Sylvia Miles Actress Date of Birth: 09.09.1932 Country: USA

Biography of Sylvia Miles

Sylvia Miles, a two-time Academy Award nominee, was born on September 9, 1932, in New York, USA. Known for playing provocative and vulgar characters in films and on stage, Miles has also become renowned for her eccentric and captivating performances.

Miles got married for the first time at the age of sixteen and initially participated in non-professional comedy theater shows. Her first appearance on television was in the show of American comedian Bob Hope on NBC in 1950. In 1952, Miles married actor Gerald Price and started devoting more time to theater. Her acting debut came in 1954 in a off-Broadway production of "A Stone for Danny Fisher," based on Harold Robbins' novel. She began to regularly receive supporting roles, such as the role of Margie in John Frankenheimer's legendary drama "The Iceman Cometh," starring Jason Robards. After her off-Broadway debut, she appeared on Broadway in "The Riot Act" in 1963 and then in "Matty, and the Moron and Madonna" at the Orpheum Theatre in 1965.

Sylvia wrote a book and lyrics for her one-woman show titled "It's Me, Sylvia!" which was performed at the Playhouse Theatre in 1981. In 1960, she was cast by Carl Reiner as Sally Rogers in a comedy about marriage-minded people called "Head of the Family" (in the pilot episode), which he wrote for himself. When the show became part of the "Comedy Spot" on CBS, the concept of "Head of the Family" was changed, and the show was renamed "The Dick Van Dyke Show" with Rose Marie in the role of Sally.

Throughout her career, Miles made guest appearances on popular talk shows, showcasing her funny side and entertaining the audience with her eccentricity and storytelling abilities.

Most people know Miles for her work in films. Her debut role was as Sadie in the crime drama "Murder, Inc." in 1960. However, it was her performance as Cass, a rough and boisterous woman who becomes the first victim of John Voight's deception in "Midnight Cowboy," that truly brought her recognition. Although it was a very small role, it earned Miles an Academy Award nomination. In 1975, she again received an Academy Award nomination for her role as Jessie Halstead Florian, a drunken widow of a nightclub owner who becomes a murder victim, in Dick Richards' detective film "Farewell, My Lovely." She played a real estate agent for broker Charlie Sheen in Oliver Stone's acclaimed crime drama "Wall Street" and portrayed Hannah Mandelbaum, a woman who always spoke with a stuffed mouth, in the comedy "Crossing Delancey." Miles also appeared alongside Meryl Streep in Susan Seidelman's comedy "She-Devil," where she played an unattractive woman seeking revenge on her husband, who left her for a famous romance novelist, and greatly amused the audience. She played the role of Joan in the popular TV series "Sex and the City." Miles also appeared in other films, such as "The Last Movie," "Heat," "92 in the Shade," "The Sentinel," "The Shalimar Diamond," "From Zero to Sixty," "Evil Under the Sun," "Deniz's Ring," "The Good Luck Bar," "Confessions of a Shopaholic," and more.

Throughout her career, Miles has become a cult figure, known for her avant-garde style and increasingly eccentric transformations, as well as her willingness to appear at any event and captivate the audience.

She gained her share of fame for a scandal involving critic John Simon, as she publicly dumped spaghetti with tomato sauce on him at a restaurant in New York, seeking revenge for his unfavorable review of her work.

Miles is adamant about keeping her biography a secret, particularly her personal details from her youth. She was born on September 9, but the year of her birth is a questionable figure. In 1948, she married someone named William Miles, which would mean that she was only 16 at the time if her claimed birth year of 1932 is accurate. Therefore, the actress may be older than we think.