Catherine Keener | |
|---|---|
 Keener in 2025 | |
| Born | (1959-03-26)March 26, 1959 (age 66)[1] Miami, Florida, U.S. |
| Education | Wheaton College (BA)[2] |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1986–present |
| Spouse | |
| Children | 1 |
| Awards | Full list |
Catherine Keener (born March 26, 1959) is an American actress. She has portrayed disgruntled and melancholic yet sympathetic women in independent films, as well as supporting roles in studio films. She has been nominated twice for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress, forBeing John Malkovich (1999) and for her portrayal of authorHarper Lee inCapote (2005). Her performance asGertrude Baniszewski inAn American Crime (2007) earned her a nomination for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. Herother accolades include nominations for aBAFTA Award and twoGolden Globe Awards.
Keener also starred in live-action roles in the filmsThe 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005),Into the Wild (2007),Synecdoche, New York (2008),Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010),Get Out (2017), andJoker: Folie à Deux (2024), as well as starring voice roles inThe Croods (2013), its sequelThe Croods: A New Age (2020), andIncredibles 2 (2018). Keener is themuse of directorNicole Holofcener, having appeared in each of Holofcener's first five films.[3] She also appeared in each of directorTom DiCillo's first four films, and three films directed bySpike Jonze. From 2018 to 2020, she starred in theShowtimedramedy seriesKidding.
Keener was born to Jim and Evelyn (née Jamiel) Keener. Her father was of Irish descent and her mother is of Lebanese descent.[4][5][6] Keener was raised inHialeah, Florida[7] as a Catholic and attended Catholic schools. She attendedMonsignor Edward Pace High School.[8][9]
Keener attendedWheaton College, inNorton, Massachusetts. She majored in American Studies, also enrolling in a theater course. Her first theatrical production was theWendy Wasserstein playUncommon Women and Others, during her junior year at Wheaton. She graduated with her Bachelor of Arts from Wheaton College in 1983.[10]
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Keener had a supporting role as Lt. Cricket Sideris in the television seriesOhara. The series ran from January 1987 to May 1988.
Her first film appearance was one line inAbout Last Night... (1986) and three years later she appeared inSurvival Quest.
She guest starred as an artist on an episode ofSeinfeld called "The Letter", playingJerry's girlfriend, an artist who painted a famous portrait of Kramer. Keener then earned her first starring role, inJohnny Suede, with the then-unknownBrad Pitt. Her performance gained critical acclaim and earned her firstIndependent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead. She went on to work with director Tom Dicillo again, inLiving in Oblivion (1995). Two years later, she was once again nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for her performance inWalking and Talking, an independent cult-comedy film directed by Nicole Holofcener.
In 2000, Keener earned her first Oscar nomination forBest Supporting Actress for her role inBeing John Malkovich, directed bySpike Jonze.[11] In 2001, she worked with directorNicole Holofcener inLovely and Amazing, garnering her a third Independent Spirit Award nomination. In 2002, she co-starred withEdward Norton in theoff-Broadway revival ofBurn This and the filmDeath to Smoochy. She also took part in the filmFull Frontal, andSimone alongsideAl Pacino.
In 2005, she starred in the politicalthrillerThe Interpreter (as a Secret Service agent partnered with Sean Penn's character) andThe Ballad of Jack and Rose with Daniel Day-Lewis and played the love interest ofSteve Carell inJudd Apatow'sThe 40-Year-Old Virgin. Keener's performance as writerHarper Lee inCapote (also 2005) earned her several awards and nominations, including her second Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.[11] In 2006, she starred in the filmFriends with Money, directed by Nicole Holofcener.
In 2007, Keener played Jan Burres inSean Penn's critically acclaimed filmInto the Wild, based on Jon Krakauer's best-sellingbook of the same name. In 2008, her filmAn American Crime, the true story ofGertrude Baniszewski, a middle-aged mother who tortured andmurdered Sylvia Likens in her Indiana home, was aired onShowtime. Keener played Baniszewski and her portrayal earned her an Emmy nomination in the Best Actress in a TV Mini-Series or Movie category. In 2008, Keener portrayedPhilip Seymour Hoffman's wife Adele inCharlie Kaufman's directorial debut,Synecdoche, New York. She and Hoffman again played husband and wife in the 2012 filmA Late Quartet. Keener played the title character's mother in the 2010 filmPercy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, based on the series of books byRick Riordan.
