Laura Linney | |
|---|---|
 Linney in 2017 | |
| Born | Laura Leggett Linney (1964-02-05)February 5, 1964 (age 61) New York City, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Brown University (BA) Juilliard School (GrDip) |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Notable work | Full list |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 1 |
| Father | Romulus Linney |
| Relatives | Romulus Zachariah Linney (great-great-grandfather) |
| Awards | Full list |
Laura Leggett Linney (born February 5, 1964)[1] is an American actress and director. She is the recipient ofseveral awards, including fourPrimetime Emmy Awards, twoGolden Globe Awards, and aScreen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for threeAcademy Awards, fiveTony Awards, and aBAFTA.
Linney made herBroadway debut in 1990 before receiving Tony Award nominations for the 2002 revival ofThe Crucible, the original Broadway productions ofSight Unseen (2004),Time Stands Still (2010),My Name Is Lucy Barton (2020), and the 2017 revival ofThe Little Foxes. On television, she won her first Emmy Award for the television filmWild Iris (2001), and had subsequent wins for the sitcomFrasier (2003–2004) and the miniseriesJohn Adams (2008). From 2010 to 2013, she starred in theShowtime seriesThe Big C, which won her a fourth Emmy in 2013, and from 2017 to 2022 she starred in theNetflix crime seriesOzark.
As a film actress, Linney debuted with a minor role inLorenzo's Oil (1992) and went on to receive Academy Award nominations for the dramasYou Can Count on Me (2000),Kinsey (2004), andThe Savages (2007). She is also known for her performances inCongo (1995),Primal Fear (1996),The Truman Show (1998),Mystic River andLove Actually (both 2003),The Squid and the Whale (2005),The Nanny Diaries (2007),Hyde Park on Hudson (2012),Mr. Holmes (2015),Sully andNocturnal Animals (both 2016).
Linney was born February 5, 1964,[2] inManhattan, New York City. Her mother, Miriam Anderson "Ann" Perse (née Leggett), was a nurse at theMemorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, and her father,Romulus Zachariah Linney IV, was a playwright and professor. Linney spent summers with her father inNew Hampshire and fell in love with the stage, working with the local theatre group beginning at the age of eleven.[3][4][5] Linney's paternal great-great-grandfather was Republican U.S. CongressmanRomulus Zachariah Linney. She has a half-sister named Susan from her father's second marriage.
Linney is a 1982 graduate ofNorthfield Mount Hermon School, a preparatory school in Massachusetts (which she serves as the chair of the Arts Advisory Council). She then attendedNorthwestern University before transferring toBrown University, where she studied acting with Jim Barnhill andJohn Emigh and served on the board ofProduction Workshop, the university's student theater group.[4] During her senior year at Brown, she performed in one of her father's plays asLady Ada Lovelace in a production ofChilde Byron, a drama in which the poetLord Byron mends a taut, distant relationship with his daughter Ada.[6]
Linney graduated from Brown in 1986[7] and went on to study acting at theJuilliard School as a member of Group 19 (1986–90), which also includedJeanne Tripplehorn andTim Blake Nelson.[8] In 2003, Linney received anhonorarydoctor of fine arts degree from Brown.[9] She received an honorary doctor of fine arts degree from Juilliard when she delivered the school's commencement address in 2009.[10]
Linney made her New York stage debut in 1990 as Nina in the Off Broadway adaptation ofThe Seagull set in the Hamptons. Conceived and directed byJeff Cohen, the acclaimed production was mounted at the RAPP Arts Center in Alphabet City to great critical acclaim.The New York Times wrote: "Best of all is Miss Linney's Nina. From a naive, idealistic artist's groupie with a streak of crazy determination, her Nina emerges as a woman who is a lot stronger and more complicated than the terminally wounded bird-woman that is the character's traditional interpretation. Though deeply embittered at the end of the play, she is also fortified by a hard-won self-knowledge. Miss Linney projects the character's ambiguities with stinging force and clarity. She is clearly a talent of enormous potential."[11]
Linney first appeared in minor roles in a few early 1990s films, includingLorenzo's Oil (1992),Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993), andDave (1993). In 1993, Linney starred in thetelevision adaptation ofArmistead Maupin'sTales of the City as Mary Ann Singleton. She returned as Mary Ann Singleton in 1998 inMore Tales of the City. In October 1994, Linney guest-starred in an episode ofLaw & Order (episode "Blue Bamboo") as Martha Bowen. She played a blonde American singer who successfully claimed "battered woman syndrome" as a defense to the murder of a Japanese businessman.
