Lorraine Gottfried (born August 16, 1937), better known by her stage name Lorraine Gary, is a retired American actress, best known for her role as Ellen Brody in the Jaws film series. She also appeared in 1941 and Car Wash.
Early life Gary was born as Lorraine Gottfried in Forest Hills, Queens, to Belle and George Gottfried, an entertainment business manager.
At an early age, she moved with her family to Los Angeles, California, where she was raised. At age 16, she won a best actress award in a competition at the prestigious Pasadena Playhouse. She was offered a scholarship to enroll at the Pasadena Playhouse, but declined and attended Columbia University as a political science major instead.
Career A life member of the Actors Studio, Gary began her acting career in the late 1960s doing guest appearances on several popular TV shows. These include Night Gallery, Dragnet 1968, in an episode entitled "The Big Shipment", McCloud, The Marcus-Nelson Murders (the pilot for Kojak), and The F.B.I.. She began her first major acting role when she was a guest star on seven episodes of the TV series Ironside, among them "Tom Dayton Is Loose Among Us", in which she played the substitute librarian Miss Kirk, who pushes the unstable Tom Dayton too hard, and "In Search of an Artist", as a woman with a drinking problem who may have been involved in a murder.
She portrayed matriarch Ellen Brody in Jaws, Jaws 2, and Jaws: The Revenge. Her performance in Jaws: The Revenge garnered Gary a Saturn Award nomination for Best Actress, and made her the actor with the most appearances in the film series.
Her film roles outside the Jaws franchise include I Never Promised You a Rose Garden, Just You and Me, Kid, and Zero to Sixty.
In addition to her work as an actress, Gary owned New Hope Productions, a company that produced television programs.
In 2026 she agreed to participate in the documentary The Shark that Roared, a retrospective film regarding the making and pop cultural impact of Jaws: The Revenge.
Civic activities Gary is a member of the Human Rights Watch Women's Rights Advisory Committee, for whom she produced and directed a series of fourteen educational videotapes, and an Advisory Board Member of Ms. Magazine and Girls Learn International.
In 1995, together with her husband, Gary received the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Humanitarian Award.
Personal life Gary married entertainment industry executive Sidney Sheinberg on August 19, 1956, at the age of 19, with whom she has two sons.
She retired from acting after her appearance in the film 1941 (1979), only briefly returning to reprise the role of Ellen Brody in Jaws: The Revenge (1987). Her sons, Bill Sheinberg and Jonathan Sheinberg, are both film producers.
Filmography
Film Year Title Role Notes1975JawsEllen Brody1976Car WashHysterical Lady1977I Never Promised You a Rose GardenEsther Blake 1978Zero to SixtyBilly-JonJaws 2Ellen Brody 1979Just You and Me, KidShirley1941Joan Douglas1987Jaws: The Revenge Ellen BrodyFinal film role
Television Year Title Role Notes 1967DragnetMrs. Frank"The Big Shipment"Martha Young"Without Mercy"1968IronsideNancy Lewin / Nurse Green"All in a Day's Work", "Split Second to an Epitaph: Parts 1 & 2" 1969IronsideLeona Stuart"In Search of an Artist"Laura"The Stranger"Carla Frazier"Breakout to a Fast Buck"Margaret Sheehan"A Case of Good Whiskey at Christmas Time" 1970Dr. Marion Lester"If I Can't Sing, I'll Listen"McCloudJoan Stanford"Horse Stealing on Fifth Avenue"San Francisco International AirportJanie"The High Cost of Nightmares"The Men from ShilohMrs. Nelson"Hannah"IronsidePatricia Kirk / Elaine Potter"Tom Dayton Is Loose Among Us", "Noel's Gonna Fly" 1971Victoria UlyssesTV filmO'Hara, U.S. TreasuryMrs. Madrid"Operation: Crystal Springs"Owen Marshall, Counselor at LawNorma Pruitt"A Lonely Stretch of Beach"McMillan & WifeConnie"Husbands, Wives, and Killers" 1972McMillan & WifeMonica Fontaine"Cop of the Year"Hec RamseyBella Grant"Mystery of the Green Feather"Night GalleryBarbara Morgan"She'll be Company for You" 1973Owen Marshall, Counselor at LawAnnie Harker"They've Got to Blame Somebody"Partners in CrimeMargery JordanTV filmABC's Wide World of EntertainmentLiz Elliott"A Prowler in the Heart"IronsideEllen Wills"Fragile Is the House of Cards"Angela Norton"The Confession"1973-74KojakRuth Gardner"The Marcus-Nelson Murders", "Marker to a Dead Bookie" 1974Pray for the WildcatsLila SummerfieldTV filmMarcus Welby, M.D.Jean Wainwright"The Mugging"Lynn Corey"Rolling Thunder"1975Man on the OutsideTV film1976Lanigan's RabbiMyra Galen"Friday the Rabbi Slept Late"1978CrashEmily MulwrayTV film
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