Beth Grant

Beth Grant
Grant at PaleyFest 2013's panel for The Mindy Project
Born	(1949-09-18) September 18, 1949 (age 76) Gadsden, Alabama, U.S.
Alma mater	East Carolina University
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1979–present
Spouse	Michael Chieffo (m. September 1, 1985)
Children	Mary Chieffo

Beth Grant (born September 18, 1949) ^[1] is an American character actress. Her credits include Rain Man (1988), Miss Kettlewell in Child's Play 2 (1990), Speed (1994), To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995), A Time To Kill (1996), Donnie Darko (2001), Wonderfalls (2004), Little Miss Sunshine (2006), Jericho (2006-2007), No Country for Old Men (2007), Pushing Daisies (2008), The Artist (2011), Flatliners (1990), Sordid Lives (2000), Dear Lemon Lima (2009), Bad Words (2013), Mockingbird Lane (2012), As I Lay Dying (2013), Consumed (2015), Jackie (2016), (as Lady Bird Johnson), Faults (2014), The Mindy Project (2012-2017), Lucky (2017), A Series of Unfortunate Events (2019), and Dollface (2019-2022), Grace and Frankie (2022), Mayfair Witches (2023), Carol & the End of the World (2024), and The Bondsman (2025).

Early life

Grant was born on September 18, 1949, in Gadsden, Alabama. ^[1] She grew up in Wilmington, North Carolina and graduated from New Hanover High School in Wilmington in 1967. Her father was a poultry specialist and salesman. ^[2] Her mother worked as a manager for the North Carolina Employment Security Commission and was an activist for the Equal Rights Amendment. Grant credits her mother with providing her the inspiration to become an actress. ^[2]

Grant graduated from East Carolina University in 1973 with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Acting and Directing and then moved to New York City to pursue a career in acting. ^[2]

Career

Grant has appeared in a wide range of films, including three Oscar Best Picture winners: as Mother at Farm House in Rain Man ; ^[3] Helen in Speed ; Loretta in To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar ; ^[1] Love Field ; ^[3] Kitty Farmer in Donnie Darko ; Cora Mae Cobb in A Time to Kill ; ^[3] Pageant Official Jenkins in Little Miss Sunshine ; ^[1] Child's Play 2 ; ^[3] Daltry Calhoun ; City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold ; ^[3] Don't Tell Her It's Me ; Matchstick Men ; Factory Girl ; The Wizard ; ^[3] Sordid Lives ; ^[3] The Rookie ; ^[3] All About Steve ; Carla Jean's dieing Mother in No Country for Old Men , ^[3] Extract , ^[3] Crazy Heart , ^[3] Rango , ^[3] Hollywood to Dollywood ^[3] (as herself), and Dance with Me. ^[3]

Grant has appeared in many TV shows, including Coach ; Everwood ; ^[3] Delta ; The Golden Girls ; ^[3] Malcolm in the Middle ; ^[3] The X-Files ; ^[3] Friends ; ^[3] CSI ; ^[3] Six Feet Under ; ^[3] Wonderfalls ; ^[3] Pushing Daisies ; ^[3] My Name Is Earl ; ^[3] Yes, Dear ; King of the Hill ; The Office ; Angel ; ^[3] Judging Amy ; Jericho ; ^[3] Sordid Lives: The Series ; ^[3] Criminal Minds , ^[3] Sabrina The Teenage Witch ; ^[3] True Blood ; ^[3] How I Met Your Mother ; ^[3] Modern Family ; ^[3] and The Mentalist ; ^[3]

Between 2012 and 2017, she was a series regular as Beverly Janoszewski, in the television comedy The Mindy Project . ^[3] She is also known for her role as Gracie Leigh in the CBS post-apocalyptic, ^[3] the drama Jericho . ^[3] Grant played arianne Marie Beetle, in the short-lived show Wonderfalls and Pushing Daisies , both created by Bryan Fuller, and portrays the similarly named "Marie" in Mockingbird Lane , Fuller's re-imagining of The Munsters . ^[3]

