Mary Woronov (born December 8, 1943) is an American actress, writer, and figurative painter. She is primarily known as a cult film star because of her work with Andy Warhol and her roles in Roger Corman's cult films. Woronov has appeared in over 80 movies and on stage at Lincoln Center and off-Broadway productions as well as numerous times in mainstream American TV series, such as Charlie's Angels and Knight Rider. She frequently co-starred with friend Paul Bartel; the pair appeared in 17 films together, often playing a married couple.
Early life
Woronov was born December 8, 1943, in the Breakers Hotel in Palm Beach, Florida, while it was temporarily operating as the Ream General Hospital during World War II. Woronov was born premature and doctors initially did not believe she would survive infancy.
Woronov studied art and sculpting at Cornell University, where she met and befriended artist Gerard Malanga in 1963.
Acting career
1966–1973: Early work and collaborations with Andy Warhol
Malanga, who was Andy Warhol's assistant at the time, asked Woronov if she would be in a movie he was making. Later, while on a Cornell-sponsored field trip to Manhattan-based artists, Woronov visited Warhol's art studio, The Factory. Woronov recalled Warhol was nowhere in sight: "I didn't know he was hiding in the staircase, but that's where he was." Malanga suggested Woronov stick around the studio, saying, "you should stay, they're doing a screen test." She danced with Exploding Plastic Inevitable, Warhol's multimedia presentation of The Velvet Underground, and played Hanoi Hannah in Chelsea Girls, the 1966 experimental underground film directed by Warhol. The film was Warhol's first major commercial success after a long line of avant-garde art films (both feature-length and short).
Of this time, she has said: "Of all the girls at Andy Warhol's Factory, I was the butch one. [Warhol] put me in his Screen Tests and I spent my nights at Max's Kansas City. ... I was the strong girl at the Factory." Further reflecting on her working relationship with Warhol, she commented in 2018: "I have a very dark side, I can't help it, but to me that period was wine and roses. It was darkness with pinpoints of light. My connection with Warhol was sort of like Lancelot's connection to King Arthur". eventually earning a Theatre World Award for her performance. The production played November 8 - December 9, 1973, at Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont Theater.
Woronov's had a leading role in the Roger Corman-produced cult film Death Race 2000 (1975), followed by the Corman-produced Hollywood Boulevard (1976), directed by Allan Arkush and Joe Dante.
1979–1990: Relocation to Los Angeles; further film roles
Woronov relocated from New York to Los Angeles in 1979, She later reprised this character in the band's music video for the song "Possessed To Skate" (1987).
Subsequent film roles include in Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills (1989), Dick Tracy (1990), and Where Sleeping Dogs Lie (1991). On television, Woronov made guest appearances on numerous series in the 1980s, such as Logan's Run, Buck Rogers in the 25th Century, Charlie's Angels, Mr. Belvedere, Murder, She Wrote, Amazing Stories, St. Elsewhere, Wings, Babylon 5, Family Matters, and Highlander: The Series. Rob Zombie's horror film The Devil's Rejects (2005) and Ti West's supernatural horror film The House of the Devil (2009).
She appeared in Barneys New York fall 2014 advertising campaign, "L.A. Stories", shot by Bruce Weber. She has cited painter Francis Bacon as an influence on her artwork.
Writing
In 1995, Woronov published the memoir Swimming Underground: My Years in the Warhol Factory, reflecting on her time as part of Andy Warhol's Factory. She published her first novel, Snake, in 2000. She subsequently published a short story collection in 2004 entitled Blind Love.
Personal life
Woronov married producer/director Theodore Gershuny in 1970, completing three films with himKemek (1970), Sugar Cookies (1973), and Silent Night, Bloody Nigh<nowiki/>t (1972)before their divorce in 1973. She then married producer Fred Whitehead in 1976, later divorcing. She has been married two other times. One of her husbands was a race car driver. In 2022, she said she would not marry again.
