By Ellen Burstyn

"I'm originally from Detroit, MI and started as a model in the mid-50's, then worked as a chorus dancer as one of the sixteen "Gleason Girls" on The Jackie Gleason Show. I landed my first Broadway show and earned my Equity card in the 1957 comedy, FAIR GAME, co-starring Sam Levene. I was very proud to get that card - it made me feel blessed and respected as an actress and union member."

ELLEN BURSTYN is one of the few actors to win both a Tony and an Academy Award in the same season, for SAME TIME NEXT YEAR on Broadway and for ALICE DOESN'T LIVE HERE ANYMORE on the silver screen. Ms. Burstyn has been nominated for six Academy Awards, three Emmys, five Golden Globes and a Screen Actors Guild Award. Most recently, she appeared in OLDEST LIVING CONFEDERATE WIDOW TELLS ALL at The Globe Theatre in San Diego. She is currently the Co-President of THE ACTORS' STUDIO.

As the tenth and first woman President of Actors' Equity, Ms. Burstyn saw her role as protecting the wages and working conditions of the membership, and as a catalyst for long term actions that could promise increased employment. With Council's help, Ms. Burstyn fashioned a progressive National Theatre plan and took a leadership role in preserving Broadway's historic theatres for future generations.

Today, Equity represents more than 45,000 actors, singers, dancers and stage managers working in hundreds of theatres across the United States. Our current President is Patrick Quinn. Equity members are dedicated to working in the theatre as a profession, upholding the highest artistic standards. Equity's Constitution states that the goal of the Association is to "advance promote, foster and benefit all those connected with the art of the theatre." This straightforward directive still remains the finest statement of Equity's mission.