LOUISE FLETCHER

To baby-boomers, Louise Fletcher is best known for her role as Nurse Ratched in the critically acclaimed, One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest. For Generation Xers however, she is known as the cunning Kai Winn on the hit sci-fi series, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. But one thing is certain, whatever role she chooses to play, viewers come away with the gift of having experienced a brilliant actress at work.
      Fletcher's talent is far-reaching in that she has the ability to convincingly play any type of character she so wishes to play; from vulnerable to powerful, scattered to intelligent, but ultimately, she is at her best whenever she crawls into the skin and mind of the adversary; as seen in her skin-chilling portrayal of the deranged grandmother in Flowers In The Attic.
      Raised by her parents Robert, an Episcopal minister, and Estelle, Louise had a unique childhood due to the fact that both her parents were deaf. She was taught how to speak by her aunt, who apparently was the first person to expose Louise to the performing arts.
      Upon graduation from the University of North Carolina, Louise traveled to Los Angeles with a few of her friends, where she worked as a receptionist to pay the rent as well as acting classes. Soon enough she found work in television, then in feature films, but after marrying producer Jerry Bick in 1960, she took time off from the hectic work schedule of the film industry in order to raise their two sons.
      Once she felt comfortable to return to work, Louise made her resurgence in 1974 in the film Thieves Like Us, which was soon followed by the infamous Nurse Ratched role. Since then, Louise has worked non-stop and has earned the respect of peers and fans alike. She is a timeless presence on both the small and large screen; an accomplishment reserved for only the best of Hollywood.
Photo © unknown - Bio by ThespianNet.com © 2001