Nina Foch

Nina Foch ( ; born Nina Consuelo Maud Fock; April 20, 1924 – December 5, 2008) was a Dutch-born American actress who later became an instructor. Her career spanned six decades, consisting of over 50 feature films and over 100 television appearances. She was the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress, and a National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress. Foch established herself as a dramatic actress in the late 1940s, often playing cool, aloof sophisticates.

Born in Leiden, Netherlands in 1924, Foch immigrated to the United States with her mother while still a toddler, and was raised in New York City. After signing a contract with Columbia Pictures at age 19, Foch became a regular in the studio's horror pictures and films noir, starring in such films as ''The Return of the Vampire'' (1943), ''Escape in the Fog'', and ''My Name Is Julia Ross'' (1945). She concurrently embarked on a stage career, making her Broadway debut as the titular Mary in 1947's ''John Loves Mary''. She subsequently starred in several Broadway productions of William Shakespeare plays, including ''Twelfth Night'' (1949), ''King Lear'' (1950), and ''Measure for Measure'' (1955).

Foch gained widespread notice for her role as Milo Roberts in the musical film ''An American in Paris'' (1951); Robert Wise's drama ''Executive Suite'' (1954), which earned her the Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress; Cecil B. DeMille's ''The Ten Commandments'' (1956); and Stanley Kubrick's ''Spartacus'' (1960). In 1967, she made her theatrical directorial debut with a Broadway production of '' Ways and Means'', a comedy by Noël Coward. Foch also worked extensively in television beginning in the 1950s, with notable roles including the victim in the first of Peter Falk's ''Columbo'' films in 1968, as well as guest-starring parts in ''The Wild Wild West'' (1969), ''The F.B.I.'' (1970), and ''Hawaii Five-O'' (1973). In 1980, she was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress for her guest role on an episode of ''Lou Grant''.

Beginning in the 1960s, Foch began a concurrent career as an educator, teaching courses in drama and film directing at the American Film Institute and at the University of Southern California's School of Cinematic Arts, where she was a faculty member for over 40 years. Among her students were directors Randal Kleiser, Edward Zwick, and Amy Heckerling, and performer Julie Andrews. Foch continued to teach until the end of her life, up until her death in December 2008 of myelodysplastic syndrome.

Biography

1924–1942: Early life

Nina Foch was born Nina Consuelo Maud Fock in 1924 in Leiden, South Holland, Netherlands, to American actress and singer Consuelo Flowerton and Dutch classical music conductor Dirk Fock. Her parents divorced when she was a toddler, and she and her mother moved to the United States, settling in New York City.

Throughout Foch's childhood, her mother encouraged her artistic talents; she learned piano and enjoyed art but was more interested in acting. After graduating from the Lincoln School, Foch attended the American Academy of Dramatic Arts, studying method acting under Lee Strasberg and Stella Adler