Award-winning actress Frances Conroy was born on November 13, 1953 in Monroe, Georgia. Of primarily Latvian and Irish ancestry, Conroy is best known for her role on the HBO series Six Feet Under. Born to a business executive father and a mother who was in business, she studied drama at the Neighborhood Playhouse and trained at the Juilliard School in New York City.
Conroy appeared onstage in productions such as Othello with Raul Julia and Richard Dreyfuss, Our Town, The Little Foxes, and on Broadway in the play The Lady From Dubuque. As early as the 1970s, Conroy was in regional touring theatrical companies, most notable for The Acting Company. One of Conroy’s first film roles was as a Shakespearean actress in a Woody Allen actress Manhattan in 1979. The following year, she made her Broadway debut in The Lady from Dubuque. For the next two decades, she concentrated on theater and stage, with appearances on productions as Our Town, The Little Foxes, and the Ride Down Mt. Morgan. During this time, she earned a Tony Award nominations. She was in a small role in Falling in Love, a 1984 film.
During the early 1990s, Conroy became friends with playwright Arthur Miller, resulting in her involvement in many of his productions on stage and screen alike. She also appeared on several television shows, miniseries, and TV movies. One of her best-known roles, however, was her work on the HBO drama series Six Feet Under. She played family matriarch Ruth Fisher, a role which earned her four Emmy nominations, plus a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild Awards.
Conroy’s other screen credits include Humboldt county, The Seeker: The Dark is Rising, The Wicker Man, Broken Flowers, Shopgirl, The Aviator, Catwoman, Die Mommie Die!, Maid in Manhattan, The Crucible, Sleepless in Seattle, and Scent of a Woman.