Madeline Kahn
Personal details
  • Born:
    • Birthday: 1942-09-29
    • Born Place: Chelsea, Massachusetts, USA
  • Deathday:

    1999-12-03

  • Also Known As:

    Madeleine Kahn, Madeliene Kahn, Madeline Gail Wolfson

Madeline Kahn

Madeline Kahn (born Madeline Gail Wolfson; September 29, 1942 – December 3, 1999) was an acclaimed American actress, comedian, and singer, celebrated for her distinctive comedic timing and versatility. Born in Boston, Massachusetts, her parents divorced when she was two, and she moved to New York City with her mother, who later remarried and changed Madeline's surname to Kahn. She attended Martin Van Buren High School in Queens, where she became involved in school productions, earning a drama scholarship to Hofstra University. There, she studied drama, music, and speech therapy, graduating in 1964 with a degree in speech therapy. Kahn began her professional acting career shortly after, making her Broadway debut in "Leonard Sillman's New Faces of 1968." She garnered widespread recognition for her memorable roles in films directed by Mel Brooks, including "Blazing Saddles" (1974), "Young Frankenstein" (1974), "High Anxiety" (1977), and "History of the World, Part I" (1981). Her performances in "Paper Moon" (1973) and "Blazing Saddles" earned her Academy Award nominations for Best Supporting Actress. Kahn also had a distinguished Broadway career, receiving Tony Award nominations for "In the Boom Boom Room" (1974) and "On the Twentieth Century" (1978), and winning a Tony Award in 1993 for "The Sisters Rosensweig." Her television work included her own sitcom "Oh Madeline" and a Daytime Emmy Award for an "ABC Afterschool Special." She also voiced the character Gypsy in Pixar's "A Bug's Life" (1998) and appeared in the sitcom "Cosby." Kahn was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in September 1998 and continued to work while undergoing treatment. She married John Hansbury in October 1999 and passed away on December 3, 1999, at the age of 57.

Person History