Michael Learned: In the Spotlight

Michael’s interest in acting began at The Arts Educational School in Hertfordshire, England. Primarily a ballet school, her 11-year old dream was to become a prima ballerina. However, to everyone’s surprise, she won the drama cup and at her teachers suggestions she focused on “special drama” instead of ballet. At the age of 16, she went to the London School and completed her dramatic training. Eventually, she moved to Los Angeles, had her first audition for television and landed the part of Olivia Walton in The Waltons. It changed her life. Since then, Michael has become a four-time Emmy award-winning actress (three for The Waltons and one for Nurse). She has received a People’s Choice Award and has been a three-time Golden Globe nominee. On stage, she starred in Steel Magnolias at the La Mirada Theatre for the Performing Arts, in the national tour of On Golden Pond and in Lewis Black’s One Slight Hitch. Other theatre credits include Elizabeth the Queen at the Folger Shakespeare Library, Edward Albee’s All Over at the Gramercy and McCarter Theatres. She starred in the West Coast premieres of Woman in Mind and Hapgood, both for the American Conservatory Theatre Co, for whom she was the leading lady for three years. Her Broadway appearances include Gore Vidal’s The Best Man and Wendy Wasserstein’s The Sisters Rosenweig and recently completed a production of The Out Going Tide. In Los Angeles she performed in Mary Stuart, Picnic, A Month in the Country at the Music Center and Looking for Normal at the Geffen. She has toured in A.R. Gurney’s Love Letters and Edward Albee’s Three Tall Women. Michael premiered in Arthur Miller’s The Ride Down Mt. Morgan at Williamstown Theatre Festival. Her films include For the Love of Mary, Life During Wartime, Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story and Power, directed by Sidney Lumet. Her television credits include everything from Gunsmoke, Police Story, and Murder, She Wrote, to Cold Case, Scrubs, Law and Order: SVU, Profiler, A Father for Brittany, Murder in New Hampshire, Roots: The Gift, All My Sons, as well as All My Children, General Hospital, The Waltons and Nurse to name a few. Michael is now married to John Doherty, and has five beautiful grandchildren.
Her most recent projects: Her most recent projects: Our Crossroads, is an inspiring true story (1969, rural Ohio) about an act of goodwill. A spiritually troubled photographer is forced to confront his lack of faith when he photographs a family and learns their story of tragedy, loss, and redemption: the true-life story of a young couple who followed their beliefs and successfully gained guardianship of six orphans, demonstrating the power of faith. Michael Learned and Pat Boone portray the couple in their later years, telling the story in a flashback.
Also, with more than one billion hours viewed, Ms Learned recently starred in Ryan Murphy’s limited series, DAHMER - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story, about the serial killer, directed by Ryan Murphy and co-created by Murphy and Ian Brennan for Netflix. She joins a cast as the grandmother of the infamous killer, Catherine Dahmer, with Evan Peters as Dahmer and supporting cast including Niecy Nash, Richard Jenkins, Penelope Ann Miller, Molly Ringwald and Dylan Burnside.
Michael Learned is a living legend, with a career that has 4 Emmy awards to her credit, over 50 years acting credits, and a Hall of Fame legendary career. In the spotlight is honored to bring to you,
Michael Learned

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Love Ms Learned. She is my favorite since I was a kid. I watch her stuff over and over all the time. I hope she does something on stage again because I haven’t had that opportunity to see her on stage.