Overnight, Katharine Juliet Ross went from being an unknown actress to a nominee for an Academy Award. Her most well-known performance was in The Graduate, when she costarred with Dustin Hoffman as Elaine. Over time, she developed into what many at the time referred to as a Hollywood bombshell.
Ross has had a long and prosperous career thus far. Despite having five marriages, she hasn’t had a stable personal life. Fortunately, her sixth marriage to beloved actor Sam Elliott was well worth the wait.
Katharine Ross has a lot more going on in her life than just acting, despite the fact that she hasn’t been on TV in a long time. Even now, she still radiates her true beauty. Here is everything you need to know about Katharine Ross, including her present appearance at the age of 83.
Katharine Ross was born on January 29, 1940, in Hollywood, California. Unlike many other Hollywood celebrities, the little girl’s parents were not actors. Dudley, her father, was an Associated Press reporter and an officer in the U.S. Navy. As a result, his family had to relocate frequently.
After relocating from Virginia to Palo Alto, California, they eventually made their home in Walnut Creek, a San Francisco suburb, where they had begun. Katharine grew up there and went to Las Lomas High School, where she earned her diploma in 1957.
She continued her education at Santa Rosa Junior College, which would eventually play a significant role in her future. Her first experience with acting was at school. Katharine Ross’s life was significantly impacted by the first plays she saw.
She decided to pursue acting as a career after participating in the school performance of The King and I. However, after only a year, Katharine made the decision to drop out of school. Rather, she decided to move to a tiny apartment above a supermarket and applied to The Actors Workshop in San Francisco.
Ross spent three years developing as an actor and perfecting her technique. She eventually managed to secure a few tiny TV roles. She was not only a talented actor but also a great auditioner.
“I was the screen test queen,” Ross told Life Magazine in 1968. runs every day at the right moment for the Workshop’s curtain time between San Francisco and Los Angeles. I portrayed a number of hit-and-run drivers, including a privileged, obnoxious, and jaded teenager. I played a likable cripple with a clubfoot on Gunsmoke.
Ross’s first husband, Joel Fabiani, whom she wed in 1960, was a college sweetheart. I’ll come back to the fact that he was the first of her five husbands.
Ross’ life changed dramatically in the years that followed her nuptials to Fabiani. Her numerous Western television appearances helped her become well-known. She was a great beauty and fit the genre perfectly.
Being cast in numerous television shows may sound like a dream, but Katharine Ross’ life wasn’t all sunshine and flowers. Like many other people in the industry, she suffered from abuse and exploitation.
Some teen TV stars’ lives in the 1960s weren’t all fun and games.
“I remember doing a screen test for The Young Lovers, the one-man film by Samuel Goldwyn Jr. directing ever. When Peter Fonda couldn’t join me for the screen test, Chad Everett was brought in to take his place. He wasn’t aware that the role had already been cast, but he gave the screen test his all. I was unable to bring myself to be honest with him. To get Sam’s desired look, I scheduled a number of appointments with a hairstylist. By the time they were finished, they had completely removed my hair. And ultimately, Katharine told Variety, someone else was cast.
She added, “I’ll tell you what was unique about it. When the old studio system was on its deathbed and they were just starting to test new methods, the small $1 million budget films were seen as the way forward. And in the end, that marked the start of a magnificent new era that eventually gave rise to the independent film movement.
In 1962, Katharine made her television debut in an episode of Sam Benedict. She co-starred in the 1965 Civil War-themed film Shenandoah with James Stewart. Ross signed a contract with Universal the following year, and when she began filming her first lead role in the movie Games, director Mike Nichols noticed something special about the young, talented actress.
In The Graduate, which also starred Dustin Hoffman, he gave her the role of Elaine, arguably her most well-known on-screen performance.
“There was this New York stage performer named Dustin Hoffman. He appeared to have rolled out from under a rock because of how pale he was. All he wanted was to get back to the off-Broadway play he was in. I remember thinking, “Oh my God — this guy is dressed all in black, and he is white as a sheet,” on the first day, even though we eventually got to know and enjoy each other, Ross remembered in an interview with the Houston Chronicle.
You are aware that Gene Hackman, Dustin’s former roommate, was cast in the role of my father. I’m not sure exactly what happened, but he made a bow.
The Graduate, a classic film, is where Ross first gained notoriety. In addition to the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year.
