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Barbara Barrie, 'Breaking Away' star and actor who was not just any on-screen mom, dies at 95
Los Angeles Times • • general
Key Points:
- Actress Barbara Barrie, renowned for her Oscar-nominated role in "Breaking Away" and elevating the role of Mom in film, died at age 95 in her Manhattan home through medically assisted death following a terminal cancer diagnosis.
- Barrie was an advocate for New York’s Medical Aid in Dying Act, which went into effect in August 2023, supporting the right to medically assisted death.
- Born in Chicago in 1931, Barrie had a distinguished career on Broadway, earning a Tony nomination for the musical "Company," and appeared in over 120 TV and film roles starting in the 1950s.
- Her notable film roles included the 1964 Cannes-winning "One Potato, Two Potato," addressing interracial marriage, and the 1979 film "Breaking Away," which brought her an Academy Award nomination.
- Barrie was also a cancer awareness advocate after her 1994 rectal cancer diagnosis, authoring two memoirs about her experience, and is survived by her two children with late husband Jay Harnick.
