Shirley Knight, Beloved Actress, Died at Age 83

In the early hours of April 22, 2020, Emmy-winner and two-time Oscar nominee, Shirley Knight passed away. Knight died from natural causes in her daughter’s home in Texas. She was 83 years old at the time of her death.

Her Early Years

The award-winning star was born on July 5, 1936, in Goessel, Kansas. She graduated from high school in Lyons, Kansas. Knight was the first in her family to go to college. She won a scholarship to Phillips University, and later she switched to Witchita State University.

In a matter of two years, Knight appeared in 32 plays and spent two summers presenting stage productions in summer stock. Her original dream was to be an opera singer, and she began studying at the age of 11. When Knight saw Julie Harris play in “The Lark,” she fell in love with acting.

She moved to Pasadena, California to study acting at the Pasadena Theatre School. Knight started working on films in 1959. The actress married producer Eugene Persson on March 14, 1959, and divorced him in 1969. They have one child together.

Becoming A Star

In 1962, Knight played a woman who was seduced and abandoned by Paul Newman, in the movie “Sweet Bird Of Youth.” She was nominated for best-supporting actress for her role in this movie.

On Feb. 1, 1964, she gave birth to her first child, Kaitlin Persson. Four months after birthing her daughter, she returned to the stage in the Broadway play “The Watering Place.” Her elegant looks helped her win roles in films such as, “The Group” in 1966, and “Dutchman” in 1967.

In 1969, she married John Hopkins. They have one child together. Before they were married she gave birth to their daughter Sophie Hopkins, on Nov. 26, 1968.

In the movie “The Rain People,” which premiered in 1969, she played a pregnant woman who runs away with a football player. Knight was six months pregnant with her daughter Sophie when the movie finished production. Afterward, she termed the studio bosses as “Blockheads,” and wearied away from the Hollywood scene.

Her Move Across the Pond and Back

When her second daughter was four months old she returned to perform in Broadway’s “The Three Sisters.” She moved to London with her second husband and daughters. For a few years, she was content with raising her children and doing needlework.

After deciding that acting was what she did best, the family moved back to the United States. Her first time back on the big screen was in the 1979 movie “Beyond the Poseidon Adventure.” She also had a role in the movie “Endless Love” where she played Brooke Sheild’s mom.

Her husband, Hopkins, died on July 23, 1998. Years later she played in the movies, “As Good as It Gets,” and the “Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood.”

She is survived by her daughters and various family members. May she rest in peace.

By Sheena Robertson

Sources:

KSN: Shirley Knight, Oscar-nominated actress from Kansas, has died at 83
7News: US actress Shirley Knight, dies aged 83
IMDB: Kaitlin Hopkins
Chicago Sun-Times: Shirley Knight, Oscar-nominated actress, has died at 83
IMDB: Sophie C. Hopkins
People: Shirley Knight, Two-Time Oscar-Nominated Actress, Dies at 83
IMDB: Shirley Knight

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