Felicity Huffman Biography

Felicity Kendall Huffman (born December 9, 1962) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She is best known for her role as Lynette Scavo in ABC series Desperate Housewives.

Huffman began her acting career in theatre and in the 1990s also had many supporting roles in film and television. She starred as executive producer Dana Whitaker in the critically acclaimed ABC comedy-drama Sports Night from 1998 to 2000, which earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination. She is best known for her role as Lynette Scavo in the long-running ABC comedy-drama Desperate Housewives (2004-2012), for which she earned the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series for the debut season of the series, and three Screen Actors Guild Awards and three consecutive Golden Globe nominations.

Huffman drew critical praise for her performance as a transgender woman in the independent film Transamerica (2005). The role earned her a Golden Globe Award, Independent Spirit Award, National Board of Review, and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress. Huffman has also starred in such films as Reversal of Fortune (1990), The Spanish Prisoner (1997), Magnolia (1999), Path to War (2002), Georgia Rule (2007), Phoebe in Wonderland (2008), Rudderless (2014) and Cake (2014). Since 2015, she has started in a third ABC series, the anthology crime drama American Crime, for which she has received critical acclaim including two Primetime Emmy Award nominations, two Golden Globe nominations and a Screen Actors Guild nomination.

Early life and education

Huffman was born in Bedford, New York, into a wealthy family, the daughter of Grace Valle (ne Ewing) and Moore Peters Huffman (1910–1987), a banker and partner at Morgan Stanley. Her parents divorced a year after her birth, and she was raised mostly by her mother. She has six sisters, Mariah, Betsy, Grace, Isabel, Jessie, Jane (1949–2013), and a brother, Moore Jr. In the 1970s her mother left New York and bought property in Snowmass, Colorado, where Felicity and her siblings spent their youth. Her great-grandfather was Gershom Moore Peters (1843–1919), founder of the Peters Cartridge Company and prominent Baptist minister, author of The Master. Another great-grandfather, Frederick Berthold Ewing, graduated from Yale University and became a prominent St. Louis businessman. Her great-great-grandfather was Joseph Warren King (1814–1885), founder of the King Mills Powder Company. She has German, English, Scots-Irish, Scottish, and French-Canadian ancestry.

Huffman attended The Putney School, a private boarding high school in Putney, Vermont and graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan in 1981. She attended New York University, Circle in the Square and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London, England.

Career

Early career in theatre

Huffman made her debut on stage in 1982 and in the 1980s and 1990s worked as a rule on stage productions. In 1988, she debuted on Broadway in the role as Karen in David Mamet's play Speed the Plow. In 1995, Huffman won Obie Award for her performance in the critically successful play The Cryptogram by David Mamet. In 1999 she starred in the premiere of David Mamet's play Boston Marriage, about the daringly intimate relationship between two turn-of-the-century women, as well as in several other major theatrical productions.

Earliest television and film roles

Huffman debuted on the big screen in 1988 with a small role in Mamet's film Things Change. Two years later, she appeared as Minnie, a Harvard law school student in the courtroom drama, Reversal of Fortune. Her other credits include 1992 thriller Quicksand: No Escape with Donald Sutherland and Tim Matheson, The Water Engine opposite William H. Macy, and supporting roles on The Heart of Justice (1992), Hackers (1995), Harrison: Cry of the City (1996) and The Underworld (1997).

Huffman starred on the television mini-series Golden Years, based on the novel by Stephen King in 1991. In 1994, she starred in the ABC pilot Thunder Alley as Ed Asner's daughter, but was replaced in subsequent episodes by Diane Venora when the series began. During the 1990s, she appeared mostly in guest roles on such shows as The X-Files, Early Edition, Chicago Hope and Law & Order. In 1997, she starred in Mamet's critically acclaimed film The Spanish Prisoner.

