| Penelope Milford | |
|---|---|
| Born | March 1948 (age 63) St. Louis, Missouri, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1970–1997 |
Penelope Milford (born March 25, 1948; St. Louis, Missouri) is an American film, stage, and television actress.
An alumnus of the Chicago/New York theatrical scene (as original cast member of the Broadway hit musical Shenandoah), American actress Penelope Milford struck paydirt with her first film Coming Home (1978). Playing Viola Munson, the best friend of Sally Hyde (Jane Fonda), Penelope was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. She did not win, but the strength of Coming Home, Miss Milford was cast in a major TV biography, Seizure: The Story of Kathy Morris (1979), the tale of a real-life singer's recovery from a brain-surgery induced coma. The highlight of this production was the final scene, wherein the real Kathy Morris replaced Milford in the final concert scene, proof of her total recovery; Milford's performance had been so authentic that the switch was all but imperceptible. Few of Milford's subsequent films did her talent justice: the outgoing blonde actress was seen in pedestrian roles in such pedestrian pictures as Take This Job and Shove It (1981). Endless Love (1981), and The Golden Seal (1984), she also appeared in the 1989 cult film Heathers.