Tovah Feldshuh
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Tovah Feldshuh (born December 27, 1952) is an award-winning American actress, singer, and playwright.
Born Terry Sue Feldshuh to a Jewish family in New York City, she was raised in an affluent community in Westchester County and graduated from Sarah Lawrence College. She started her career under British director Michael Langham at the Guthrie Theater in Minneapolis, where she was awarded the McKnight Fellowship in Acting.
Feldshuh appeared on the stage under the name Terri Fairchild before reverting to Tovah, her Hebrew name. She made her Broadway debut in the short-lived 1973 musical Cyrano starring Christopher Plummer. Additional Broadway credits include Yentl, Saravà, Lend Me a Tenor, and Golda's Balcony. The latter, William Gibson's work about the late Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, set a record as the longest-running one-woman play in Broadway history on January 2, 2005 [1].
Feldshuh made her cabaret debut at the Algonquin Hotel Oak Room with her act Tovah: Crossovah! From Broadway to Cabaret, which was followed by Tovah: Out of Her Mind!, which she took on the road to Philadelphia, Houston, Dallas, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, Hong Kong, and Sydney. The West End production sold out an eight-week run at the Duke of York's Theatre. The Boston Globe selected her as "Best Cabaret Artist of 2000" [2].
In 1973, Feldshuh appeared on television in a minor role in the Movie of the Week Scream, Pretty Peggy and later portrayed Katharine Hepburn in The Amazing Howard Hughes (1977), but she came to international prominence as Helena Slomova in the 1978 mini-series Holocaust. She has continued to make numerous appearances in television movies and primetime series.
Feldshuh has a recurring role as defense attorney Danielle Melnick on Law & Order. Feature film appearances have included A Walk on the Moon, Happy Accidents, Brewster's Millions, The Idolmaker, The Blue Iguana, A Day in October, The Believer, Just My Luck, and Kissing Jessica Stein.
Feldshuh penned the one-woman play Tallulah Hallelulah, about actress Tallulah Bankhead, in which she also starred.
Feldshuh married New York attorney Andrew Harris Levy in 1977. They have two children. For her charity work, she is the recipient of the Eleanor Roosevelt Humanities Award, Hadassah's Myrtle Wreath, and the Israel Peace Medal. The National Foundation for Jewish Culture honored her with the 2002 Jewish Image Award.
Her brother David Feldshuh is the Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright of Miss Evers' Boys.
[edit] Awards and nominations
- 2005 Method Fest Independent Film Festival for Best Supporting Actress (The Tollbooth, winner)
- 2004 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (Golda's Balcony, nominee)
- 2003 Golden Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress (Kissing Jessica Stein, winner)
- 2003 Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series (Law & Order, nominee)
- 2003 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance (Golda's Balcony, winner)
- 1993 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical (Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh, nominee)
- 1989 Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play (Lend Me a Tenor, nominee)
- 1989 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play (Lend Me a Tenor, winner)
- 1979 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical (Saravà, nominee)
- 1978 Emmy Award for Outstanding Continuing Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (Holocaust, nominee)
- 1976 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (Yentl, nominee)
- 1976 Theatre World Award (Yentl, winner)
- 1976 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play (Yentl, nominee)
- 1975 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play (Yentl, nominee)
- 1975 Drama Desk Award Special Mention (Yentl, winner)
[edit] External links
- Official Home Page
- Tovah Feldshuh at the Internet Movie Database
- List of Broadway Appearances
- Tovah Feldshuh at the Internet Broadway Database
- Tovah Feldshuh - Downstage Center interview at American Theatre Wing.org
