Tom Cruise co-star is unrecognizable at 75... who is she?
Share and Follow

A veteran character actress with decades of experience in Hollywood was spotted out and about in Los Angeles this week.

She has appeared on the silver screen alongside a variety of A-list actors such as Tom Cruise, Sandra Bullock, Steve Carell, and Jake Gyllenhaal.

Her television work has ranged from The Golden Girls and Friends to CSI and Six Feet Under, with more recent roles on The Mindy Project and How I Met Your Mother.

She was the image of summery style when she surfaced recently in California, looking as spry as ever at the age of 75.

Her snappy outfit included a nautical chic set of navy and white shorts, teamed with a long-sleeved polo shirt and an elegant wide-brimmed straw hat.

Can you guess who she is?

A veteran character actress with decades of experience in Hollywood was spotted out and about in Los Angeles this week

A veteran character actress with decades of experience in Hollywood was spotted out and about in Los Angeles this week

The actress in question is none other than Beth Grant, who featured in the 1988 film Rain Man starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman.

Dustin played an autistic man called Ray who insists on maintaining a rigorously fixed routine, with Tom featuring as his brother Charlie.

In one memorable scene, the brothers stop into a strange family’s farmhouse so that Ray can carry out his daily ritual of watching The People’s Court.

Beth plays the mother of the family, to whom Charlie has to explain: ‘That man right there is my brother and if he doesn’t get to watch People’s Court in about 30 seconds he’s going to throw a fit right here on your porch.’

Her other famed movies include the 2001 sci-fi thriller Donnie Darko, with its formidable cast including Jake Gyllenhaal, Drew Barrymore and Patrick Swayze.

Jake plays a teenager called Donnie plagued by visions of a man in a rabbit costume, resulting in increasingly erratic behavior that his unhinged gym teacher Kitty Farmer – played by Beth – tries to curtail by giving him ‘attitude lessons.’

Beth’s has also been in such movies as A Time to Kill with Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson and Matthew McConaughey, as well as Little Miss Sunshine with Abigail Breslin, Steve Carell, Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette.

She had guest shots on a wide variety of television programs, including The Golden Girls, Criminal Minds, CSI, Six Feet Under and even Sabrina the Teenage Witch.

The actress in question is none other than Beth Grant, who featured in the 1988 film Rain Man starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman; pictured in Rain Man

The actress in question is none other than Beth Grant, who featured in the 1988 film Rain Man starring Tom Cruise and Dustin Hoffman; pictured in Rain Man

On the early Friends episode The One with the Thumb, Beth played a vagrant whom Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) knew back when she herself was homeless

On the early Friends episode The One with the Thumb, Beth played a vagrant whom Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) knew back when she herself was homeless

She was the image of summery style when she surfaced recently in California, looking as spry as ever at the age of 75

Her snappy outfit included a nautical chic set of navy and white shorts, teamed with a long-sleeved polo shirt and an elegant wide-brimmed straw hat

She was the image of summery style when she surfaced recently in California , looking as spry as ever at the age of 75 

On the big screen, she has featured in movies with a dazzling array of top-flight stars including Sandra Bullock, Steve Carell and Jake Gyllenhaal

On the big screen, she has featured in movies with a dazzling array of top-flight stars including Sandra Bullock, Steve Carell and Jake Gyllenhaal

Her television work has ranged from The Golden Girls and Friends to CSI and Six Feet Under

More recently she landed roles on The Mindy Project and How I Met Your Mother

Her television work has ranged from The Golden Girls and Friends to CSI and Six Feet Under, with more recent roles on The Mindy Project and How I Met Your Mother

She has roles in a number of upcoming projects as well, having recently filmed the Netflix movie Remarkably Bright Creatures starring Sally Field alongside Bill Pullman's son Lewis

She has roles in a number of upcoming projects as well, having recently filmed the Netflix movie Remarkably Bright Creatures starring Sally Field alongside Bill Pullman’s son Lewis

Beth has been married to fellow actor Michael Chieffo for 40 years, and their daughter Mary Chieffo, 32, has followed her parents' footsteps into the profession

Beth has been married to fellow actor Michael Chieffo for 40 years, and their daughter Mary Chieffo, 32, has followed her parents’ footsteps into the profession

Beth is still working, having landed a principal role on this year's Amazon Prime series The Bondsman, starring Kevin Bacon as a resurrected bounty hunter

Beth's has also been in such movies as A Time to Kill with Sandra Bullock, Samuel L. Jackson and Matthew McConaughey

Beth is still working, having landed a principal role on this year’s Amazon Prime series The Bondsman, starring Kevin Bacon as a resurrected bounty hunter

She was part of the cast of Little Miss Sunshine with Abigail Breslin, Steve Carell, Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette

She was part of the cast of Little Miss Sunshine with Abigail Breslin, Steve Carell, Greg Kinnear and Toni Collette

On the early Friends episode The One with the Thumb, Beth played a vagrant whom Phoebe (Lisa Kudrow) knew back when she herself was homeless.

In the 2010s she was part of the main cast of The Mindy Project as Beverly, a receptionist at the hospital where Mindy Kaling’s character works as an OB/GYN.

Beth is still working, having landed a principal role on this year’s Amazon Prime series The Bondsman, starring Kevin Bacon as a resurrected bounty hunter. 

She has roles in a number of upcoming projects as well, having recently filmed the Netflix movie Remarkably Bright Creatures starring Sally Field alongside Bill Pullman’s son Lewis Pullman, who is now dating Cindy Crawford’s daughter Kaia Gerber.

On the personal front, Beth has been married to fellow actor Michael Chieffo for 40 years, and their daughter Mary Chieffo, 32, has followed her parents’ footsteps into the profession, featuring on Star Trek: Discovery. 

Share and Follow
You May Also Like
Leonardo DiCaprio's girlfriend Vittoria Ceretti has fashion faux pas

Vittoria Ceretti, the girlfriend of Leonardo DiCaprio, makes a fashion mistake.

Leonardo DiCaprio’s girlfriend Vittoria Ceretti suffered a bit of a fashion faux…
Australian teenager dies in devastating shark attack, nearly 100 yards from popular beach: report

‘Shark Week’ host warns beachgoers where and when predators are most likely to attack

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! A wildlife biologist and…
Touching exchange between Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos revealed

Heartwarming conversation between Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos exposed

Just on Friday, Lauren Sanchez and Jeff Bezos got married in an…
CBO says tax piece of GOP megabill could violate Senate Byrd Rule

Senate Byrd Rule potentially violated by tax component in GOP megabill, according to CBO

The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) projects that the tax piece of President…
Colorado funeral home owner sentenced to 20 years after stashing nearly 190 decaying bodies

Colorado funeral home owner sentenced to 20 years after stashing nearly 190 decaying bodies

NEWYou can now listen to Fox News articles! The owner of a…
Trump says he's not planning to extend pause on global tariffs beyond July 9

Trump: No Plans to Continue Halting Global Tariffs After July 9

WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump says he is not planning to extend…
Small plane crashes behind Ohio home: authorities

Authorities report a small plane accident occurred near a residence in Ohio.

HOWLAND, Ohio (WKBN) Authorities, including the local coroner, are on the scene…
Police launch probe after Glastonbury crowd chants 'Death to the IDF!'

Investigation Started by Police Following Crowd Chanting ‘Death to the IDF!’ at Glastonbury

Police have launched a probe into the comments made by a punk…