After starring in over 80 features and racking up four Best Actress Oscar nominations, Barbara Stanwyck ended her 35-year film career in 1964. The 57-year-old, who had first ventured into TV acting eight years earlier, only accepted small screen roles from then on and quickly found success on the ABC western “The Big Valley.” In 1983, she appeared on the first installment of the four-part limited series “The Thorn Birds” and was ultimately rewarded with her fifth Emmy nomination and third win.
“The Thorn Birds,” an adaptation of the novel by Colleen McCullough, starred Stanwyck in the role of Mary Carson, a wealthy widow who sets out to ruin the romantic conquests of a much younger man after he scorns her advances. At 76, she was originally the second oldest winner and fourth oldest nominee in the Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actress category. Nearly four decades later, she ranks as the 10th oldest contender, with two of the newest women on the list having earned their bids after turning 85.
The television academy has recognized the work of lead actresses on non-continuing programs since the seventh Emmys ceremony in 1955. The award’s inaugural recipient was Judith Anderson (“Macbeth”), while the most recent was Kate Winslet (“Mare of Easttown”).
Check out our photo gallery to find out who ranks ahead of Stanwyck on the list of 10 oldest Best TV Movie/Limited Series Actress Emmy nominees.
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