Lee Grant Shampoo 1976

“The Balcony” was based on a play written by Jean Genet. This film stars Shelley Winters as Madame Irma. Her character runs a bordello that allows men to act out their S&M fantasies. Lee plays Carmen, the head prostitute, now relegated to the administrative side of the business. Despite her standing within the organization, Carmen wants to return to being just one of the girls.

But before “The Balcony,” Lee Grant had the lead role in “Terror in the City” (originally titled “Pie in the Sky”). Although the film was shot in 1962, it remained unreleased until 1964. In this movie, Lee Grant portrays a hooker who searches for a nine-year-old runaway. Television rarely shows this film, and it’s not available on DVD.

Lee Grant and Richard Bray in Terror in the City (1964)

One year later, Lee would play another hooker in “The Respectful Prostitute.” The play aired as a segment of the BBC drama anthology series “The Festival.” Lee Grant plays the title character of Lizzie. She is a prostitute who agrees to pin the blame for attempted rape on a Black man despite the perpetrator being white.

Lee Grant in The Respectful Prostitute (1965)

To read more about other Oscar-winning actresses playing characters working in the sex trade industry, please continue perusing Oscar Hookers