Gwen Welles

{{short description|American actress (1951–1993)}}

{{More citations needed|date=March 2012}}

{{Infobox person

| name = Gwen Welles

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| birth_name = Gwen Goldberg

| birth_date = {{Birth date|1951|03|04}}

| birth_place = Chattanooga, Tennessee, U.S.

| death_date = {{Death date and age|1993|10|13|1951|03|04}}

| death_place = Santa Monica, California, U.S.

| nationality =

| other_names =

| occupation = Actress

| yearsactive = 1969–1993

| mother = Rebecca Welles

| spouse = {{marriage|Harris Yulin|1975}}

}}

Gwen Welles (born Gwen Goldberg, March 4, 1951 – October 13, 1993){{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/16/obituaries/gwen-welles-42-dies-actress-in-nashville.html | title = Gwen Welles, 42, Dies; Actress in 'Nashville' | work = The New York Times | date = October 16, 1993}} was an American actress.

Early years

Gwen Welles was born in Chattanooga, Tennessee, as Gwen Goldberg. She was the daughter of clothing designer Rebecca Welles{{cite news |last1=Sheppard |first1=Eugenia |title=Fashion World Is Past for Gwen Welles – She's Acting |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63755429/gwen-welles/ |accessdate=November 21, 2020 |work=The Times |date=September 21, 1974 |location=Louisiana, Shreveport |page=15|via = Newspapers.com}} and Barton Goldberg; her sisters were Elizabeth (Betsy) Goldberg Welles and Lori Yarom. Welles attended Vassar College. When she was 17, she worked as a dress saleswoman.

Career

Welles's film debut was in A Safe Place (1971).{{cite news |title=Gwen Welles; Actress Played Singer in ‘Nashville’ |url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-10-17-me-46636-story.html |accessdate=November 21, 2020 |work=The Los Angeles Times |date=October 12, 1993 |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122030802/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-10-17-me-46636-story.html |archivedate=November 22, 2020}} In the early 1970s, she acted in two films for Roger Vadim during three years that she spent in France. She may be best remembered for her portrayal of untalented singer Sueleen Gay in Robert Altman's 1975 film Nashville, for which she was nominated for a BAFTA Award, for Best Supporting Actress. Welles also appeared in Altman's California Split (1974), as well as several films directed by Henry Jaglom, including New Year's Day (1989) and Eating (1990), and in the Sam Kinison-hosted episode of Saturday Night Live the 15 November 1986, as the free opened girlfriend of the butch character Dr. Norma in the Love Connection sketch.{{Cite web |last=Stooge |date=2019-04-06 |title=November 15, 1986 – Sam Kinison / Lou Reed (S12 E4) |url=https://www.onesnladay.com/2019/04/06/november-15-1986-sam-kinison-lou-reed-s12-e4/ |access-date=2025-06-28 |website=The 'One SNL a Day' Project |language=en-US}}

Personal life

Welles was an advocate of yoga, usually meditating 20–30 minutes twice a day.

During her three years in France, she lived with Roger Vadim. She told newspaper columnist Earl Wilson, "I was very naive. I was about 20. I was so in love with him. I would sulk for two hours, I would go to pieces, if he gave me a wrong look."{{Cite news |last=Wilson |first=Earl |date=June 22, 1975 |title=Gwen Welles Discusses Films |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/63757161/gwen-welles/ |work=The Indianapolis Star |page=34 (p. 4, §2) |access-date=November 21, 2020 |via=Newspapers.com}} During her time in Paris, she posed for a set of nude photographs for a magazine to earn money to remain there another year. She also was injured in an automobile accident. She married Harris Yulin.

Welles died from bowel cancer in 1993 at age 42. Donna Deitch directed An Angel on My Shoulder, a documentary about Welles' illness in 1992, which appeared at the IFC's Lesbian and Gay film festival in August 1998.{{cite news |title=The Modern Way of Dying |url=https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/the-modern-way-of-dying-1.182944 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201122031319/https://www.irishtimes.com/culture/the-modern-way-of-dying-1.182944 |archive-date=November 22, 2020 |work=The Irish Times |date=August 14, 1998 |access-date=November 22, 2020}}

Filmography

class="wikitable sortable"

|+Film and television

Year

! Title

! Role

! class="unsortable" | Notes

1969

|Ironside

|Pam

|"Up, Down and Even"

1971

|{{sortname|A|Safe Place}}

|Bari

|

1972

|Hellé

|Hellé

|

1973

|Hit!

|Sherry Nielson

|

1974

|California Split

|Susan Peters

|

1975

|Nashville

|Sueleen Gay

|

1977

|Between the Lines

|Laura

|

1977

|Baretta

|Vicki

|"Somebody Killed Cock Robin"

1983

|Star 80

|Leann

|Uncredited

1983

|Fantasy Island

|Mitzi

|1 episode

1984

|{{sortname|An|All Consuming Passion|nolink=1}}

|Joylee

|Video

1985

|Desert Hearts

|Gwen

|

1986

|Nobody's Fool

|Shirley

|

1986

|Saturday Night Live

|Zena, Dr. Norma Hoeffering's girlfriend

|Ep. "Sam Kinison/Lou Reed"

1986

|{{sortname|The|Men's Club}}

|Redhead

|

1988

|Sticky Fingers

|Marcie

|

1989

|New Year's Day

|Annie

|

1990

|Eating

|Sophie

|

1991

|{{sortname|The|Disco Years|nolink=1}}

|Melissa

|Short

References

{{Reflist}}