Caroline Louise Snodgress (October 27, 1945 – April 1, 2004) was an American actress. She is best remembered for her role in the film ''

Diary of a Mad Housewife ''Diary of a Mad Housewife'' is a 1970 American comedy-drama film about a frustrated wife portrayed by Carrie Snodgress. Snodgress was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Actress and won a Golden Globe award in the same category. The film wa ...

'' (1970), for which she was nominated for an

Academy Award The Academy Awards, better known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international film industry. The awards are regarded by many as the most prestigious, significant awards in the entertainment ind ...

and a

BAFTA Award The British Academy Film Awards, more commonly known as the BAFTA Film Awards is an annual award show hosted by the British Academy of Film and Television Arts (BAFTA) to honour the best British and international contributions to film. The cer ...

as well as winning two

Golden Globes The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

and two

Laurel Awards The Laurel Awards was an American cinema awards system established to honor films, actors, actresses, producers, directors, and composers. This award was created by the ''Motion Picture Exhibitor'' magazine, and ran from 1948 to 1971 (with the ...

Life and career

Born in

Barrington, Illinois Barrington is a village in Cook County and Lake County, Illinois, United States. The population was 10,722 at the 2020 census. A northwest suburb of Chicago, the area features wetlands, forest preserves, parks, and horse trails in a country-s ...

, Snodgress attended Maine Township High School East in Park Ridge, then Northern Illinois University before leaving to pursue acting. She trained for the stage at the Goodman School of Drama at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

(now at

DePaul University DePaul University is a private, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-century French priest Saint Vincent de Paul. In 1998, it became the largest Ca ...

). After a number of minor TV appearances, her film debut was an uncredited appearance in ''

Easy Rider ''Easy Rider'' is a 1969 American independent drug culture road drama film written by Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, and Terry Southern, produced by Fonda, and directed by Hopper. Fonda and Hopper play two bikers who travel through the American So ...

'' in 1969 and a credited appearance in 1970 in ''

Rabbit, Run ''Rabbit, Run'' is a 1960 novel by John Updike. The novel depicts three months in the life of a 26-year-old former high school basketball player named Harry "Rabbit" Angstrom who is trapped in a loveless marriage and a boring sales job, and h ...

''. Her next film, ''

'' (1970), earned her a nomination for

Academy Award for Best Actress The Academy Award for Best Actress is an award presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS). It is given to an actress who has delivered an outstanding performance in a leading role in a film released that year ...

and two

Golden Globe The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of ...

wins, as Best Actress in a Comedy or a Musical and New Star of the Year - Actress. She left acting soon after to live with musician

Neil Young Neil Percival Young (born November 12, 1945) is a Canadian-American singer and songwriter. After embarking on a music career in Winnipeg in the 1960s, Young moved to Los Angeles, joining Buffalo Springfield with Stephen Stills, Richie Fu ...

and care for their son Zeke, who was born with mild cerebral palsy. She returned to acting in 1978 in '' The Fury''. According to

Sylvester Stallone Sylvester Enzio Stallone (; born Michael Sylvester Gardenzio Stallone, ) is an American actor and filmmaker. After his beginnings as a struggling actor for a number of years upon arriving to New York City in 1969 and later Hollywood in 1974, h ...

The first choice for Adrian (in the movie ''
Rocky ''Rocky'' is a 1976 American sports drama film directed by John G. Avildsen and written by and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the first installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise and stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl Weathers, and Burges ...
'') was a girl named Carrie Snodgress, who I wanted badly because, at the time, I wanted Adrian's family to be Irish and
Harvey Keitel Harvey Keitel ( ; born May 13, 1939) is an American actor. He is known for his portrayal of morally ambiguous and "tough guy" characters. He first rose to prominence during the New Hollywood movement, and has held a long-running association with ...
would be the brother. She said there wasn't enough money in it (we were getting paid $360 before taxes), so I said "I'll give you my share, I truly want you." She passed to do a part in '' Buffalo Bill and the Indians'', which never happened for her.

''Rocky'' director

John G. Avildsen John Guilbert Avildsen (December 21, 1935 – June 16, 2017) was an American film director. He is perhaps best known for directing ''Rocky'' (1976), which earned him the Academy Award for Best Director, and the first three ''The Karate Kid'' fil ...

cast Snodgress in two of his later films: ''

A Night in Heaven ''A Night in Heaven'' is a 1983 American romantic drama film directed by John G. Avildsen, starring Christopher Atkins as a college student and Lesley Ann Warren as his professor. The film's screenplay was written by Joan Tewkesbury. Film criti ...

