The daughter of writer Gilbert Seldes, she grew up in a creative environment and studied acting at the Neighborhood Playhouse. Trained for the stage, she made her Broadway theatre debut in 1948 in a production of Medea. She went on to an illustrious career in which she has earned five Tony Award nominations, winning her first time out in 1967 for A Delicate Balance.
From 1967 to 1991, Seldes was a faculty member of the Juilliard School of Drama, and in 2002 she began teaching at Fordham University, Lincoln Center.
Seldes is currently co-starring with Angela Lansbury in previews of Deuce, a new Broadway play written by Terrence McNally and directed by Michael Blakemore. The play officially opens on May 6 for a limited run of 18 weeks.
In addition to performing in live theatre, Seldes began acting in television in 1952 in a Hallmark Hall of Fame production that marked the first of many guest star roles that have continued into 2006. She also has performed in a number of motion pictures and in radio plays. Between 1974 and 1982, she appeared in 179 episodes of the CBS Radio Mystery Theater.
Seldes was married to screenwriter/playwright Garson Kanin (Ruth Gordon's widower) from 1990 until his death in 1999. She has a daughter by her first marriage to Julian Claman, which ended in divorce in 1961.
**Wikipedia**