The ending of The Graduate is still a mystery. Despite the fact that Benjamin had prevented Elaine from attending the wedding, nobody had anticipated the expression on their faces as they boarded a city bus.
Most of them thought the heartwarming tale of two people in love who were forcibly separated before being dramatically reunited would have a good ending. However, there was silence between the two.
So what, in Katharine’s opinion, transpired between the two individuals? It turns out that the conclusion was not predetermined.
“It’s usually advised to continue acting in a scene until the director tells you to stop. Mike held his tongue for a very long time. The talk stopped, but the camera remained rolling. How do I feel? She said, “I believe Elaine got off at the next station.
Katharine won yet another important job in 1969. She starred in one of cinema’s most recognizable scenes when she balanced on the handlebars of an actor-pedaled bicycle in the now-legendary Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid.
Ross had appeared in the same movie as her lifelong love by the time they finished production, though she was unaware of it then.
At least when Ross first started her job, her personal life was quite the roller coaster. Katharine has been married five times, and her most recent partnership has been going strong for over 40 years.
As reported, Ross wed Joel Fabiani for the first time in 1960. Following their brief two-year marriage, Ross soon married John Marion in 1964. Three years passed during their marriage. She later married Conrad Hall, the director of photography for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, for the third time in 1969. Following their divorce in 1973, Ross wed Gaetano “Tom” Lisi the following year.
In 1979, when the couple decided to part ways, Katharine Ross also met the love of her life.
Sam Elliott, who played Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, had a crush on Katharine even back on the set. He chose not to approach her because he was only a movie extra. According to the now-famous actor in 2018, all he could do was “just watch Katharine come and go. ”.
I co-wrote Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid with my wife, Katharine Ross, but I didn’t dare approach her then. She played the lead role. I was a glorified extra in a bar scene, a shadow on the wall,” Elliott claimed to AARP The Magazine in 2015.
But it was a terrific chance because I got to watch them make the movie. After all, I was a contract player with Fox and an extra on the show. While they were in Los Angeles, I spent a lot of time in a dim corner observing Katharine and the others at work, he recalled to The Oklahoman.
Before Katharine and Sam would cross paths once more, it would be ten years. The first movie they engaged with one another was the Gothic horror picture The Legacy, in which both were cast. Sam Elliott didn’t want to attend the London premiere since he didn’t believe the movie was very good. He was ultimately persuaded to travel because of his “smitten” feeling for Katharine.
The actress claimed their attraction was sparked by his unusual baritone voice and rugged, attractive looks.
According to her, “probably all that and more,” she told The Mercury News. “While we were working together, something else came up. Finally, here we are.
Just four months after getting married, Sam Elliott and Katharine Ross welcomed their daughter, Cleo Rose Elliott, on September 17, 1984. As a musician, Cleo planned to work in the entertainment industry. And looking back, perhaps it was better that way.
She told The Malibu Times that her parents were fully behind her musical endeavors. They’re just relieved that I don’t want to work in acting.
After The Legacy, Katharine Ross and Sam Elliott continued to work together on screen. The two have shared many on-screen appearances, including Travis McGee, Houston: The Legend of Texas, and Conagher, all of which they starred together. Elliott has referred to the latter as “one of the highlights of my career. ”.
Ross played his ex-wife, and Elliott played an aging Western movie star, in the 2017 film The Hero.
“I think we just like making movies, and having that creative experience together is the best,” Elliott told the Los Angeles Times in 2016.
It’s just enjoyable. Going home with someone you’re working with has a different energy than going home with someone you’re not. It has been an entirely positive experience.
Ross and Elliott split their time between residences in Oregon and California. The two went to the Screen Actors Guild Awards together earlier this year. In recent years, Katharine has not appeared as an actor in movies or television shows.
However, she has developed into a prolific writer and has released several children’s books.
The marriage between her and Sam has been challenging, but it has all been worthwhile. And it appears that their long-lasting relationship has one secret.
“I believe that at the end of the day, it all comes down to how much we care for one another. It also requires desiring to get married, which is, in my opinion, more crucial than everything else, Sam said. “Having a successful acting career, getting married, and starting a family were the two things I most desired. And the fact that I possess both is an embarrassment of riches.
Please encourage your friends and family to share this post on Facebook to celebrate the wonderful Katharine Ross. It may not precisely reflect their everyday lives, but for the couple, it’s all about exploring new things together.
