Ellen Tyne Daly (; born February 21, 1946) is an American actress whose six-decade career included many leading roles in movies and theater. She has won six Emmy Awards for her television work and a Tony Award, and is a 2011 American Theatre Hall of Fame inductee.
Daly began her career on stage in summer stock in New York City, and made her Broadway debut in the play That Summer – That Fall in 1967. She is best known for her television role as Detective Mary Beth Lacey in the CBS police drama Cagney & Lacey (1982–88), for which she won four Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. She also won Emmy Awards for her roles as Alice Henderson in the period drama series Christy (1994–95) and Maxine Gray in the legal drama series Judging Amy (1999–2005).
She starred in the Broadway revival of Gypsy (1989), earning the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. Her other Tony-nominated roles were in Rabbit Hole (2006) and Mothers and Sons (2014). She played Maria Callas, both on Broadway and in London's West End, in the play Master Class (2011–12)." Master Class Broadway" Playbill (vault), accessed August 22, 2016Shenton, Mark. "Tyne Daly Opens in West End in 'Master Class' Feb. 7" Playbill, February 7, 2012 Her other Broadway credits include The Seagull (1992) and It Shoulda Been You (2015).
Daly made her film debut in John and Mary (1969). She is known for her film roles in The Enforcer (1976), Hello, My Name Is Doris (2015), and The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018). She received an Independent Spirit Award for Best Supporting Female nomination for her role in the Patrick Wang drama A Bread Factory (2018). She portrayed Anne Marie Hoag in Marvel Studios' Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017).
Early years and education Daly was born in Madison, Wisconsin, to actor James Daly and actress Mary Hope (née Newell). She is of Irish descent, her ancestors being from Limerick and County Kerry. Her younger brother is actor Tim Daly.
She was raised in Rockland County, New York, where she started her career by performing in summer stock with her family; she earned her equity card at age 15. She studied at Brandeis University and the American Musical and Dramatic Academy.
Career 1967–1980: Career beginnings Daly's first Broadway role was in 1967 in a short-lived play, That Summer, That Fall.That Summer, That Fall profile, ibdb.com; retrieved March 19, 2010.
Daly appeared in John and Mary (1969), Angel Unchained (1970), Play It as It Lays (1972), and The Adulteress. She was cast as Inspector Harry Callahan's first female partner, Kate Moore, in the 1976 Dirty Harry film The Enforcer. The film was critically panned, though a box office success. Daly's performance divided critics, with some calling it too "mannered" for film, while others praised the strength she brought to the role. The concept of a male/female police partnership was later used as the basis for the television show Hunter.
1981–2005: Breakthrough and stardom
Daly appeared in the CBS police-procedural crime drama Cagney & Lacey as Mary Beth Lacey, the married working mother. She won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series four times, in 1983, 1984, 1985, and 1988, and was a nominee in 1986 and 1987."Emmys. 'Cagney and Lacey'" .emmys.com, accessed February 22, 2016O'Connor, John J. "'Cagney & Lacey' Back" The New York Times, September 30, 1985, accessed February 22, 2016 Between co-star Sharon Gless and her, they won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series six years in a row.
In 1988, Daly appeared on the Dolly Parton TV variety show Dolly, and sang (at her request) a duet with Parton. Broadway producer Barry Brown saw the show, and impressed by Daly's performance, decided to mount a revival of the musical Gypsy with Daly in the lead role of Rose. Cagney & Lacey had finished airing, and Daly agreed. In April 1989, the Daly-helmed Gypsy revival began a 14-city U.S. tour; it was then presented on Broadway in November 1989."'Gypsy' Broadway" playbillvault.com; accessed February 22, 2016 This production was the second revival of the show to play Broadway (the first was in 1974 with Angela Lansbury). Daly won the 1990 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for her performance in Gypsy.Stasio, Marilyn."Theater:Reports From a Broadway-Bound Gypsy".The New York Times, November 12, 1989 Daly left Gypsy in July 1990, with Linda Lavin playing Rose, and returned in April 1991 through closing in July 1991.
In 1991, Daly guest-starred on her brother Tim's series Wings, playing a woman who dates Brian Hackett (Steven Weber), brother of Tim's character Joe. She appeared in the Broadway revival of The Seagull in 1992 as Madame Arkadina."'The Seagull' at the Internet Broadway Database", ibdb.com; retrieved March 19, 2010 She appeared as Sally Adams in the City Center Encores! staged concert of Call Me Madam in February 1995.Holden, Stephen."A 'Madam' With the Mostes'".New York Times, February 18, 1995 In regional theatre, she played Lola in Come Back, Little Sheba at the Los Angeles Theatre Center, Los Angeles, in April 1997.Arkatov, Janice. "Acting--best Of Tyne Daly", Los Angeles Times, April 22, 1987.
