Marylouise Burke (born )le Sourd, Jacques (February 5, 2003). "A Playwright Finally Finds His Laugh Track; "In 'Akimbo,' an awful disease is somehow seriously funny. The Journal News. p. 2E. Retrieved March 2, 2025. "Lindsay-Abaire apparently finds disease hilarious, and the disease he picks this time is a fictional variant of progeria, the disease in which a child looks like an old person before dying prematurely. The character at the center of this play is a girl with this disease named Kimberly Levaco, who is 16. She is played by a good character actress named Marylouise Burke. Burke is 62." is an American actress. Her roles have included the 2004 Alexander Payne film Sideways, in which she played Phyllis, the mother of the lead character. On stage, she has appeared off-Broadway in Fuddy Meers in 1999, winning the Drama Desk Award for Featured Actress in a Play, and in Kimberly Akimbo in 2003, receiving a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play nomination. She also played the role of Jack's mother in the 2002 Broadway revival of Into the Woods. She received a Tony Award nomination for the Broadway production of The Balusters in 2026.
Biography Burke was raised in Steelton, Pennsylvania, attended Lebanon Valley College (in Annville, Pennsylvania), and earned a master of arts in English literature at the University of Wisconsin. She moved to New York City at age 32 to try acting, after working as a copy editor and research assistant.
Stage Burke has appeared on Broadway in Inherit the Wind in 1996, Into the Woods in 2002 as Jack's mother, Is He Dead? in 2007, Fish in the Dark in 2015, and True West in 2018-19."Marylouise Burke Broadway Productions and Awards" playbillvault.com; accessed October 26, 2015.
She has appeared in many Off-Broadway plays."Marylouise Burke Off-Broadway" lortel.org, accessed October 26, 2015 She first appeared off-Broadway in The Broken Pitcher by Heinrich Von Kleist at the Martinique Theatre in October 1981."'The Broken Pitcher' 1981" lortel.org, accessed October 26, 2015 She played "Gertie" in Fuddy Meers which opened at the Manhattan Theatre Club Stage II in November 1999."'Fuddy Meers' 1999" lortel.org, accessed October 26, 2015 She appeared in Wonder of the World, written by David Lindsay-Abaire at the Manhattan Theatre Club Stage I in 2001."'Wonder of the World' 2001" , lortel.org; accessed October 26, 2015.
Burke played the title role in Kimberly Akimbo, which premiered off-Broadway at the Manhattan Theatre Club New York City Center Stage 1 in February 2003." 'Kimberly Akimbo' Listing" lortel.org, accessed October 26, 2015 She performed in Kimberly Akimbo in its debut at the South Coast Repertory Theatre in Costa Mesa, California, from April to May 2001.Ehren, Christine. "Burke Is Kimberly Akimbo in Lindsay-Abaire's Latest at South Coast Rep April 13-May 13", Playbill.com, April 13, 2001.
She won the 2000 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play for her appearance as Gertie in Fuddy MeersProfile, filmreference.com; accessed March 19, 2016. and was nominated for the 2003 Drama Desk Award, Outstanding Actress in a Play for Kimberly Akimbo.
Burke received the 2014 Obie Award for sustained excellence of performance.Gans, Andrew. "59th Annual Obie Award Winners Announced; Sydney Lucas Is Youngest Winner in Obie History", Playbill.com, May 19, 2014.
She appeared in the David Lindsay-Abaire play Ripcord at the Manhattan Theatre Club Stage I, which opened in October 2015.McCall, Tulis. "Review. 'Ripcord'" , newyorktheatreguide.com, October 21, 2015. This is the fourth play by Lindsay-Abaire in which she appeared.
She was awarded the Richard Seff Award, presented by Actors Equity Foundation for 2019. The award is given to "veteran female and male character actors for their performances in a supporting role in a Broadway or off-Broadway production."Gans, Andrew. " 'Hadestown'’s André De Shields and 'True West'’s Marylouise Burke Named Winners of Richard Seff Awards" Playbill, May 3, 2019
Film Burke played Lillian in Meet Joe Black (1998) and the role of Miles' mother in the 2004 film Sideways."'Sideways' Production", allmovie.com; accessed October 27, 2015. She played Delores in the 2005 film The Baxter. She also played Sylvia in 2014 film Wild Canaries. Most recently she has been on the Netflix series as Marty and Wendy Byrde's corrupt marital therapist, Sue Shelby, on Ozark in 2020.
