Actress Louise Fletcher, who won an Oscar, passed away on Friday at her home in France, according to her agent. She was 88.
According to her agent David Shaul, Fletcher passed away peacefully at her Montdurausse residence while she was accompanied by her family. The reason for her passing was not given by him.
The Birmingham native, who earned an Academy Award for her compelling performance as Nurse Ratched in 1975’s “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” was a trailblazer in Hollywood and defined what it meant to be a villain in a feature film.
Fletcher played Jack Nicholson’s opposite in the Milos Forman-helmed movie, despite Anne Bancroft, Ellen Burstyn, and Angela Lansbury all declining the part.
Fletcher was not well known at the time, but her outstanding performance in the 1974 Robert Altman film “Thieves Like Us” led to her selection.
“I was the last person cast,” she said during a 2004 interview. “It wasn’t until we were halfway through shooting that I realized the part had been offered to other actresses who didn’t want to appear so horrible on the screen.”
The movie “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” became the first since 1934’s “It Happened One Night” to win best picture, best director, best actor, best actress, and best screenplay thanks to her cold-blooded and meticulous portrayal.
The audience “all despised me” because of the character, Fletcher said in her winning speech at the 1976 Oscars ceremony.
She also used sign language to personally address her deaf parents.
“I want to thank you for teaching me to have a dream. You are seeing my dream come true,” she said in sign.
Her comments were met with thunderous applause.
Fletcher went on to star in “Mama Dracula,” “Dead Kids,” “The Boy Who Could Fly,” “The Cheap Detective,” “Natural Enemies,” “Cruel Intentions,” and “Exorcist II: The Heretic” while still in her 40s. Additionally, she appeared in a number of TV shows, such as “Star Trek: Deep Space Nine,” “Picket Fences,” and “Joan of Arcadia.”
Fletcher was a late bloomer in Hollywood despite her fame and many memorable parts since she wed producer Jerry Bick in the early 1960s and delayed her acting career in order to raise her two boys.
“I made the choice to stop working, but I didn’t see it as a choice,” she said during the 2004 interview. “I felt compelled to stay at home.”
