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Jill Clayburgh 1944 - 2010

Jill Clayburgh of Lakeville, Litchfield County, CT was born on April 30, 1944 in New York, New York United States, and died at age 66 years old on November 5, 2010 in Salisbury, CT. Jill Clayburgh was buried in Cremated..

Jill Clayburgh
Name
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Lakeville, Litchfield County, CT 06039
Last residence
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April 30, 1944
New York, New York, United States
Birth
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November 5, 2010
Salisbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut, United States
Death
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Updated: June 22, 2025
Biography ID: 10389742 What's this
Jill Clayburgh Jill Clayburgh (1944 - 2010)
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Jill Clayburgh's History: 1944 - 2010

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  • Introduction

    CLAYBURGH--Jill. Long before the world came to admire her radiance and brilliance on stage and in films, her classmates knew and loved Jill's wit, deep intelligence, and independent spirit, as well as her great warmth, her inner and outer beauty, and strength of character. The Class of 1962 of The Brearley School
  • 04/30
    1944

    Birthday

    April 30, 1944
    Birthdate
    New York, New York United States
    Birthplace
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  • Early Life & Education

    Brearley School and Sarah Lawrence College.

  • Religious Beliefs

    Jill Clayburgh Photo added by Bob Hufford Jill Clayburgh BIRTH 30 Apr 1944 Manhattan, New York County (Manhattan), New York, USA DEATH 5 Nov 2010 (aged 66) Lakeville, Litchfield County, Connecticut, USA BURIAL Cremated, Ashes given to family or friend MEMORIAL ID 61179847 · View Source MEMORIAL PHOTOS 2 FLOWERS 8K+ Actress. A star of both the large and small screens, she was twice nominated for the Academy Award as Best Actress. Raised in an upper class Manhattan family, she received a degree in theater from Sarah Lawrence College in 1966, then after appearing with Boston's Charles Street Repertory Theater made her 1968 Broadway debut in "The Sudden & Accidental Re-Education of Horse Johnson" with Jack Klugman. First seen on the silver screen in 1969's "The Wedding Party", she had numerous movie roles from the 1970s on, being seen in "Portnoy's Complaint" (1972) and as Carole Lombard with James Brolin as Clark Gable, in 1974's "Gable and Lombard" before earning a BAFTA Award, a Best Actress Award at Cannes, and an Oscar nomination for her portrayal of Erica in the 1978 "An Unmarried Woman". Jill received another Oscar nod in 1979 for her turn as Marilyn Homberg in "Starting Over" as well as a 1981 Golden Globe for her performance in "First Friday in October"; she had a number of Broadway roles over the years, last being seen on the Great White Way in a 2006 production of "Barefoot in the Park". Her television credits were many, among them "The Practice", "Law & Order", and a much praised Letitia Darling in ABC's 2007-2009 "Dirty Sexy Money". In 1999, "Entertainment Weekly" named her one of Hollywood's 25 greatest actresses. Jill's final film, "Bridesmaids", was in production at her death from chronic leukemia with which she had been ill for over twenty years. Bio by: Bob Hufford Flowers • 8966

