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Annette O'Toole

Annette O'Toole has built the kind of career that rewards viewers who pay attention: versatile, durable and spread across film, television, stage and music. Born in Houston in 1952, she began learning dance at three from her mother, a dance teacher. After her family moved to Los Angeles when she was 13, O'Toole started taking acting lessons and made her first television appearance on The Danny Kaye Show in 1967. Her early screen work included guest spots on Gunsmoke, Hawaii Five-O and The Partridge Family, but the 1975 satire Smile gave her a substantial film role as a jaded beauty pageant contestant. She went on to appear in One on One, Foolin' Around, Cat People and 48 Hrs., moving comfortably between comedy, drama and darker material. Superman stories have provided two notable markers in O'Toole's career. She played Lana Lang in Superman III in 1983, then returned to the same mythology 18 years later as Martha Kent in Smallville. Her years on the series gave her a different place in Clark Kent's world: no longer the romantic connection, but the adoptive mother helping define his humanity. O'Toole has also been a familiar presence in television adaptations and miniseries. She played the adult Beverly Marsh in Stephen King's It and portrayed Rose Fitzgerald Kennedy in The Kennedys of Massachusetts, earning an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress. Later roles included Susan Emerson in Halt and Catch Fire, Edna Price in 11.22.63 and Hope McCrea in Virgin River. Her work extends beyond acting. O'Toole is also a singer-songwriter and co-wrote three songs for A Mighty Wind, including the Oscar-nominated “A Kiss at the End of the Rainbow.” Whether playing warmth, weariness, authority or unease, she brings a grounded presence that has served an unusually wide range of stories.