What is Elaine May?
{{Infobox person | name = Elaine May | image = File:Elaine May - publicity1.jpg | caption = May performing in 1959 | image_size = | occupation = {{hlist|Actress|comedian|playwright|screenwriter|film director}} | birth_name = Elaine Iva Berlin | birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1932|04|21}} | birth_place = [[Philadelphia]], [[Pennsylvania]], U.S. | spouse = {{ubl|{{marriage|Marvin Irving May<br>|1948|1960|end=divorced}}|{{marriage|[[Sheldon Harnick]]<br>|1962|1963|end=divorced}}|{{marriage|David L. Rubinfine<br>|1963|1982|end=died}}}} | other names = Esther Dale, Elly May | partner = [[Stanley Donen]] (1999–2019; his death) | children = [[Jeannie Berlin]] | yearsactive = 1955–present | signature = Elaine May signature.svg }} '''Elaine Iva May''' ([[Name at birth|née]] '''Berlin'''; born April 21, 1932) is an [[Americans|American]] screenwriter, movie director, actress and comedian. She was known for being in an [[Improvisation|improvisational comedy]] with [[Mike Nichols]] called ''[[Nichols and May]]''. She has been nominated twice for an [[Academy Award]], for [[Heaven Can Wait (1978 movie)|''Heaven Can Wait'']] (1978) and [[Primary Colors (movie)|''Primary Colors'']] (1998). In 1971, May directed, wrote and starred in ''[[A New Leaf]]'', becoming the first woman to do all three in a [[Hollywood]] movie.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theringer.com/pop-culture/2019/3/14/18245240/elaine-may-life-career-mike-ishtar-nichols-mikey-and-nicky-heartbreak-kid-a-new-leaf|title=Heaven Can Wait: The Hidden Genius of Elaine May|publisher=The Ringer|accessdate=November 8, 2021}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/21/movies/elaine-may-movies.html|title= The Marvelous Mrs. Elaine May|website= [[The New York Times]]|accessdate= June 25, 2021}}</ref> She would later become known for directing the comedy ''[[The Heartbreak Kid (1972 movie)|The Heartbreak Kid]]'' (1972). In 2013, May was honored with the [[National Medal of Arts]] by [[President Barack Obama]].