Filmography
Film +YearTitleRoleNotes1994AngieFern1995JeffreyAunt Phyllis1997Hudson River BluesDrena1998CelebrityFather Gladden's Fan on Porch1998One True ThingLouisa1998Meet Joe BlackLilian1999Bringing Out the DeadNeighbor Woman2000UrbaniaYvette - The Poodle Lady2001Diary of a City PriestSister Grace2001Series 7: The ContendersConnie2002Martin & OrloffMrs. Flam2003Mona Lisa SmilePresident Jocelyn Carr's SecretaryUncredited2004King of the CornerHelen2004SidewaysMiles's Mother2005The BaxterDelores2005PizzaAunt Grandma2005Must Love DogsAunt Eileen2006A Prairie Home CompanionLunch Lady2006Things That Hang from TreesJoan Kayser2006Ira & AbbyJanice2007The Warrior ClassMadgeDirect-to-video2007The Cake EatersBabe2008We Pedal UphillLinda2008DoubtMrs. Deakins2009I Love You Phillip MorrisBarbara Bascombe2010Rabbit HoleLibrarian2010An Invisible SignMs. Gelband2012That's What She SaidPhyllis2012Sleepwalk with MeAunt Lucille2012See Girl RunGrandma2014Wild CanariesSylvia2016The ComedianAdele2023Eric LarueWilma Kentworthy
Television YearTitleRoleNotes1991, 1997Law & OrderMrs. Collins / Estelle2 episodes2001Amy & IsabelleArleneTelevision film2003Hope & FaithNurse SallyEpisode: "Summary Judgement"2003Law & Order: Special Victims UnitCurious WomanEpisode: "Serendipity"2004My Sexiest MistakeCarolTelevision film2007The Mastersons of ManhattanRosemary FinleyTelevision film2008As the World TurnsSallyEpisode #1.132682008FringeFlora MeegarEpisode: "Power Hungry"200930 RockMomEpisode: "St. Valentine's Day"2009–2010HungJessica's Mother / Lottie11 episodes2012DelocatedJaneaneEpisode: "Camping"2014Baby DaddyMrs. CurtisEpisode: "Life's a Beach"2014Alpha HouseBetty Mower4 episodes2015Flesh and BoneBetty2 episodes2016The Mysteries of LauraMrs. DelvecchioEpisode: "The Mystery of the Dark Heart"2016Crisis in Six ScenesLucy3 episodes2016The AffairDonnaEpisode #3.12017The MistAnna2 episodes2017LongmireBeverly3 episodes2018InstinctAnaEpisode: "Long Shot"2019Happy!NunEpisode: "Some Girls Need a Lot of Repenting"2019This CloseHollisEpisode: "No Place Like Home"2019–2020Prodigal SonMatilda Watkins2 episodes2020New AmsterdamAdele Eisenbaum3 episodes2020OzarkSue Shelby5 episodes2020I Know This Much Is TrueLibrarianEpisode: "One"2021–2023The BlacklistPaula Carter5 episodes2023Only Murders in the BuildingTrixieEpisode: "Thirty"TBAConstance CooksBettie PogueEpisode: "Bitter Melons"
Stage +YearTitleRoleNotes1981The Broken PitcherMargaret1986Eden CinemaMother1986The Return of PinocchioMama1996Inherit the WindMrs Krebs1999Fuddy MeersGertie2001Wonder of the WorldKarla2002Into the WoodsJack's MotherLos Angeles Pre-Broadway Revival2002Into the WoodsJack's MotherBroadway Revival2003Kimberly AkimboKimberly2004WintertimeHilda2004The Oldest ProfessionVera2007Is He Dead?Madame Caron2009The Savannah DisputationMargaret2009Love, Loss, and What I WorePerformer2012RxFrances2015Fish in the DarkRose Kanter2015RipcordMarilyn2017EverybodyDeath2018True WestMom2022EpiphanyMorkan2023Infinite LifeEileen2026The BalustersPenny Bewell
Awards and nominations YearAwardCategoryWorkResultRef.2000Drama Desk AwardOutstanding Featured Actress in a PlayFuddy Meers2003Outstanding Actress in a PlayKimberly AkimboOuter Critics Circle AwardOutstanding Actress in a Play2023Outstanding Lead Performer in an Off-Broadway PlayEpiphanyLucille Lortel AwardOutstanding Lead Performer in a PlayDrama League AwardDistinguished Performance2024Drama Desk AwardOutstanding Featured Performance in a PlayInfinite Life2026Tony AwardBest Featured Actress in a PlayThe BalustersDrama League AwardDistinguished PerformanceDorian AwardOutstanding Featured Performance in a Broadway Play
References
External links