Elizabeth Franz

Franz began her acting career under the name Betty Frankovitch, performing at the Weathervane Theater in Akron. She later worked with The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis from 1968 to 1970. Her early stage credits included Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (1960), in which she played the Ambassador and a Soldier on Broadway; The Death of the Well-Loved Boy (1967), as the Daughter Off-Broadway; Augusta (1975); and Long Day's Journey Into Night (1975), as Mary Tyrone at Indiana Repertory Theatre. In 1977, she played Sharlotta Ivanovna in The Cherry Orchard on Broadway.

Franz continued her stage career with Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All for You (1981), playing Sister Mary Off-Broadway, and A View from the Bridge (1981), as Beatrice Carbone at Berkshire Theatre Festival. She played Kate Jerome in the Broadway production of Brighton Beach Memoirs (1983), followed by Nora in The Octette Bridge Club (1985) on Broadway and Yelena in Children of the Sun (1985) Off-Broadway. In 1986, she joined the Broadway production of Broadway Bound as a replacement Kate. Her subsequent stage credits included The Cemetery Club (1990), as Ida; Getting Married (1991), as Mrs. Bridgenorth; The Wizard of Oz (1992), as the Wicked Witch of the West; and Great Expectations (1992), as Miss Havisham, both at Paper Mill Playhouse.

Her later theater credits included The Madwoman of Chaillot (1993), as Mlle. Gabrielle at Williamstown Theatre Festival; The Lion in Winter (1993), as Eleanor of Aquitaine at Cleveland Playhouse; The Matchmaker (1994), as Mrs. Dolly Levi at McCarter Theatre; and Uncle Vanya (1995), as Maria Vasilyevna Voinitskaya on Broadway. In 1997, she appeared in Minutes from the Blue Route as Mother Off-Broadway and Woman in Mind as Susan at Berkshire Theatre Festival. She played Kate in The Cripple of Inishmaan (1998) at The Public Theater and Linda Loman in the 1999 Broadway production of Death of a Salesman, a role she later reprised in the 2000 television adaptation.

Franz's additional stage work included Long Day's Journey Into Night (2000), as Mary Tyrone at Syracuse Stage; The Model Apartment (2001), as Lola at Long Wharf Theatre; Morning's at Seven (2002), as Aaronetta Gibbs on Broadway; and Such Small Hands (2003), as Cassandra and Lucy at Syracuse Stage. She played Halie in Buried Child at the Royal National Theatre in London in 2004 and Eleanor in the American premiere of Bird Sanctuary at Pittsburgh Public Theater in 2005. Her subsequent credits included Driving Miss Daisy (2006), as Daisy Werthan at Syracuse Stage; Howard Katz (2007), as Ellie, Off-Broadway; The Piano Teacher (2007), as Mrs. K, Off-Broadway; and The Autumn Garden (2007), as Mrs. Mary Ellis at Williamstown Theatre Festival. She played Aunt Ev in The Miracle Worker (2010) on Broadway, Sally Friedman in Fifth of July (2010) at Williamstown Theatre Festival, Anna in A Month in the Country (2015) Off-Broadway, and Grandma Kurnitz in Lost in Yonkers (2017).

On television, Franz appeared in the television movie The House of Mirth (1981) as Grace Stepney. Her early television credits included American Playhouse (1982), as a doctor in the episode “Pilgrim, Farewell”; Another World (1982–1983), as Alma Rudder; Spenser: For Hire (1985), as Mrs. O'Rourke; and several additional appearances on American Playhouse, including The Rise and Rise of Daniel Rocket (1986), “Dottie” (1987), and “Love and Other Sorrows” (1989). She appeared in The Equalizer (1987) as Mrs. Thomas and ABC Afterschool Special (1989) as Cecile Nelson in “A Town's Revenge.” In 1990, she played Marsha in three episodes of Roseanne.

Franz's other television credits included the television movie Face of a Stranger (1991), Shameful Secrets (1993), as Maryanne's mother, and Sisters (1994–1995), as Gladys Lear. She appeared in ABC Afterschool Special (1995) as Alice Kelly in “Notes for My Daughter,” followed by Judging Amy (2000–2001), as Vivian Galloway; A Girl Thing (2001), as Josephine McCormack; Gilmore Girls (2001), as inn owner Mia; Cold Case (2003), as Evelyn Shelby; and the television movie An Unexpected Love (2003), as Dorothy. Her later television appearances included Law & Order (2004), as Alison Bishop; Law & Order: Special Victims Unit (2004), as Jeannette Henley; Homeland (2011), as Isabel Samler; and Grey's Anatomy (2012), as Emma Carroll.

Her film credits began with Pilgrim, Farewell (1980), in which she played a doctor. She later appeared in The Secret of My Success (1987), as Grace Foster; Jacknife (1989), as Pru Buckman; School Ties (1992), as Jane Dillon; and It's Nothing Personal (1993). Her 1995 credits included Sabrina, as Joanna, followed by The Pallbearer (1996), as Aunt Lucille; The Substance of Fire (1996), as Miss Barzakian; Thinner (1996), as Leda Rossington; and Twisted (1996), as Mrs. Bundrass. She played Bea Greenberg in A Fish in the Bathtub (1999) and Bev Scheel in Christmas with the Kranks (2004). Her short-film credits included Loopy (2004), as Doris Highsmith; The Reader (2005), as Sissel; In Memoriam (2009), as a woman; and Alone (2009), as Sarah. Her final listed film credit was Take Me to the River (2015), in which she played Evelyn.