Michael Learned

Michael Learned

ActressWriterSoundtrack
Born
April 9, 1939
Awards
7 wins, 18 nominations

Four-time Best Actress Emmy Award winner Michael Learned was born on April 9, 1939 in Washington, D.C. The oldest of six daughters of a U.S. State Department employee, she was raised on her family's farm in Connecticut. The family moved to Austria when she was age 11, and it was while attending…

Biography

Four-time Best Actress Emmy Award winner Michael Learned was born on April 9, 1939 in Washington, D.C. The oldest of six daughters of a U.S. State Department employee, she was raised on her family's farm in Connecticut. The family moved to Austria when she was age 11, and it was while attending boarding school in England that she fell in love with the theater and decided to become an actress.

Learned married Oscar winner Robert Donat's nephew Peter Donat, a Canadian citizen, when she was 17 years old, a marriage that lasted 17 years and produced three sons. She learned her craft while acting for the Shakespeare Festivals in both Canada and the U.S. while simultaneously raising a family. She and her husband Peter acted together with San Francisco's American Conservatory Theatre (ACT) in the early 1970s. Her breakthrough came when she was appearing in an ACT production of Noël Coward's "Private Lives", where she was spotted by producer Lee Rich, who cast her as Olivia Walton in his new television series about a Depression era family, The Waltons (1972).

Learned won three Emmy Awards playing the role, and another Emmy for her next foray into series TV, Nurse (1981). She escaped typecasting as Olivia Walton (although she re-prised the role that made her famous in a 1995 TV-movie reunion) while appearing on numerous shows and TV movies, including top-drawer, made-for-TV specials such as the 1986 adaptation of Arthur Miller's All My Sons (1987) with co-star James Whitmore.

Writer

The WaltonsThe Waltons(1972)

Actress

Our CrossroadsOur Crossroads(2024)as Older Barbara Fraley
MonsterMonster(2022)as Catherine Dahmer
Second ActsSecond Acts(2019)as Lee Marston
Life InterruptedLife Interrupted(2017)as Marni Woodworth
The ParcelThe Parcel(2014)as Beverly

Soundtrack

The WaltonsThe Waltons(1972)

Self

Johnny D Talks to the StarsJohnny D Talks to the Stars(2022)as Self
13th Annual Indie Series Awards13th Annual Indie Series Awards(2023)as Self - Presenter
Meet the BizMeet the Biz(2016)as Self
Slasher ScottySlasher Scotty(2017)as Self
Why I'll Never Make ItWhy I'll Never Make It(2017)as Self - Guest

Archive Footage

Entertainment TonightEntertainment Tonight(1981)as Self
The WaltonsThe Waltons(1972)as Olivia Walton

Known for

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Photos 69

Michael Learned, Evan Peters, and Dyllon Burnside in Monster (2022)Richard Thomas, Will Geer, Judy Norton, Ellen Corby, Kami Cotler, David W. Harper, Michael Learned, Mary Beth McDonough, Eric Scott, Ralph Waite, and Jon Walmsley in The Waltons (1972)Michael Learned in Who's the Boss? (1984)John Wesley and Michael Learned in Second Acts (2019)Michael LearnedMichael Learned

Credit Score: Michael Learned

1098765
197119721973197419751976197719781979198019811982198319841985198619871988198919901991199219931994199519961997199819992000200120022003200420052006200720082009201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024202520262027
Olivia Walton
Thu Sep 14 1972 – Thu Jun 04 1981
#NameScoreYearWinNomKnownWinsNomsVotes
1The Waltons2000.0019727.6133710293
2Nurse650.0019817.912109
3Scrubs60.0020018.4217285714
4American Playhouse30.0019827.3621464
5Who's the Boss?10.0019846.611017176
6Dragon: The Bruce Lee Story3.2519937.00035047
7Living Dolls3.0919895.800213
8General Hospital2.5019636.7016231
9The Young and the Restless2.3819735.4007392