Louise Fletcher

Who was Louise Fletcher?

Estelle Louise Fletcher (July 22, 1934 – September 23, 2022) was an American actress. Estelle Louise Fletcher was born in Birmingham, Alabama, the second of four children of Estelle (née Caldwell) and the Reverend Robert Capers Fletcher, an Episcopal missionary from Arab, Alabama. Her parents were deaf and worked with the deaf/hard-of-hearing, but Fletcher and her siblings, Roberta, John, and Georgianna, were all of normal hearing, so the children were sent in turns to live with Estelle's hearing sister in Texas for three months at a time to ensure they learned spoken English. Fletcher had a recurring role as the Bajoran religious leader Kai Winn Adami in the television series Star Trek: Deep Space Nine (1993–1999). She was nominated for two Emmy Awards for her roles in the television series Picket Fences (1996) and Joan of Arcadia (2004).

Her final role was as Rosie in the Netflix series Girlboss (2017).

Historical significance

She is best known for her portrayal of the antagonist Nurse Ratched in the film One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), which earned her numerous accolades, including the Academy Award, BAFTA Award, and Golden Globe Award for Best Actress.