Julie Bovasso Movies and Career Information

Julie Bovasso (August 1, 1930 – September 14, 1991) was an American actress of stage, screen and television. She was born in Brooklyn, New York to an Italian-American family. Bovasso appeared in many films, including Saturday Night Fever and Moonstruck, in which she played Italian-American matrons. She also appeared in a supporting role in Sidney Lumet's film The Verdict. However, off-Broadway she wrote and appeared in avant-garde material, such as Jean Genet's The Maids, for which she won the very first Best Actress Obie (Off-Broadway) Award in the mid-1950s, which was presented to her by Shelley Winters. A sought-after acting coach, Bovasso was known as an exacting instructor and her private New York workshops regularly included prominent performers. She also was known as a writer, with her writing credits including Gloria and Esperanza. In her earlier acting days, she played Rose Corelli Fraser in the short-lived soap opera, From These Roots. She was subsequently fired from that show, due to a disagreement with producers. She died of cancer in New York City, aged 61.