What Was Anne Bancroft's Net Worth?
Anne Bancroft was an American actress, writer, and director who had a net worth of $50 million at the time of her death in 2005. That was a combined net worth with her husband of many decades, comedian Mel Brooks.
Anne Bancroft won an Academy Award, two Golden Globes, two Primetime Emmys, and two Tonys. Anne had more than 80 acting credits to her name, including the films "The Miracle Worker" (1962), "The Pumpkin Eater" (1964), "The Graduate" (1967), "The Turning Point" (1977), "The Elephant Man" (1980), "Agnes of God" (1985), "84 Charing Cross Road" (1987), "How to Make an American Quilt" (1995), "Dracula: Dead and Loving It" (1995), "Keeping the Faith" (2000), and "Heartbreakers" (2001), the miniseries "Jesus of Nazareth" (1977) and "Marco Polo" (1982), and the TV movies "Broadway Bound" (1992) and "Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All" (1994). Bancroft wrote and directed the 1976 short film "The August" and the 1980 film "Fatso."
On Broadway, Anne appeared in productions of "Two for the Seesaw" (1958), "The Miracle Worker" (1959), "Mother Courage and Her Children" (1963), "The Devils" (1965), "The Little Foxes" (1967), "A Cry of Players" (1968), "Golda" (1977), and "Duet for One" (1981). She won Tonys for Best Featured Actress in a Play for "Two for the Seesaw" and Best Actress in a Play for "The Miracle Worker," and she earned a Best Actress in a Play nomination for "Golda." Bancroft was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1992. Anne married actor/comedian Mel Brooks in 1964, and they remained married until Anne's death from uterine cancer on June 6, 2005. Bancroft was 73 years old at the time of her death.
Early Life
Anne Bancroft was born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano on September 17, 1931, in New York City. Her father, Michael, was a dress pattern maker, and her mother, Mildred, worked as a telephone operator. Anne's parents were Italian immigrants. Bancroft grew up with two sisters in a Roman Catholic household, and she attended Christopher Columbus High School, graduating in 1948. Anne studied at the American Academy of Dramatic Arts and the HB Studio, and she attended the American Film Institute's Directing Workshop for Women at UCLA. She originally performed under the name Anne Marno, but she changed her surname to Bancroft at the insistence of studio executive Darryl Zanuck "because it sounded dignified."
Career
In 1952, Anne appeared in her first film, "Don't Bother to Knock," alongside Marilyn Monroe, and she followed it with "Tonight We Sing" (1953), "Treasure of the Golden Condor" (1953), "The Kid from Left Field" (1953), "Gorilla at Large" (1954), "Demetrius and the Gladiators" (1954), "New York Confidential" (1955), "A Life in the Balance" (1955), "The Naked Street" (1955), "The Last Frontier" (1955), "Nightfall" (1956), and "The Girl in Black Stockings" (1957). In the early years of her career, she also guest-starred on "The Adventures of Ellery Queen" (1951), "Danger" (1951), "The Goldbergs" (1951), "Omnibus" (1953), "Climax!" (1956–1957), "Dick Powell's Zane Grey Theatre" (1957), and "The Frank Sinatra Show" (1958). Bancroft won an Academy Award for her portrayal of Anne Sullivan in 1962's "The Miracle Worker," and she was nominated for playing Jo Armitage in 1964's "The Pumpkin Eater" and Mrs. Robinson in 1967's "The Graduate." Next, she appeared in the films "Young Winston" (1972), "Blazing Saddles" (1974), "The Prisoner of Second Avenue" (1975), "The Hindenburg" (1975), and "Lipstick" (1976) and received her fourth Academy Award nomination for 1977's "The Turning Point."
Anne played Mary Magdalene in the 1977 miniseries "Jesus of Nazareth," and she starred in the films "The Elephant Man" (1980), "To Be or Not to Be" (1983), "Garbo Talks" (1984), "Agnes of God" (1985), "'night, Mother" (1986), "84 Charing Cross Road" (1987), "Torch Song Trilogy" (1988), and "Bert Rigby, You're a Fool" (1989). She appeared in the TV movies "Broadway Bound" (1992), "Mrs. Cage" (1992), "Oldest Living Confederate Widow Tells All" (1994), "Homecoming" (1996), "Deep in My Heart" (1999), "Haven" (2001), and "The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone" (2003), and she guest-starred as herself on "Curb Your Enthusiasm" (2004). Bancroft starred in the films "Honeymoon in Vegas" (1992), "Love Potion No. 9" (1992), "Point of No Return" (1993), "Malice" (1993), "How to Make an American Quilt" (1995), "Dracula: Dead and Loving It" (1995), "G.I. Jane" (1997), "Great Expectations" (1998), "Keeping the Faith" (2000), and "Heartbreakers" (2001), and she provided the voice of Queen Ant in the 1998 computer-animated film "Antz." Anne's final film was 2008's "Delgo," in which she voiced Empress Sedessa.
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Personal Life
Anne was married to lawyer Martin May from July 1953 to February 1957. She met Mel Brooks in 1961, and they married at the Manhattan Marriage Bureau on August 5, 1964. The couple welcomed son Max on May 22, 1972, and they remained together until Anne's death in 2005.
Max Brooks is an author known for books such as "The Zombie Survival Guide" (2003) and "World War Z: An Oral History of the Zombie War" (2006), and "World War Z" was adapted into a film starring Brad Pitt in 2013.
Betty Marvin, the ex-wife of actor Lee Marvin, claimed in her memoir "Tales of a Hollywood Housewife" (2010) that Marvin and Bancroft had an affair while they were filming 1954's "Gorilla at Large" and 1955's "A Life in the Balance."
Death
On June 6, 2005, Bancroft passed away from uterine cancer at Manhattan's Mount Sinai Hospital at the age of 73. She was laid to rest near her father at Valhalla's Kensico Cemetery, and her mother was interred there five years later. In a 2021 interview with "People magazine, Brooks said of his late wife, "Living this life without her is not easy. There were a lot of great kisses and great spaghetti."
Awards and Nominations
Bancroft was nominated for five Academy Awards, winning Best Actress in a Leading Role for "The Miracle Worker" in 1963. Her other nominations were for Best Actress in a Leading Role for "The Pumpkin Eater" (1965), "The Graduate" (1968), "The Turning Point" (1978), and "Agnes of God" (1986). Anne received eight Golden Globe nominations, taking home the prize for Best Actress – Drama for "The Pumpkin Eater" and Best Actress – Comedy or Musical for "The Graduate." Out of seven Primetime Emmy nominations, she won two: Outstanding Variety or Musical Program – Variety and Popular Music for "Annie, the Women in the Life of a Man" (1970) and Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie for "Deep in My Heart" (1999). Bancroft won BAFTA Awards for Best Foreign Actress for "The Miracle Worker" and "The Pumpkin Eater" as well as Best Actress for "84 Charing Cross Road."
"The Miracle Worker" also earned Anne Best Actress awards from the National Board of Review and the San Sebastián International Film Festival, and she was named Best Actress for "The Pumpkin Eater" at the Cannes Film Festival. She won a National Board of Review award for Best Actress for "The Turning Point" in 1977, and in 1986, she earned a Best Actress award for "Agnes of God" at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival. Bancroft was honored with a Lifetime Achievement Award in Comedy at the 1996 American Comedy Awards, and she was inducted into the Online Film & Television Association Hall of Fame in the Acting category in 2008. In 1960, she received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
