Shirley Knight (Esther) made her Broadway debut in 1964 in the revival of Chekhov’s Three Sisters, directed by Lee Strasberg. Since then she has starred in more than fifty plays on and off Broadway, in regional theatre and in England. She won the Tony Award for Kennedy’s Children and was nominated for the Tony for The Young Man From Atlanta. She was nominated for the Drama Desk Award for both The Young Man From Atlanta and Landscape of the Body. Other New York appearances include Losing Time; A Lovely Sunday for Creve Coeur; Come Back, Little Sheba; Necessary Targets and Colette in Love. For her extensive work in television and film, she has won the Best Actress Award at The Venice Film Festival, The Jury Prize at Cannes, two Academy Award nominations, three Golden Globes, three Emmy Awards and nine Emmy nominations. A short list includes: The Dark at the Top of the Stairs, Sweet Bird of Youth, The Group, Petulia, The Rain People, Dutchman, Endless Love, As Good As It Gets, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood, “Indictment: The McMartin Trial,” “Playing For Time” and Ingmar Bergman’s “The Lie.” Films soon to be released include Thanks to Gravity, Open Window and Grandma’s Boy. She is also starring in the first three episodes of “Desperate Housewives” this fall. She was married to the writer John R. Hopkins until his death and has two daughters: the writer, Sophie C. Hopkins and actress/singer, Kaitlin Hopkins.
