Piper Laurie, Oscar-Nominated ‘Carrie’ Star, Dead at 91

Three-time Oscar nominee Piper Laurie has died at 91. The Carrie star’s ex-husband, critic Joe Morgenstern, confirmed the news to IndieWire. She is survived by her daughter, Anna Grace Morgenstern. Born Rosetta Jacobs in Detroit, Michigan in 1932, the actress signed with Universal Pictures in 1949 and changed her name after moving to Hollywood. Her breakout role was in the 1950 comedy Louisa, starring alongside future president Ronald Reagan. Laurie moved to New York to study acting. She later returned to Hollywood to star in 1961’s The Hustler, which earned her her first Oscar nomination. She starred as Sarah Packard in the film alongside Paul Newman, George C. Scott, Jackie Gleason, and Myron McCormick.

Following The Hustler, Laurie continued to act in television and on Broadway. Her next Oscar-nominated role came in the form of the horror film Carrie in 1976 as the villainous Margaret White. The role relaunched her career, and she kept busy in film and TV since then. Her third and final Oscar nomination came when she starred in Randa Haines’ Children of a Lesser God in 1987. While she lost out on all three Oscars, she did take home a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for the 1986 TV movie Promise. Other accolades include a Golden Globe for Twin Peaks and several Emmy nominations for The Bunker, The Thorn Birds, Twin Peaks, and Frasier. 

On the movie side, other roles include Return to Oz, Dream a Little Dream of Me, Hounddog, Another Harvest Moon, and White Boy Rick, which was Piper Laurie’s final film role in 2018. She is best known in television as Anne Mueller in the miniseries The Thorn Birds and her portrayal of Catherine Martell on the popular series Twin Peaks. She also appeared on Matlock, ER, Murder, She Wrote, Will & Grace, and Law & Order: SVU. Her final TV role was in an episode of MacGyver in 2018. She did, however, star in the podcast series Around the Sun for its second season, which premiered episodes late 2022 through early 2023 on the Broadway Podcast Network.

Acting isn’t all that Laurie has done in her career. In 2011, she released her memoir, Learning to Live Out Loud. It detailed her life prior to acting, her rise to stardom, and how she found her voice through it, all thanks to perseverance. She will continue to inspire people far beyond her death through her book and her many, many roles.