Gaby Hoffmann Biography

Gabriella Mary "Gaby" Hoffmann (born January 8, 1982) is an American actress.

Early life

Hoffmann was born in New York City. Her mother, Viva (aka Janet Susan Mary Hoffmann), is an actress and writer and appeared in many of Andy Warhol's movies during the 1960s. Her father is Anthony Herrera, a soap actor best known for his role as James Stenbeck from As The World Turns. Hoffmann also has a half-sister, Alexandra (Alex) Auder, the daughter of director Michel Auder, who is 10 years older. Gaby was raised by her mother. Her father did not have a significant presence in her life. Her birth is documented in Brigid Berlin's The Andy Warhol Diaries. An entry dated January 10, 1982, two days after Hoffman was born, says that a friend of Warhol"?s telephoned Warhol and told him that they were going to the Chelsea Hotel to see Viva and her new baby.

Life at the Chelsea Hotel

Until 1993, Hoffmann lived in Manhattan's fabled, now landmarked, Hotel Chelsea, which Hoffmann later said she enjoyed. According to Hoffmann, she and her best friend Talya Shomron would roller-skate in the hallways, spy on the drug dealer across the hall, and persuade the bellman to go to the neighborhood deli at night and get them ice cream. Hoffman and her mother left the Chelsea Hotel in July 1993 after a dispute of long standing with the management, but the hotel ended up featuring prominently in Hoffmann"?s future. The idea for the 1994 sitcom Someone Like Me originated after Gail Berman (now president of Viacom's Paramount Pictures), the show's producer, read a New York Times article about the Hotel which referred to a children's book which Viva and friend Jane Lancellotti wrote entitled Gaby at the Chelsea (a take on Kay Thompson"?s 1950"?s classic Eloise books). After leaving the Chelsea, Hoffmann and her mother (and their two Eskimo dogs) moved to a two-bedroom rented house in Woodland Hills, Los Angeles, California which ended up being badly damaged in the January 17, 1994 Northridge earthquake. While regrouping their living situation, Gaby and her mother temporarily lived at The Oceana Suites Hotel in Santa Monica, not too distant from Malibu.

Career

Early acting career

Hoffmann began her acting career at the age of four to help pay the family bills by acting in commercials. However, she tired of the tough schedules and temporarily retired. Nevertheless, upon hearing that Macaulay Culkin was making a lot of money from his movies her "competitive spirit got the best of her," as she later put it, and she re-entered the profession. In 1989, she starred in her first movie, Field of Dreams, with Kevin Costner. She followed this up with 1989"?s Uncle Buck with John Candy (as well as Macaulay Culkin) and then went on to star in This Is My Life (1992), Sleepless in Seattle (1993) with Tom Hanks and The Man Without a Face with Mel Gibson. According to Hoffmann, it was the praise she received for her performance in This is My Life which encouraged her to pursue a full-time acting career in Hollywood as it gave her the confidence she needed to handle major roles.

Someone Like Me (1994)

In 1994, Hoffmann was given the starring role in her own sitcom Someone Like Me (on NBC) about a young girl, Gaby, and her dysfunctional family. Although generally well received, the show only lasted six episodes. Publicity work for the show included personal appearances by Hoffmann on late night talk shows like The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Late Show with David Letterman.

Freaky Friday (1995)

After Someone Like Me, Hoffmann won the lead role in the TV film Freaky Friday, a remake of the 1976 film of the same name starring Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris. Hoffmann received very good reviews for her performance.

Whose Daughter is She (1995)

In 1995, Hoffmann played Andrea Eagerton in the CBS TV film Whose Daughter Is She?

Now and Then (1995)

In the same year as Freaky Friday, Hoffman starred in the coming-of-age comedy, Now and Then, with her older counterpart played by Demi Moore. She played as Young Samantha.

Later acting career and college: 1996-2003

Between 1996-2000, Hoffmann landed roles in several films including Everyone Says I Love You (1996), Volcano (1997), Snapped (1998), The Hairy Bird (1998), 200 Cigarettes (1999), Coming Soon (1999), Black & White (1999), You Can Count on Me (2000), and Perfume (2001).

In 1999, Hoffmann followed her half-sister's example and entered New York's Bard College to pursue a degree in literature. Starting in 2001, she put her acting career on hold to complete her studies. She graduated in 2003, and then spent much of her 20s drifting. She interned with a chef in Italy, and then trained to be a doula after helping deliver her sister Alex's children. For a time, Hoffmann and a boyfriend lived in an old trailer in the Catskills.

