Who Is Lawyer Ally’s Grandmother Beatrice In ‘Custody’ on Lifetime?

Ellen Burstyn, photo: gdcgraphics [CC BY 2.0], via Wikimedia Commons

In the film Custody, recent law school graduate Ally Fisher (Hayden Panettiere) must defend single mother Sara Diaz (Catalina Sandino Moreno) who’s been accused of child abuse. Ally presents the case in front of Judge Martha Schulman (Viola Davis) but the film doesn’t stop in the courtroom. We see the judge with her husband at home, and we see Ally visiting her wealthy grandmother Beatrice, who is in denial about a history of child abuse in their own family.

[Left: Ellen Burstyn won an Oscar for her role as Alice in Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore, directed by Martin Scorsese]

Beatrice Fisher is portrayed by Ellen Burstyn. The 84-year-old actress is known for her roles on House of Cards (Elizabeth Hale), Louie (Evanka), Big Love (Nancy Davis Dutton), That’s Life (Dolly DeLucca), and in the films The Exorcist (Chris MacNeil), Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (Alice Hyatt), The King of Marvin Gardens (Sally), and The Last Picture Show (Lois Farrow), among many others. Custody premieres on Lifetime on Saturday, March 4 at 8pm.