---
name: "Madeline Kahn"
canonical: "https://film.one/person/madeline-kahn"
fi1m_id: "madeline-kahn"
imdb_id: "nm0001404"
tmdb_id: 29803
wikidata_id: "Q234068"
roles: ["Actor"]
born: "29 September 1942"
died: "3 December 1999"
reviewed_on_fi1m: 2
average_fi1m_score: 84
average_as: "actor"
average_over: 2
updated: "2026-10-02T22:10:26.753803+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."
---

# Madeline Kahn

## Identity

Madeline Kahn

- **Canonical:** https://film.one/person/madeline-kahn
- **Type:** Person
- **Fi1m ID:** madeline-kahn
- **IMDb ID:** nm0001404
- **TMDB ID:** 29803
- **Wikidata ID:** Q234068
- **Same entity:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeline_Kahn, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q234068, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001404/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/29803

Actor. Born 29 September 1942 in Chelsea, Massachusetts, USA. Died 3 December 1999.

## Details

- **Work:** Actor
- **Born:** 29 September 1942, Chelsea, Massachusetts, USA
- **Died:** 3 December 1999
- **Active:** 1973–1979
- **Also known as:** Madeleine Kahn, Madeliene Kahn, Madeline Gail Wolfson
- **Frequently works with:** [Gene Wilder](https://film.one/person/gene-wilder.md), [Mel Brooks](https://film.one/person/mel-brooks.md)
- **Academy Awards:** 2 Oscar nominations
- **Average Fi1m score:** 84, as actor, over 2 titles
- **Elsewhere:** https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Madeline_Kahn, https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q234068, https://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001404/, https://www.themoviedb.org/person/29803

## Fi1m on Madeline Kahn

> Madeline Kahn played women putting on a voice, and let us hear the strain under it. For Bogdanovich and Brooks in the 1970s that was the funniest and saddest thing on screen; few films gave her more than a stretch to do it in.

Trixie Delight gets out of a car at a carnival in *Paper Moon* (1973) with a maid, a plan and an accent from somewhere grander. That is the Madeline Kahn performance in one entrance. The voice is all breath and pretended refinement, pitched a shade higher than she can hold, and the comedy is in watching her hold it anyway. Then Bogdanovich puts her on a hillside and gives her a speech, the refinement goes, and what is left is a tired woman who knows how long her luck lasts. It is sad without the film pointing at it, and it stung more than we expected after an hour of laughing at her.

She came from the stage, with a trained voice, and the films used both. Bogdanovich cast her first, as Eunice Burns in *What's Up, Doc?* (1972), then Mel Brooks took her for a run of spoofs: Lili Von Shtupp, the saloon singer in the Dietrich manner, in *Blazing Saddles* (1974); Elizabeth, the doctor's prim fiancée, in *Young Frankenstein* the same year; then *High Anxiety* (1977) and *History of the World: Part I* (1981). Four films with Brooks, three with Bogdanovich, with Gene Wilder and Eileen Brennan recurring beside her. The Brooks films were broad enough that she could sing, parody and fall over in a single number without it looking like work.

What she did that nobody around her did was put two or three feelings into the same line. Seduction, exhaustion and absurdity arrive together, and she never tells us which one is the joke. The brassiness was always a front, and she let the fright or the calculation behind it show for a second before the next gag covered it. That is why Trixie's hillside works and Lili's number is the one people remember: the woman doing the act is more interesting than the act.

The limits were the parts, not the actor. She was cast as flighty for three decades, and her filmography has more than one picture, *At Long Last Love* (1975) among them, that critics disliked while noting she was the best thing in it. Even *Paper Moon*, which we rate highly, slackens during her stretch while the picture waits in a hotel for two women to settle who owns the man. She said herself "I find being funny very hard work," and some of that strain is what she showed us.

Later came Mrs White in *Clue* (1985), with an improvised monologue about flames still singled out, and Gorgeous Teitelbaum on Broadway in *The Sisters Rosensweig* (1993), a quieter part. Her last film, *Judy Berlin* (1999), used her in a subdued key she was rarely offered. Start with *Paper Moon*, for the entrance and the hillside, then the two Brooks films of 1974; after that, she is usually the reason to look a film up.

