Carrie and Twin Peaks Star Piper Laurie Dead at 91

Three-time Academy Award nominee Piper Laurie has passed away at age 91. The actor's manager, Marion Rosenberg, confirmed the sad news to Variety, sharing, "A beautiful human being and one of the great talents of our time." Her cause of death was not disclosed. Throughout her career, Laurie earned Oscar nominations for The Hustler (1961), Carrie (1977), and Children of a Lesser God (1987). 

In The Hustler, she played Sarah Packard opposite Paul Newman's Eddie Felson as they embarked on a doomed romance amidst his pool hustling and her alcoholism. In Carrie, she portrayed Margaret White, the terrifying mother of Sissy Spacek's Carrie White. In Children of a Lesser God, she earned her nomination for her portrayal of Mrs. Norman alongside the late William Hurt. 

In addition to the roles that earned her Academy Award nominations, Laurie had over 100 acting credits to her name. She was known to many for playing Catherine Martell in Twin Peaks, a role she did not reprise in the recent reboot. Laurie was also nominated for nine Emmys throughout her career, winning Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Special in 1987 for playing Annie Gilbert in Promise. She was also nominated for her appearances in Studio One, Playhouse 90, The Bunker, The Thorn Birds, St. Elsewhere, Twin Peaks, and Fraiser. 

Laurie made her film debut in 1950 in Louisa and went on to appear in 15 more films that decade including Johnny Dark, Smoke Signal, Ain't Misbehavin', and Until They Sail. According to Variety, she negotiated out of her contract with Universal in the mid-1950s and went on to star in television productions in New York. Laurie married writer Joseph Morgenstern in 1961, and they later divorced in 1981. She took a break from acting between 1966 and 1976 until she made her triumphant return in Brian de Palma's Carrie.  

After Carrie, Laurie continued acting, appearing in many more series and films. She played Lady Macbeth in Macbeth (1981), and appeared in episodes of Murder, She Wrote, The Twilight Zone, Matlock, ER, Diagnosis Murder, Touched By an Angel, Will and Grace, and more. Her film and TV movie appearances during that time included Ruby, The Boss' Son, Return To Oz, Other People's Money, The Grass Harp, Trauma, Wrestling Ernest Hemingway, The Crossing Guard, The Faculty, and more.

Laurie's final film appearances included Eulogy in 2004, The Dead Girl in 2006, Hounddog in 2007, Hesher in 2010, and White Boy Rick in 2018. Her final two credits were for the podcast series Carcerem from 2020 and Around the Sun from 2021. 

Throughout her career, Laurie also earned a BAFTA nomination for The Hustler, and four Golden Globe nominations, including a win for Carrie.

Piper Laurie is survived by her daughter, Anne Grace. Our thoughts are with her friends and family at this difficult time.