The Morning Call newspaper · Public domain

Half of Nichols and May, the improvisational duo whose nightclub act with Mike Nichols became a Grammy-winning comedy sensation on Broadway and beyond in the late 1950s. She went on to direct A New Leaf in 1971, becoming the first woman with a studio deal to direct a Hollywood film since Ida Lupino, followed by The Heartbreak Kid and Mikey and Nicky. She received the National Medal of Arts in 2013 and an Honorary Academy Award in 2022.