She appeared as social worker Maxine Gray, who was also the mother to the show's title character on the CBS drama Judging Amy, which ran from 1999 to 2005. Addressing a conference of the National Association of Social Workers in 2000, Daly said she had learned from social workers and social-work texts to improve her portrayal of her character, and she added: "I take from you because you are the ones dealing with all the bad institutions of our society: institutionalized poverty, institutionalized racism, institutionalized cynicism." Daly appeared in the Lifetime television film Undercover Christmas in 2003 as Anne Cunningham."'Undercover Christmas' listing" , mylifetime.com; retrieved January 25, 2010 Among her later television roles, Daly reunited with Cagney & Lacey costar Sharon Gless in a 2010 guest role on the series Burn Notice.
2006–present: Return to Broadway
She appeared on Broadway in the David Lindsay-Abaire play Rabbit Hole (2006) portraying the mother of the play's protagonist, played by Cynthia Nixon.Brantley, Ben. "Theater Review: 'Rabbit Hole':Mourning a Child in a Silence That's Unbearably Loud" The New York Times, February 3, 2006 For her performance she was nominated for the Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. In January 2008, she played the role of Mother in the world premiere production of Edward Albee's Me, Myself & I at the McCarter Theatre, Princeton, New Jersey.Gans, Andrew. "Seeing Double: Albee's 'Me, Myself and I' Begins McCarter Theatre Run Jan. 11" , playbill.com, January 11, 2008. In 2009, she appeared in the original cast of Love, Loss, and What I Wore. Daly performed a cabaret act, Second Time Around, in January 2010 at Feinstein's at Loews Regency, New York City. She had previously performed at Feinstein's in May 2009.Hetrick, Adam."It's the Second Time Around for Daly at Feinstein's Beginning Jan. 19" .playbill.com, January 19, 2010
During this time, she took several roles in television, including portraying Mabel Dodge Luhan in the Lifetime movie Georgia O'Keeffe acting alongside Jeremy Irons and Joan Allen. She also guest-starred as Carolyn Shepherd in a 2009 episode of the ABC medical drama series Grey's Anatomy and Tina in the 2010 episode of the USA Network series Burn Notice. She starred as Maria Callas in the Terrence McNally play Master Class at the Manhattan Theater Club on Broadway, from June 14, 2011 (previews) to September 4, 2011. For her performance she was nominated for the Outer Critics Circle Awards for Best Actress in a Play. Daly reprised her role as Maria Callas in the West End production of Master Class, which opened at the Vaudeville Theatre on February 7, 2012 (after previews from January 21) in a limited engagement to April 28, 2012. In 2014 she had a guest-starring role as imperious teacher Mrs. Plank in the ABC sitcom Modern Family in the 2014 episode "Won't You Be Our Neighbor." She originated the role of Judy Steinberg in It Shoulda Been You, at the George Street Playhouse, New Brunswick, New Jersey, which ran from October 4 to November 6, 2011.Gans, Andrew. "New Musical 'It Shoulda Been You'", With Tyne Daly, Harriet Harris, Howard McGillin, Opens at George Street" , playbill.com, October 14, 2011. The musical ran on Broadway in 2015.
She took supporting roles in the independent film Hello, My Name Is Doris starring Sally Field and the romantic comedy film Basmati Blues (2017) with Brie Larson, and played Anne Marie Hoag in the Marvel Cinematic Universe film Spider-Man: Homecoming (2017). She had a minor role in the Coen Brothers anthology Western film The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018). That same year, she had a leading role in the Patrick Wang films A Bread Factory Part 1 & 2 (2018). In the fall of that year, Daly joined the cast of the revival of the Murphy Brown series, playing the character of Phyllis, who runs the bar that Murphy and her coworkers often patronize. She also guest-starred in Grey's Anatomy in 2019, Madam Secretary in 2019, and Mom in 2021. In 2024 Daly was set to return to Broadway in a revival of John Patrick Shanley's play Doubt opposite Liev Schreiber; however, she withdrew from the production after being hospitalized.
Public image and legacy Daly has been identified as a feminist icon in the media, particularly based on her television role in Cagney and Lacey. Her role as Lacey showed a woman detective at a time when the idea was still novel; the show was also novel in presenting Lacey primarily in a work environment, rather than always showing the character at home. She has also been outspoken about maintaining a natural appearance as she ages, and for the run of Judging Amy, Daly's hair was in its naturally gray state and not dyed.Profile , Westsidetoday.com, April 29, 2005.
Personal life Daly was married to Georg Stanford Brown from 1966 to 1990. They have three daughters.
Filmography Sources:
Film Year Title Role Notes 1969 John and Mary Hillary 1970 Angel Unchained Merilee 1972 Play It As It Lays Journalist 1973 Inez Steiner 1976 Inspector Kate Moore 1977 Speedtrap Niffty Nolan Telefon Dorothy Putterman 1981 Zoot Suit Alice Bloomfield 1985 Evelyn Stiller Movers & Shakers Nancy Derman 1997 The Lay of the Land Dr. Guttmacher 1999 The Autumn Heart Ann 2000 Arnita Aunt Aurelia 2015 Hello, My Name Is Doris Roz 2017 Spider-Man: Homecoming Anne-Marie Hoag Basmati Blues Evelyn 2018 The Ballad of Buster Scruggs Lady (Mrs. Betjeman) Segment "The Mortal Remains" A Bread Factory, Part One DorotheaA Bread Factory, Part Two
Television