Piper Laurie

Acting

Piper Laurie

Born 1932-01-22 · Detroit, Michigan, USA

Piper Laurie (born Rosetta Jacobs; January 22, 1932 – October 14, 2023) was an American actress. She is known for her roles in the films The Hustler (1961), Carrie (1976), and Children of a Lesser God (1986), and received various accolades, including a Primetime Emmy Award and a Golden Globe Award, in addition to nominations for three Academy Awards and a BAFTA Award. She was also known for her performances as Kirsten Arnesen in the original TV production of Days of Wine and Roses, and as Catherine Martell in the television series Twin Peaks.

Acting credits

Carrie poster
7.3

Withdrawn and sensitive teenager Carrie White faces bullying from her classmates and abuse from her fanatically pious mother. When she begins to suspect that she has supernatural powers, things take a dark and violent turn.

Carrie

1976

The Faculty poster
6.6

When creepy things start happening at Herrington High, the students begin to suspect that their faculty is being controlled by body-snatching aliens.

The Faculty

1998

White Boy Rick poster
6.3

The story of Richard Wershe Jr., a teenager who became an undercover informant for the police during the 1980s, and was ultimately arrested for drug trafficking and sentenced to life in prison.

White Boy Rick

2018

Appointment with Death poster
6.1

Emily Boynton, the stepmother to three children, blackmails the family lawyer into destroying a second will of her late husband that would have freed the children from her dominating influence. She takes herself, the children, and her daughter-in-law on holiday to Europe and the Holy Land. At a dig, Emily is found dead and Hercule Poirot investigates.

Appointment with Death

1988

The Hustler poster
7.7

Fast Eddie Felson is a small-time pool hustler with a lot of talent but a self-destructive attitude. His bravado causes him to challenge the legendary Minnesota Fats to a high-stakes match.

The Hustler

1961

Hesher poster
6.8

A young boy has lost his mother and is losing touch with his father and the world around him. Then he meets Hesher who manages to make his life even more chaotic.

Hesher

2010

The Crossing Guard poster
6.0

Unable to move on from the loss of his daughter, Freddy, now a shell of the person he was before, swears to kill the man responsible for her death.

The Crossing Guard

1995

The Rage: Carrie 2 poster
5.7

A horrible massacre strikes up after an outcast teenage girl is taunted by a group of high school jocks, all of them unaware of her cutthroat telekinetic powers.

The Rage: Carrie 2

1999

Return to Oz poster
6.7

Dorothy, saved from a psychiatric experiment by a mysterious girl, finds herself back in the land of her dreams, and makes delightful new friends, and dangerous new enemies.

Return to Oz

1985

The Dead Girl poster
6.0

The clues to a young woman's death come together as the lives of seemingly unrelated women begin to intersect.

The Dead Girl

2006

Kelly and Me poster
9.0

Failing vaudeville performer, Len, is taken under the wing of the German Shepherd wonder dog, Kelly, and a new act is born. Len hopes all his dreams are coming true when he finds himself in Hollywood ... but Kelly is the one in demand on the big screen.

Kelly and Me

1957

Children of a Lesser God poster
6.9

Starting his new job as an instructor at a New England school for the deaf, James Leeds meets Sarah Norman, a young deaf woman who works at the school as a member of the custodial staff. In spite of Sarah's withdrawn emotional state, a romance slowly develops between the pair.

Children of a Lesser God

1986

Twin Peaks poster
8.5

An idiosyncratic FBI agent investigates the murder of a young woman in the even more idiosyncratic town of Twin Peaks. (This standalone version of the series pilot was produced for the European VHS market and has an alternate, closed ending.)

Twin Peaks

1989

The Grass Harp poster
5.9

Based on the novel by Truman Capote, this often-witty coming-of-age drama looks at a young man growing up with an unusual family in the Deep South in the 1940s. Becoming an orphan in 1935, Collin moves to his dad's cousins Verena and Dolly. Verena is a rich, bossy businesswoman. Dolly, Collin and the maid revolt, moving to a tree house.

The Grass Harp

1996

Tough Love poster
6.0

The Charters family falls into despair over their drug-addicted son Gary. They discuss his problems through the "Tough Love" program in searching for answers.

Tough Love

1985

Possessed poster
5.4

An 11 year old boy starts throwing temper tantrums, vomiting on and attacking people, and swearing uncontrollably. Furniture begins to move on its own when he is around, and he doesn't remember any of it. After giving up on the protestants, the boy's parents turn to the catholic church for help. Father Bowden is a WWII veteran who is experiencing nightmares, flashbacks and other personal problems, including alcoholism. He is recruited by the archbishop to perform a series of exorcisms. This is the apparent true account of the last exorcism known to have been done by the catholic church.

Possessed

2000

Other People's Money poster
6.1

When a corporate raider threatens a hostile takeover of a 'mom and pop' company, the patriarch of the company enlists the help of his wife's attractive daughter—who is a lawyer—to stop the takeover. However, the raider soon becomes infatuated with her, and enjoys the legal manoeuvring as he tries to win her heart.

Other People's Money

1991

The Mississippi Gambler poster
7.2

Mark Fallon, with partner Kansas John Polly, tries to introduce honest gambling on the riverboats. His first success makes enemies of the crooked gamblers and of fair Angelique Dureau, whose necklace he won. Later in New Orleans, Mark befriends Angelique's father, but she still affects to despise him as his gambling career brings him wealth. Duelling, tragedy, and romantic complications follow.

The Mississippi Gambler

1953

Eulogy poster
6.4

A black comedy that follows three generations of a family, who come together for the funeral of the patriarch - unveiling a litany of family secrets and covert relationships.

Eulogy

2004

The Prince Who Was a Thief poster
5.7

An Arabian prince, kidnapped at birth and raised as a thief, plots to regain his throne from his evil uncle in this colorful costume adventure.

The Prince Who Was a Thief

1951

Dream a Little Dream poster
5.8

Bobby Kellar has a crush on Lainie Diamond, girlfriend of school jerk Joel. Coleman is working on an experiment which will help him move into a place where Dreams are reality. When an accident occurs Coleman finds himself in Bobby's body and can only contact Bobby in his dreams.

Dream a Little Dream

1989

Hounddog poster
6.5

A drama set in the American South, where a precocious, troubled girl finds a safe haven in the music and movement of Elvis Presley.

Hounddog

2008

The Bunker poster
6.3

Dramatization depicting the events surrounding Adolf Hitler's last weeks in and around his underground bunker in Berlin before and during the battle for the city.

The Bunker

1981

Tim poster
6.3

Handsome but backward gardener Tim Melville has a new woman in his life. She is Mary, his widowed employer, a woman who had given up on love until she had found Tim. At first they are friends. But soon they become lovers, as Mary, drawn to Tim's innocence and magnetism, begins to teach him all about life - and love.

Tim

1979