Keener starred in the six-episodeHBO miniseriesShow Me a Hero, based on the 1999 nonfiction book of the same name by Lisa Belkin.[12][13] It aired in August 2015.[14] In 2016, Keener starred in the independent filmUnless.[15][16]
In 2017, Keener starred as Missy Armitage in the racially themed horror filmGet Out,[17] which was a critical and commercial success.[18][19]
Keener starred in the 2021Netflix horror drama miniseriesBrand New Cherry Flavor.[20][21]
In 2024, Keener appeared inJoker: Folie à Deux, the sequel to the 2019 filmJoker.[22]
Throughout her career, Keener has developed a reputation for succeeding in complex roles,[6] often portraying desolate, bittersweet women "who come across as empty or unfulfilled in their relationships or their creative endeavors", effortlessly earning sympathy from audiences in both protagonist and antagonist roles.[23] DirectorRebecca Miller said that Keener is "very good at playing disgruntled", a designation about which Keener explained, "Anger is not a bad thing"; she finds comfort in playing roles of this nature because "It doesn't go hand in hand with the mode of behaviour that's ladylike or proper or dignified."[24] Nate Williams ofComingSoon.net deemed Keener "one of the most interesting performers in the game" as of 2019 due to her willingness "to embrace different roles", describing her as "A dramatic actor with no problem playing strange characters".[23]
Keener gravitates towards roles inindependent films, and opts for smallercharacter roles on rare occasions when she agrees to appear in larger studio ventures, whichEntertainment Weekly critic Missy Schwartz believes "she inhabits more comfortably than flashier ones."[5] Amanda McCorquodale, contributing to theMiami New Times, wrote that Keener regularly plays smart, neurotic women in independent films, likening her body of work toWoody Allen heroines.[25]Rotten Tomatoes crowned Keener "one of the queens of 1990s American independent cinema",[26] whileThe Independent called her "A darling of the independent film world".[24] Despite commending her diverse yet carefully cultivated roles,The Independent observed that most of Keener's studio roles have "barely registered" among critics and audiences.[24] Williams believes that Keener's skillset and versatility have allowed her to work with some of the industry's best filmmakers.[23] Schwartz wrote that directors such asNeil LaBute (Your Friends & Neighbors, 1998) andSteven Soderbergh (Full Frontal, 2002) have consistently "put her unusual beauty and trademark dry wit to good use."[5]
Keener seldom gives interviews, believing that overexposure "becomes a dirty business".[5] The actress is known for being notoriously press-shy, and refuses to refer to herself as "famous" despite her success in the film industry.[5] In 2010,Inside Jersey contributor Stephen Whitty observed that, throughout a decade of interviewing the actress, Keener had always been open to commenting about her collaborators, both directors and co-stars, but often refused to be interviewed about herself, considering her a shy person who values her privacy.[6] In 2014, theMontreal Gazette journalist T'Cha Dunlevy selected Keener as his most memorable interview of the year, during which he admitted to mostly remembering laughing.[27] Dunlevy described the actress as "a consummate pro who has brought charisma and soul to projects ranging from" goofball comedies to blockbuster films.[27] Keener has continued to enjoy a reputation "as a both charming and well respected actress".[26]
Keener met her future husband, actorDermot Mulroney, in 1987 while working onSurvival Quest, after Mulroney became stuck while attempting to scale a cliff.[citation needed] They married in 1990. They have a son, Clyde, born in 1999, who is a singer.[11] Mulroney filed for divorce in June 2007, citingirreconcilable differences[28] and the divorce became final on December 19, 2007.[29][30]
| † | Denotes film or TV productions that have not yet been released |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1986 | L.A. Law | Waitress | Episode: "The House of the Rising Flan" |
| 1987 | Ohara | Lt. Cricket Sideris | 11 episodes |
| 1988–1989 | Knightwatch | Rebecca | 2 episodes |
| 1989 | CBS Summer Playhouse | Jan Engle | Episode: "Curse of the Corn People" |
| 1992 | Seinfeld | Nina West | Episode: "The Letter" |
| 1996 | Heroine of Hell | Magda | Television film |
| If These Walls Could Talk | Becky Donnelly | Television film; segment: "1952" | |
| 2014 | How and Why | Alice | Pilot |
| 2015 | Show Me a Hero | Mary Dorman | 5 episodes |
| 2018–2020 | Kidding | Deirdre "Didi" Perera | 20 episodes[45] |
| 2018 | Forever | Kase | 5 episodes[46] |
| 2019 | Modern Love | Julie | 2 episodes[47] |
| 2021 | Brand New Cherry Flavor | Boro | 8 episodes[48] |
| 2023 | Lucky Hank | Catherine Keener | Episode: "The Chopping Block" |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2018 | Lego The Incredibles | Evelyn Deavor |
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016–2017 | Homecoming | Heidi Bergman |
