Joan Copeland

Joan Copeland
Joan Copeland in 2011
Born	Joan Maxine Miller (1922-06-01) June 1, 1922 (age 94) New York City, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1945–2011
Spouse(s)	George J. Kupchik (m. 1946-1989; his death); 1 child

Joan Copeland (born June 1, 1922) is an American actress and the younger sister of celebrated playwright Arthur Miller. She began her career during the mid-1940s, appearing in theatre in New York City, where, shortly thereafter, she would become one of the very first members admitted to the newly formed Actors Studio. She moved into television and film during the 1950s. while still maintaining an active stage career. She is best known for her performances in the 1977 Broadway revival of Pal Joey and her award winning performance in the 1981 play The American Clock. She has also played a number of prominent roles on various soap operas throughout her career, including Andrea Whiting on Search for Tomorrow and Gwendolyn Lord Abbott on One Life to Live.

Copeland was born Joan Maxine Miller to a middle-class Jewish family in New York City. Her father, Isidore, was a woman's clothes manufacturer, and her mother, Augusta (née Barnett), was a schoolteacher and a housewife. She is the younger sister of the late playwright Arthur Miller, and was briefly sister-in-law to Marilyn Monroe. She was married to George J. Kupchik, an engineer, from 1946 until his death in 1989. She has a son named Eric with him.

Copeland began her career in the theatre, making her professional debut as Juliet in William Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 1945. She made her Broadway debut as Nadine in the original 1948 production of Bessie Breuer's Sundown Beach. Since then she has maintained an active career in the theatre. Her other Broadway credits include Detective Story (1949), Not for Children (1951), Handful of Fire (1958), Tovarich (1963), Something More! (1964), The Price (1968), Coco (1969), Two By Two (1970), Checking Out (1976), 45 Seconds from Broadway (2002), Wit & Wisdom (2003) among others. Copeland was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for the 1977 production of Pal Joey and won a Drama Desk Award in 1981 for The American Clock.