Biography
Madeline Gail Kahn (née Wolfson; September 29, 1942 – December 3, 1999) was an American actress, comedian and singer, known for comedic roles in films directed by Peter Bogdanovich and Mel Brooks, including What's Up, Doc? (1972), Young Frankenstein (1974), High Anxiety (1977), History of the World, Part I (1981), and her Academy Award–nominated roles in Paper Moon (1973) and Blazing Saddles (1974). Kahn made her Broadway debut in Leonard Sillman's New Faces of 1968, and received Tony Award nom...
Known For
Complete Filmography

The AGFA Mystery Mixtape Vault
2025
as Self
THE AGFA MYSTERY MIXTAPE VAULT is a 2-disc, 500-minute odyssey that collects eight feature-length VHS mixtapes from the crackpots at AGFA—including tw...

Who Done It: The Clue Documentary
2022
as Self (archive footage) (uncredited)
Clue (1985) has become a cult classic film and is loved by multiple generations. Yet there has never been a documentary created to tell the behind the...

AGFA Mystery Mixtape #4: Follow Your Own Star
2020
as Self
Unleashed from the video vaults of the American Genre Film Archive (AGFA), AGFA MYSTERY MIXTAPE #4: FOLLOW YOUR OWN STAR is a brand new compilation of...

Mel Brooks: Unwrapped
2018
as Self (archive footage)
At the age of 91, Mel Brooks is unstoppable, with his musical "Young Frankenstein" opening to great critical acclaim in London in late 2017. Alan Yent...

Blaze of Glory: Mel Brooks' Wild, Wild West
2014
as Self (archive footage)
A documentary about Mel Brooks' legendary 1974 comedy «Blazing Saddles».

Mel Brooks: Make a Noise
2013
as Self (archive footage)
Mel Brooks: Make a Noise journeys through Brooks’ early years in the creative beginnings of live television — with Sid Caesar on Your Show of Shows — ...

Sesame Street: 40 Years of Sunny Days
2010
as Self (uncredited) (archive footage)
A look back at 40 years of Seasame Street.

Making History: Mel Brooks on Creating the World
2009
as Self (archive footage)
Documentary on the making of Mel Brooks' classic comedy "History of the World, Part 1."

Musical Mel: Inventing The Inquisition
2009
as Self (archive footage)
Documentary on the making of Mel Brooks' classic comedy "History of the World, Part 1."

The Pixar Story
2007
as Gypsy (voice) (archive footage)
A look at the first years of Pixar Animation Studios - from the success of "Toy Story" and Pixar's promotion of talented people, to the building of it...

The Best of The Tony Awards: The Plays
2006
as Gorgeous Teitelbaum (segment "The Sisters Rosensweig")
The Great White Way comes into your living room via this disc of rare performances from some of Broadway's brightest luminaries. Culled from clips fro...

Saturday Night Live: The Best of Dan Aykroyd
2005
as Pat Nixon (archive footage)
A collection of classic Saturday Night Live sketches featuring Dan Aykroyd.

Back in the Saddle
2001
as Self (archive footage)
The cast of "Blazing Saddles" discusses salient points of the movie and its place in modern culture.

Judy Berlin
1999
as Alice Gold
Judy Berlin is an aspiring actress whose idealism is at odds with her small suburban community, where a solar eclipse induces town inhabitants (a lone...

A Bug's Life
1998
as Gypsy Moth (voice)
On behalf of "oppressed bugs everywhere," an inventive ant named Flik hires a troupe of warrior bugs to defend his bustling colony from a horde of fre...

London Suite
1996
as Sharon Semple
On one day at an English Hotel, four different stories are shown. Diana is in London to promote her Television Series and her ex-husband Sidney shows ...

For Love Alone: The Ivana Trump Story
1996
as Sabrina
Follows the triumphs and tragedies of Katrinka Kovár, a young Czechoslovakian ski prodigy who discovers high-society splendor in the arms of a wealthy...

