Judy Holliday

Actress

What is Judy Holliday known for?

Judy Holliday, born as Judith Tuvim on June 21, 1921, in Queens, New York City, was a distinguished American actress, comedian, and singer. She is best remembered for her spellbinding performances both on stage and on the silver screen.

Holliday launched her career as part of a nightclub act before moving into the realm of Broadway plays and musicals. Her standout role as Billie Dawn in the 1946 stage production of "Born Yesterday" paved her way into the film industry. She reprised her role in the 1950 film adaptation of "Born Yesterday," which won her an Academy Award for Best Actress and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy.

Her extraordinary talent on Broadway didn't go unnoticed either. Holliday's performance in the musical "Bells Are Ringing" won her a Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Musical. She reprised her role in the 1960 film adaptation of "Bells Are Ringing."

Aside from her acting and singing career, Holliday had to face political challenges. In 1952, she was summoned to testify before the Senate Internal Security Subcommittee to counter allegations of her association with communism.

Judith was born into a Jewish family, the only child of Abe and Helen Tuvim. Her roots trace back to Russian Jewish heritage, and she spent her early life in Sunnyside, Queens, New York. She attended and graduated from Julia Richman High School in Manhattan. Holliday's first job was a switchboard operator at the Mercury Theatre, which was managed by Orson Welles and John Houseman.

Before her bright career in Broadway and Hollywood, Holliday had been a part of a nightclub act, The Revuers, in 1938. The group performed in numerous New York night clubs, including the Village Vanguard and the Rainbow Room. The Revuers even performed in Hollywood at the Trocadero. Despite the group's disbandment in 1944, Holliday still remembered her early years as part of the Revuers.

In her initial film career, Holliday's role as an airman's wife in Twentieth Century Fox’s version of the U.S. Army Air Forces' play "Winged Victory" (1944) marked her debut in the world of cinematography. Soon after, she made her Broadway debut on March 20, 1945, at the Belasco Theatre in "Kiss Them for Me."