Jill Clayburgh, a renowned actress, was named one of Hollywood's 25 Greatest Actresses by Entertainment Weekly in 1999. For decades, she delivered outstanding performances in a wide range of roles, showcasing her remarkable talent.
Born in 1944 in New York City, Jill Clayburgh came from a wealthy family. Her father, Albert Henry Clayburgh, was a manufacturing executive, and her mother, Julia Louise (Dorr),was an actress and secretary. Jill's father had Jewish ancestry, with roots in the United States dating back to the 1700s, while her mother had English ancestry with deep American roots.
Jill was educated at the prestigious Brearley School and Sarah Lawrence College. It was during her time at Sarah Lawrence that she decided to pursue a career in acting, and she joined the renowned Charles Street Repertory Theater in Boston. She later moved to New York in the late 1960s and had notable roles in several Broadway productions, including "The Rothschilds" and "Pippin".
Jill began her film career in 1970 and landed her first major role in Portnoy's Complaint in 1972. Her performance in An Unmarried Woman in 1978 earned her an Oscar nomination, and she received another nomination for her role in Starting Over in 1979.
However, after her riveting portrayal as a Valium addict in I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can in 1982, her career began to decline due to her poor choices of scripts. Despite appearing in the thriller Where Are the Children? in 1985, alongside talented child actress Elisabeth Harnois, her performance was largely ignored by critics.
In the late 1980s and beyond, Jill worked mainly in television and low-budget films, and had a leading role in the drama Never Again in 2001, alongside Jeffrey Tambor.
Jill Clayburgh was married to playwright David Rabe, with whom she had two children, including actress Lily Rabe.
Sadly, Jill Clayburgh passed away on November 5, 2010, in Salisbury, Connecticut, due to chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
