NetflixMovies
Lainie Kazan

Biography

Lainie Kazan is an American actress and singer who was born in Brooklyn and trained at HB Studio and Hofstra University, where she appeared in musicals staged by a classmate, Francis Ford Coppola. She made her Broadway debut in The Happiest Girl in the World in 1961, understudied Barbra Streisand as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl, and later earned a Tony nomination for recreating her film role in the musical My Favorite Year. On screen she is best known for playing Maria Portokalos, mother to Toula, in the My Big Fat Greek Wedding films, starting with My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002), and she drew a Golden Globe nomination for My Favorite Year (1982). Her television credits include Aunt Frieda on The Nanny, a guest role on St. Elsewhere that brought an Emmy nomination, Maxine Rosen on Desperate Housewives, and Ava St. Clair on The King of Queens.

84years old

Turns 85 on May 15in 191 days

  • Born Brooklyn
  • Star sign: TaurusThe sign runs April 20 to May 20
  • Also credited as Lainie Levine

Movie Career

Films
30
Career span
55 years1968 to 2023

Genres

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  1. Early training

    Kazan attended HB Studio for theater and earned her degree from Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, in 1960. At Hofstra she acted in musicals written and directed by a classmate, Francis Ford Coppola.

Lainie Kazan movies on Netflix

Best known for

The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.

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  1. My Big Fat Greek Wedding2002 Comedy, Romanceas Maria Portokalos

    IMDb rating 6.6152K votes

  2. You Don't Mess with the Zohan2008 Action, Comedyas Gail

    IMDb rating 5.6230K votes

  3. Gigli2003as Mother

    IMDb rating 2.751K votes

  4. My Big Fat Greek Wedding 22016as Maria

    IMDb rating 6.038K votes

  5. Beaches1988as Leona Bloom

    IMDb rating 7.032K votes

  6. The Delta Force1986as Sylvia Goldman

    IMDb rating 5.725K votes

  7. Pixels2015as Mickey Lamonsoff

    IMDb rating 5.6183K votes

  8. The Big Hit1998as Jeanne Shulman

    IMDb rating 6.133K votes

Most often with

Eight actors appear in three of them each. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.

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Films together

Box office

What Lainie Kazan's films earned in cinemas worldwide.

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Combined worldwide box office

$1.2 billion

18 of the 30 films have a worldwide figure.

Of the 30 films: 18 worldwide figure; 4 us gross only; 2 never in cinemas; 6 figure not found.

  • 18Worldwide figure
  • 4US gross only
  • 2Never in cinemas
  • 6Figure not found

Highest grossing

The eight biggest films earned 91% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.

  1. 1
    My Big Fat Greek Wedding2002as Maria Portokalos
    $369M31.2% of the total
  2. 2
    Pixels2015as Mickey Lamonsoff
    $245M20.8% of the total
  3. 3
    $204M17.3% of the total
  4. 4
    $91M7.7% of the total
  5. 5
    Beaches1988as Leona Bloom
    $57M4.8% of the total
  6. 6
    Harry and the Hendersons1987as Irene Moffitt
    $50M4.2% of the total
  7. 7
    My Big Fat Greek Wedding 32023as Maria Portokalos
    $35M3.0% of the total
  8. 8
    The Big Hit1998as Jeanne Shulman
    $27M2.3% of the total
Bratz (2007), $26.0 millionMy Favorite Year (1982), $20.1 millionThe Delta Force (1986), $17.8 millionThe Associate (1996), $12.8 millionThe Journey of Natty Gann (1985), $9.7 millionGigli (2003), $7.3 millionOy Vey! My Son Is Gay! (2009), $6.0 million29th Street (1991), $2.1 millionOne from the Heart (1981), $716,612Tango Shalom (2021), $101,449

$103 millionfrom the other 10 films with a worldwide figure, 9% of the total