| Shelley Morrison | |
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| Born | Rachel Mitrani October 26, 1936 New York City, New York U.S. |
| Other name(s) | Rachel Dominguez |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1963–present |
| Spouse(s) | Walter Dominguez (1973 - present) |
| Official website | |
Shelley Morrison (born October 26, 1936) is an American actress. Early in her career, she was sometimes credited as Rachel Domínguez. Morrison has been a theater and television actress since the early 1960s, predominantly as a character actress in ethnic roles. Her most recognizable role has been as the Salvadoran maid Rosario Salazar in the NBC comedy television series Will & Grace, which she played from 1999 to 2006. She was a regular performer on the sitcom The Flying Nun playing Sister Sixto, and she continued in television guest roles until securing a recurring role in the soap opera General Hospital in 1982. She has been called a non-Hispanic but is actually a Sephardic Jew of Spanish descent.
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Biography
Early life
Morrison was born Rachel Mitrani in New York City, the only daughter of Sephardic Jewish parents originally surnamed Mitrani.[1] She was raised in the Bronx, New York. Her father, Maurice Morris, was a clothing manufacturer. Morrison moved to California with her parents in 1946.
Career
Morrison went on to study acting at Los Angeles City College and landed early film roles in Divorce American Style and How to Save a Marriage (And Ruin Your Life).
Her most widely recognizable recent role has been as the Salvadoran maid Rosario Inez Consuelo Yolanda Salazar in the NBC comedy television series Will & Grace, which she played from 1999 to 2006 and which she appeared in 68 episodes. The role was originally created for a brief one-episode appearance, but Rosario was so popular with viewers that the character became a regular. In addition to sparring with her libertine and very spoiled employer, Karen Walker (Megan Mullally), Rosario married the gay Jack McFarland (Sean Hayes) in a marriage of convenience to prevent her impending deportation.
In approximately 25 film appearances and 200 television appearances, Morrison has portrayed a maid or housekeeper on 32 separate occasions. Morrison had just informed her agent not to offer her any more "maid parts" when the call for Will & Grace came in.
Battle with cancer
A bout with breast cancer in 1988 forced her to undergo a lumpectomy, and when the cancer recurred in 1998 she underwent a full mastectomy. She has had lung cancer and underwent surgery to remove the upper third of her right lung. She lives with her husband of many years, Walter Domínguez, a Mexican-American, in a three-story apartment in Los Angeles - the same apartment in which her father had settled the family five decades earlier. Morrison and Dominguez have no children.
Morrison revealed that she was diagnosed with lung cancer in recent years, but that she is now in remission. Her breast cancer, for which she was treated in 1988 and 1998, has returned.
She endorsed U.S. Congressman Dennis Kucinich for President in 2008, actively fundraising, contributing to his campaign, and seeking votes for him.
References
- ^ Sheridan, Patricia (August 23, 2004). "Shelley Morrison". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/04236/365984-129.stm. Retrieved 2008-12-28.
External links
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