Debut Academy Award winners
Jo Van Fleet
Everett Collection / Rex Feature;Show Thumbnails
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Best Supporting Actress (1955) for East of Eden
Prior to making the switch to film, Van Fleet was a successful theatre actress, having won a Tony Award in 1954 for her performance in The Trip to Bountiful alongside fellow debut Oscar winner Eva Marie Saint. She won an Academy Award for her first film role as James Dean's character's mother in East of Eden in 1955, and managed to maintain regular film work up until the early 1960s.
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