Leonardo DiCaprio turned 50 in November and celebrated with a bash at L.A. hotspot San Vicente Bungalows. But he wasn’t the person whose party people were talking about.
That would be “Thelma” star June Squibb, who turned 95 on Nov. 6 and whose birthday blowout was a testament to how wide the actor’s appeal is. People from all generations packed the private residence to pay their respects; celebs from Kumail Nanjiani, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Kathryn Newton mingled about. A 16-minute video of well-wishers included everyone from Scarlett Johansson to John Goodman. It also included her “Glee” co-star Chris Colfer and his husband Will Sherrod pitching “Junerassic Park” — a theme destination dedicated to the actor that includes “Squibb Games.”
Colfer reveals he has long teased Squibb about silly birthday celebrations. “For her 90th, I threatened to take her to Magic Mike in Vegas and for her 95th, we planned a skydiving trip,” he tells Variety. He already has a suggestion for her centennial. “Naturally, having her cloned is the only appropriate way to celebrate her 100th.”
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At the center of all the hubbub was Squibb herself, holding court in an impressive show of grace and stamina for someone of any age — it probably helped that the longtime theater actor used to do eight shows a week on the regular. “My birthday party was a joy,” she says today. “Everyone loved it, and I had so much fun. I talked to everyone.” And Squibb has no qualms about discussing age — even though she admits to once shaving a few years off. “I was outed during ‘Nebraska’ by Wikipedia,” she recalls with a laugh. “For years, I had taken five years off my age – everyone in New York did it. Wikipedia must have gone back and found a yearbook or something, but they literally outed me.”
Upon exiting the festivities, guests were treated to a must-have fashion accessory: the June Squibb baseball cap, which first made its appearance when “Thelma” premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in January. It began as a suggestion from “Thelma” producer Zoë’s Worth’s sister Sara, and though simple — just bearing Squibb’s name embroidered on a baseball cap — became a hot commodity. “I see them a lot,” Squibb says with a laugh. “I thought it was just people I know, but I saw someone at the grocery store wearing one. And I heard about a woman on a flight to Tokyo who ran up to someone begging to know where they could get it.”
Most of the year has been a celebration of Squibb, thanks to her role as the titular “Thelma” in Josh Margolin’s comedy. Squibb plays an elderly woman who is scammed out of $10,000 and decides to track down the culprits with nothing but her elderly friend (Richard Roundtree, in his last film performance) and a scooter bike. The film manages to be thoughtful and funny, realistic and action-packed — often all at once.
Writer-director Margolin based the character on his real grandmother, Thelma Post, and the low-budget indie charmed the festival circuit before grossing over $12 million at the box office. Squibb has already received an Independent Spirit Award nomination, and an Academy Award nomination next month would make her the oldest Oscar nominee in history.
From the start, Margolin wanted only one actor to play Thelma — and he was fortunate to be friends with Beanie Feldstein, who put in a good word to her “The Humans” co-star. The filmmaker, who has travelled all over the states with the movie, isn’t surprised by the response to Squibb’s performance. “June brings truth to everything she does. When it’s funny, when it’s sad, when it’s outlandish, she grounds it in something real,” he says. “She’s the kind of actor who just effortlessly draws you in. She can sit there quietly and convey so much. It’s like a magic trick and one that powers the movie from the first frame to the last.”
And while Squibb is enjoying the raves for her first leading role in a film, it’s important to note that the actor has always been a standout. Her second film, “Scent of a Woman,” found her delivering the climatic news that Chris O’Donnell’s character had been exonerated of any wrongdoing. With one line about her husband’s genitalia, she walked away with the raucous comedy “In & Out.” She came to film late, at age 61 in Woody Allen’s 1990 pic “Alice.” But that was after a long career in theater that included performances on cruise ships, modeling for romance novels and touring the musical “Gypsy” with Ethel Merman.
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Of course, it was Alexander Payne’s “Nebraska” where she played the foul-mouthed wife and mother Kate Grant where most audiences really sat up and noticed. Payne had previously cast her as Jack Nicholson’s sweet, supportive spouse in “About Schmidt.” Though Squibb says the director originally only wanted to see local actors for the part, Payne says he didn’t take much convincing. “Our recollections differ here. I vaguely recall seeing many actresses to play Jack Nicholson’s wife in that movie, but I recall distinctly seeing June’s audition and thinking instantly that she’d be great in the part,” he tells Variety. “She doesn’t overdo anything — she plays things naturally, and sensibly. I believed her.”
However, Squibb was so good in that film, she worried he wouldn’t see her as right for “Nebraska.”
“People had no idea that I had a Kate inside of me,” Squibb says, adding that her sweet demeanor was misleading. “At one point when I was working on Broadway, a friend of mine said, ‘You know they call you the dirtiest mouth of Broadway?’ Even when I was young, I had the foul words right there.”
Notes Payne, “It’s true that it didn’t initially occur to me to cast June in ‘Nebraska’; perhaps I saw her as a more elegant presence.” But the director asked her to read a couple scenes on tape. “When the tape arrived, I saw in awe that she read the scenes two different ways, with two distinctly different approaches to the character,” he recalls. “It was her way of saying, ‘Whatever you want, I can deliver.’” Not only did she land the part, but perhaps the highest praise of all. Reveals Payne, “I use that now as an example to actor friends — when you tape your own audition, do it two different ways.”
Squibb has never slowed down; in addition to “Thelma,” she released two movies in 2024 — “Don’t Tell Mom the Babysitter’s Dead” and the smash hit “Inside Out 2,” in which she appeared as the voice of Nostalgia — complete with rose-colored glasses. She was back on the festival circuit with the film “Lost & Found in Cleveland” opposite Martin Sheen and filmed another title role in “Eleanor the Great,” Scarlett Johansson’s feature directorial debut. Asked about that film, and Squibb can only rave about Johansson: “I can’t wait for the world to see what a remarkable director she is.”
Her directors adore her, as well. “Besides being an utterly delightful person, June Squibb is one of the most graceful and fearless actors I’ve ever worked with,” says Payne. “She understands life.” Margolin, who put together that birthday tribute video with help from Squibb’s assistant Kelly Sweeney and “Thelma” producers Worth and Chris Kaye, reveals that the highest praise came from her real-life counterpart. “Thelma loves June — as Thelma and as June,” Margolin says. “They finally met earlier this year, and it was very sweet. They laughed a lot and talked about how they both love detective shows.”
Colfer also has praise for her quick wit and sense of humor. “June has always been a phenomenon,” he says. “It just took Hollywood 95 years to catch up to her.”