Louise Fletcher

She was largely unknown when she was cast as the head administrative nurse at an Oregon mental institution, in the 1975 film, which won multiple awards.

Ms. She also starred with Christopher Walken and Natalie Wood as a workaholic scientist in “Brainstorm” (1983). She appeared most recently in two episodes of the Netflix comedy series “Girlboss.” She had a lead role as the Linda Blair character’s soft-spoken psychiatrist in “Exorcist II: The Heretic” (1977) and was notable in the ensemble comedy “The Cheap Detective” (1978), riffing on Ingrid Bergman’s film persona. “She thinks she’s doing good for people, and she’s hurt — she feels abused — if her authority is questioned.” “We can see the virginal expectancy — the purity — that has turned into puffy-eyed self-righteousness,” Ms. [Robert Altman’s “Thieves Like Us,”](https://www.nytimes.com/1974/02/12/archives/film-thieves-like-usproduction-by-altman-illuminates-an-era-the.html) as a woman who coldly turns in her brother to the police. Fletcher’s “a masterly performance.” She had a certain mystery, which I thought was very, very important for Nurse Ratched.” She later told journalists that she had trouble finding work because she was so tall — 5 feet 10 inches — and was often cast in westerns, where her height was an advantage. “They were so free, and I had to be so controlled.” “I envied the other actors tremendously,”