## Biography

Madeline Kahn (née Wolfson) was an American actress, comedian and singer. She was born on 29 September 1942 in Boston, Massachusetts, and died on 3 December 1999 in New York City. She appeared as Trixie Delight in *Paper Moon* (1973), Elizabeth in *Young Frankenstein* (1974) and Lili Von Shtupp in *Blazing Saddles* (1974).

Kahn trained at Hofstra University, graduating in 1964 with a degree in speech therapy. She made her Broadway debut in *Leonard Sillman's New Faces of 1968*. She received Tony Award nominations for *In the Boom Boom Room* (1974), *On the Twentieth Century* (1978) and a revival of *Born Yesterday* (1989), and won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for *The Sisters Rosensweig* (1993). She also won a Daytime Emmy Award in 1987.

Her other film roles include *What's Up, Doc?* (1972), *High Anxiety* (1977), *History of the World: Part I* (1981), *Clue* (1985) and voice work in *An American Tail* (1986) and *A Bug's Life* (1998).

*Sources: en.wikipedia.org, imdb.com, masterworksbroadway.com, ibdb.com.*

## On Fi1m (2)

- *The Muppet Movie* (1979), Fi1m 82, as El Sleezo Patron — [page](https://film.one/film/the-muppet-movie.md)
- *Paper Moon* (1973), Fi1m 86, as Trixie Delight — [page](https://film.one/film/paper-moon.md)

## Complete filmography (58)

Every credit, newest first. Titles without a page can be requested for review on the HTML page.

- *The AGFA Mystery Mixtape Vault* (2020), as (archive footage)
- *The Pixar Story* (2007), as Gypsy (voice) (archive footage)
- *Legends* (2006), series, as Elizabeth (archive footage) (uncredited)
- *The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays* (2006), as Gorgeous Teitelbaum (segment "The Sisters Rosensweig")
- *Saturday Night Live: The Best of Dan Aykroyd* (2005), as Pat Nixon (archive footage)
- *Little Bill* (1999), series, Actor
- *Judy Berlin* (1999), as Alice Gold
- *Saturday Night Live: 25th Anniversary Special* (1999), as (archive footage)
- *A Bug's Life* (1998), as Gypsy Moth (voice)
- *Cosby* (1996), series, as Pauline Fox
- *London Suite* (1996), as Sharon Semple
- *For Love Alone: The Ivana Trump Story* (1996), as Sabrina
- *Making Frankensense of Young Frankenstein* (1996), as Elizabeth (archive footage)
- *Nixon* (1995), as Martha Mitchell
- *New York News* (1995), series, as Nan Chase
- *Anyone Can Whistle: Live at Carnegie Hall* (1995), as Cora Hoover Hooper
- *Mixed Nuts* (1994), as Blanche Munchnik
- *Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book* (1993), Actor
- *Lucky Luke* (1992), series, as Esperanza, Esmeralda
- *For Richer, for Poorer* (1992), as Billie
- *Kurt Vonnegut's Monkey House* (1991), series, as Grace Anderson
- *They call me Lucky Luke - Ma Dalton* (1991), as Esperanza
- *Betsy's Wedding* (1990), as Lola Hopper
- *Road to Avonlea* (1990), series, as Pigeon Plumtree
- *Mr. President* (1987), series, as Lois Gullickson
- *Sesame Street: Sing Along* (1987), as Special Appearance
- *An American Tail* (1986), as Gussie Mausheimer (voice)
- *Wanted: The Perfect Guy* (1986), as Ellie Coleman
- *My Little Pony* (1986), series, Actor
- *My Little Pony: The Movie* (1986), as Draggle (voice)
- *Clue* (1985), as Mrs. White
- *The Comedy Factory* (1985), series, as Violet Kingsley
- *City Heat* (1984), as Caroline Howley
- *Oh Madeline* (1983), series, as Madeline Wayne
- *Yellowbeard* (1983), as Betty
- *Slapstick of Another Kind* (1982), as Eliza Swain / Lutetia Swain
- *Scrambled Feet* (1982), as Madeline
- *History of the World: Part I* (1981), as Empress Nympho
- *First Family* (1980), as Mrs. Link
- *Wholly Moses* (1980), as The Witch
- *Happy Birthday, Gemini* (1980), as Bunny Weinberger
- *Simon* (1980), as Dr. Cynthia Mallory
- *The Muppet Movie* (1979), as El Sleezo Patron — Fi1m 82, [page](https://film.one/film/the-muppet-movie.md)
- *The Cheap Detective* (1978), as Mrs. Montenegro
- *High Anxiety* (1977), as Victoria Brisbane
- *Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood* (1976), as Estie Del Ruth
- *The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother* (1975), as Jenny Hill
- *At Long Last Love* (1975), as Kitty O'Kelly (Kathy Krumm)
- *Young Frankenstein* (1974), as Elizabeth
- *Blazing Saddles* (1974), as Lili Von Shtupp
- *Adam's Rib* (1973), series, as Doris
- *From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler* (1973), as Schoolteacher
- *Paper Moon* (1973), as Trixie Delight — Fi1m 86, [page](https://film.one/film/paper-moon.md)
- *ABC Afterschool Special* (1972), series, as Ellie Coleman
- *Harvey* (1972), as Nurse Ruth Kelly
- *What's Up, Doc?* (1972), as Eunice Burns
- *The Dove* (1968), as Sigfried
- *Hallmark Hall of Fame* (1951), series, as Nurse Ruth Kelly

