Beth Grant

Beth Grant

Active - 1988 - 2023  |   Born - Sep 18, 1949 in Gadsden, Alabama, United States  |   Genres - Comedy, Drama, Thriller

Share on

Biography by AllMovie

A successful character actress most adept at playing matronly types, Beth Grant took her onscreen bow in the late '80s and began tackling innumerable roles in Hollywood features, usually bit parts as housewives, female doctors, or down-home small-town women. Grant received her first feature assignment as a harried mother at a farmhouse in Barry Levinson's Rain Man (1988). She subsequently divided her time between film and television roles, guest-acting on dozens of series and occasionally taking on more extensive small-screen roles, such as on Coach and Jericho. Grant's many big-screen credits include the films Don't Tell Her It's Me (1990), Speed (1994), Donnie Darko (2001), and Little Miss Sunshine (2006). She was particularly memorable in the latter, as one of the snotty and obnoxious pageant judges. Darko represented Grant's first experience working with helmer Richard Kelly; she re-teamed with Kelly for his follow-up, the dystopian black comedy Southland Tales (2005).

Movie Highlights

See Full Filmography

Factsheet

  • Received the Outstanding College Democrat Award from Senator Edmund Muskie while attending East Carolina University.
  • Was a longtime friend of Patrick Swayze. The two were once in the same acting class and appeared together in the films To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar and Donnie Darko.  
  • Donnie Darko costar Jake Gyllenhaal is a family friend; Grant first met the actor when he was 3 years old.