Hope Elise Ross Lange, born November 28, 1931 at Redding Ridge, Connecticut, United States - died on December 19, 2003 at Santa Monica, California, was a stage, film, and television actress.

Born into a theatrical family, Hope Lange was only 12 years of age when she first appeared in a Broadway play. Following her father’s passing, a teenage Lange worked as a waitress in her mother’s Greenwich Village restaurant and sometimes walked the dog of former First Lady of the United States, Eleanor Roosevelt who had a nearby apartment. When the photo of the beautiful girl appeared in the newspaper, she received an offer to work as a New York City advertising model that eventually led to a return to acting in the early 1950’s when she began working in television. After being part of a 1953 television series, the demure and sophisticated blonde actress came to prominence in her first motion picture role in the 1956 film, Bus Stop with Marilyn Monroe and future husband, Don Murray. As a result of favorable reviews, she landed a major role in the then risqué 1957 film, Peyton Place. Her strong performance earned her a nomination for a Golden Globe Award and the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Divorced from Don Murray, with whom she had two children, in 1963 she left acting after her marriage to producer-director Alan Pakula (1928-1998). Following their divorce five years later she resumed her career, starring from 1968 to 1970 in the popular television series, "The Ghost And Mrs. Muir" for which she earned two Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe Award nomination.. This success was followed by three seasons on the "The New Dick Van Dyke Show."

Dedicated to her craft, over the years Lange earned the respect of audiences and peers alike. For more than fifty years she appeared in numerous motion pictures, made-for-television movies, a variety of television shows, as well as making a 1977 return to the Broadway stage where her acting career began.

In 1986 she married theatrical producer, Charles Hollerith with whom she remained until her passing in December of 2003 as a result of an intestinal infection.

Filmography:

  • Bus Stop (1956)
  • Peyton Place (1957)
  • The True Story of Jesse James (1957)
  • The Young Lions (1958)
  • In Love and War (1958)
  • The Best Of Everything (1959)
  • Wild In The Country (1961)
  • Pocketful Of Miracles (1961)
  • Love Is A Ball (1963)
  • Jigsaw (1968)
  • Death Wish (1974)
  • The Prodigal (1983)
  • A Nightmare On Elm Street Part 2: Freddy's Revenge (1985)
  • Blue Velvet (1986)
  • Tune in Tomorrow (1990)
  • Clear and Present Danger (1994)
  • Just Cause (1995)
  • Before He Wakes (1998)