Ann Dowd

Ann Dowd is an American actress who is best known for her portrayal of the vicious and cruel Aunt Lydia in the series ‘The Handmaid’s Tale.’ She has had a career spanning more than three decades; however, she found fame only recently. She has around 45 movies to her credit, done numerous television shows, and has also appeared in numerous theatrical productions, but most people recognize her for her roles in the series ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ and ‘The Leftovers.’ She really worked hard and continued to strive for perfection even when fame eluded her for several years. Today, she is recognized as an actress who can really get under a character’s skin. Her portrayal of the antagonist Aunt Lydia in ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ was so powerful that the actress received much hatred from the audience—a testament to how credible her performance had been! She says that when she takes up a role, she never judges the character. Instead, she tries to understand what the character is doing and why. It is probably this unique approach that helps her deliver such powerful performances. She has won numerous awards for her work on television, movies, and theater.

Ann Dowd was born on January 30, 1956 in Holyoke, Massachusetts, USA, to John and Dolores. She has six siblings. Her family was very religious. She had an Irish Catholic upbringing and was taught by nuns for ten years.
She was passionate about acting from very early on; this love for acting came from her father, who used to sing and act in church plays. However, he would have never approved of acting as a career choice for her. He died when she was in high school.
Another thing that her father loved was the College of Holy Cross. So, she got admitted at the Holy Cross to study premed. However, she was not happy with her premed classes, and this was noticed by her teacher and friends who advised her to pursue her dream.
She then went on to pursue her Masters of Fine Art degree in acting from the Goodman School of Drama at DePaul University.

Ann Dowd started her acting career doing plays at various regional theaters in Chicago. She did ‘A Different Moon’ (1983), ‘Kennedy’s Children’ (1984), and ‘The Normal Heart’ (1987) and received three Joseph Jefferson Awards for excellence.
In 1985, she made her first television appearance in a television movie called ‘First Steps.’ In 1988, she moved to New York for bigger opportunities. In 1990, she landed her first movie role in ‘Green Card,’ a romantic comedy directed, written, and produced by Peter Weir.
In 1991, she appeared in the series ‘Law & Order’ and went on to appear in all four franchises of the series. Next, she played a pediatrician in the critically acclaimed movie, ‘Lorenzo’s Oil’ (1992).
In 1993, she made her Broadway debut with ‘Candida,’ for which she won the 1993 Clarence Derwent Award. The same year, she appeared in the critically acclaimed movie, ‘Philadelphia,’ starring Tom Hanks.
As the years went by, she had a steady stream of supporting roles in movies like ‘Apt Pupil’ (1998), ‘Garden State’ (2004), ‘The Manchurian Candidate’ (2004), ‘Flags of Our Fathers’ (2006), ‘Marley & Me’ (2008), and ‘The Informant’ (2009).
In 2012, Ann Dowd came into prominence with a mind-blowing performance in ‘Compliance.’ This film got her the National Board of Review Award for Best Supporting Actress in 2012.
After ‘Compliance,’ her role in the HBO drama ‘The Leftovers’ earned her further fame. The show premiered in 2014 and was slow to take off. However, by the time it was over in 2017, it had come to be regarded as one of the best TV shows of the decade.
She currently plays Aunt Lydia in the series ‘The Handmaid’s Tale.’ For this role, Ann Dowd won the Emmy for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series (2017) and received her second nomination in 2018.
Her role in the movie ‘Hereditary’ in 2018 again proved why Ann Down is so good with scary, brutal, dark, and villainous characters. She is set to appear in ‘Lambs of God,’ which is an Australian drama.

‘Compliance’ was the movie that first got Ann Dowd noticed. The movie is based on a real-life event. In the movie, she essays the role of a restaurant manager, Sandra, who is manipulated into becoming an accessory to sexual assault on one of her female employees. From here on, Ann was drawn to dark and complex roles.
Her role in the series ‘The Leftovers’ got her an Emmy nomination in 2017. The series, starring Justin Theroux, is a supernatural mystery drama. She essayed the role of Patti Lavin, who is an authoritarian cult leader.
Her performance in the series ‘The Handmaid’s Tale’ has made her a household name and a major actress in Hollywood. This series is an adaptation of Margaret Atwood’s book of the same name. The brutal and domineering Aunt Lydia is responsible for educating the handmaids about their sexual and social duties in a new dystopian society ruled over by Gilead.

It was while studying at DePaul University in Chicago that Ann Dowd met Lawrence Arancio, who went on to become an actor, writer, and director. They were married in 1984 and have three children, Liam, Emily, and Trust. Trust was adopted by Ann and her husband when he was six years old.

When she was working in Chicago and New York as a stage actress, she worked as a waitress to pay her bills. She also worked at Petland and a telemarketing company for frozen foods.