Deanna Dunagan

Deanna Dunagan (born May 25, 1940) is a Chicago-based American actress. Although Dunagan has appeared on television and in films, she is most admired for her work as a stage actress. She is best known for her Tony Award-winning portrayal of Violet Weston in Tracy Letts' August: Osage County and for her portrayal of Nana in M. Night Shyamalan's 2015 film The Visit. More recently she has appeared in the recurring role of Mother Bernadette on the Fox television series The Exorcist. She portrays Dr. Willa Sipe in the upcoming 2018 film The Pages by writer Joe Chappelle. 2Early life and education Dunagan was born and raised in Monahans, Texas, United States, the daughter of Kathlyn (Cosper) and John Conrad Dunagan. The eldest of five children, her father was a Coca-Cola bottler and president of the Texas Historical Association; her mother was a stay-at-home parent with an active presence in the community. In an interview, Dunagan light-heartedly described her extended family, "My heritage is a long line of Southern Baptist and Methodist preachers. And aren't they all just frustrated actors?" Dunagan earned a degree in music education from the University of Texas, Austi