Grant guest-starred as Gillian, Brady Kelly's mother, in the third season of the sitcom Husbands . ^{[4] [5]}

Grant received the award on behalf of the cast for 2014 Chlortrudis Best Ensemble winner, for her role as Annie Bundren in the film As I Lay Dying (2013). ^[6] Inspired by Mindy Kaling, Grant is also in the process of writing a Broadway musical, set in 1969 Greenwich Village. ^[7]

Grant was nominated as Best Supporting Performance Female at the 2016 Milan Film Festival for her role as Kristin Kessler; Sophie's diabetic mother and Garrett's grandmother in Consumed (2015). ^[1] She later portrayed the recurring role of "The Woman with Hair but No Beard" in Netflix's A Series of Unfortunate Events (2019), ^[3] and the Cat Lady in Hulu's Dollface (2019-2022). ^[3]

She had regular slots Dr. Louise Gelson in Grace and Frankie (2022), ^[3] as Carlotta Mayfair in Mayfair Witches (2023), ^[3] as Pauline Kohl in Carol & the End of the World (2024), ^[3] and played Kitty Halloran in The Bondsman (2025). ^[3]

Personal life

Grant married actor Michael Chieffo in 1984 or 1985. ^[8] The couple have one daughter, actress Mary Chieffo. Grant lives with her family in Los Angeles. ^[2]

Filmography

Grant at the premiere of In My Sleep in 2010

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	Under Cover	Miss Randolph	first film role
1988	Rain Man	Mother at Farm House	first major film role
1989	The Wizard	Diner Manager
1990	Flatliners	Housewife
1990	Don't Tell Her It's Me	Babette
1990	Welcome Home, Roxy Carmichael	Lillian Logerfield
1990	Child's Play 2	Elizabeth Kettlewell
1990	Eating	Carla
1992	White Sands	Roz Kincaid
1992	Love Field	Hazel
1993	The Dark Half	Shayla Beaumont
1994	Speed	Helen
1994	City Slickers II: The Legend of Curly's Gold	Lois
1995	Safe	Becky – Auditorium Speaker
1995	To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar	Loretta
1995	Lieberman in Love	Linda Baker	short film
1996	A Time to Kill	Cora Mae Cobb
1996	Love Always	Stephanie	lost film
1997	A Thousand Acres	Roberta
1997	Lawn Dogs	Trent's Mother
1997	Interruptions	Peggy, the Mistress
1998	Dr. Dolittle	Woman
1998	Dance with Me	Lovejoy
1998	Making Sandwiches	Mrs. Hellman	short film
1998	Angelmaker	Mrs. Turcott
2000	Sordid Lives	Sissy Hickey
2001	Donnie Darko	Kitty Farmer
2001	The Rising Place	Melvina Pou
2001	Pearl Harbor	Motherly Secretary
2001	Rock Star	Mrs. Cole
2002	Desert Saints	Lou
2002	The Rookie	Olline
2002	Birdseye	Ruth Betters
2003	Judge Koan	Brenda Lundy
2003	Matchstick Men	Laundry Lady
2003	Evil Alien Conquerors	Sheila
2004	Sweet Union	Mama Iris Bailey	short film
2004	A One Time Thing	Mom
2005	Our Very Own	Virginia Kendal
2005	Homefront	Pam	short film
2005	Daltry Calhoun	Dee
2005	Hard Pill	Mom
2006	Little Miss Sunshine	Pageant Official Jenkins
2006	Hard Scrambled	Alice
2006	Hot Tamale	Dori Woodriff
2006	Southland Tales	Dr. Inga Von Westphalen / Marion Card
2006	The House of Usher	Mrs. Thatcher
2006	Flags of Our Fathers	Mother Gagnon
2006	Factory Girl	Julia Warhol
2006	These Days	Maureen
2006	Rocker	Mrs. Hill
2007	Magnus, Inc.	Magnus' Mom	short film
2007	The Ungodly	Emma Lemac
2007	No Country for Old Men	Agnes Kracik
2007	Welcome to Paradise	Frances Loren
2008	Natural Disasters	Beth
2008	Henry Poole is Here	Josie
2008	Hide	Candy
2008	No Place Like Home	Mom	short film
2008	Polar Opposites	General Railen
2008	Winged Creatures	Carla's Mom
2009	Dear Lemon Lima	Principal Applebomb
2009	Door Prize	N/A	short film
2009	Extract	Mary
2009	All About Steve	Mrs. Horowitz
2009	Stolen	Older Edvena
2009	Abracadabra	Patti	short film
2009	Herpes Boy	Mom
2009	Crazy Heart	JoAnn
2010	In My Sleep	Evelyn
2010	Spork	Principal Tulip
2010	Operation: Endgame	Susan
2011	Rango	Bonnie	voice role
2011	Sedona	Deb
2011	Life of Lemon	Phyllis
2011	Valley of the Sun	Marva
2011	The Artist	Peppy's Maid
2011	Serenity House	Judith Levine-Bluestone	short film
2011	Mister Handsome	Emily's Mom
2012	Swerve	Alsa
2012	Blues for Willadean	Willadean Winkler
2013	Miss Dial	Mrs. Wojiechowski
2013	The Violation	Linda Helm	short film
2013	As I Lay Dying	Addie Bundren	Chlortrudis Best Ensemble winner
2013	Bad Words	Irene
2014	The Midnight Swim	Amelia Brooks
2014	Alex of Venice	Teacher
2014	Just Before I Go	Mrs. Lawrence
2014	The Bridge Partner	Mattie	short film
2014	Faults	Evelyn
2015	Addicted to Fresno	Tilda
2015	Band of Robbers	Widow Douglass
2015	Consumed	Kristin Kessler	1 Nomination at 2016 MIFF [1]
2016	Six LA Love Stories	Meg Albright
2016	Jackie	Lady Bird Johnson
2017	Heartland	Crystal
2017	Andover	Rebecca
2017	Lucky	Elaine
2017	The Concessionaires Must Die!	Coupon Lady
2017	The Long Home	Mrs. Winer	post-production
2018	Mississippi Requiem
2018	Hover	Joana
2019	Hold On	Shelly
2020	Wander Darkly	Patty Healy
2020	Fully Realized Humans	Tipper
2020	Words on Bathroom Walls	Sister Catherine
2021	Willy's Wonderland	Sheriff Eloise Lund
2021	Grave Intentions	Mattie Whalen
2021	The Long Home	Mrs. Winer
2022	Amsterdam	Mrs. Dillenbeck
	Confessions of a Closeted People Pleaser	Mom
2023	Maximum Truth	Mary Jo Nackserson

