Mink Stole: Biography

Born: Baltimore, MD

Worked as: Actor

Born Nancy Stoll in Baltimore, MD, Mink Stole began her acting career in the early '70s as part of John Waters' cast of miscreants. She often played despicable characters, acting as an embodiment of poor taste and a frequent arbiter of nasty schemes. Her first completed project with Waters was the unbearable Roman Candles, made in 1966 as a three-projection 8 mm film with a tape-recorded soundtrack. After playing some sickos in Waters' next few ventures, Stole appeared in the infamous Pink Flamingos as Connie Marbles, the red-haired villain in exaggerated cat-eye glasses and a fur coat. This character set an image for Mink Stole that would follow her for the rest of her career. Stole's next two films marked her most memorable and prominent roles: obnoxious girl-child Taffy Davenport in Female Trouble and housewife-on-the-run Peggy Gravel in Desperate Living. After playing the cornrowed adulteress Sandra Sullivan in Polyester (1981), she would continue to get smaller parts in Waters' films, sometimes only for a few scenes. Stole returned to her despicable roots, though, in 1994 as Dottie Hinkle, the obscene phone call victim in Serial Mom. The next few years, she appeared in numerous cameos, straight-to-video releases, and made-for-cable productions. Playing small walk-on roles, she brought some name recognition to numerous independent features such as Jamie Babbit's But I'm a Cheerleader and Gregg Araki's Splendor. After playing a reoccurring character on the short-lived MTV soap opera Spyder Games, she had a few starring roles in dark comedic short films. In 2002, she appeared on-stage with the Los Angeles Women's Shakespeare Company and continued to write an advice column for the Baltimore City Paper called Think Mink. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide