Copeland began her career in the theatre, making her professional debut as Juliet in
William Shakespeare's
Romeo and Juliet at the
Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1945. She made her
Broadway debut as Nadine in the original 1948 production of
Bessie Breuer's
Sundown Beach. Thereafter she maintained an active career in the theatre. Her other Broadway credits include
Detective Story (1949),
Not for Children (1951),
The Diary of Anne Frank (1955),
Handful of Fire (1958), standby for
Vivien Leigh in
Tovarich (1963),
Something More! (1964), standby for Kate Reid in
The Price (1968), standby for
Katharine Hepburn in
Coco (1969),
Two By Two (1970),
Pal Joey (1976),
Checking Out (1976), and
The American Clock (1980), the latter of which was written by her brother Arthur Miller; Copeland won the 1981 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actress in a Play. In 2001, Copeland was set to play the role of Zelda in the Broadway mounting of Neil Simon's
45 Seconds from Broadway, however she left the production during rehearsals (replace by
Rebecca Schull) and never actually performed in the production. She worked extensively
Off-Broadway in New York City. Her notable credits therein include Desdemona in
Othello at the Equity Library Theatre (1946), Betty Shapiro in
The Grass is Greener at the Downtown National Theatre (1955), Melanie in
Conversation Piece at the Barbizon-Plaza Theatre (1957), Mrs. Erlynne in
Delightful Season at the Gramercy Arts Theatre (1960), Leonie Frothingham in
End of Summer at the
Manhattan Theatre Club (1974), Lillian Hellman in
Are You Now or Have You Ever Been at the Promenade Theatre (1978), the title role in
Candida at the
Roundabout Theatre (1979), Tasha Blumberg in ''
Isn't It Romantic? at the Playwrights Horizons (1983), Mrs. Thompson in Hunting Cockroaches
at the Manhattan Theatre Club (1987), Rose Brill in The Rose Quartet
at the Circle Repertory Theatre (1991), Aida Gianelli in Over the River and Through the Woods at the John Houseman Theatre (1998), Nelly Fell in The Torch-Bearers at the Greenwich House Theatre (2000), and as part of a rotating cast in Wit & Wisdom at the Arclight Theatre (2003). She won an Obie Award in 1991 for her portrayal of Eva Adler in The American Plan'' at the Manhattan Theatre Club. Copeland began working in television in the early 1950s as a guest actress on such shows as
Suspense and
The Web and on the live telecast of
O'Neill's play
The Iceman Cometh in 1960. She appeared on numerous soap operas. She portrayed
Andrea Whiting (Joanne's daughter, Patti's malevolent former mother in-law) on
Search for Tomorrow, twin sisters Maggie and Kay Logan on
Love of Life, and roles on
The Edge of Night,
How to Survive a Marriage, and
As the World Turns. She also portrayed
Gwendolyn Lord Abbott on
One Life to Live from 1978–1979, and later returned to the series to play
Selma Hanen in 1995. Between 1993 and 1997 she portrayed the recurring character of Judge Rebecca Stein on
Law & Order. Her other television credits include guest appearances on
The Patty Duke Show,
Chicago Hope,
ER,
All in the Family, and
Naked City. Copeland made her first film appearance as Alice Marie in
The Goddess (1958). Her film career was sporadic and her appearances were almost exclusively in prominent secondary roles. Her film credits include
Middle of the Night (1959),
Roseland (1977), ''
It's My Turn (1980), A Little Sex (1982), Happy New Year (1987), The Laser Man (1988), Her Alibi (1989), Jungle 2 Jungle (1997), The Peacemaker (1997), The Object of My Affection (1998), The Adventures of Sebastian Cole (1998), The Audrey Hepburn Story (2000), The Last Request
(2006), and The Private Lives of Pippa Lee'' (2009). She also voiced Tanana in
Disney's
Brother Bear (2003). ==Filmography==