  • Professional Career

    Jill Clayburgh Born April 30, 1944 in New York City, New York, USA Died November 5, 2010 in Lakeville, Connecticut, USA (chronic lymphocytic leukemia) Height 5' 8" (1.73 m) It came as no surprise to film aficionados when, in 1999, Entertainment Weekly named Jill Clayburgh on its list of Hollywood's 25 Greatest Actresses. For decades, she delivered stellar performances in a wide variety of roles. Jill Clayburgh was born in 1944 in New York City, into a wealthy family, the daughter of Julia Louise (Dorr), an actress and secretary, and Albert Henry Clayburgh, a manufacturing executive. Her father was from a Jewish family that has lived in the United States since the 1700s, and her mother had English ancestry, also with deep American roots. Jill was educated at the finest schools, including the Brearley School and Sarah Lawrence College. It was while at Sarah Lawrence that she decided on a career in acting, and joined the famous Charles Street Repetory Theater in Boston. She moved to New York in the late 1960s and had featured roles in a number of Broadway productions, including "The Rothschilds" and "Pippin". She began her career in films in 1970 and got her first major role in Portnoy's Complaint (1972) in 1972. In 1978, she rose to screen prominence with her performance in An Unmarried Woman (1978), for which she received an Oscar nomination. She was again nominated for the Academy Award in 1979 for her role in Starting Over (1979). But after giving a riveting portrayal as a Valium addict in I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can (1982), her career went into a rapid decline, mainly because of her poor choices of scripts. She seemed destined for a comeback after appearing in Where Are the Children? (1986), with multi-talented child actress Elisabeth Harnois, but her excellent performance was largely ignored by critics, who opted to give the credit for the thriller's success to the performance of the precocious, six year old Harnois. After the late 1980s, Jill worked mainly in television and low-budget films, and also had a leading role in the drama Never Again (2001), with Jeffrey Tambor. Jill was married to playwright David Rabe, with whom she had two children, including actress Lily Rabe. Jill Clayburgh died of chronic lymphocytic leukemia on November 5, 2010, in Salisbury, Connecticut. - IMDb Mini Biography By: Tom McDonough Family (3) Spouse David Rabe (8 March 1979 - 5 November 2010) (her death) (2 children) Children Michael Rabe and Lily Rabe and stepmother of Jason Rabe. Parents Albert Henry Clayburgh and Julia Louise Dorr Gave birth to her first child at age 38, daughter Lily Rabe, on 6/29/82. Child's father is her husband, David Rabe. Attended the prestigious Brearley School in Manhattan. Mother, Julia Clayburgh, was a former theatrical production secretary to David Merrick. Father, Albert Clayburgh, was an industrial textiles salesman. Turned down the role of Norma Rae (1979), which won Sally Field her first Oscar. She studied drama at HB Studio in Greenwich Village in New York City. Was among the first generation of 7'0s actresses--including Jane Fonda, Ellen Burstyn, Diane Keaton, Carrie Snodgress and -known for portraying characters sprung from the New Age feminism era: smart, independent, capable, but often times neurotic. Her film decline coincided with the conservative Reagan administration and a loss of interest in the feminist movement. Suffered from chronic leukemia for 21 years before her death in 2010. Sister of Jim Clayburgh. Graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in 1966 with a bachelor in theater. Gave birth to her second child at age 41, son Michael Rabe on 7/13/85. Child's father is her husband, David Rabe. Upon her death she was cremated and her ashes are in the possession of the family. Her father was from a well-established Jewish family (from Germany, Portugal and France), with roots in the US going back to the 1700s. Her paternal great-great-great-grandfather, Maj. Benjamin Nones, fought in the American Revolution. Her mother had English, distant Welsh, and remote Dutch, ancestry. Her first grandchild was born via daughter Lily Rabe in March 2017. Daughter of Albert (1909-97) and Julia (née Dorr) Clayburgh (1910-75). Both were born and raised in New York. Paternal granddaughter of Albert (1863-1946), born in New York, and Alma (née Lachenbruch) Clayburgh (1881-1958), born in Pennsylvania. Paternal great-granddaughter of Emanuel (1818-77), born in Germany, and Eveline (née Nones) Clayburgh (1827-1912), born in New York. Confirmed in 1991, along with several other actresses, that she had undergone an abortion prior to its legalization in America. Was two months pregnant with her son Michael Rabe when she completed filming on Where Are the Children? (1986). Ironically, she died from the same disease as a character she played in Griffin and Phoenix (1976). "Sarah Phoenix". Personal Quotes (3) Topless is just topless. That's nothing. Why is it OK for men to go around topless when some of them have bigger boobs than many women? People think about me, "This wonderful lucky woman, she's got it all". But, gee, that's how I feel about Meryl Streep [New York Times interview, 1982]. I guess people look at me and they think I'm a ladylike character, but it's not what I do best. I do best with characters who are coming apart at the seams.

