Elaine May

Biography

Elaine Iva May (née Berlin; born April 21, 1932) is an American actress, comedian, writer, and director. She first gained fame in the 1950s for her improvisational comedy routines with Mike Nichols before transitioning her career, regularly breaking the mold as a writer and director of several critically acclaimed films. She has received numerous awards, including a BAFTA Award, a Grammy Award, and a Tony Award. She was honored with the National Medal of Arts from President Barack Obama in 2013, and an Honorary Academy Award in 2022. In 1955, May moved to Chicago and became a founding member of the Compass Players, an improvisational theater group. She began working alongside Nichols and in 1957, they both quit the group to form their own stage act, Nichols and May. In New York, they performed nightly in clubs in Greenwich Village alongside Joan Rivers and Woody Allen, as well as on the Broadway stage. They also made regular appearances on television and radio broadcasts. They released multiple comedy albums and received four Grammy Award nominations, winning Best Comedy Album for An Evening with Mike Nichols and Elaine May in 1962. Their collaboration was covered in the PBS docum…

Movies & TV Shows

1. The Graduate (1967) — Girl with Note for Benjamin (uncredited)
2. Wolf (1994) — Operator (voice) (uncredited)
3. Small Time Crooks (2000) — May
4. The Good Fight (2017) — Ruth Bader Ginsburg
5. A New Leaf (1971) — Henrietta Lowell
6. Mikey and Nicky (1976) — Woman on TV (voice) (uncredited)
7. Crisis in Six Scenes (2016) — Kay Munsinger
8. California Suite (1978) — Millie Michaels
9. Somebody Feed Phil (2018) — Self
10. What's My Line? (1950) — Self - Mystery Guest
11. American Masters (1986) — Self
12. Luv (1967) — Ellen Manville
13. King: A Filmed Record... Montgomery to Memphis (1970) — Self (archive footage)
14. Enter Laughing (1967) — Angela Marlowe
15. The Merv Griffin Show (1962) — Self
16. The Steve Allen Show (1956) — Self - Comedian
17. Tonight Starring Jack Paar (1957) — Self
18. The Dinah Shore Chevy Show (1956) — Self
19. DuPont Show of the Month (1957) — Candy Carter
20. In the Spirit (1990) — Marianne Flan
21. The Fabulous Fifties (1960) — Self
22. Omnibus (1952)
23. Nichols and May: Take Two (1996) — Self (archive footage)
24. The Same Storm (2022) — Ruth Lipsman Berg
25. Bach to Bach (1967) — A Woman (voice)
26. Calling the Shots (1988) — Self (archive footage)
27. All the Difference (1970) — (voice)
28. The Big Party (1959) — Self

Directed

1. A New Leaf (1971) — Director
2. Mikey and Nicky (1976) — Director
3. Ishtar (1987) — Director
4. The Heartbreak Kid (1972) — Director
5. American Masters (1986) — Director
6. Mike Nichols: An American Master (2016) — Director
7. Crackpot — Director