Person Biography:
Sada Thompson was a renowned and highly respected actress, born in Des Moines, Iowa, to Hugh Woodruff Thompson, a magazine editor, and his wife Corlyss Gibson. She was the eldest of three children and developed an interest in acting, performing in school plays after her family moved to New Jersey. Thompson studied drama at the Carnegie Institute of Technology, graduating in 1949.
She began her career in regional stock and repertory companies, appearing in productions such as "Hay Fever", "The Little Foxes", "Born Yesterday", "The Clandestine Marriage", and "The Cocktail Party". Her breakthrough came in 1955 with the first concert reading of Dylan Thomas' "Under Milk Wood", and she won a 1957 Drama Desk award for her work in "The Misanthrope" and "The River Line".
Thompson's career continued to flourish in the 1970s, with complex and transcending performances in "The Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds" and "Twigs", earning her several awards, including a Tony Award. She then transitioned to film and television, adding distinctive support to dramas such as "Desperate Characters" and "The Pursuit of Happiness".
Thompson's breakthrough in television came with her Emmy-nominated performances in "Lincoln" and "The Entertainer", followed by her Emmy-winning role as Kate Lawrence in the dramatic series "Family". She went on to receive two more Emmy nominations for her roles in "Cheers" and "Indictment: The McMartin Trial".
In addition to her television work, Thompson occasionally returned to her theatrical roots, winning a second Sarah Siddons award for her title role in "Driving Miss Daisy" and enjoying a return to Broadway with "Any Given Day" in 1993. She also lent her warm and soothing voice to documentary narratives and books-on-tape.
Thompson was married to Donald Stewart for over 60 years and had a daughter, Liza Stewart, a costume designer. She passed away on May 4, 2011, at the age of 83, due to lung disease.