  • Personal Life & Family

    I had known Alan Bates since I was 14 years old. One of the highlights of his life was being cast as a love interest in AN UNMARRIED WOMAN with Jill Clayburgh. An Unmarried Woman is a 1978 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Paul Mazursky and starring Jill Clayburgh, Alan Bates and Michael Murphy. The film was nominated for three Academy Awards: Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Actress (Clayburgh). Plot Erica Benton is in a seemingly happy marriage to Martin, a successful businessman. They live together with their teenage daughter Patti in an upscale West Side apartment. Martin, however, has been having a year-long affair with a much younger woman; when he confesses to Erica that he loves his mistress and wants to marry her, Erica is devastated, and Martin moves out. With the help of Patti, her circle of close friends, and a therapist, Erica slowly comes to terms with the divorce and begins to get her life back on track. She reluctantly tries dating again, but after Martin's betrayal and a disastrous blind date is even warier of ever finding a "good" man again. Her mistrust of men threatens her relationship with Patti, as she takes out her frustrations on Patti's boyfriend, Phil. Out of desperation, Erica sleeps with Charlie, an obnoxious, chauvinistic co-worker, but does not find the experience fulfilling. As she grows more accustomed to her new life, she meets Saul, an abstract painter, and begins a relationship with him. Both value their independence and so have a difficult time adjusting to domestic life; when Patti meets Saul, she is initially hostile, believing Erica is trying to bring him in to replace Martin, which Saul assures Patti he does not want to do. Saul tries to convince Erica to come with him to his home in Vermont for the summer, where he spends five months every year with his children, but she refuses, not wishing to leave her daughter and her life behind for so long. After a few tense meetings, Martin and Erica begin to act cordially towards each other, only for Martin to reveal that his girlfriend has left him and he wants Erica back. Erica rebuffs him. Cast
  • 11/5
    2010

    Death

    November 5, 2010
    Death date
    Leukemia
    Cause of death
    Salisbury, Litchfield County, Connecticut United States
    Death location
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  • Gravesite & Burial

    mm/dd/yyyy
    Funeral date
    Cremated.
    Burial location

  • Obituary

    Jill Clayburgh, whose Broadway and Hollywood acting career stretched through the decades, highlighted by her Oscar-nominated portrayal of a divorcee exploring her sexuality in the 1978 film "An Unmarried Woman," died Friday. She was 66. Her husband, Tony Award-winning playwright David Rabe, said she died after a 21-year battle with chronic lymphocytic leukemia. She was surrounded by her family and brother when she died at her home in Lakeville, CT, he said. She dealt with the disease courageously, quietly and privately, Rabe said, and conducted herself with enormous grace "and made it into an opportunity for her children to grow and be human." Clayburgh came from a privileged New York family. Her father was vice president of two large companies, and her mother was a secretary for Broadway producer David Merrick. Her grandmother, Alma Clayburgh, was an opera singer and New York socialite. Growing up in a such a rich cultural mix, she could easily have been overwhelmed. Instead, as she said in interviews, she asserted herself with willful and destructive behavior — so much so that her parents took her to a psychiatrist when she was 9. She escaped into a fantasy world of her own devising. She was entranced by seeing Jean Arthur play "Peter Pan" on Broadway, and she and a school chum concocted their own dramatics every day at home. She became serious-minded at Sarah Lawrence College, concentrating on religion, philosophy and literature. Clayburgh also took drama classes at Sarah Lawrence. She and her friend Robert De Niro acted in a film, "The Wedding Party," directed by a Sarah Lawrence graduate, Brian DePalma. After graduating with a bachelor of arts degree, she began performing in repertory and in Broadway musicals such as "The Rothschilds" and "Pippin." Alongside Richard Thomas, she headed the 2005 Broadway cast of "A Naked Girl on the Appian Way," Richard Greenberg's comedy about one family's unusual domestic tribulations. Director Doug Hughes, who directed her in a production of Arthur Miller's "All My Sons" at the Westport Country Playhouse two years ago, called her for "Naked Girl." "That she has the time to do a run of a play is just an extraordinary boon because I've had the pleasure of seeing her play a bona fide tragic American role beautifully, and I have had the pleasure of directing her in a very smart light comedy and be utterly brilliant in that," he said in 2005. During an interview that year, Clayburgh explained the unglamorous side of acting. "One of the funny things about actors is that people look at their careers in retrospect, as if they have a plan," she said. "Mostly, you just get a call. You're just sitting there going, 'Oh, my God. I'm never going to work again. Oh, God. I'm too old. Maybe I should go and work for Howard Dean.' And then it changes." Besides appearing in such movies as "I'm Dancing As Fast As I Can," ''Silver Streak" and "Running With Scissors," Clayburgh's Broadway credits include Noel Coward's "Design for Living," the original production of Tom Stoppard's "Jumpers," and the Tony Award-winning musicals "Pippin" and "The Rothschilds." Clayburgh was also nominated for an Academy Award for "Starting Over," a comedy about a divorced man, played by Burt Reynolds, who falls in love but can't get over his ex-wife. She appeared on TV shows including "Dirty Sexy Money" and was nominated for two Emmys: for best actress in 1975 for her work on "Hustling" and for her guest turn on "Nip/Tuck" on FX in 2005. She is survived by three children, including actress Lily Rabe, Michael Rabe and stepson Jason Rabe. There will be no funeral, Rabe said. The family will have a memorial in about six months, though plans have not been finalized.
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10 Memories, Stories & Photos about Jill

