"Some people in Hollywood think of me as a model for dramatic midlife transitions: suburban housewife to Emmy-winning actress. But I never plotted out a master plan for following my dreams" - Kathryn Joosten
The actress, who died Saturday at age 72, should be an inspiration to us all that it is never too late to follow your dreams. After a career as a psychiatric nurse, Joosten began acting in community theater at 42. She then moved to Hollywood in 1995 at age 55 where she was a guest star on many television series, but her two most famous roles were as Mrs. Landingham, President Bartlet's personal secretary on The West Wing (1999-2001), and Wisteria Lane neighbor Karen McCluskey on Desperate Housewives (for which she won two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series in 2005 and 2008). Her illness was written into Housewives as Karen also sadly died from lung cancer in the series' final episode last month.
Below is Joosten's 2008 Emmy Award acceptance speech (begin watching at 2:21) as well as three excerpts from an interview for the Archive of American Television that was taped on May 9, 2012.
No comments:
Post a Comment