and Kurtz at the 2009
Tribeca Film Festival Kurtz's first television appearance at age 17 was on
The Donna Reed Show 4th-season episode "The Golden Trap" (February, 1962). She also appeared on
To Tell the Truth at eighteen, identifying her father from two impostors. She made her debut as a series regular on the daytime drama
As The World Turns in 1971. Kurtz began her career in theater, making her Broadway debut in the 1975 revival of
Ah, Wilderness! She first gained wide recognition in 1978 for two theatrical productions,
Uncommon Women and Others, the breakthrough play by
Wendy Wasserstein in which she appeared in a 1977 workshop at the
Eugene O'Neill Theater Center and then Off-Broadway, and the musical
A History of the American Film for which she won a
Drama Desk Award. Kurtz was soon awarded
Broadway's "triple crown" (the
Tony Award, Drama Desk, and
Outer Critics Circle awards) for her portrayal of Gwen in
Lanford Wilson's
Fifth of July. She won a second Tony for her performance as Bananas in a 1986 revival of
The House of Blue Leaves by
John Guare. She starred as playwright
Lillian Hellman in the 2002
Nora Ephron play
Imaginary Friends. ,
John Hurt, and Kurtz at the Tribeca Film Festival showing of
An Englishman in New York (2009) In 1978, Kurtz was part of the ensemble cast of
Mary Tyler Moore's short-lived variety series
Mary, that also included
David Letterman and
Michael Keaton. In 1981, Kurtz began two seasons alongside
Tony Randall in the sitcom
Love, Sidney, in a role that earned her the first of her 10
Emmy Award nominations. In 1990, she won her first Emmy for a guest-starring role on
Carol Burnett's comedy series
Carol & Company. From 1991 to 1996, Kurtz had her longest-running television role, starring as wealthy divorcee Alex Reed Halsey on the NBC drama
Sisters, a role that earned her two more Emmy Award nominations. She also starred in the
ABC television series
Pushing Daisies as
Lily Charles. In recent years, Kurtz has guest-starred on the hit series
ER and
Lost and
Desperate Housewives and has also had recurring roles as Valerie on the drama ''
That's Life'', as Judy's mother Helen on the
sitcom Still Standing, as Madeleine Sullivan on the
Showtime drama series
Huff, and most recently as part of a lesbian married couple with
Blythe Danner on the drama series
Nurse Jackie. In 2010, Kurtz began starring on the CBS sitcom
Mike & Molly as Joyce Flynn. Kurtz has also appeared in a recurring part as
Matt LeBlanc's mother in the comedy series
Man with a Plan. In 2021, she began appearing as
Mayim Bialik's mother in the comedy series
Call Me Kat. Although her main focus has been television, Kurtz has starred in several major Hollywood films including the Agatha Christie drama
Caribbean Mystery (1983),
Dangerous Liaisons (1988), its remake
Cruel Intentions (1999), as a lesbian activist in the acclaimed indie film
Citizen Ruth (1996), and alongside
Jim Carrey in
Liar Liar (1997). ==Personal life==