Lois Smith

Lois Smith, honestly, is one of those actresses who’s been around forever, just quietly killing it in every decade. Born way back in 1930 in Topeka, Kansas—yeah, that’s the middle of the country, for anyone who’s never looked at a map—she’s basically seen it all. Her career? Absolute marathon. She’s popped up in so many films that you’d probably recognize her face before her name, which is wild considering her resume. So, you’ve got Minority Report from 2002, where, let’s be real, she just steals the scene from Tom Cruise like it’s nothing. Then there’s Lady Bird in 2017—she’s the wise, low-key grandma, the type everyone wishes they had. And Twister? Oh man, 1996 nostalgia—tornadoes, cows flying, and Lois just grounding the chaos with her steady presence. She’s never the loudest in the room, but somehow she’s the one you remember. She was married to Wesley Dale Smith at one point, but honestly, her real love story is with acting. Decades of stage and screen, and she still brings that fresh, raw energy, even in the tiniest roles. People talk about “character actors” like it’s some lesser thing, but Lois turns every character into the main event, even if she’s only got, like, five minutes of screen time. Kansas roots, Hollywood legend status—she’s the kind of performer who makes you want to watch the credits just to catch her name.