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Kathleen Chalfant (born January 14, 1945) is an American actress. Chalfant was born as Kathleen Ann Bishop in San Francisco, California and raised in her parents' boarding house in Oakland. Her father, William Bishop, was an officer in the Coast Guard. She studied acting with Wynn Handman, who was a protégé of Sanford Meisner and with Alessandro Fersen in Rome, Italy. She was nominated for Broadway's 1993 Tony Award as Best Actress (Featured Role - Play) for her role in Tony Kushner's "Angels in America: Millennium Approaches". Chalfant earned kudos for her performance as Vivian Bearing... MORE

Kathleen Chalfant (born January 14, 1945) is an American actress. Chalfant was born as Kathleen Ann Bishop in San Francisco, California and raised in her parents' boarding house in Oakland. Her father, William Bishop, was an officer in the Coast Guard. She studied acting with Wynn Handman, who was a protégé of Sanford Meisner and with Alessandro Fersen in Rome, Italy. She was nominated for Broadway's 1993 Tony Award as Best Actress (Featured Role - Play) for her role in Tony Kushner's "Angels in America: Millennium Approaches". Chalfant earned kudos for her performance as Vivian Bearing in Margaret Edson's play Wit. She shaved her head for the role. During her work with Wit, she incorporated her experiences dealing with terminal cancer of her half-brother, Alan Palmer, who died in 1998. Her awards for her performance include the Outer Circle Critics, Drama Desk, Obie and Lucille Lortel awards. For her 2003 performance in Alan Bennett's Talking Heads, Chalfant won a second Obie award. In 1966, Chalfant married Henry Chalfant, a photographer and documentary filmmaker. They have a son, David Chalfant, who was the bass player for the folk-rock band, The Nields, and a daughter, LESS