Jill Clayburgh
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
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04/29/2022
Jill Clayburgh
Lovely.
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Jill Clayburgh.
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
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04/29/2022
Jill Clayburgh.
versatile and bright.
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Jill Clayburgh
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
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04/29/2022
Jill Clayburgh
Head Shot.
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Jill Clayburgh
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
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04/29/2022
Jill Clayburgh
Always Classy.
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Jill Clayburgh
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
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04/29/2022
Jill Clayburgh
Casual and adorable.
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Jill Clayburgh and Alan Bates
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
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04/29/2022
Jill Clayburgh and Alan Bates
An Unmarried Woman.
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Jill Clayburgh.
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
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04/29/2022
Jill Clayburgh.
Regal and lovely.
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Jill Clayburgh
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
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04/29/2022
Jill Clayburgh
Actress.
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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Jill Clayburgh
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
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04/29/2022
Jill Clayburgh
Movie Star.
Date & Place: Not specified or unknown.
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Jill Clayburgh.
Photo of Amanda S. Stevenson Amanda S. Stevenson
17.8k+ favorites
04/29/2022
Jill Clayburgh.
Young and freckled.
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Jill Clayburgh's Family Tree & Friends

Jill Clayburgh's Family Tree

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Other Biographies

Other Clayburgh Family Biographies

Clayburgh, Albert (Mar 7, 1909 - Feb 6, 1997) Clayburgh, Julia (Oct 23, 1910 - Dec 1975) Clayburgh, Anna (Jan 23, 1887 - Dec 1977) Clayburgh, Mark (Oct 20, 1918 - Aug 16, 1992) Clayburgh, Marcus (Jan 23, 1887 - Oct 1971) Clayburgh, Ruth (May 25, 1910 - Oct 2, 2002) Clayburgh, John (Dec 11, 1911 - Aug 5, 2000) Clayburgh, Helen (Aug 22, 1898 - Apr 4, 1992) Clayburgh, Bessie (Apr 10, 1883 - Oct 1974)
Clayburgh, Herbert (Dec 15, 1877 - Oct 1972) Clayburgh, Carrie (May 6, 1874 - Apr 15, 1966) Clayburgh, Kay (Mar 8, 1883 - Oct 1963) Clayburgh, Michael (Feb 24, 1958 - Jul 4, 2006) Clayburgh, Philip (Apr 9, 1918 - Jun 28, 2010) Clayburgh, Martin (Jul 5, 1912 - Feb 1985) Clayburgh, Mary (Jul 4, 1951 - May 17, 2006) Clayburgh, Robert (Oct 11, 1922 - Aug 22, 1992)
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