRae) .... Ellen