From 1998 to 2000, she portrayed Dana Whitaker in the critically acclaimed series Sports Night, for which she received several awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy. After the completion of Sports Night, she gave birth to her first child and soon returned to work. In 2001, she starred on not picked up CBS pilot Heart Department In 2003, she starred in Showtime's miniseries Out of Order.

In 1999, she appeared in the Paul Thomas Anderson's ensemble drama Magnolia and television adaptation of 1938 movie A Slight Case of Murder along with William H. Macy. In 2002 she played Lady Bird Johnson in the HBO award-winning movie Path to War and made a cameo appearance in Door to Door, which starred, and was written by, her husband. She also starred in Snap Decision (2001) with Mare Winningham, Raising Helen (2004) as Kate Hudson's character's older sister, and Christmas with the Kranks (2004), as the best friend of Jamie Lee Curtis's character.

Desperate Housewives and Transamerica

After a recurring role on the NBC sitcom Frasier, Huffman landed a leading role in an ABC comedy series Desperate Housewives, co-starring with Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher, and Eva Longoria. Huffman won an Emmy Award for her work on Desperate Housewives (Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series) in 2005, as well as two 2006 Screen Actors Guild Awards (Best Actress - Comedy Series and part of Best Ensemble - Comedy Series) in 2006 and received several other awards. A report in November 2010 suggested that Huffman, along with co-star Teri Hatcher, would be quitting Desperate Housewives, but ABC denied the claim. The series ended in May 2012, after eight seasons.

In 2005, Huffman starred in the independent drama Transamerica, playing Bree, a pre-operative transgender woman who, on the brink of her transforming surgery, discovered that in her youth she had fathered a son - who is now a troubled teen hustler on the run. Huffman's performance in Transamerica was praised by many critics and garnered her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress, as well as nominations for Best Actress (Screen Actors Guild) and Best Actress (Academy Awards), and several other awards and nominations. Huffman is now a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

In 2007, Huffman starred in Garry Marshall's Georgia Rule with Jane Fonda and Lindsay Lohan, and 2008 on independent drama Phoebe in Wonderland. She made a film, Lesster, as a writer, director and actress in 2010.

Subsequent career and American Crime

Huffman says that after seeing her as Lynette Scavo on "Housewives" for eight years it's difficult for audiences to think of her as anything else. She says that's why she was eager for a role that's a distinctive departure. After Desperate Housewives finale, Huffman reunited with playwright David Mamet in the comedy play November. The play debuted on September 26 and ended on November 4, 2012. In 2012, she also appeared in the ensemble cast independent movie, Trust Me, opposite Clark Gregg.

On February 15, 2013, Huffman signed on for the lead role of the Fox drama pilot Boomerang, directed by Craig Brewer. The show centers on Margie Hamilton, a spy and master of disguise, who is the matriarch of the Hamilton clan, a "briskly professional assassin who can kill and dispose of a suspected terrorist in the afternoon - then switch to wife and mother mode without a hitch." However, Fox did not pick up Boomerang as a new series.

In 2013, Huffman starred in the independent drama Rudderless, and in the adventure film Big Game opposite Samuel L. Jackson. She also starred in another independent drama Stealing Cars, and was cast in the comedy film Zendog. In April 2014 she was cast in independent film Cake opposite Jennifer Aniston.In 2014, Huffman was cast as lead in the ABC anthology legal drama pilot American Crime created by John Ridley. The pilot was picked up for a series on May 2014. On October 2, 2014, it was announced that Huffman will be star and executive producer alongside Carol Mendelsohn in her untitled drama about a special agent (Huffman) who is the fearless leader of a team of young agents on the New York City Joint Terrorism Task Force. The project was developed for ABC, but was not green-lighted for 2015-16 television season. American Crime debuted on ABC in March, 2015 and Huffman received critical acclaim for her performance as antagonistic character. Robert Bianco from USA Today said in his review "A triumph for Oscar winner John Ridley, who created, produced and directed American Crime, and a reconfirmation that Felicity Huffman is one of the best actors we have... In no case is that truer than with Huffman's Barb, who is the morally questionable center of the story. Barb is a Lifetime movie heroine: a tough, divorced mother who raised her children alone, and is fighting now to bring her son's murderer to justice. Except this isn't that kind of show, and Barb's battles have not just made her stronger; they've made her hate all the people she's felt she had to fight. Which is why Huffman's gut-wrenching performance is so startling. A bundle of barely concealed fury, Huffman forces us to invest in a woman who thinks her bigotry makes her not just right, but noble."

