---
name: "Lainie Kazan"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/lainie-kazan"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "15 May 1940"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 1
updated: "2026-09-16T14:49:15.242979+00:00"
licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL."
---

# Lainie Kazan

Actor. Born 15 May 1940 in New York City, New York, USA.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 15 May 1940, New York City, New York, USA
- **Also known as:** Lainie Levine

## Biography

Lainie Kazan is an American actress and singer, also credited as Lainie Levine. Born Lainie Levine on 15 May 1940 in Brooklyn, New York, she graduated from Hofstra University in 1960 after studying theatre.

She made her Broadway debut in 1961 in the musical *The Happiest Girl in the World* and later understudied Barbra Streisand in *Funny Girl*. Kazan has appeared in numerous films and television series, including *My Big Fat Greek Wedding* (2002) and its sequels as Maria Portokalos, *Gigli* (2003) as Mother, *Pixels* (2015), *You Don't Mess with the Zohan* (2008), *Grey's Anatomy*, *Desperate Housewives*, *Modern Family* and *The Nanny*.

*Sources: imdb.com, en.wikipedia.org, lainiekazan.com.*

## On Fi1m (1)

- *Gigli* (2003), Fi1m 32, as Mother — [page](https://film.one/film/gigli.md)

## Also known for

- *Grey's Anatomy* (2005), C.J.
- *Pixels* (2015), Mickey Lamonsoff — [page](https://film.one/film/pixels.md)
- *You Don't Mess with the Zohan* (2008), Gail Klayman
- *Modern Family* (2009), Eleanor
- *My Big Fat Greek Wedding* (2002), Maria Portokalos
- *Desperate Housewives* (2004), Maxine Rosen
- *The Nanny* (1993), Aunt Freida
- *My Big Fat Greek Wedding 2* (2016), Maria Portokalos

---
© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Canonical: https://film.one/person/lainie-kazan