Making Frankensense of Young Frankenstein
1996
as Elizabeth (archive footage)
Via reminiscences from writer/actor Gene Wilder and others, this documentary recalls the making of the 1974 film Young Frankenstein.

Nixon
1995
as Martha Mitchell
A look at President Richard M. Nixon—a man carrying the fate of the world on his shoulders while battling the self-destructive demands from within—spa...

Mixed Nuts
1994
as Blanche Munchnik
The events of a crisis hotline business on one crazy night during the Christmas holidays.

The World of Jim Henson
1994
as Self (archive footage)
In this episode of PBS' Great Performances, the history and legacy of puppeteer Jim Henson is explored, from his six-second commercial beginnings to a...

Dr. Seuss's Sleep Book
1993
Catch a case of the yawns with Dr. Seuss in this classic rhyming picture book. Bedtime has never been more fun. A yawn is quite catching, you see.

Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall
1992
as Self
This program features the music of Broadway composer Stephen Sondheim in a 1992 performance at Carnegie Hall. An American Musical Theatre writer for o...

For Richer, for Poorer
1992
as Billie
Fresh out of college, a young man lazes about his family's estate, which irritates his father, a self-made millionaire who hatches a bankruptcy plan t...

They call me Lucky Luke - Ma Dalton
1991
as Esperanza
With the infamous Dalton Brothers behind bars, Luke plans on getting a little rest. On returning to Daisy Town, Luke finds out that the outlaw’s sweet...

Betsy's Wedding
1990
as Lola Hopper
Offbeat fashion student Betsy Hopper and her straight-laced investment-banker fiancé Jake Lovell just want an intimate little wedding reception, but B...

Sesame Street: Sing Yourself Silly!
1990
as Self
Big Bird and his pals are making musical mayhem as they sing the goofiest, nuttiest, silliest songs ever. Join in with Sesame Street favorites Oscar, ...

Sesame Street | Put Down the Duckie: An All-Star Musical Special
1988
as Self
The stars come out on Sesame Street in this fun-filled video featuring the show's most memorable moments. Sing-along in this star-studded celebration!
Irving Berlin's 100th Birthday Celebration
1988
as Self
The life, career, and music of Irving Berlin are celebrated live on stage with musical performances.

Sesame Street: Sing Along
1987
as Special Appearance
Your Sesame Street friends are getting together to sing their favorite songs, and they're inviting you to join all the fun. So sing along with Big Bir...

An American Tail
1986
as Gussie Mausheimer (voice)
A young mouse named Fievel and his family decide to migrate to America, a "land without cats," at the turn of the 20th century. But somehow, Fievel en...

Wanted: The Perfect Guy
1986
as Ellie Coleman
Sensing his mom is lonely and looking for companionship, a 13-year-old places a personal ad for 'The Perfect Guy'

My Little Pony: The Movie
1986
as Draggle (voice)
The first day of Spring is on its way and the Little Ponies are preparing for it with a big festival. But all the fun may come to an end if the witch ...

Clue
1985
as Mrs. White
Clue finds six colorful dinner guests gathered at the mansion of their host, Mr. Boddy -- who turns up dead after his secret is exposed: He was blackm...

Gonzo Presents Muppet Weird Stuff
1985
as Self
Gonzo hosts this collection of some of the weirdest moments from The Muppet Show at his trailer home, assisted by Camilia and visited by Kermit The Fr...

City Heat
1984
as Caroline Howley
Set in Kansas City in 1933, Eastwood plays a police lieutenant known simply by his last name, Speer. Reynolds plays a former cop turned private eye na...

Yellowbeard
1983
as Betty
For years Yellowbeard had looted the Spanish Main, making men eat their lips and swallow their hearts. Caught and convicted for tax evasion, he's sent...

Group Madness
1983
as Self / Mrs. Yellowbeard
A behind-the-scenes documentary of the making of 1983's Yellowbeard

Slapstick of Another Kind
1982
as Eliza Swain / Lutetia Swain
A rich, beautiful couple give birth to deformed alien twins who, when their heads are together, are the smartest kids on the planet.

