Judith Anna Roberts (born December 1, 1934) is an American actress, best known for her roles as Mary Shaw in

James Wan James Wan (born 26 February 1977) is an Australian director, producer, screenwriter and comic book writer. He has primarily worked in the horror genre as the co-creator of the ''Saw'' and ''Insidious'' franchises and the creator of The Conjurin ...

's horror film ''

Dead Silence ''Dead Silence'' is a 2007 American supernatural horror film directed by James Wan and written by Leigh Whannell. The film stars Ryan Kwanten as Jamie Ashen, a young widower returning to his hometown to search for answers to his wife's death. I ...

'' (2007), and as Taslitz, one of "The Golden Girls", in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

comedy-drama series ''

Orange Is the New Black ''Orange Is the New Black'' (sometimes abbreviated to ''OITNB'') is an American comedy-drama streaming television series created by Jenji Kohan for Netflix. The series is based on Piper Kerman's memoir '' Orange Is the New Black: My Year in a Wo ...

''.

Acting career

Her first film role was 1977 in ''

Eraserhead ''Eraserhead'' is a 1977 American surrealist film, surrealist horror film written, directed, produced, and edited by David Lynch. Lynch also created its Eraserhead (soundtrack), score and sound design, which included pieces by a variety of oth ...

''. In the following years she appeared in a few other small roles in films and TV series, including ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...

'' and ''

Law & Order: Criminal Intent ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' is an American police procedural Drama (film and television), drama television series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and Executive producer#Motion pictures and television, p ...

''. Her most notable role was Mary Shaw in James Wan's horror film ''Dead Silence'' in 2007. That same year, Roberts collaborated with Wan again in his film ''

Death Sentence Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...

'', playing Judge Shaw. In 2013, Roberts appeared in

Justin Timberlake Justin Randall Timberlake (born January 31, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He is one of the world's best-selling music artists, with sales of over 88 million records. Timberlake is the recipient of numerous awards and ac ...

's music video for "

Mirrors A mirror or looking glass is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the ...

". In 2014, she had the recurring role in the

comedy-drama series ''

''. Along with the cast, Roberts received the

Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series The Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast (or Ensemble) in a Comedy Series is an award given by the Screen Actors Guild to honor the finest ensemble acting achievements in comedy series. Winners and nominees 1990s 20 ...

. In 2015, she performed on Broadway in the play ''Airline Highway''.

Personal life

Roberts was married to actor

Pernell Roberts Pernell Elven Roberts Jr. (May 18, 1928 – January 24, 2010) was an American stage, film, and television actor, activist, and singer. In addition to guest-starring in over 60 television series, he was best known for his roles as Ben Cartw ...

from 1962 to 1971.

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Roberts, Judith 1934 births Living people American film actresses Actresses from New York City American television actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Place of birth missing (living people)