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Brenda Buell Vaccaro (born November 18, 1939) is an American stage, television and film actress. Vaccaro was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Italian American parents Christine M. (née Pavia) and Mario A. Vaccaro (originally a lawyer), both of whom were pioneers in Italian cuisine. She was raised in Texas, where her parents co-founded Mario's Restaurant (a nationally recognized restaurant) and where Vaccaro graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Dallas in 1958. She returned to New York City to study at the Neighborhood Playhouse, and made her Broadway debut in the short-lived 1961... MORE

Brenda Buell Vaccaro (born November 18, 1939) is an American stage, television and film actress. Vaccaro was born in Brooklyn, New York, to Italian American parents Christine M. (née Pavia) and Mario A. Vaccaro (originally a lawyer), both of whom were pioneers in Italian cuisine. She was raised in Texas, where her parents co-founded Mario's Restaurant (a nationally recognized restaurant) and where Vaccaro graduated from Thomas Jefferson High School in Dallas in 1958. She returned to New York City to study at the Neighborhood Playhouse, and made her Broadway debut in the short-lived 1961 comedy Everybody Loves Opal, for which she won the Theatre World Award. Vaccaro's Broadway credits include The Affair (1962), Cactus Flower (1965), How Now, Dow Jones (1967), The Goodbye People (1968), the female version of The Odd Couple, (1985), and Jake's Women (1992). The husky-voiced actress is a three-time Tony Award nominee, for Best Featured Actress in a Play (Cactus Flower), Best Actress in a Musical (Dow Jones), and Best Actress in a Play (The Goodbye People). Vaccaro co-starred in the 1969 Dustin Hoffman/Jon Voight film Midnight Cowboy, for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award LESS