Eileen Ryan, Actress and Mother of Sean and Chris Penn, Dies at 94

Eileen Ryan, veteran actress and mother to composer and songwriter Michael Penn and actors Sean Penn and Christopher Penn, died at her home this past Sunday at the age of 94, her reps tell TheWrap.

Born in New York City in 1927, Ryan married actor and director Leo Penn in 1957 after meeting him at rehearsals for “The Iceman Cometh,” remaining together until Penn’s death in 1998. Over her nearly 60-year career in television, Ryan appeared in bit roles on episodes of various famous television shows, including the “Twilight Zone” episode “A World of Difference” where she plays the ex-wife of a businessman who discovers that his life is actually a role in a TV show, and that he is actually a failing actor on the verge of insolvency.

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Ryan also had cameos on shows including “Bonanza,” “Little House on the Prairie,” “Matlock,” “CSI:,” “Without a Trace” and “Grey’s Anatomy.” Her final role was in an episode of the HBO series “Getting On” in 2014.

On the big screen, Ryan shared scenes with her sons Sean and Chris in the 1986 film “At Close Range,” playing the grandmother of a family of criminals with Sean and Chris playing two brothers who want to join their family’s unsavory business. Ryan also appeared alongside Sean in the 1988 drama “Judgment at Berlin,” which was directed and co-written by Leo Penn and stars Martin Sheen. In addition, she had bit roles in Paul Thomas Anderson’s “Magnolia” and in the 1995 film “The Crossing Guard,” which Penn directed.

A cause of death was not immediately made available.