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1979	B.J. and the Bear	Miss	first onscreen role
1986	CBS Schoolbreak Special	Waitress	episode: God, the Universe & Hot Fudge Sundaes
1987	Deadly Care	Madge	TV movie
1987	Santa Barbara	Nurse	episode: 1,748
1987	Hooperman	N/A	episode: The Answer My Friend Is Passing in the Wind
1987	Mr. Belvedere	Mrs. Meyers	episode: G.I. George
1989	I Know My First Name Is Steven	Mrs. Beta	miniseries
1989–1991	The Golden Girls	Louise/Terry Franco	2 episodes: Two separate roles for each episode
1989–1993	Coach	Martha/Maid	recurring role: 7 episodes
1990	The Image	Martha Packard	TV movie
1990	Empty Nest	Helen	episode: M.D., P.O.V.
1990	Fall from Grace	Paulene	TV movie
1990	The Outsiders	Mrs. Jones	episode: Union Blues
1990	Dragnet	Mrs. Furber	episode: Pretty Girl
1990	Hunter	Dottie Pinder	2 episodes
1991	Switched at Birth	Sophie	TV movie
1992	Overkill: The Aileen Wuornos Story	Pat McGinty
1992–1993	Delta	Thelma Wainwright	first series regular role
1993	Bakersfield P.D.	Donna Stiles	recurring role: 2 episodes
1993	Dream On	Farm Woman	episode: Silent Night, Holy Cow Part II
1994	Murder, She Wrote	Meg Thomas	episode: Roadkill
1994	Sweet Justice	Mrs. Farragut	episode: High School Confidential
1994	Friends	Lizzy	episode: The One with the Thumb
1995	Sister Sister	Angie	episode: Weird Science (Season 3)
1996	Norma Jean & Marilyn	Grace Goddard	TV movie
1996–1998	Something so Right	Nurse Gruber	recurring role: 2 episodes
1997	The Pretender	Mrs. Haring	episode: Bomb Squad
1997	To Dance with Olivia	N/A
1997	Goode Behavior	Pearl	episode: Goode Behavior
1997	Desert's Eagle	N/A	TV short
1997–1998	Sabrina, the Teenage Witch	Mrs. Grant / Mrs. Popowski	recurring role: 3 episodes (two separate roles)
1998	Profiler	Cook	episode: Birthright
1998	Cybill	Waiter's Mother	episode: Whose Wife Am I, Anyway?
1998	Maximum Bob	Inez Crowe	recurring role: 5 episodes
1998	Maggie Winters	Beatrice	episode: Suburban Myth
1998	Five Houses	Arlene	TV movie
1998–2010	King of the Hill	Various voices	11 episodes
1999	Two Guys and a Girl	Tufts College Employee	episode: Two Guys, a Girl and Graduation
1999	Providence	Lillian Gerrish	episode: If Memory Serves
1999	Blue Valley Songbird	Ruby	TV movie
1999	Angel	Maude Pearson	episode: Rm w/a Vu
2000	The X-Files	Iris Finster	episode: "Signs and Wonders"
2000–2003	Malcolm in the Middle	Dorene Hooper	recurring role: 2 episodes
2001	Diagnosis: Murder	Penelope	episode: No Good Deed
2001	Murder, She Wrote: The Last Free Man	Louisa Ashland	TV movie
2001	Any Day Now	Dorothy Johnson	episode: Everyone Deserves to Be Loved
2001	Judging Amy	Principal Mott	episode: Darkness for Light
2001–2004	Yes, Dear	Kitty Hughes	recurring role: 4 episodes