Scrambled Feet
1982
as Madeline
Madeline Kahn stars in this zany musical revue that pokes fun at punk rock, theatre critics, the British theatre and much more!
All-Star Party for Burt Reynolds
1981
as Self
Burt Reynolds is honored by more than 100 of his fellow celebrities and co-workers.

History of the World: Part I
1981
as Empress Nympho
An uproarious version of history that proves nothing is sacred – not even the Roman Empire, the French Revolution and the Spanish Inquisition.

First Family
1980
as Mrs. Link
When the First Daughter is kidnapped by an African tribe, the President must do what he can to keep them from sacrificing her.

Wholly Moses
1980
as The Witch
Harvey and Zoey, two tourists in Israel, discover an ancient scroll about Herschel, the man who was almost Moses. Herschel receives the command from G...

Happy Birthday, Gemini
1980
as Bunny Weinberger
A poor Harvard student's romance with a girl hits a rough spot when he realizes, on his 21st birthday, that he's in love with her brother.

Simon
1980
as Dr. Cynthia Mallory
A group of scientists take Simon, a psychology professor, as a test person for a brainwashing experiment and try to convince him that he is a living b...

The Muppet Movie
1979
as El Sleezo Patron
The Muppets gather to watch their newly-finished big-budget rich-and-famous feature film: a talent agent persuades Kermit the Frog to leave the swamp ...

The Cheap Detective
1978
as Mrs. Montenegro
A spoof of the entire 1940s detective genre. San Francisco private detective, Lou Pekinpaugh is accused of murdering his partner at the instigation of...

High Anxiety
1977
as Victoria Brisbane
A psychiatrist with intense acrophobia (fear of heights) goes to work for a mental institution run by doctors who appear to be crazier than their pati...

Won Ton Ton: The Dog Who Saved Hollywood
1976
as Estie Del Ruth
A would-be filmmaker and actress shake up the industry with a trick dog who gets discovered by a studio bus driver in the 1920s.

The Adventure of Sherlock Holmes' Smarter Brother
1975
as Jenny Hill
After spending decades living in the shadow of his more famous and successful sibling, Consulting Detective Sigerson Holmes (Wilder) is called upon to...

At Long Last Love
1975
as Kitty O'Kelly (Kathy Krumm)
Four socialites unexpectedly clash: heiress Brooke Carter runs into gambler Johnny Spanish at the race track while playboy Michael O. Pritchard nearly...

Young Frankenstein
1974
as Elizabeth
A young neurosurgeon inherits the castle of his grandfather, the famous Dr. Victor von Frankenstein. In the castle he finds a funny hunchback, a prett...

Blazing Saddles
1974
as Lili Von Shtupp
A town—where everyone seems to be named Johnson—stands in the way of the railroad. In order to grab their land, robber baron Hedley Lamarr sends his h...

From the Mixed-Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Frankweiler
1973
as Schoolteacher
A precocious young girl and her younger brother run away from home and hide in the Metropolitan Museum in New York.

Paper Moon
1973
as Trixie Delight
During the Great Depression, a con man finds himself saddled with a young girl who may or may not be his daughter, and the two forge an unlikely partn...

Harvey
1972
as Nurse Ruth Kelly
Elwood P. Dowd's constant companion is Harvey, a six-foot tall invisible rabbit. To his sister, his obsession with Harvey has been a thorn in her plan...

What's Up, Doc?
1972
as Eunice Burns
The accidental mix-up of four identical plaid overnight bags leads to a series of increasingly wild and wacky situations.

Screwball Comedies... Remember Them?
1972
as Self
A documentary about the making of Peter Bogdanovich's screwball comedy "What's Up Doc?" starring Barbra Streisand and Ryan O'Neal.

The Dove
1968
as Sigfried
De Düva is a 1968 Oscar-nominated American short film that parodies the films of Swedish director Ingmar Bergman, including Wild Strawberries and The ...