My Take
Lois Smith is the kind of actress who makes you stop mid-scene and think, "wait, who is that?" — and then you spend the next ten minutes looking her up. She made her film debut opposite James Dean in East of Eden back in 1955, which is already a wild credential, and she just never stopped working. Five Easy Pieces, Fried Green Tomatoes, Dead Man Walking, Fatal Attraction — she's quietly threaded through decades of American cinema without ever becoming a household name in the flashy sense, and somehow that makes her more interesting. Her 1970 National Society of Film Critics win for Best Supporting Actress is proof the serious critics always knew. And the fact that she was still picking up Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel awards on Broadway in 2006 — in her mid-seventies — says everything about her range and staying power. A genuine lifer, in the best possible way.
Overview
Lois Arlene Smith (née Humbert; born November 3, 1930) is an American actress whose career spans eight decades. She made her film debut in the 1955 drama film East of Eden, and later played supporting roles in a number of movies, including Five Easy Pieces (1970), Resurrection (1980), Fatal Attraction (1987), Fried Green Tomatoes (1991), Falling Down (1993), How to Make an American Quilt (1995), Dead Man Walking (199…
1. Profile
- Name (English)
- Lois Smith
- Name (Japanese)
- ロイス・スミス
- Reading
- ろいす・すみす
- Born
- November 3, 1930 (age 95)
- Zodiac / Chinese zodiac
- Scorpio / Horse
- Origin
- Topeka, Kansas, United States
- Blood type
- Private
- Height
- Private
- Agency
- Private
- Occupation
- television actor / film actor / stage actor / actor
2. Background
- Elementary school
- Private
- Junior high
- Private
- High school
- Private
- University
- University of Washington
Awards & achievements
- 1970 National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress
- 2006 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play
- 2006 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actress
3. Relationships
- Spouse
- Private
- Children
- Private
- Parents
- Private
- Siblings
- Private
4. Personality
Motto
Private
6. Links
7. About this entry
Tags
- Last updated
- 2026-06-02
Facts are limited to publicly available information up to 2024; non-public items are marked "Private / Unknown". English text is machine-assisted (facts translated by Sonnet, "My Take" written by Opus 4.8). The Japanese page is the source of record.