Susan Tyrrell, born Susan Jillian Creamer on March 18, 1945, in San Francisco, California, was an American character actress known for her distinctive, whiskey-voiced performances.

Her career began in the theater in New York City during the 1960s, where she appeared in both Broadway and off-Broadway productions. Her first film role came in 1971 with "Shoot Out," but it was her performance as Oma in John Huston's "Fat City" (1972) that earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.

Her talent for playing the downtrodden, outré, and grotesque was widely recognized, and she continued to work in both film and television throughout the 1970s and 1980s.

In 1978, she won the Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Andy Warhol's "Bad". Tyrrell's filmography includes cult classics such as "Forbidden Zone" (1980), "Tales of Ordinary Madness" (1981), and John Waters' "Cry-Baby" (1990).

She also appeared in television series like "Open All Night" (1981) and "MacGruder and Loud" (1985). Despite her success, she faced personal challenges, including a near-fatal illness in 2000 that resulted in the amputation of both her legs below the knee due to multiple blood clots caused by a rare blood disease, thrombocythemia.

She passed away on June 16, 2012, in Austin, Texas.