She said that at the start of her career, 20th Century-Fox thought that her real name--Anna Maria Italiano--was "too ethnic", and gave her several options for a new one. She chose Bancroft because she thought it sounded dignified.
[of her Mrs. Robinson role in The Graduate (1967)] Film critics said I gave a voice to the fear we all have: that we'll reach a point in our lives, look around and realize that all the things we said we'd do and become will never come to be - and ...
Often played characters much older than her actual age
Obi-Wan
Virgo
Anna Maria Louise Italiano
The Bronx, New York City, New York, USA
(age 73)
Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA