Born Anna Maria Louisa Italiano in the Bronx in New York, she started taking dancing and acting lessons at the age of four. In 1950 she started appearing on television as Anne Marno, but her film debut was in the film 'Don’t Bother to Knock' in 1952 and, in 1958, she appeared opposite Henry Fonda in the Broadway production of 'Two for the Seesaw', for which she won a Tony Award.

Two years later, she won her second Tony, and a New York Drama Critics Award, for 'The Miracle Worker', which she then made into a Hollywood movie in 1962. Her performance earned her an Oscar for Best Actress. Bancroft followed this victory with a string of moving dramas, that included 'The Pumpkin Eater', which was released in 1964, the year she married filmmaker/comedian Mel Brooks.

She is best remembered, however, for her role in Mike Nichols’ unforgettable comedy 'The Graduate', in which she played Mrs. Robinson, the definitive seductive "older woman," to Dustin Hoffman’s mystified Benjamin Braddock. Her role in the milestone film earned her an Oscar nomination.

In 1980 Bancroft made her debut as a director/screenwriter in 'Fatso', with comic Dom DeLuise.

She continued to give a series of memorable performances in films such as 'The Turning Point', 'The Elephant Man', 'To Be or Not to Be' (her collaboration with husband Mel Brooks), 'Agnes of God', '84 Charing Cross Road' and 'Torch Song Trilogy'.

Continuing with successes in the 1990s, she appeared in more Hollywood hits, such as 'How to make an American Quilt', 'Home for the Holidays' and 'Great Expectations'.

She died from cancer aged 73 in June 2005. ~ The Biography Channel.