## Gallery

- ![Madeline Kahn](https://film.one/media/person/3732101/gallery-24ce21dde09e.jpg) Madeline Kahn — ABC, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/5e/Madeline_Kahn_publicity.jpg?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Photo of Carol Burnett and Madeline Kahn from the television program The Carol Burnett Show. Burnett plays Eunice in one of the recurring skits, "The Family". ( (1976)](https://film.one/media/person/3732101/gallery-08ccde80b6ba.jpg) Photo of Carol Burnett and Madeline Kahn from the television program The Carol Burnett Show. Burnett plays Eunice in one of the recurring skits, "The Family". ( (1976) — CBS Television, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Carol_Burnett_Madeline_Kahn_Eunice_Carol_Burnett_Show.JPG?utm_source=commons.wikimedia.org&utm_campaign=imageinfo&utm_content=thumbnail_unscaled)
- ![Madeline Kahn](https://film.one/media/person/3732101/gallery-3777164f67ff.jpg) Madeline Kahn — Image via TMDB
- ![Madeline Kahn](https://film.one/media/person/3732101/gallery-f870b25419cc.jpg) Madeline Kahn — Image via TMDB
- ![Madeline Kahn](https://film.one/media/person/3732101/gallery-d7678ea903ca.jpg) Madeline Kahn — Image via TMDB
- ![Madeline Kahn](https://film.one/media/person/3732101/gallery-b8f6dcae76cf.jpg) Madeline Kahn — Image via TMDB
- ![Madeline Kahn](https://film.one/media/person/3732101/gallery-431895ed3ccc.jpg) Madeline Kahn — Image via TMDB
- ![Madeline Kahn](https://film.one/media/person/3732101/gallery-4344209ff6b5.jpg) Madeline Kahn — Image via TMDB

## Awards

### Academy Awards — 0 won, 2 nominated

- 1975: Best Supporting Actress (nominated), for *Blazing Saddles*
- 1974: Best Supporting Actress (nominated), for *Paper Moon*

### Golden Globes — 0 won, 1 nominated

- 1972: New Star of the Year – Actress (nominated), for *What's Up, Doc?*

### Other awards — 2 won, 3 nominated

- Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play 1993: Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play (won)
- Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play 1993: Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (won)
- Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play 1989: Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (nominated)
- Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical 1978: Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical (nominated)
- Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play 1974: Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (nominated)

*From Wikidata, which records wins more completely than nominations.*

---
© 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/madeline-kahn