Biography
Lainie Kazan is an American actress and singer, also credited as Lainie Levine. Born Lainie Levine on 15 May 1940 in Brooklyn, New York, she graduated from Hofstra University in 1960 after studying theatre.
She made her Broadway debut in 1961 in the musical The Happiest Girl in the World and later understudied Barbra Streisand in Funny Girl. Kazan has appeared in numerous films and television series, including My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) and its sequels as Maria Portokalos, Gigli (2003) as Mother, Pixels (2015), You Don't Mess with the Zohan (2008), Grey's Anatomy, Desperate Housewives, Modern Family and The Nanny.
