At the time of her death she had been ill with kidney disease and high blood pressure.
Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume Two, 1986-1990, pages 677-679. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1999.
Daughter: Angelica Page.
Her husband Rip Torn is the cousin of Sissy Spacek.
In 1960, she was nominated for a Tony Award as Best Actress for her role in "Sweet Bird of Youth." She lost to Anne Bancroft for "The Miracle Worker." In 1962, she received an Oscar nomination for Sweet Bird of Youth (1962) but lost to Bancroft for the film version of The Miracle Worker (1962). In 1982 she originated the role of Mother Superior in "Agnes of God" but was passed over Agnes of God (1985) that went to Bancroft. Bancroft was nominated for an Oscar but lost to Page.
In 1983, she co-founded the Mirror Repertory Company, an Off-Broadway theater company dedicated to preserving the art of repertory. She remained an Artist in Residence with the group until her death.
In 1985, she became the first woman to receive seven Oscar nominations for acting without winning. The following year, she received her eighth nomination and finally won.
Returned to work four months after giving birth to her daughter Angelica Page in order to begin performing in the Broadway revival of "The Three Sisters".
She received a standing ovation when she won her Oscar.
She studied drama at HB Studio in Greenwich Village in New York City.
Taught acting at the Actors Studio and Pelican Theater in New York, as well as the Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles
Was nominated four times for Broadway's Tony Award: as Best Actress (Dramatic) in 1960, for "Sweet Bird of Youth," a role she recreated in an Oscar-nominated performance in the film version, Sweet Bird of Youth (1962); as Best Actress (Play), in 1982, for "Agnes of God;" and in 1987, for "Blithe Spirit," and as Best Supporting or Featured Actress (Dramatic), in 1975, for "Absurd Person Singular" -- but never won.
Was offered the role of Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), but she turned it down. Louise Fletcher, who went on to win the Best Actress Oscar for her performance, was cast instead.
Was starring in "Blithe Spirit" on Broadway at the time of her death.
When presenting Page's Best Actress Oscar for The Trip to Bountiful (1985), F. Murray Abraham declared her "the greatest actress in the English language" and genuflected when she reached the podium.