Joan Benedict Steiger
- Actress
Joan Benedict Steiger was born in Brooklyn, New York and became a
performer at an early age studying ballet & tap dancing at seven. Her
first recital was at the famous Brooklyn Academy of Music. Her mother
sent her abroad to Rome, where she became a young student at the Rome
Opera Ballet School, and, subsequently, lived in Paris. Living in these
two countries gave Joan a wonderful cultural opportunity and she became
fluent in Italian and French.
At the age of fifteen, Joan started honing her acting craft. She
studied with renowned acting coaches
Stella Adler and
Robert Lewis, founders of The Group
Theatre, and went on to major in drama and speech at Hofstra
University.
Joan has made more than a dozen feature films including starring in two
films with her late husband, Academy Award® winning actor,
Rod Steiger.
Joan is passionate about the stage and has starred off-Broadway in
addition to regional theater. She played the title character in
"Leona", about the notorious "Queen of Mean",
Leona Helmsley. The one-woman show
received rave reviews, and she went on to star on-stage in Las Vegas in
"Promises, Promises". Other theater credits include playing "Ruth
Steiner" in "Collected Stories", "Magda" in "The World is Made of
Glass", "Margie McDougal" in "Promises, Promises", "Martha" in "Octette
Bridge Club", the "Duchess of York" in "Richard III", "Frade" in "The
Dybbuk", and "Helen of Troy" in "Dr. Faustus", to name a few.
Joan's versatility as an actress is evident in the dramatic and comedic
roles she has played in film, television and on stage.
performer at an early age studying ballet & tap dancing at seven. Her
first recital was at the famous Brooklyn Academy of Music. Her mother
sent her abroad to Rome, where she became a young student at the Rome
Opera Ballet School, and, subsequently, lived in Paris. Living in these
two countries gave Joan a wonderful cultural opportunity and she became
fluent in Italian and French.
At the age of fifteen, Joan started honing her acting craft. She
studied with renowned acting coaches
Stella Adler and
Robert Lewis, founders of The Group
Theatre, and went on to major in drama and speech at Hofstra
University.
Joan has made more than a dozen feature films including starring in two
films with her late husband, Academy Award® winning actor,
Rod Steiger.
Joan is passionate about the stage and has starred off-Broadway in
addition to regional theater. She played the title character in
"Leona", about the notorious "Queen of Mean",
Leona Helmsley. The one-woman show
received rave reviews, and she went on to star on-stage in Las Vegas in
"Promises, Promises". Other theater credits include playing "Ruth
Steiner" in "Collected Stories", "Magda" in "The World is Made of
Glass", "Margie McDougal" in "Promises, Promises", "Martha" in "Octette
Bridge Club", the "Duchess of York" in "Richard III", "Frade" in "The
Dybbuk", and "Helen of Troy" in "Dr. Faustus", to name a few.
Joan's versatility as an actress is evident in the dramatic and comedic
roles she has played in film, television and on stage.