'' and '' 8 Seconds''. Neil Young's song " A Man Needs a Maid" was inspired by Snodgress, featuring the lyric "I fell in love with the actress / she was playing a part that I could understand." The songs " Heart of Gold,” "

Harvest Harvesting is the process of gathering a ripe crop from the fields. Reaping is the cutting of grain or pulse for harvest, typically using a scythe, sickle, or reaper. On smaller farms with minimal mechanization, harvesting is the most l ...

" and "

Out on the Weekend "Out on the Weekend" is a song written by Neil Young that was the opening song of his 1972 album ''Harvest''. Music and lyrics "Out on the Weekend" is a country ballad. Music lecturer Ken Bielen describes it as an "easy-flowing pop song". The St ...

" from Young's ''

'' album and "Motion Pictures" from '' On the Beach'' are also inspired by their relationship. She and Young split in 1974, and his song "Already One" bookends their relationship. Later she and musician and film score composer

Jack Nitzsche Bernard Alfred "Jack" Nitzsche ( '; April 22, 1937 – August 25, 2000) was an American musician, arranger, songwriter, composer, and record producer. He first came to prominence in the early 1960s as the right-hand-man of producer Phil Spe ...

became lovers. Nitzsche had previously worked with Young on several albums. In 1979, Nitzsche was charged with threatening to kill her after he barged into her home and beat her with a handgun. He pled guilty to threatening her, was fined, and placed on three years' probation. Her off-Broadway debut came as a replacement in 1981 with ''A Coupla White Chicks Sitting Around Talking''. She also appeared in '' All the Way Home'', '' Oh! What a Lovely War!'', '' Caesar and Cleopatra'', ''

Tartuffe ''Tartuffe, or The Impostor, or The Hypocrite'' (; french: Tartuffe, ou l'Imposteur, ), first performed in 1664, is a theatrical comedy by Molière. The characters of Tartuffe, Elmire, and Orgon are considered among the greatest classical thea ...

'', ''

The Balcony ''The Balcony'' (french: Le Balcon) is a play by the French dramatist Jean Genet. It is set in an unnamed city that is experiencing a revolutionary uprising in the streets; most of the action takes place in an upmarket brothel that functions as a ...

'' and ''

The Boor ''The Boor'' is an opera in one act composed by Ulysses Kay to a libretto based on Anton Chekhov's comic play, '' The Bear'' (also known as ''The Boor''). Kay wrote the libretto himself basing it on an English translation of the play by the compo ...

'' (all at the Goodman Theatre, Chicago); and ''

Curse of the Starving Class ''Curse of the Starving Class'' is a play by Sam Shepard, considered the first of a series on family tragedies. Some critics consider it part of a Family Trilogy that includes '' Buried Child'' (1979) and '' True West'' (1980).Simard, Rodney. “A ...

'' at the Tiffany Theatre (in Los Angeles). Other films include '' Murphy's Law'', '' White Man's Burden'', ''

Pale Rider ''Pale Rider'' is a 1985 American Western film produced and directed by Clint Eastwood, who also stars in the lead role. The title is a reference to the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse, as the pale horse's ghost rider (Eastwood) represents Deat ...

'' and '' Blue Sky''. She also worked extensively in television.

Death

While waiting for a

liver transplant Liver transplantation or hepatic transplantation is the replacement of a diseased liver with the healthy liver from another person (allograft). Liver transplantation is a treatment option for end-stage liver disease and acute liver failure, al ...

, Snodgress was hospitalized in Los Angeles, where she died of

heart failure Heart failure (HF), also known as congestive heart failure (CHF), is a syndrome, a group of signs and symptoms caused by an impairment of the heart's blood pumping function. Symptoms typically include shortness of breath, excessive fatigue, ...

on April 1, 2004, at age 58.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Snodgress, Carrie 1945 births 2004 deaths American film actresses American television actresses Best Musical or Comedy Actress Golden Globe (film) winners New Star of the Year (Actress) Golden Globe winners 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Illinois People from Barrington, Illinois