June Squibb sets record as oldest Tony Award-nominated actor

The 96-year-old is up for Best Featured Actress in a play for starring as Marjorie in Marjorie Prime, a fall 2025 revival of Jordan Harrison's 2015 play.

June Squibb is now the oldest Tony Award-nominated performer in history, earning her first nod at 96 years old for Marjorie Prime.

Squibb is up for Best Featured Actress in a Play for playing Marjorie, an elderly woman whose family hires a robotic version of her late husband to jog her failing memory and provide companionship.

The record was previously held by Lois Smith, who was 89 when she was nominated for The Inheritance in 2020. Coincidentally, Smith originated the role of Marjorie in the Off-Broadway premiere of Marjorie Prime in 2015.

Squibb took on the role for the Broadway premiere of Jordan Harrison's play in fall 2025, directed by Anne Kauffman, who also staged the 2015 production. Her co-star Danny Burstein is also nominated for Best Featured Actor in a Play, and he's also a newly minted record setter, becoming the most Tony-nominated male actor in history with his ninth career nod.

the cast also included Cynthia Nixon and Christopher Lowell.

The whole cast collectively received the 2026 Drama Desk Ensemble Award for excellence by a group of performers.

Photo credit: June Squibb in Marjorie Prime on Broadway. (Photo by Joan Marcus)