To date there have been 8 Mrs. Robinsons. Her daughter Elaine is supposed to be 21 years old, so one would think Mrs. Robinson should be at least in her 40's.
"Nichols' first choice for Mrs. Robinson was French actress
Jeanne Moreau.
[12] The motivation for this was the cliché that in French culture, "older" women tended to "train" the younger men in sexual matters. Numerous actors were considered for or sought roles in the film.
Doris Day turned down an offer because the nudity required by the role offended her.
[13] Joan Crawford inquired about the part, while
Lauren Bacall and
Audrey Hepburn both wanted the role.
Patricia Neal turned down the film as she had recently recovered from a stroke and did not feel ready to accept such a major role.
Geraldine Page also turned it down. Other actors considered for the part included
Claire Bloom,
Angie Dickinson,
Sophia Loren,
Judy Garland,
Rita Hayworth,
Susan Hayward,
Anouk Aimée,
Jennifer Jones,
Deborah Kerr,
Eva Marie Saint,
Rosalind Russell,
Simone Signoret,
Jean Simmons,
Lana Turner,
Eleanor Parker,
Anne Baxter and
Shelley Winters.
Angela Lansbury also asked about playing the part.
Ava Gardner sought the role of Mrs. Robinson, and reportedly called Nichols saying,"I want to see you! I want to talk about this
Graduate thing!" Nichols did not seriously consider her for the role (he wanted a younger woman as Bancroft was 35 and Gardner was 45), but did end up visiting her hotel. He later recounted that "she sat at a little French desk with a telephone, she went through every movie star cliché. She said, 'All right, let's talk about your movie. First of all, I strip for nobody.'""