Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role 1976
Louise Fletcher One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest 1976
SEX WORKER ROLE
Anna Sage in The Lady In Red 1979
Character Is A Madam Who Runs A House Of Prostitution
And Is An Employer Of Prostitutes
(She Was A Former Hooker, Now A Madam Of A Brothel)
Louise Fletcher in The Lady In Red 1979
In the film “The Lady in Red,” Louise plays Anna Sage (aka Ana Cumpanas). She was a prostitute in Gary, Indiana, and Chicago, Illinois. Sage later owned and operated a chain of brothels. Her first brothel was in East Chicago, and in 1923, she opened a second one in Gary, Indiana. By 1933 she had opened another brothel on Halsted Street in Chicago. But she is best known for helping the FBI find gangster John Dillinger.
Sage—also referred to as the “Woman in Red”—became a cultural icon in the United States as her story was incorporated into several myths about Dillinger. Sage allegedly revealed Dillinger’s identity in an attempt to obtain American citizenship and gain favor from the authorities. That ultimately failed, leading to Sage’s deportation back to Romania. She resided there until her death from liver illness in 1947, avoiding all publicity.
Watch Clip From The Film “Lady In Red” with Louise playing Anna Sage
To read more about other Oscar-winning actresses playing characters working in the sex trade industry, please continue perusing Oscar Hookers