Early Life
Burstyn was born Edna Rae Gillooly in Detroit, Michigan, the daughter of Correine Marie (née Hamel) and John Austin Gillooly, who was a building contractor. She has described her ancestry as "Irish, French, Pennsylvania Dutch, a little Canadian Indian." She was raised Catholic but has converted to Sufism, a process which she has written about in detail in her autobiography.
Read more about this topic: Ellen Burstyn
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