Theatre work in New York: 2003-2007

Between 2003 and 2007, Hoffmann largely concentrated on a theatre career in New York. Roles included 24 Hour Plays (as Denise at the American Airlines Theatre), The Sugar Syndrome (Williamstown Theatre Festival - July/August 2005), and Third (Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater/Lincoln Center Theater - September - December 2005). In late 2005, she starred in an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. She also appeared in the Broadway play Suburbia, alongside Kieran Culkin and Jessica Capshaw at the Second Stage Theatre on 43rd Street in New York City, which ran from September to October 2006. Hoffmann then returned to the 24 Hours Plays where she acted alongside Jennifer Aniston.

Return to film work: 2007-present

Since 2007, Hoffmann has made a gradual return to film acting. In 2007, she starred in the film Severed Ways: The Norse Discovery of America. In 2008, she appeared in Guest of Cindy Sherman, a documentary on art-scene commentator Paul Hasegawa-Overacker's relationship with enigmatic photographer Cindy Sherman. Later in 2008, Hoffmann appeared in the documentary Chelsea on the Rocks, which is a tribute to the Chelsea Hotel where she grew up. Directed by Abel Ferrara, the documentary highlights the many personalities and artistic voices that have emerged from the legendary residence.

In 2009, Hoffman had a supporting role in Todd Solondz's Life During Wartime, and the thriller 13 with Mickey Rourke (released in 2010).

In 2013, she completed work on the lead role of a Web series entitled Lyle, created by Stewart Thorndike and Jill Soloway. It was shot in NYC. She subsequently acquired an apartment in Brooklyn's Fort Greene section. In October 2013, she starred in the 1910s installment of Vanity Fair's The Decades Series, "The First March", directed by Gilly Barnes.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	Field of Dreams	Karin Kinsella
1989	Uncle Buck	Maizy Russell
1992	This Is My Life	Opal Ingels
1993	Sleepless in Seattle	Jessica
1993	'	Megan Norstadt
1995	Now and Then	Young Samantha Albertson
1996	Everyone Says I Love You	Lane
1997	Volcano	Kelly Roark
1998	'	Odette	AKA, All I Wanna Do
1998	Snapped	Tara
1999	200 Cigarettes	Stephie
1999	Coming Soon	Jenny Simon
1999	Black and White	Raven
2000	You Can Count on Me	Sheila
2001	Perfume	Gabrielle Mancini
2007	Severed Ways	Orn's Wife
2009	Life During Wartime	Wanda
2010	13	Clara Ferro
2011	Wolfe with an E	Karen
2011	Confidante	Sam	Short film
2011	'	Sally
2012	Nate & Margaret	Darla
2013	Crystal Fairy	Isabel aka Crystal Fairy
2013	Goodbye World	Laura	Post-production
2013	Burma	Susan	Post-production
2013	Manhattan Romance	Emmy	Completed
2014	Veronica Mars	Ruby Jetson	Filming
2014	Wild		Filming

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1994	Someone Like Me	Gaby Stepjak	5 episodes
1995	Freaky Friday	Annabelle Andrews	TV movie
1995	Whose Daughter Is She?	Andrea Eagerton	TV movie
2005	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Burnett / Rachel Coburn	Episode: "The Good Child"
2009	'	Dr. Sally Eastman	TV movie
2010	Private Practice	Emily	Episode: "Just Lose It"
2011	'	Rhonda Cerone	Episode: "Killer Song"
2011	Homeland	CNN Producer	Episode: "Clean Skin"
2012	Louie	April	Episode: "Something Is Wrong"
2014	Girls

Awards

Awards

Year	Award	Category	Production	Result
1990	Young Artist Award	Best Young Actress Supporting Role in a Motion Picture	Field of Dreams
1993	Young Artist Award	Best Young Actress Under Ten in a Motion Picture	This Is My Life
1994	Young Artist Award	Best Youth Actress Co-Starring in a Motion Picture Drama	The Man Without a Face
1995	Young Artist Award	Best Youth Comedienne in a TV Show	Someone Like Me
1996	Young Artist Award	Best Performance by a Young Ensemble - Feature Film or Video	Now and Then
1997	YoungStar Award	Best Performance by a Young Actress in a Comedy Film	Everyone Says I Love You