LAURA LINNEY
Date of Birth: February 5, 1964
Daughter of respected off-Broadway playwright Romulus Linney, Linney was an only child who grew up in New York. Of her father she states, "My parents were divorced and I didn't grow up with him, but I spent a lot of time around him, and his influence on me has been profound." She studied at Brown University earning a degree before moving her studies to the Julliard School, followed by The Moscow Arts Theater School.
Linney made her acting debut at Julliard in The Matriarch and Top Girls.
She won a Theater World Award and a Drama Desk nomination for Sight Unseen.
She has appeared with Clint Eastwood and Gene Hackman in Absolute Power and Richard Gere in Primal Fear. Even though she gained recognition in these two roles playing lawyers Linney admits she could never be an attorney in real life. Her other screen credits include Congo, Searching for Bobby Fischer, Dave, Twist of Faith, The Truman Show, The House of Mirth and Mystic River (for which she shared a Boston Films Critics Society Award for Best Ensemble Cast). She gained 30 pounds for her role in Kinsey and received nominations from both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards.
On television, Linney has won two Emmy awards: one in 2004 for her guest appearance on the long-running sitcom Frasier, and the other in 2002 for her lead role in the TV movie Wild Iris. She has also made appearances in the PBS production of Tales of the City and Hallmark's Hall of Fame Blind Spot with Joanne Woodward.
She has been seen on the New York stage in Holiday at the Circle in the Square Theater, the original and most widely acclaimed Off-Broadway theater.
Linney's five-year marriage to stage actor David Adkins ended in 2000.
Filmography:
Breach(2007)
The Nanny Diaries(2007)
The Savages(2007)
The Hottest State(2006)
Jindabyne(2006)
Man of the Year(2006)
Driving Lessons(2006)
The Exorcism of Emily Rose(2005)
The Squid and the Whale(2005)
Kinsey(2004)
P.S.(2004)
Love Actually(2003)
Mystic River (2003)
The Mothman Prophecies(2002)
Maze (2000)
The House of Mirth (2000)
You Can Count on Me (2000)
Lush (1999)
The Truman Show (1998)
Absolute Power (1997)
Primal Fear (1996)
Congo (1995)
A Simple Twist of Fate (1994)
Dave (1993)
Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993)
Lorenzo's Oil (1992)