Born in Birmingham, Alabama, to Episcopal minister Robert Fletcher and
his wife Estelle, both of whom were deaf, Louise Fletcher was
introduced to performing at a young age by the aunt who taught her to
speak. After graduating from the University of North Carolina, she took a trip out west with her roommates, finding herself in
Los Angeles without enough money to return home. She took a temporary
job as a receptionist and signed up for acting classes at night. Soon
she was working regularly in television and film, but after marrying
producer Jerry Bick and having two sons, the actress took a long hiatus to
raise her children.
Returning to work in 1974 in Robert Altman's Diebe wie wir (1974), Fletcher came to the
attention of director Milos Forman, who was casting the difficult role of
the nurse in Einer flog über das Kuckucksnest (1975). She won the role -- and then the Academy Award --
portraying deadly, inflexible Nurse Ratched, who has since become a
cultural icon. Numerous film roles followed, including co-starring
turns with Peter Falk in Der Schmalspurschnüffler (1978) and with Richard Burton in Exorzist II - Der Ketzer (1977). Fletcher has
appeared in a number of science fiction and horror classics such as
Der Feuerteufel (1984), Projekt Brainstorm (1983), and Blumen der Nacht (1987).
Though she earned an Emmy Award nomination for her recurring role on
Picket Fences: Tatort Gartenzaun (1992), Fletcher is perhaps best known to recent television audiences
as Kai Winn from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993) and as Nora Bloom from the cult classic
VR.5 (1995).
