Obituaries

Broadway Actress Jacqueline Brookes Has Died

The stage and screen star was a New York theater favorite who performed on Broadway in Measure for Measure, The Cherry Orchard, and more.

Jacqueline Brookes
Jacqueline Brookes
(courtesy of Circle in the Square Theatre School)

Broadway and film actress Jacqueline Brookes has died of lymphoma at the age of 82.

A New Jersey native, Brookes was born in 1930 to Maria Zur Haar and Frederick Jack Brooks. She grew up in Manhattan and went on to study at the University of Iowa and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.

As a professional actress, Brookes won a Theatre World Award in 1955 for her performance in The Cretan Woman and an Obie Award in 1963 for Six Characters in Search of an Author. She performed on Broadway in multiple roles including Tiger at the Gates (her 1955 Broadway premiere), Measure for Measure, The Duchess of Malfi, and The Cherry Orchard. Off- Broadway, Brookes played many of Shakespeare’s leading ladies, from Katherine to Desdemona.

She also worked as executive director of Circle in the Square Theatre School, where she taught acting from 1974 until her death. Her long film and television career featured roles on Miami Vice, Law & Order, and Star Trek: The Next Generation.