Woronov has resided in Los Angeles, California since 1979.
|-
|1976
|Hollywood Boulevard
|Mary McQueen
|
|-
|1976
|Jackson County Jail
|Pearl
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|-
|1976
|Cannonball
|Sandy Harris
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|-
|1976
|Hollywood Man
|Julie
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|-
|1977
|Mr. Billion
|Bit Part (uncredited)
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|-
|1977
|Bad Georgia Road
|Hackett
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|-
|1978
|'
|Arlene
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|-
|1979
|'
|Woman Bankrobber
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|-
|1979
|Rock 'n' Roll High School
|Miss Togar
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|-
|1981
|Heartbeeps
|Party House Owner
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|-
|1982
|Eating Raoul
|Mary Bland
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|-
|1982
|National Lampoon's Movie Madness
|Secretary
|
|-
|1983
|Angel of H.E.A.T.
|Samantha Vitesse
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|-
|1983
|Get Crazy
|Violetta
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|-
|1984
|Blood Theatre
|Miss Blackwell
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|-
|1984
|Young Lust
|Dr. Nicole Dunning
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|-
|1984
|Night of the Comet
|Audrey White
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|-
|1985
|Get Out of My Room
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|
|-
|1985
|Hellhole
|Dr. Fletcher
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|-
|1986
|Nomads
|Dancing Mary
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|-
|1986
|TerrorVision
|Raquel Putterman
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|-
|1986
|Chopping Mall
|Mary Bland
|
|-
|1987
|Kappa
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|Short film
|-
|1987
|Black Widow
|Shelley
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|-
|1988
|Mortuary Academy
|Mary Purcell
|
|-
|1989
|Warlock
|Channeler
|
|-
|1989
|Scenes from the Class Struggle in Beverly Hills
|Lisabeth Hepburn-Saravian
|
|-
|1989
|Let It Ride
|Quintella
|-
|1990
|Dick Tracy
|Welfare Person
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|-
|1990
|Club Fed
|Jezebel
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|-
|1990
|Watchers II
|Dr. Glatman
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|-
|1991
|Buster's Bedroom
|Jane
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|-
|1991
|Rock 'n' Roll High School Forever
|Doctor Vadar
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|-
|1991
|Motorama
|Kidnapping Wife
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|-
|1991
|Where Sleeping Dogs Lie
|Woman Tourist
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|-
|1992
|'
|Daisy
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|-
|1993
|Good Girls Don't
|Wilamena LaRue
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|-
|1993
|Grief
|Attorney
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|-
|1995
|Number One Fan
|Wedding Coordinator
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|-
|1995
|Glory Daze
|Vicki
|
|-
|1998
|Secrets of a Chambermaid
|Felicity
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|-
|1998
|Sweet Jane
|Sales Lady
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|-
|1998
|Mom, Can I Keep Her?
|Dr. Klein
|Video
|-
|1999
|Zoo
|Prunella
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|-
|1999
|Invisible Mom II
|Olivia
|Video
|-
|2000
|Straight Right
|Dr. Wright
|
|-
|2001
|'
|Receptionist
|Video short
|-
|2001
|'
|Lisa LaStrada
|
|-
|2001
|Perfect Fit
|Mom
|
|-
|2003
|Prison A-Go-Go!
|Dyanne She-Bitch Slutface
|
|-
|2003
|Looney Tunes: Back in Action
|Acme VP, Bad Ideas
|
|-
|2004
|'
|Sister Cecelia
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|-
|2004
|Frog-g-g!
