Mercedes Ruehl
Biography
Mercedes Ruehl is an American actress of stage, film, and television. Born in Queens, New York City, she began in off-off-Broadway productions and regional theater, and took Obie Awards for The Marriage of Bette and Boo and, later, Woman Before a Glass. Her Broadway work includes I'm Not Rappaport. She won a Tony as Bella in Neil Simon's Lost in Yonkers and returned to the part in the 1993 film. In The Fisher King (1991) she played a video store owner and won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and Married to the Mob (1988) brought her a National Society of Film Critics Award. Her films also include Big (1988), Last Action Hero (1993), Gia (1998), Hustlers (2019), and The Minus Man (1999). She played a radio station manager on Frasier from 1995 to 1996 and was later Tony-nominated for The Shadow Box and The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?.
78years old
Turns 79 on February 28in 139 days
- Born Queens
- Star sign: PiscesThe sign runs February 19 to March 20
Movie Career
- Films
- 21
- Career span
- 40 years1979 to 2019
First and latest
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A role that slipped away
Mercedes Ruehl came close to joining the cast of Saturday Night Live in 1980, but the spot went to Denny Dillon instead.
First role
Ruehl's first starring role on Broadway came in the 1984 production of the play I'm Not Rappaport, which was staged in that year.
Mercedes Ruehl movies on Netflix
Best known for
The films on Netflix they are best known for, with the part played in each.
Worked with
Mercedes Ruehl made one film with each of them. Pick a number on the chart or a name in the list to see the films they share.
Films together
Alec Baldwin's page
Steve Buscemi's page
Brian Cox's page
Anthony Hopkins's page
Tom Hanks's page
Anthony Quinn's page
All films by Penny Marshall
John McTiernanDirector, 1 film, 1993
All films by John McTiernan
All films by Walter Hill
Box office
What Mercedes Ruehl's films earned in cinemas worldwide.
Combined worldwide box office
$702 million
11 of the 21 films have a worldwide figure.
Of the 21 films: 11 worldwide figure; 5 us gross only; 5 never in cinemas.
- 11Worldwide figure
- 5US gross only
- 5Never in cinemas
Top grosser
Highest grossing
The eight biggest films earned 99% of the total. The bars are drawn to scale.
- 1$158M22.4% of the total
- 2$152M21.6% of the total
- 3$137M19.6% of the total
- 4$111M15.8% of the total
- 5$53M7.5% of the total
- 6$42M6.0% of the total
- 7$22M3.2% of the total
- 8$21M3.1% of the total
$5.8 millionfrom the other 3 films with a worldwide figure, 1% of the total
Awards
Four awards and honors from 1991 to 1992, three of them major.
| Year | Award | Film | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| Academy Awards | |||
| 1992 | Best Supporting Actress | The Fisher King | Won |
| Golden Globes | |||
| 1992 | Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture | The Fisher King | Won |
| Tony Awards | |||
| 1991 | Best Actress in a Play | Lost in Yonkers | Won |
| Other honors | |||
| 1991 | Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play | Lost in Yonkers | Won |
Online
Official profiles and reference pages.