Pat Carroll was born in Shreveport, Louisiana in 1927 to Angela (Meagher) and Maurice Clifton Carroll. Her family moved to Los Angeles when she was five, and she began performing in local stage productions. She graduated from Hollywood's Immaculate Heart High School and attended Immaculate College and Catholic University of America.
After college, Carroll began performing comedy in nightclubs and gained early experience with appearances in resort areas. Her stage debut in 1947 led to hundreds of stock roles, and she made her off-Broadway debut in the play "Come What May" in 1950. She earned a Tony nomination for her Broadway work in the singing revue "Catch a Star" in 1955 and appeared in musicals such as "On the Town," "Once Upon a Mattress," and "The Unsinkable Molly Brown."
Carroll's breakthrough in television came during the "golden age" of TV, with roles on variety programs like "The Red Buttons Show" and "The Saturday Night Revue." She won an Emmy award for her work on "Caesar's Hour" in 1954 and earned fine reviews for her recurring role on the sitcom "The Danny Thomas Show." She became a popular guest on talk shows and a panelist on game shows like "You Don't Say," "To Tell the Truth," "I've Got a Secret," and "Password."
In the 1960s, Carroll co-starred in the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical "Cinderella" as one of the wicked stepsisters, and she won recurring/regular roles on the sitcoms "Too Close for Comfort" and "She's the Sheriff." She also appeared in films like "With Six You Get Eggroll" and "The Brothers O'Toole."
In the late 1970s, Carroll's career received a boost with her one-woman show "Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein, Gertrude Stein," which she also produced and won multiple theater awards. She took the show on the road for four years and won a Grammy for her recorded version in 1981. She returned to Broadway after thirty years to appear in the play "Dancing in the End Zone" in 1985.
Carroll surprised her fans by continuing to take on dramatic roles, earning critical acclaim for her interpretations of Sir John Falstaff in "The Merry Wives of Windsor" and the Nurse in "Romeo and Juliet." She won bookend Helen Hayes awards for these performances and became a life member of The Actors Studio.
She continued to perform in stage productions, including "Volpone," "Mother Courage," "Our Town," and "Electra." Carroll also extended herself into directing, helming a musical version of "Alice in Wonderland" for The Kennedy Center and productions of "Private Lives" and "The Supporting Cast."
In the late 1980s, Carroll became a voice-over favorite on numerous animated programs, including Disney's "The Little Mermaid" and "A Goofy Movie." She continued to give voice life to many Disney characters and in video games and special projects. She also guested on the drama series "ER" and provided the voice of Old Lady Crowley in the Disney TV animated series "Rapunzel's Tangled Adventure" in 2017.
Carroll had three children with her late husband Lee Karsian, a one-time manager and talent agent. Her oldest son Sean is a character actor, and her daughters Kerry and Tara are a casting director and actress, respectively.
