Actresses France

In the course of an interview at Manhattan's chic Paramount Hotel, French actress Fanny Ardant twice mimics a dog. The first time, it serves as punctuation to a spirited defense of the cunning Countess Ferraud, the character she plays in "Colonel Chabert," the new Gerard Depardieu film set in 19th-Century France, which opened last week.

Frances Bay, the sweet, gentle housewife who became a successful actress in middle age, appearing in more than 50 motion pictures and 100 television shows, including roles as the "marble rye lady" on "Seinfeld" and the grandmother in Adam Sandler's "Happy Gilmore," has died. She was 92. Bay, also popular as a stage actress in local theaters, died Thursday at Providence Tarzana Medical Center, said her cousin Marly Zaslov of Vancouver. Bay had been ill with various infections.

FRANCES CONROY and her husband are building a compound. In Echo Park. If truth dwells in the details, this alone may be enough information. Conroy is an Emmy-nominated actress just emerging from the final season of a hit TV show, an actress with one film out ("Broken Flowers") and one about to begin shooting ("The Wicker Man"). She has won a Golden Globe and an Obie and been nominated for a Tony.

FRANCES CONROY and her husband are building a compound. In Echo Park. If truth dwells in the details, this alone may be enough information. Conroy is an Emmy-nominated actress just emerging from the final season of a hit TV show, an actress with one film out ("Broken Flowers") and one about to begin shooting ("The Wicker Man"). She has won a Golden Globe and an Obie and been nominated for a Tony.

Actresses who win an Oscar usually move swiftly to capitalize on their success. With their agents they seek high-profile, lucrative screen roles to ride the wave of their new-found visibility. For who knows how long it will last? Acting is precarious, especially for women; this year's hot face easily becomes next year's "remember her?" That's how most Oscar-winning actresses react to their triumph. Frances McDormand, it's fair to say, follows another path entirely.

Frances Bay, the sweet, gentle housewife who became a successful actress in middle age, appearing in more than 50 motion pictures and 100 television shows, including roles as the "marble rye lady" on "Seinfeld" and the grandmother in Adam Sandler's "Happy Gilmore," has died. She was 92. Bay, also popular as a stage actress in local theaters, died Thursday at Providence Tarzana Medical Center, said her cousin Marly Zaslov of Vancouver. Bay had been ill with various infections.

Actresses who win an Oscar usually move swiftly to capitalize on their success. With their agents they seek high-profile, lucrative screen roles to ride the wave of their new-found visibility. For who knows how long it will last? Acting is precarious, especially for women; this year's hot face easily becomes next year's "remember her?" That's how most Oscar-winning actresses react to their triumph. Frances McDormand, it's fair to say, follows another path entirely.

In the course of an interview at Manhattan's chic Paramount Hotel, French actress Fanny Ardant twice mimics a dog. The first time, it serves as punctuation to a spirited defense of the cunning Countess Ferraud, the character she plays in "Colonel Chabert," the new Gerard Depardieu film set in 19th-Century France, which opened last week.