Louise Fletcher, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Oscar Winner, Dead at 88
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Louise Fletcher, the actress who played the menacing Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, has died, PEOPLE can confirm. She was 88.
The actress died in her sleep surrounded by family at her home in Montdurausse, France, her agent, David Shaul, confirmed. An exact cause of death has not been revealed.
In a statement, Shaul said, "Louise was a mega talent which was overshadowed only by what an amazing human being she was."
He added: "Representing her was a joy and highlight of my almost 40 years as an agent."
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Fletcher was best known on screen for starring opposite Jack Nicholson in the classic 1975 Milos Foreman film, and she took home the Best Actress Oscar in 1976 as a result of her performance. One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest also won four other Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Actor, which went to Nicholson, 85.
Nurse Ratched has since been listed by the American Film Institute in a ranking of cinema's greatest villains, landing in the No. 5 spot behind Norman Bates, The Wicked Witch of the West, Darth Vadar and Hannibal Lecter.
After earning an Academy Award for her breakout role at age 41, Fletcher thanked her deaf parents during her Oscars acceptance speech. "I want to thank you for teaching me to have a dream," she signed. "You are seeing my dream come true."
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Fletcher, born in Alabama in 1934, took on plenty of other roles throughout her decades in show business as well, including a recurring role as Kai Winn Adami in the '90s television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine. As the official Star Trek Twitter account wrote of Fletcher on Friday, her contributions to the franchise will "never be forgotten."
She then continued to impress audiences again with her work in 1999's Cruel Intentions, as well as her Emmy-winning performances in 1996's Picket Fences and 2004's Joan of Arcadia. In 2017, she appeared on Netflix's Girlboss.
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The iconic role of Nurse Ratched was nearly passed by Fletcher, too, as it was initially offered to actresses Anne Bancroft, Ellen Burstyn and Angela Lansbury. Luckily, it found its way to Fletcher, whose performance went on to spawn the Ryan Murphy Netflix series, Ratched, in 2020, starring Sarah Paulson.
"I was the last person cast," Fletcher recalled of Cuckoo's Nest in a 2004 Associated Press interview. "It wasn't until we were halfway through shooting that I realized the part had been offered to other actresses who didn't want to appear so horrible on the screen."
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Sad to read of the passing of Louise Fletcher. Brilliant actress & Academy Award winner, I remember her as the daughter of Deaf parents (CODA) who was the FIRST to sign her acceptance speech at the Oscars. And she was so lovely as my mother on “Picket Fences.” RIP dear Louise. pic.twitter.com/e9om1R4DtW
— Marlee Matlin (@MarleeMatlin) September 24, 2022
Fletcher's career left a major impact on several actors, including Oscar-winning star Marlee Matlin, who remembered her Picket Fences costar as a trailblazer, tweeting a photo of them together Friday.
"Sad to read of the passing of Louise Fletcher. Brilliant actress & Academy Award winner, I remember her as the daughter of Deaf parents (CODA) who was the FIRST to sign her acceptance speech at the Oscars," she wrote. "And she was so lovely as my mother on 'Picket Fences.' RIP dear Louise."