Frances Hardman Conroy (born November 13, 1953 in Monroe, Georgia) is an American actress.
Conroy is best known for her prolific career, particularly in television. She portrayed Ruth Fisher in the HBO series Six Feet Under for the entirety of its run, winning a Golden Globe and three Screen Actors Guild awards for her work.
In The New '10s, she experienced something of a career resurgence as a repertory cast member on Ryan Murphy's FX anthology series American Horror Story. Conroy has appeared in eight of its eleven seasons since it premiered in 2011, the second-highest amount of appearances on the show, behind the nine seasons of Sarah Paulson, Evan Peters and Lily Rabe.
Conroy is also notable for distinctive appearance, specifically the discoloration in her right eye
◊. For her role as Moira O'Hara in American Horror Story: Murder House, the condition of her eye was written into the character's backstory, per Ryan Murphy's suggestion.
She's not related to Kevin Conroy. However, both of them were members of Juilliard's Drama Division Group 6 (1973–1977), and both have a history with DC Comics adaptations (Batman especially, with Frances playing in Catwoman (2004) and Joker).
Selected filmography:
Film
- Billy Bathgate (1991) as Mary Behan
- Scent of a Woman (1992) as Christine Downes
- Sleepless in Seattle (1993) as Irene Reed
- The Crucible (1996) as Ann Putnam
- Maid in Manhattan (2002) as Paula Burns
- Catwoman (2004) (2004) as Ophelia Powers
- The Aviator (2004) as Mrs. Hepburn
- Broken Flowers (2005) as Dora Anderson
- The Wicker Man (2006) as Dr. T.H. Moss
- The Seeker (2007) as Miss Greythorne
- The Tale of Despereaux (2008) as Antoinette (voice)
- New in Town (2009) as Trudy Van Uuden
- All-Star Superman (2011) as Martha Kent (voice)
- Superman Unbound (2013) as Martha Kent (voice)
- Joker (2019) as Penny Fleck
- Nimona (2023) as The Director (voice)
Television
- Six Feet Under (2001 — 2005) as Ruth Fisher
- ER (2007 — 2008) as Becky Riley
- Desperate Housewives (2008) as Virginia Hildebrand
- How I Met Your Mother (2009 — 2014) as Loretta Stinson
- Happy Town (2010) as Peggy Haplin
- Scooby-Doo! Mystery Incorporated (2010 — 2013) as Angie Dinkley (voice)
- United States of Tara (2011) as Sandy Gregson
- American Horror Story (2011 — present) in various roles:
- American Horror Story: Murder House (2011) as Moira O'Hara
- American Horror Story: Asylum (2012 — 2013) as Shachath / The Angel of Death
- American Horror Story: Coven (2013 — 2014) as Myrtle Snow
- American Horror Story: Freak Show (2014) as Gloria Mott
- American Horror Story: Roanoke (2016) as Mama Polk
- American Horror Story: Cult (2017) as Bebe Babbitt
- American Horror Story: Apocalypse (2018) as Myrtle Snow & Moira O'Hara
- American Horror Story: Double Feature - Red Tide (2021) as Belle Noir
- Royal Pains (2013) as Blythe Ballard
- Casual (2015 — 2017) as Dawn
- The Mist (2017) as Nathalie Raven
- Castle Rock (2018) as Martha Lacy
Tropes:
- Role Reprise: She reprised her role of Ophelia Powers in the Catwoman (2004) video game.