Personal life

Huffman dated actor William H. Macy on-and-off for 15 years before they married on September 6, 1997. They have two daughters, Sophia Grace (born December 1, 2000) and Georgia Grace (born March 14, 2002) She has appeared on television, in movies, and on stage many times with her husband; the couple each received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 7, 2012.

Huffman identifies as pro-choice, and has campaigned for women's rights on behalf of NARAL. In 2005, Huffman revealed that she had suffered from both anorexia and bulimia in her late teens and twenties.

Huffman is the co-author of the self-help book A Practical Handbook for the Boyfriend. On March 1, 2012, Huffman launched What The Flicka, a website dedicated to women and mothers where she is a regular contributor.

Filmography

Film

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1988	Things Change	Wheel of Fortune Girl
1990	Reversal of Fortune	Minnie
1992	Quicksand: No Escape	Julianna Reinhardt
1995	Hackers	Attorney
1997	The Spanish Prisoner	Pat McCune
1999	Magnolia	Cynthia
2002	Door to Door	Joey's Mom	Cameo
2003	House Hunting	Sheila
2004	Raising Helen	Lindsay Davis
2004	Christmas with the Kranks	Merry
2005	Transamerica	Sabrina 'Bree' Osbourne
2006	Choose Your Own Adventure: The Abominable Snowman	Pilot Nima	Voice
2007	Darius Goes West	Herself
2007	Georgia Rule	Lilly
2008	Phoebe in Wonderland	Hillary Lichten
2010	Lesster	Mrs. Geary	Also writer and director
2013	Trust Me	Agnes
2014	Rudderless	Emily
2014	Big Game	CIA Director
2014	Cake	Annette
2015	Stealing Cars	Kimberly Wyatt
2015	Zendog	Nicole
2017	Krystal	Poppy	Post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1978	ABC Afterschool Special	Sara Greene	Episode: "A Home Run for Love"
1988	Lip Service	Woman P.A.	Television film
1991	Golden Years	Terry Spann	TV Mini-series
1992	Raven	Sharon Prior	Episode: "And Everything Nice"
1992	The Water Engine	Dance Hall Girl	Television film
1992	The Heart of Justice	Annie	Television film
1992, 1997	Law & Order	Hillary Colson / Diane Perkins	Episodes: "Helpless" and "Working Mom"
1993	The X-Files	Dr. Nancy Da Silva	Episode: "Ice"
1996	Early Edition	Det. Tagliatti	Episode: "Pilot"
1996	Bedtime	Donna	TV Mini-series
1996	Harrison: Cry of the City	Peggy Macklin	Television film
1997	Chicago Hope	Ellie Stockton	Episode: "Take My Wife, Please"
1998–2000	Sports Night	Dana Whitaker	Series regular, 45 episodes
1999	A Slight Case of Murder	Kit Wannamaker	Television film
2001	The West Wing	Ann Stark	Episode: "The Leadership Breakfast"
2001	Snap Decision	Carrie Dixon	Television film
2002	Path to War	Lady Bird Johnson	Television film
2002	Girls Club	Marcia Holden	Episode: "Pilot"
2003	Out of Order	Lorna Colm	TV Mini-series
2002, 2003	Kim Possible	Dr. Betty Director	Episodes: "Number One" and "The Ron Factor", voice
2003	Frasier	Julia Wilcox	Recurring role, 8 episodes
2004	The D.A.	Charlotte Ellis	Recurring role, 3 episodes
2004	Reversible Errors	Gillian Sullivan	Television film
2004–2012	Desperate Housewives	Lynette Scavo	Series regular, 180 episodes
2006	Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip	Herself	Episode: "Pilot"
2015–2017	American Crime	Barb Hanlon Leslie Graham Jeanette Hesby	Season 1 (11 episodes) Season 2 (10 episodes) Season 3 (8 episodes)

