Rutanya Alda (born Rūta Skrastiņa; October 13, 1942) is a

Latvian-American Latvian Americans are Americans who are of Latvian ancestry. According to the 2008 American Community Survey, there are 93,498 Americans of full or partial Latvian descent. History The first significant wave of Latvian settlers who immigrated ...

actress. She began her career in the late 1960s, and went on to have supporting parts in ''

The Deer Hunter ''The Deer Hunter'' is a 1978 war drama film co-written and directed by Michael Cimino about a trio of Slavic-American steelworkers whose lives were upended after fighting in the Vietnam War. The three soldiers are played by Robert De Niro, Chr ...

'' (1978), ''

Rocky II ''Rocky II'' is a 1979 American sports drama film written, directed by, and starring Sylvester Stallone. It is the sequel to ''Rocky'' (1976) and is the second installment in the ''Rocky'' franchise. It also stars Talia Shire, Burt Young, Carl We ...

'' (1979), and ''

Mommie Dearest ''Mommie Dearest'' is a memoir and exposé written by Christina Crawford, the adopted daughter of actress Joan Crawford. Published in 1978, it attracted much controversy for its portrayal of Joan Crawford as a cruel, unbalanced, and alcoholic m ...

'' (1981). She also appeared in a lead role in the horror films '' Amityville II: The Possession'' and '' Girls Nite Out'' (both 1982).

Life

Rutanya Alda was born Rutanja Skrastiņa (Rūta Skrastiņa) in

Riga Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...

, in German-occupied

Latvia Latvia ( or ; lv, Latvija ; ltg, Latveja; liv, Leţmō), officially the Republic of Latvia ( lv, Latvijas Republika, links=no, ltg, Latvejas Republika, links=no, liv, Leţmō Vabāmō, links=no), is a country in the Baltic region of ...

, the daughter of Vera ( ''née'' Ozoliņa), a businesswoman, and Jānis Skrastiņš, a

poet A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...

. Alda, her grandmother, her mother and her brother spent seven years in a

displaced persons camp A refugee camp is a temporary Human settlement, settlement built to receive refugees and people in refugee-like situations. Refugee camps usually accommodate displaced people who have fled their home country, but camps are also made for interna ...

Allied-occupied Germany Germany was already de facto occupied by the Allies from the real fall of Nazi Germany in World War II on 8 May 1945 to the establishment of the East Germany on 7 October 1949. The Allies (United States, United Kingdom, Soviet Union, and France ...

after

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. She then relocated with her family to the United States, briefly living in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

before settling in

Flagstaff, Arizona Flagstaff ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Coconino County, Arizona, Coconino County in northern Arizona, in the southwestern United States. In 2019, the city's estimated population was 75,038. Flagstaff's combined metropolitan area has ...

Career

With a career spanning nearly 50 years in show business and over 100 roles, Alda might be best known for her performances in ''The Deer Hunter'' as Steven's wife, Angela, as well as for the

cult classic A cult following refers to a group of fans who are highly dedicated to some person, idea, object, movement, or work, often an artist, in particular a performing artist, or an artwork in some medium. The lattermost is often called a cult classic. ...

''Mommie Dearest'', as loyal Crawford housekeeper Carol Ann, and ''Amityville II: The Possession'', having been nominated for the

Golden Raspberry Award The Golden Raspberry Awards (also known as the Razzies and Razzie Awards) is a parody award show honoring the worst of cinematic under-achievements. Co-founded by UCLA film graduates and film industry veterans John J. B. Wilson and Mo Murphy, ...

two years in succession (1982 and 1983) for the latter roles. She has also won a

Clio In Greek mythology, Clio ( , ; el, Κλειώ), also spelled Kleio, is the muse of history, or in a few mythological accounts, the muse of lyre playing. Etymology Clio's name is etymologically derived from the Greek root κλέω/κλεί� ...

and is a member of the

Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS, often pronounced ; also known as simply the Academy or the Motion Picture Academy) is a professional honorary organization with the stated goal of advancing the arts and sciences of motio ...

. Additionally, Alda has appeared in numerous television programs, such as ''

Cold Case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or re ...

'' and ''

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...

'', and as a featured character in the

Ron Perlman Ronald Perlman (born April 13, 1950) is an American actor. His credits include the roles of Amoukar in ''Quest for Fire'' (1981), Salvatore in ''The Name of the Rose'' (1986), Vincent in the television series ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1987–199 ...

Linda Hamilton Linda Carroll Hamilton (born September 26, 1956) is an American actress. She played Sarah Connor in the ''Terminator'' film series and Catherine Chandler in the television series ''Beauty and the Beast'' (1987–1990), for which she was nominat ...

TV series ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne de Villeneuve, Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' ( ...

'', as well as commercials and stage work. In 2009, she appeared in ''

Stolen Stolen may refer to: * ''Stolen'' (2009 Australian film), a 2009 Australian film * ''Stolen'' (2009 American film), a 2009 American film * ''Stolen: The Baby Kahu Story'' (2010 film), a film based on the real life kidnapping of baby Kahu Durie ...

'', playing the elder version of

Jessica Chastain Jessica Michelle Chastain (born March 24, 1977) is an American actress and producer. Known for primarily starring in films with feminist themes, she has received various accolades, including an Academy Award and a Golden Globe Award. ''Time'' ...

's character, and had a supporting role in the horror film ''

Late Phases ''Late Phases'' is a 2014 horror drama film by director Adrián García Bogliano and his first feature film in the English language. The film had its world premiere on March 9, 2014, at South by Southwest and stars Nick Damici as a blind war vet ...

'' (2014). Between 2014 and 2016, Alda appeared in the web series ''

Old Dogs & New Tricks ''Old Dogs & New Tricks'' is a web series created by Leon Acord, and starring Acord, Curt Bonnem, David Pevsner and Jeffrey Patrick Olson. The comedy-drama series is about four middle-aged gay men living in "youth-obsessed West Hollywood". Cast ...

''.

Personal life

She was married to actor Richard Bright from 1977 until his death in 2006, when he was hit by a bus in New York City. They had one son, Jeremy.

Filmography

Film

Select television roles

Web

*''

'' (2014–16) - Barbara Fiere

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Alda, Rutanya 1942 births Living people American film actresses American television actresses Latvian World War II refugees Soviet emigrants to the United States Actors from Riga 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses