Laurie Metcalf

Laurie Metcalf (born June 16, 1955, Carbondale, Illinois, U.S.) is an American actress who won acclaim for her captivating performances in a variety of roles onstage, in movies, and on television. She is perhaps most widely known for her work in sitcoms.

Early life and Steppenwolf Theatre

Metcalf grew up in Edwardsville, Illinois, where her father was budget director at Southern Illinois University and her mother was a librarian. She performed in plays while in high school but did not consider acting as a career. When she enrolled at Illinois State University, in Normal, she initially studied German and then anthropology before finally majoring in theater studies (B.A., 1976). She subsequently moved to the Chicago area, where she supported herself by working as a secretary and became an original ensemble member of the newly founded Steppenwolf Theatre Company (then in the suburb Highland Park).

Metcalf and Steppenwolf both gained in fame over the next few years, a particular highlight being a 1979 production of Tennessee Williams’s The Glass Menagerie, in which Metcalf played Laura. She won several acting awards for her work with Steppenwolf and came to wider notice when the theater’s production of Lanford Wilson’s Balm in Gilead (first staged in 1980) was produced Off-Broadway in New York City in 1984. Metcalf was praised for her portrayal of the sweet doomed prostitute Darlene. During this time, Metcalf also had an uncredited role in Robert Altman’s movie A Wedding (1978), and she appeared in a skit on Saturday Night Live in 1981.

Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors.

SIGN UP

By clicking “Sign Up”, you consent to the Britannica Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.

Britannica Quiz

Pop Culture Quiz

Film and TV

Metcalf had a supporting role in the comedy film Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) and in Making Mr. Right (1987), which starred fellow Steppenwolf member John Malkovich. In 1988 she was cast in the role for which she was perhaps most widely known, that of Roseanne’s slightly neurotic and underachieving sister Jackie in the sitcom Roseanne (1988–97). Metcalf won three Emmy Awards (1992–94) for her performance and was nominated for a fourth (1995). She also continued to act in movies, among them the comedy Uncle Buck (1989), Oliver Stone’s thriller JFK (1991), and Michael Apted’s drama Blink (1993). In addition, she voiced the mother in the hit animated movie Toy Story (1995) and its sequels.

While Metcalf continued to appear in movies, her more significant roles were on TV, a number of which earned her Emmy nominations. She notably had guest roles on 3rd Rock from the Sun, Monk, and Desperate Housewives, and she was cast in a leading role in Getting On (2013–15). Metcalf also earned praise for her performance in an episode of comedian Louis C.K.’s dramedy series Horace and Pete (2016) and for her recurring role as the mother of physicist Sheldon (Jim Parsons) in the sitcom The Big Bang Theory (2007–19); the role was played by her daughter Zoe Perry in the spin-off series Young Sheldon. She returned to the role of Jackie when Roseanne was revived and then renamed The Conners (2018–25).

In addition to performing on television, Metcalf played the tough-minded mother of a strong-willed teen (Saoirse Ronan) in Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird (2017); her perfectly calibrated performance earned her an Academy Award nomination.

Broadway

However, Metcalf’s first love remained the theater: she often returned to the stage in Chicago and also appeared in London and New York City. She was nominated for Tony Awards for her performances in David Mamet’s November (2008), The Other Place (2013), and Misery (2015–16). Metcalf won two consecutive Tonys—for her portrayal of Nora in A Doll’s House, Part 2 (2017) and for her performance as B in Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women (2018). She was nominated again in 2019, this time for playing the title presidential candidate in Hillary and Clinton. In 2026 Metcalf received her third Tony, for her portrayal of Linda Loman in a revival of Arthur Miller’s Death of a Salesman.

Explore Britannica Premium!

The trusted destination for professionals, college students, and lifelong learners.

SUBSCRIBE