Vale: Louise Fletcher

US character actor Louise Fletcher, best known for One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, has died, aged 88.

She passed away in her sleep at the home in France, surrounded by family. No cause of death was announced.

Fletcher famously played sadistic Nurse Ratched in 1975’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest opposite Jack Nicholson, becoming forever indelible with the role.

So powerful was her performance, she became only the third woman to collectively win the Academy Award, BAFTA Award and the Golden Globe Award for a single performance.

It even spawned a 2020 prequel series Ratched with Sarah Paulson, produced by Ryan Murphy.

Fletcher enjoyed an acting career that spanned more than six decades in both television and film.

She began her acting career in the late 1950s on episodic TV series Lawman, Bat Masterson, Maverick, The Untouchables and 77 Sunset Strip. Credits throughout the 1960s included Sugarfoot, Perry Mason and The Life and Legend of Wyatt Earp. 

She had a recurring role on Star Trek: Deep Space Nine as the Bajoran religious leader Kai Winn Adami, and guest-starring roles on Picket Fences and Joan of Arcadia brought Emmy nominations in 1996 and 2004, respectively. Other TV included The Karen Carpenter Story, 7th Heaven, Private Practice, Shameless, Girlboss.

Films included Flowers in the Attic, A Gathering of Eagles, Thieves Like Us, The Heretic, The Cheap Detective, The Lady in Red, Brainstorm, Blue Steel and Cruel Intentions.

Source: Deadline