|Doctor
|
|-
|2004
|I Pass for Human
|Dr. Larraz
|
|-
|2005
|'
|Abbie
|
|-
|2009
|'
|Mrs. Ulman
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|-
|2009
|Heaven Wants Out
|Kitty
|
|-
|2011
|Kitchenette: Part One
|Jo
|
|-
|2012
|Attack of the 50 Foot Cheerleader
|House Mother
|
|-
| 2016
| Snowbird
| Today Theo
| Short film
|-
| 2016
| A Flock of Birds
| Ferida
| Short film
|-
| 2021
| The Velvet Underground
|
| class="unsortable" | Documentary
|-
|}
{| class="wikitable"
|+Music Videos
!Year
!Title
!Artist
!Role
|-
|1984
|Institutionalized
| rowspan="2" |Suicidal Tendencies
| rowspan="2" |Mother
|-
|1993
|Institutionalized (Second Version)
|}
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
|+Television
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
|1974
|Somerset
|Stephanie Dillard
|TV series
|-
|1976
|Charlie's Angels
| Maxine
|Episode: "Angels in Chains"
|-
|1977
|Logan's Run
|Irene Borden
|Episode: "Capture"
|-
|1979
|Taxi
|Fran Strickland
|Episode: "Nardo Loses Her Marbles"
|-
|1979
|Mrs. Columbo
|Kate's fellow inmate
|Episode: "Off the Record"
|-
|1980
|Buck Rogers in the 25th Century
|Nola
|Episode: "A Dream of Jennifer"
|-
|1980
|Phyl & Mikhy
|Anya
|Episode: "Mikhy's Visitor"
|-
|1984
|Hart to Hart
|Clavell
|Episode: "The Dog Who Knew Too Much"
|-
|1984
|'
|Governess
|TV movie
|-
|1985
|Challenge of a Lifetime
|Mary Garritee
|TV movie
|-
|1985
|'
|Miss Renfro
|TV movie
|-
|1985
|Knight Rider
|Dr. Von Furst
|Episode: "Knight of the Juggernaut: Part 1"<br>Episode: "Knight of the Juggernaut: Part 2"
|-
|1985
|Mr. Belvedere
|Cheryl
|Episode: "The Letter"
|-
|1985
|Murder, She Wrote
|Brady
|Episode: "Jessica Behind Bars"
|-
|1986
|Amazing Stories
|Nurse
|Episode: "Secret Cinema"
|-
|1986
|Brothers
|Sophia Santini
|Episode: "The Seduction of Lou"
|-
|1986
|St. Elsewhere
|
|Episode: "Nothing Up My Sleeve"
|-
|1987
|You Again?
|Dr. Quinn
|Episode: "Where the Sun Don't Shine"
|-
|1987
|Shell Game
|Bean Sweeney
|Episode: "The Upstairs Gardner"
|-
|1987
|Sledge Hammer!
|Jill Taylor
|Episode: "The Spa Who Loved Me"
|-
|1987
|Webster
|Carol
|Episode: "San Francisco: Part 2"<br>Episode: "San Francisco: Part 3"
|-
|1988
|Trial and Error
|Officer Burdette
|Episode: "Man's Best Friend"
|-
|1988
|Monsters
|Viki
|Episode: "Pillow Talk"
|-
|1992
|Parker Lewis Can't Lose
|Officer Gwen
|Episode: "Money Talks"
|-
|1993
|Wings
|Lydia Detmeir
|Episode: "The Gift: Part 2"
|-
|1993
|Flying Blind
|Mona
|4 episodes
|-
|1993
|Acting on Impulse
|Receptionist
|TV movie
|-
|1994
|Babylon 5
|Ko D'ath
|Episode: "Born to the Purple"
|-
|1994
|Shake, Rattle and Rock!
|E. Joyce Togar
|TV movie
|-
|1994
|My So-Called Life
|Dr. Linda Shields
|Episode: "Pressure"
|-
|1995
|Highlander: The Series
|Rita Luce
|Episode: "They Also Serve"
|-
|1995
|Here Come the Munsters
|Mrs. Dimwitty
|TV movie
|-
|1996
|Family Matters
|Mrs. Ramsay
|Episode: "Swine Lake"
|-
|1996
|'
|Mrs. Dimwitty
|TV movie
|-
|1999
|Beyond Belief: Fact or Fiction
|Motel Manager
|Episode: "Get Your Kicks at Motel 66"
|-
|2000
|Who's Watching Who?
|Starring
|TV movie
|-
|2019
|
|Nancy Erlich
|Netflix short
|}