Susan Kohner
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Susan Kohner (born November 11, 1936 in Los Angeles, California) is an Academy Award-nominated, Golden Globe-winning American actress. She is the daughter of Mexican actress Lupita Tovar and Jewish film producer Paul Kohner who was born in Czechoslovakia.
Most of Kohner's film roles came during the late 1950s and early 1960s, including co-starring with Sal Mineo in The Gene Krupa Story (1959) and with Montgomery Clift in Freud (1962).
She is most notable for portraying Sarah Jane, the light-skinned African American teenage daughter who passes for white in the 1959 color remake of Imitation of Life. According to the character, Ms. Annie Johnson (when Ms. Johnson first meets the Lora Meredith character), Sarah Jane's father was not white but a light-skinned black man. The role garnered her a nomination for the 1960 Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, and the 1960 Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture. Juanita Moore, who plays Kohner's heart-broken mother in the film, also won a nomination for the Best Supporting Actress Oscar.
In 1964, Kohner married German novelist and fashion designer John Weitz, and retired from acting. Their children, Chris and Paul Weitz, are successful film directors in Hollywood, having helmed films such as American Pie and About a Boy.
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Hermione Gingold for Gigi |
Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture 1960 for Imitation of Life |
Succeeded by Janet Leigh for Psycho |