2002	CSI: Crime Scene Investigation	Sally Roth	episode: The Execution of Catherine Willows
2002–2003	Everwood	Miss Violet	recurring role: 3 episodes
2003	Boomtown	Landlady	episode: Lost Child
2004	Six Feet Under	Dorothy Sheedy	episode: In Case of Rapture
2004	A Thief of Time	Ranger Mildred Luna	TV movie
2004	Wonderfalls	Marianne Marie Beetle	episode: Muffin Buffalo
2004	JAG	Senator Maria Tsangrides	episode: Whole New Ball Game
2005	Mystery Woman: Mystery Weekend	Angela	TV movie
2005	8 Simple Rules	Mrs. Whitley	episode: Freaky Friday
2006	My Name is Earl	Lorraine Mariano	episode: Van Hickey
2006–2007	Jericho	Gracie Leigh	recurring role: 10 episodes
2007	Drive	The Waitress	episode: Partners
2007	Bones	Lizbeth Harding	episode: The Secret in the Soil
2007	Polly and Marie	Bell	TV movie
2008	According to Jim	Mrs. Whitney	episode: All Dolled Up
2008	Sordid Lives: The Series	Sissy Hickey	series regular
2008	Pushing Daisies	Marianne Marie Beetle	episode: Comfort Food
2008, 2013	The Office	Melvina	2 episodes: "Dinner Party" & "Junior Salesman"
2010	Medium	Librarian	episode: "Dear Dad"
2010	Criminal Minds	Anita Weld Roycewood	episode: "Mosley Lane"
2010	A Drop of True Blood	Joanne Smallwood	webseries: "Episode – Bill"
2011	Futurestates	June	episode: "Spring of Sorrow"
2011	American Dad!	voice	episode: "Gorillas in the Mist"
2012	Modern Family	Maxine	episode: "Tableau Vivant"
2012	BlackBoxTV	Mom/Donna	episode: "AEZP: The Hollow"
2012	Dexter	Donna Randall	episode: "Buck the System"
2012	Mockingbird Lane	Marianne Marie Beetle	TV movie
2012–2017	The Mindy Project	Beverly	main cast (season 1–6); 79 episodes
2013	Justified	Mother Truth	episode: "Where's Waldo"
2013	Grey's Anatomy	Sheila Olsen	episode: "The End Is the Beginning Is the End"
2013	The Secret Life of the American Teenager	Victoria	recurring role: 2 episodes
2013	Husbands	Gillian Kelly	episode: "I Do Over"
2013	The Millers	Myra	episode: "Giving the Bird"
2014	I Didn't Do It	Judy Tanzer-Dinkins	episode: "Now Museum, Now You Don't"
2016–2017	One Mississippi	Mellie Saint-Clair	4 episodes
2016	Con Man	Susan	episode: "What Goes Up..."
2017	American Gods	Jack	2 episodes
2017	Animals.	Auntie May (voice)	episode: "Dog."
2019	A Series of Unfortunate Events	The Woman with Hair but No Beard	3 episodes
2019–2022	Dollface	Cat Lady	recurring
2020	Beef House	Eric's Mother	episode: "Crab Dip"
2020	Teenage Bounty Hunters	Church Lady	episode: "Ham's Good"
2021	Goliath	Judge Meredith Reiss	5 episodes
2022	Slippin' Jimmy	Ms. Retch & Mrs. Brockfrater
2022	Grace and Frankie	Dr. Louise Gelson
2023	Mayfair Witches	Carlotta Mayfair	5 episodes
	Carol & the End of the World	Pauline Kohl	4 episodes
2025	The Bondsman	Kitty Halloran	Main Role
2025	Digman!	Laverne Dawson (voice)	Episode: “Jack and Rose”

