Early life

Cannon was born in the state of Washington in 1937. Her mother, Claire (née Portnoy), was a housewife, and her father, Ben Friesen, sold life insurance. Cannon was raised in the Jewish faith of her mother, who had emigrated from Russia; Dyan's father was Baptist. She attended West Seattle High School. Her younger brother is jazz bassist David Friesen.

Career

Cannon made her film debut in 1960 in The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond; she had appeared on television since the late 1950s, including a guest appearance on Bat Masterson as Mary Lowery in the 1959 episode entitled "Lady Luck" and again as Diane Jansen in "The Price of Paradise". She made another guest appearance in 1959 on CBS's Wanted: Dead or Alive starring Steve McQueen in episode 54 "Vanishing Act" as Nicole McCready. About this time, she also appeared on another CBS western, Johnny Ringo, starring Don Durant, and on Jack Lord's ABC western adventure drama, Stoney Burke. She also appeared on an episode of Hawaiian Eye, using her name Diane Cannon, in 1961, opposite Tracey Steele, Robert Conrad, and Connie Stevens.

In 1963, Cannon joined the national touring production of the Broadway musical How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying in which she played Rosemary.

She portrayed Mona Elliott, with fellow guest star Franchot Tone, in the episode "The Man Behind the Man" of the 1964 CBS drama series The Reporter, with Harry Guardino in the title role. She also made guest appearances on 77 Sunset Strip, the perennial western series Gunsmoke, The Untouchables, the 1960 episode of the syndicated series Two Faces West entitled "Sheriff of the Town" and the 1962 Ripcord episode called "The Helicopter Race".

Cannon's first major film role came in 1969's Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, which earned her Academy Award and Golden Globe nominations. In 1971 she starred in five films: The Love Machine, Doctors' Wives, The Anderson Tapes with Sean Connery, The Burglars, and Such Good Friends, for which she received a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress. Cannon starred opposite Burt Reynolds in Shamus (1973) as well as the mystery The Last of Sheila that year, and gave a critically acclaimed performance in Child Under a Leaf in 1974.

She became the first Oscar-nominated actress to be nominated in the Best Short Film, Live Action Category for Number One (1976), a project which Cannon produced, directed, wrote and edited. It was a story about adolescent sexual curiosity. In 1978, Cannon co-starred in Revenge of the Pink Panther. That same year, she appeared in Heaven Can Wait, for which she received another Oscar nomination and won a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.

In 1976, she hosted Saturday Night Live during its first season. She was a guest in the fourth season of The Muppet Show in 1979.

In the 1980s, Cannon, who is also a singer/songwriter, appeared in Honeysuckle Rose (1980) with Willie Nelson, Author! Author! with Al Pacino, Deathtrap (1982) with Christopher Reeve and Michael Caine, Caddyshack II (1988), as well as several made-for-TV movies.

In the 1990s, she appeared on the popular television shows Diagnosis: Murder and The Practice, as well as being a semi-regular on Ally McBeal. She made appearances in films such as That Darn Cat (1997), 8 Heads in a Duffel Bag (1997), and Out to Sea (1997) with Walter Matthau and Jack Lemmon. In 2005, she appeared in Boynton Beach Club, a movie about aging Floridians who have just lost their spouses.

Personal life

On July 22, 1965, she married actor Cary Grant, who was 33 years her senior. They had one daughter, Jennifer (born February 26, 1966), who also is an actress. They were divorced on March 21, 1968. In 1972, she told an interviewer that she was involved in Primal therapy. Cannon married real estate investor Stanley Fimberg in 1985. They divorced in 1991.

She is an avid fan of the Los Angeles Lakers and has attended Lakers games for over thirty years.

Cannon is a devout born again Christian.

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1960	The Rise and Fall of Legs Diamond	Dixie
	This Rebel Breed	Wiggles	(billed as Diane Cannon)
1969	Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice	Alice Henderson	National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Musical or Comedy Nominated—Golden Globe Award for New Star of the Year - Actress
1971	Doctors' Wives	Lorrie Dellman
	The Anderson Tapes	Ingrid
	The Love Machine	Judith Austin
	The Burglars	Lena
	Such Good Friends	Julie Messinger	Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Motion Picture Drama
1973	Shamus	Alexis Montaigne
	The Last of Sheila	Christine	(Cannon's character is believed to have been based on Sue Mengers.)
1974	Child Under a Leaf	Domino
1974	Virginia Hill	Virginia Hill	(TV movie)
1976	Number One	Matt's mother	Writer, director, producer, film editor Nominated—Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film
1978	Heaven Can Wait	Julia Farnsworth	Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Motion Picture Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress
	Revenge of the Pink Panther	Simone Legree
1980	Honeysuckle Rose	Viv Bonham	Cannon also sings three songs on the soundtrack: "Two Sides To Every Story," "Loving You Is Easier," and "Unclouded Day."
	Coast to Coast	Madie Levrington
1982	Deathtrap	Myra Bruhl	Nominated—Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress
	Author! Author!	Alice Detroit
1984	Master of the Game	Kate McGregor-Blackwell	(TV miniseries, based on the novel written by Sidney Sheldon)
1985	Jenny's War	Jenny Baines	(TV)
1988	Rock & Roll Mom	Annie Hackett	(TV) Cannon also does her own singing here; at first, however, her character is kept almost anonymous.
	She's Having a Baby	Herself	(uncredited)
	Caddyshack II	Elizabeth Pearce
1990	The End of Innocence	Stephanie	(also director and writer)
1991	Jailbirds	Rosie LaCroix	(TV)
1992	Christmas in Connecticut	Elizabeth Blane	(TV)
1993	The Pickle	Ellen Stone
1996	The Rockford Files	Jess Wilding
1997	Allie & Me	Karen Schneider
	That Darn Cat	Mrs. Flint
	8 Heads in a Duffel Bag	Annette Bennett
	Out to Sea	Liz LaBreche
1997-2000	Ally McBeal	The Honorable Judge Jennifer 'Whipper' Cone	(17 episodes) Nominated—Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Recurring Player
1998	The Sender	Gina Fairfax
	Diamond Girl	Abby Montana	(TV)
1999	Kiss of a Stranger	Leslie
2001	Three Sisters	Honey Bernstein-Flynn	TV series
2003	Kangaroo Jack	Anna Carbone
2004	After the Sunset	Herself at the Basketball Game	(uncredited)
2005	Boynton Beach Club	Lois
2008	A Kiss At Midnight	Kay Flowers	(TV)

Charities

Dyan Cannon supports the following charitable causes: Children, Autism.

[ Source: Wikipedia ]