Ida Lupino Biography

Fast Facts

• She has two stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame due to her contributions to both film and television
• Earned the Best Actress award from the New York Film Critics for her role as Mrs․ Helen Chernen in 1943's "The Hard Way․"
• Her father a comedian and her mother an actress, Lupino pursued acting from an early age and trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England
• Encouraged to pursue a career in show business by her family, she wrote and starred in her first play at the age of seven
• Quote: "I'd love to see more women working as directors and producers․ Today it's almost impossible to do it unless you are an actress or writer with power․․․ I wouldn't hesitate right this minute to hire a talented woman if the subject matter were right․"
• The second woman to be admitted to the Director's Guild of America
• Was the first actress to produce, direct and write her own films, which often explored social issues from a feminine point of view
• Directed more than 100 TV episodes for series like "The Fugitive" and "The Twilight Zone․"
• Was often cast as a wise woman hardened by the bad part of town but with a sympathetic quality
• Is the only woman to have directed an episode of "Twilight Zone․"
• When a 10-year-old Lupino asked her father to make a theater for her and her sister, he constructed one complete with electrical equipment, a pit and a hundred seats