# Lorraine Gary
**Lorraine Gary** (born Lorraine Gottfried, August 16, 1937, in New York City) is a retired American actress best known for playing Ellen Brody, the police chief's wife, in the *Jaws* film series.
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | August 16, 1937, New York City; raised in Los Angeles[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0308882/bio/) |
| Signature role | Ellen Brody in *Jaws* (1975), *Jaws 2* (1978), and *Jaws: The Revenge* (1987)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0308882/bio/) |
| Marriage | Married Sid Sheinberg, later president of MCA, on August 19, 1956; he died March 7, 2019[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0308882/bio/) |
| Retirement | Withdrew from acting in 1979 after *1941*; returned once for *Jaws: The Revenge* (1987)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0308882/bio/) |
| Education | Won a best actress award at the Pasadena Playhouse at 16; studied political science at Columbia University[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0308882/bio/) |
| Other films | *Car Wash* (1976), *Zero to Sixty* (1978), *Just You and Me, Kid* (1979)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0308882/bio/) • [2](https://www.tuko.co.ke/facts-lifehacks/celebrity-biographies/497658-where-lorraine-gary-jaws-actress/) |
## Early life and television work
Gary was born in New York and raised in Los Angeles. At 16 she won a best actress award in a competition at the [Pasadena Playhouse](https://www.edgepedia.org/pasadena-playhouse), which offered her a scholarship; she declined it and enrolled at Columbia University as a political science major instead[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0308882/bio/). At Columbia she met Sidney Sheinberg, then an undergraduate; they married in 1956[3](https://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-sidney-sheinberg-obit-20190308-story.html).
She began acting in the late 1960s with guest appearances on television series including *The Rookies*, *Marcus Welby, M.D.*, *Kojak*, *Ironside*, *The F.B.I.*, *The Virginian*, *McCloud*, and *Dragnet 1967*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0308882/bio/).
## Jaws and Ellen Brody
[Steven Spielberg](https://www.edgepedia.org/steven-spielberg) cast Gary as Ellen Brody after seeing her in *Kojak: The Marcus-Nelson Murders*, in which she played Ruth Gardner; she was the first actor signed to *Jaws*[4](https://thedailyjaws.com/blog/2021/8/16/lorraine-gary-the-perfect-choice-for-ellen-brody-in-jaws). She was 32 at the time and later said she took the part because "it sounded like fun" and the [Martha's Vineyard](https://www.edgepedia.org/marthas-vineyard) location appealed to her[5](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/inside-jaws-making-the-film-classic/). In the 1975 film, Ellen Brody pleads with her husband, Chief Martin Brody ([Roy Scheider](https://www.edgepedia.org/roy-scheider)), to close Amity Beach to summer tourists[6](https://www.knowitalljoe.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Jaws-Press-Kit2.pdf). Her character does not appear on screen after the first half of the film, but the role proved memorable[4](https://thedailyjaws.com/blog/2021/8/16/lorraine-gary-the-perfect-choice-for-ellen-brody-in-jaws).
She reprised Ellen Brody in *Jaws 2* (1978)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0308882/bio/). In interviews she described her working relationship with Scheider as distant, saying she never felt a closeness with him during production[5](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/inside-jaws-making-the-film-classic/).
## Later films and retirement
Through the 1970s Gary appeared in comedies including *Car Wash* (1976), *Zero to Sixty* (1978), and *1941* (1979), and in *Just You and Me, Kid* (1979)[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0308882/bio/) • [2](https://www.tuko.co.ke/facts-lifehacks/celebrity-biographies/497658-where-lorraine-gary-jaws-actress/). She retired from acting in 1979 after *1941*[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0308882/bio/).
She returned once, for *[Jaws: The Revenge](https://www.edgepedia.org/jaws-the-revenge)* (1987), directed by Joseph Sargent, who had directed the *Kojak* episode that had first impressed Spielberg[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0308882/bio/) • [4](https://thedailyjaws.com/blog/2021/8/16/lorraine-gary-the-perfect-choice-for-ellen-brody-in-jaws). In that film she received top billing above co-star [Michael Caine](https://www.edgepedia.org/michael-caine), who played her romantic interest and appeared in about a third of the picture; Universal's president of distribution said she received top billing because she had the film's major role[7](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-04-19-ca-1686-story.html). The performance earned her nominations for both a Saturn Award and a Razzie Award in the same year[4](https://thedailyjaws.com/blog/2021/8/16/lorraine-gary-the-perfect-choice-for-ellen-brody-in-jaws). She has not acted since[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0308882/bio/).
## Marriage to Sid Sheinberg and later life
Her husband Sid Sheinberg rose to become president of MCA, Universal's parent company, and under his watch Universal produced Spielberg's *Jaws*, *E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial*, and *Jurassic Park*[3](https://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-sidney-sheinberg-obit-20190308-story.html). After retiring from acting, Gary ran New Hope Productions, a company that produced movies for television, with her husband[2](https://www.tuko.co.ke/facts-lifehacks/celebrity-biographies/497658-where-lorraine-gary-jaws-actress/). In 1995 the couple received the Simon Wiesenthal Center's Humanitarian Award[2](https://www.tuko.co.ke/facts-lifehacks/celebrity-biographies/497658-where-lorraine-gary-jaws-actress/).
Their sons, Bill Sheinberg and Jonathan Sheinberg, are both film producers[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0308882/bio/). Sid Sheinberg died on March 7, 2019, at 84, ending a marriage of more than six decades[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0308882/bio/) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-sidney-sheinberg-obit-20190308-story.html).
## Cultural footprint
Gary's name appears in a second Universal franchise: [Marty McFly](https://www.edgepedia.org/marty-mcfly)'s mother in *Back to the Future* (1985) was named Lorraine after her[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0308882/bio/). Decades after *Jaws*, she still reported receiving fan mail daily, remarking in a later interview that the film's continuing impact still stunned her[1](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0308882/bio/).
## References
1. [Lorraine Gary Biography, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0308882/bio/)
2. [Where is Lorraine Gary now? All to know about the Jaws actress, Tuko.co.ke](https://www.tuko.co.ke/facts-lifehacks/celebrity-biographies/497658-where-lorraine-gary-jaws-actress/)
3. [Sidney Sheinberg, who led MCA/Universal's rise, dies at 84, Los Angeles Times](https://www.latimes.com/business/hollywood/la-fi-ct-sidney-sheinberg-obit-20190308-story.html)
4. [Lorraine Gary: The Perfect Choice for Ellen Brody in Jaws, The Daily Jaws](https://thedailyjaws.com/blog/2021/8/16/lorraine-gary-the-perfect-choice-for-ellen-brody-in-jaws)
5. [Inside "Jaws": Making the film classic, CBS News](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/inside-jaws-making-the-film-classic/)
6. [Jaws press kit, Universal Studios](https://www.knowitalljoe.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/Jaws-Press-Kit2.pdf)
7. [Tooth in Advertising, Los Angeles Times (April 19, 1987)](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1987-04-19-ca-1686-story.html)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Screen people and creators › Screen actors of the Anglosphere and Europe › American actors: 1970s to 1990s › Surnames G to Go*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license