Gloria Gifford

She directed Stephen Adly Guirgis play "Our Lady of 121st Street" in its Los Angeles theatrical production debut, which won L.A. Times and L.A. Weekly Critic's Choice and was nominated for theatre awards. It was double cast - she directed 32 actors - it was standing room only at the Matrix Theatre.

In 2007, Gloria opened the prestigious Actors Academy Milano in Milan, Italy, where she taught Italian actors and actresses and International Models - male and female in intensive acting programs. The Academy's president is Edoardo Costa, her former student at the BHP and now starring with Bruce Willis in Die Hard 4.

0 (2007). She is the Founder of the Rebel Planet Short Film Festival of Hollywood, rebelplanet.

Gloria taught at the American Film Institute for six years in the Masters' Program. She taught Directors, Writers and Producers and among her successful AFI students: Patty Jenkins (Monster (2003), Brian Dannelly (Saved! (2004), Weeds (2005).

She co-starred opposite Tobey Maguire twice: in a television movie, Tales from the Whoop: Hot Rod Brown Class Clown (1990) and in his television series, Great Scott! (1992).

Gloria gave George Clooney his first job in Hollywood. She was producing and starring in the play "The Biz", written by Frank Conn (who was Gloria's boyfriend at the time and the ex-husband of Didi Conn) and directed by George's cousin, Miguel Ferrer. Gloria's son, Adam Gifford (who was 12 years younger than George) shared the same role. Denise Crosby (Bing Crosby's granddaughter and Star Trek: The Next Generation (1987) star) was also in the cast.

Was Armand Assante's girlfriend off and on for four years. She was seriously involved with Armand while she was filming her first feature, Neil Simon's California Suite (1978).