Madeline Kahn

Biography

Madeline Gail Kahn, born Wolfson on September 29, 1942, and passing on December 3, 1999, was a celebrated American actress, comedian, and singer, renowned for her humorous performances in films helmed by Peter Bogdanovich and Mel Brooks. Her notable works include roles in classics such as What's Up, Doc? (1972), Young Frankenstein (1974), High Anxiety (1977), and History of the World, Part I (1981). Kahn's remarkable talent earned her Academy Award nominations for her performances in Paper Moon (1973) and Blazing Saddles (1974).

She made her Broadway debut in Leonard Sillman's New Faces of 1968 and garnered Tony Award nominations for her work in the 1974 play In the Boom Boom Room and the original 1978 musical On the Twentieth Century. Kahn also featured as Madeline Wayne in the short-lived sitcom Oh Madeline (1983–84) and won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1987 for her contribution to an ABC Afterschool Special. In 1989, she received another Tony nomination for the revival of Born Yesterday, and she ultimately won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play in 1993 for her role in the comedy The Sisters Rosensweig. Additional film credits include The Cheap Detective (1978), City Heat (1984), Clue (1985), and Nixon (1995).