ACTOR · BORN 1918 · DIED 2005
Teresa Wright
- Born
- 27 October 1918, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA
- Died
- 6 March 2005
- Known for
- The Rainmaker (1997), Shadow of a Doubt (1943), The Exorcist III (1990), The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
27 archived facts 4 topics 1 source Last reviewed Sep 2026
All facts (27)
- #001
In honor of her heartfelt performance in The Pride of the Yankees (1942), when Teresa Wright died in 2005, her name was read among all the actors when the roll call of deceased former Yankees was announced.
- #002
As of 2024, she remains the only actor to have been nominated for an Oscar for her first three films.
- #003
She is one of twelve actors who have received Oscar nominations in two acting categories in the same year, alongside Fay Bainter, Barry Fitzgerald, Jessica Lange, Sigourney Weaver, Al Pacino, Holly Hunter, Emma Thompson, Julianne Moore, Jamie Foxx, Cate Blanchett and Scarlett Johansson. In 1943, at the 15th Academy Awards, she was nominated for Best Actress for The Pride of the Yankees (1942) and for Best Supporting Actress for Mrs. Miniver (1942), winning the latter award.
- #004
Samuel Goldwyn discovered her in the popular Broadway play "Life with Father" and invited her to Hollywood to play Alexandra, the daughter of Bette Davis's character, in The Little Foxes (1941).
- #005
Until Jennifer Lawrence received her third nomination in 2014, Wright held the record as the youngest actor to receive three acting Oscar nominations. Wright was 24 years, 3 months and 20 days old at the time of her third nomination; Lawrence was 23 years, 5 months and 0 days old.
- #006
She was only 11 years older than Jean Simmons, who played her daughter in the films The Actress (1953) and The Happy Ending (1969).
- #007
She appeared in four films nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: The Little Foxes (1941), Mrs. Miniver (1942), The Pride of the Yankees (1942) and The Best Years of Our Lives (1946). Mrs. Miniver and The Best Years of Our Lives won in the category.
- #008
She appeared in four films selected by the Library of Congress for the National Film Registry as "culturally, historically or aesthetically" significant: Mrs. Miniver (1942), The Pride of the Yankees (1942), Shadow of a Doubt (1943) and The Best Years of Our Lives (1946).
- #009
She was originally set to star in producer David O. Selznick's Duel in the Sun (1946), written at the time by her then-husband Niven Busch. However, shortly before filming began she became pregnant, and Busch had to go to Selznick's office to inform him that she had to withdraw from the film. Selznick, known for his stubbornness, tried to persuade Busch to let her play the role, which required a great deal of physical action, and Busch refused outright. As he turned to leave the office, Selznick blurted out, "Dammit, Busch, she isn't the only one you screwed!"
- #010
When she completed her run in the Broadway show "Life with Father," she was seven months pregnant with her daughter Mary.
- #011
Her husband Niven Busch originally wrote Duel in the Sun (1946) for her to play the lead, in contrast to her usual girl-next-door roles. However, pregnancy forced her to leave the project, and Jennifer Jones took over the lead.
- #012
She is one of 14 actresses to have won the Best Supporting Actress Oscar for a film that also won Best Picture (she won for Mrs. Miniver (1942)). The others are Hattie McDaniel for Gone with the Wind (1939), Celeste Holm for Gentleman's Agreement (1947), Mercedes McCambridge for All the King's Men (1949), Donna Reed for From Here to Eternity (1953), Eva Marie Saint for On the Waterfront (1954), Rita Moreno for West Side Story (1961), Meryl Streep for Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), Juliette Binoche for The English Patient (1996), Judi Dench for Shakespeare in Love (1998), Jennifer Connelly for A Beautiful Mind (2001), Catherine Zeta-Jones for Chicago (2002), Lupita Nyong'o for 12 Years a Slave (2013) and Jamie Lee Curtis for Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022).
- #013
Because she grew up in the state, she was nominated for the New Jersey Hall of Fame in 2015 for her services in the performing arts, but was not accepted.
- #014
On December 2, 1944, at the age of 26, she gave birth to her first child, Niven Terrence Busch. The child's father is her first ex-husband, Niven Busch.
- #015
She became the 19th actor to win an Oscar; on March 4, 1943, at the 15th Academy Awards, she won the Best Supporting Actress award for Mrs. Miniver (1942).
- #016
She appeared in three films with Patricia Collinge; she played her niece in The Little Foxes (1941) and her daughter twice, in Shadow of a Doubt (1943) and Casanova Brown (1944).
- #017
For many years, Wright resided in Bridgewater, a pastoral town in Connecticut's Litchfield County.
- #018
On September 12, 1947, at the age of 28, she gave birth to her second child, Mary Kelly Busch. The child's father is her first ex-husband, Niven Busch.
- #019
She was buried in Evergreen Cemetery in New Haven, Connecticut.
- #020
Her daughter Mary made Wright a grandmother for the first time at the age of 56 when she gave birth to Wright's grandson Jonah Smith on June 6, 1975.
- #021
Teresa Wright, who appeared as a guest actor in the 1984 film Murder, She Wrote, is one of four Oscar winners for Best Supporting Actress to do so. The others are Claire Trevor, Kim Hunter and Shirley Jones.
- #022
Wright became a grandmother for the second time at the age of 68 when her son Niven and his wife Francesca had her granddaughter Katherine Corrine Busch on 9 February 1987.
- #023
Biography: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume 7, 2003-2005, pages 587-588. Farmington Hills, MI: Thomson Gale, 2007.
- #024
Although she played Diane Keaton's grandmother in The Good Mother (1988), in real life she was only 27 years older than her.
- #025
In 1996 she donated money to Bill Clinton's campaign.
- #026
She is one of 22 Oscar-winning actresses born in New York State. The others are Alice Brady, Anne Revere, Celeste Holm, Claire Trevor, Judy Holliday, Shirley Booth, Susan Hayward, Patty Duke, Anne Bancroft, Barbra Streisand, Jane Fonda, Lee Grant, Beatrice Straight, Whoopi Goldberg, Mercedes Ruehl, Marisa Tomei, Mira Sorvino, Susan Sarandon, Jennifer Connelly, Melissa Leo and Anne Hathaway.
- #027
In Italy she was frequently dubbed by Rosetta Calavetta. She was also sometimes dubbed by Rina Morelli, especially in The Little Foxes (1941); by Dhia Cristiani and, once, by Paola Barbara in Alfred Hitchcock's Shadow of a Doubt (1943).
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