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result	Ref.
2010	Los Angeles Drama Critics Award		Del Shores	Won	[9]
2010	2010 Ovation Awards	Lead Actress in a Play	Grace & Glorie	Won	[10]
2012	SoHo International Film Festival	Best Short Film (Audience award)	The Perfect Fit (Short)	Won	[11]
2014	Chlotrudis Society for Independent Films	Chlortrudis Best Ensemble winner	As I Lay Dying (2013)	Won	[6]
2016	Milan Film Festival	Best Supporting Performance Female	Consumed (2015)	Nominated	[1]

References

1. "Beth Grant - Best Supporting Performance - Consumed - BIOGRAFIA:". Milano International Film Festival. Archived from the original on November 5, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
2. "At Home With Beth Grant". HGTV. Archived from the original on June 26, 2016. Retrieved November 4, 2016.
3. "Beth Grant". tvguide.com. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
4. Wright, Eddie (July 19, 2013), SDCC 2013: First Look at 'Husbands' Season 3 Guest Stars, mtv.com, archived from the original on July 26, 2013, retrieved July 21, 2013
5. La Rosa, Erin (July 20, 2013), 9 Things You Missed at the Comic-Con BuzzFeed Bash, buzzfeed.com, retrieved July 21, 2013
6. TC Kirkham (March 19, 2014). "PRESS RELEASE: Dale Dickey, Beth Grant & More On Hand As 'THE PAST' Comes Up Big At 20th Chlotrudis Awards". ecinemaboston.pnrnetworks.com. Retrieved May 22, 2022.
7. "Exclusive Interview with "The Mindy Project" Beth Grant". Archived from the original on September 17, 2015. Retrieved September 10, 2015.
8. Hidek, Jeff (September 5, 2013). "Actress Beth Grant talks local roots and a broad career". Star-News . Gannett . Retrieved July 24, 2024.
9. "Beth Grant - Biography". wallofcelebrities.com. Retrieved September 7, 2025.
10. "2009/2010 Ovation Award Winners". January 17, 2011. Archived from the original on February 21, 2014. Retrieved February 11, 2013.
11. "SOHO International Film Festival announces 2012 AWARDEES". April 28, 2012.Beth Grant: Director of The perfect Fit

External links

• Beth Grant at IMDb  
• Beth Grant at the Internet Off-Broadway Database (archived)