Theatre

Year	Title	Notes
1982	A Taste of Honey as Joe	Stage Theatre, New York City
1986	Been Taken as Jill	18th Street Playhouse, New York City
1988	Speed the Plow as Karen	Royale Theatre
1988	Boys' Life as Maggie	Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater, New York City
1989	Bobby Gould in Hell	Lincoln Center Theater
1990	Grotesque Love Songs	New York City
1994	Shaker Heights	New York City
1995	Dangerous Corner	off-Broadway production
1995-1996	The Cryptogram as Donny	American Repertory Theatre, Cambridge, Massachusetts off-Broadway production
1997	The Joy of Going Somewhere Definite as Marie	Atlantic Theater Company, New York City
1999	Boston Marriage as Anna	American Repertory Theatre, Hasty Pudding Theatre, Cambridge, Massachusetts
1999	Oh, Hell! as Glenna	Lincoln Center, New York City
2000	The Loop	New York City
2000	Jake's Women	Old Globe Theatre
2000	Three Sisters	Philadelphia Festival Theatre
2012	November	Mark Taper Forum
2015	The Anarchist	Theater Asylum

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
1995	Obie Award	Best Performance	The Cryptogram
1998	The Comedy Festival	Best Performance in Comedy
2000	Golden Globe Award	Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy	Sports Night
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
	Viewers for Quality Television Awards	Best Actress in a Quality Comedy Series
2004	Satellite Award	Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film	Out of Order
2005	Prism Awards	Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film	Reversible Errors
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series	Desperate Housewives
	Golden Globe Award	Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
	Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival	Best Actress	Transamerica
	Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Awards	Best Actress
	National Board of Review	Best Actress
	Prism Awards	Best Performance in a Comedy Series	Desperate Housewives
	San Diego Film Festival	Best Actress	Transamerica
	Satellite Award	Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy	Desperate Housewives
		Best Actress - Motion Picture	Transamerica
	Southeastern Film Critics Association Awards	Best Actress
2006	Golden Globe Award	Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama
		Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy	Desperate Housewives
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role	Transamerica
	Academy Award	Best Actress
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series	Desperate Housewives
		Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
		Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role	Transamerica
	Bangkok International Film Festival	Best Actress
	Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards	Best Actress
	Chicago Film Critics Association Awards	Best Actress
	Independent Spirit Award	Best Female Lead
	Online Film Critics Society Awards	Best Actress
	Palm Springs International Film Festival	Best Actress
	Vancouver Film Critics Circle Award	Best Actress
	Satellite Award	Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy	Desperate Housewives
2007	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series
	Golden Globe Award	Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy
	Satellite Award	Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
		Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series
2008	Prism Awards	Best Performance in a Feature Film	Georgia Rule
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series	Desperate Housewives
2009
2011	Satellite Award	Best Actress - Television Series Musical or Comedy
2012	Hollywood Walk of Fame	Star on the Walk of Fame at 7060 Hollywood Blvd
2015	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries	American Crime
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
2016	Satellite Awards	Best Actress - Television Series Drama
		Best Cast - Television Series
	Golden Globe Award	Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie
	Critics' Choice Television Award	Best Actress in a Movie/Miniseries
	Women's Image Network Awards	Actress MFT Movie/Mini-Series
2017	Golden Globe Award	Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film
	Screen Actors Guild Award	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Television Movie or Limited Series
	Primetime Emmy Award	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Limited Series or Movie

In June 2008 it was announced that Felicity Huffman would receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. She finally received her star in March 2012 along with her husband in a joint ceremony.