Throughout the 1990s, Linney appeared on stage onBroadway and elsewhere including inHedda Gabler, for which she won the 1994Joe A. Callaway Award,[12] and a revival ofHoliday in December 1995 through January 1996 (the Philip Barry play upon which the1938 movie starringCary Grant andKatharine Hepburn was based).[13]
She was then cast in a series of thrillers, includingCongo (1995),Primal Fear (1996) andAbsolute Power (1997). She made herHollywood breakthrough in 1998, praised for playingJim Carrey's on-screen wife Meryl Burbank inPeter Weir's science-fiction comedy drama filmThe Truman Show.[4]
In 2000, she starred in Kenneth Lonergan's filmYou Can Count on Me alongsideMark Ruffalo andMatthew Broderick. The film was met with positive reviews from critics with an approval rating of 95% onRotten Tomatoes.[14] Linney was nominated for anAcademy Award for Best Actress for her performance as the small-town single mother Sammy Prescott.[4] In 2001, she reprised her role as Mary Ann Singleton inFurther Tales of the City. In 2002, she starred inWild Iris alongsideGena Rowlands and won her firstEmmy Award[15] forOutstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.
In 2002, she starred in the Broadway revival ofThe Crucible alongsideLiam Neeson at theVirginia Theatre, which ran from March 2002 through June 2002. She received a Best ActressTony Award nomination for her performance as John Proctor's prudish wife Elizabeth.[16][17] Also in 2002, Linney appeared onSandra Boynton's children's CDPhiladelphia Chickens alongsideMeryl Streep,Kevin Kline andPatti LuPone. Linney sings the song "Please Can I Keep It?".[18]
In 2003, Linney appeared inClint Eastwood'sMystic River alongsideSean Penn,Tim Robbins andMarcia Gay Harden. The film received an 89% on Rotten Tomatoes.[19] Linney received aBAFTA Award nomination for her performance as Annabeth Markum, the devoted second wife to Sean Penn's grief-stricken and revengeful character.[20] That same year she also starred in the holiday filmLove Actually alongsideHugh Grant,Emma Thompson,Alan Rickman,Colin Firth, andLiam Neeson.[21] She also appeared inAlan Parker'sThe Life of David Gale (2003) alongsideKate Winslet andKevin Spacey.
In 2004, she reunited with herLove Actually co-star Liam Neeson inKinsey, asthe title character's wife. She was nominated for theAcademy Award for Best Supporting Actress,Screen Actors Guild Award, andGolden Globe Award.[4] That same year Linney had a recurring role in the comedy seriesFrasier as Charlotte, the final love interest ofFrasier Crane (Kelsey Grammer) during the 1993–2004 series. She won her secondPrimetime Emmy Award forGuest Actress in a Comedy Series.[4] Also in 2004, she starred in the Broadway production ofSight Unseen at theBiltmore Theatre which ran from May 2004 through July 2004. She earned her secondTony Award nomination for her performance.[22][23]
In 2005, Linney starred inNoah Baumbach's comedy-dramaThe Squid and the Whale alongsideJeff Daniels andJesse Eisenberg. It received rave reviews from critics earning a 92% on Rotten Tomatoes.[24] She received aGolden Globe Award nomination for her performance.[25] Linney appeared in the political satireMan of the Year (2006) alongsideRobin Williams and the comedy-dramaThe Nanny Diaries oppositeScarlett Johansson andChris Evans, based on the book byEmma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus.[26]
Also in 2006 Linney played the role of Claire in the Australian movieJindabyne, alongsideGabriel Byrne. It was shot on location in the town of the same name in south west NSW.
In 2007, Linney also appeared inTamara Jenkins'sThe Savages withPhilip Seymour Hoffman as Wendy Savage, a struggling playwright.[4] She received a thirdAcademy Award nomination for her performance.[27]
In 2008, Linney starred asAbigail Adams in the HBO miniseriesJohn Adams directed by Tom Hooper (The King's Speech,Les Misérables).Paul Giamatti playedJohn Adams. The series was a critical and awards season hit and won 13Primetime Emmy Awards overtakingAngels in America (11 wins) as the miniseries with the most Emmy wins in history.[28] She won her thirdPrimetime Emmy Award for her performance.[4] Also in 2008, she starred as La Marquise de Merteuil in the Broadway revival ofChristopher Hampton's playLes Liaisons Dangereuses alongsideMamie Gummer andBenjamin Walker at theRoundabout Theatre Company'sAmerican Airlines Theatre.[29] Since 2009, Linney has served as host of thePBS television seriesMasterpiece Classic. She became a popular meme and vine for her introductions when saying, "Hi, I'm Laura Linney and this is Masterpiece Classic".[30]
In 2009, Linney took part of theWe Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial in which she read passages fromFranklin D. Roosevelt, andJohn F. Kennedy. The event, which was free and open to the public at theLincoln Memorial inWashington, D.C. According to thePresidential Inaugural Committee, "The Sunday afternoon performance will be grounded in history and brought to life with entertainment that relates to the themes that shapedBarack Obama, and which will be the hallmarks of his administration." Obama spoke at the end of the event which featured actors reading historical passages as well as musical performances.[31]
In 2010, Linney starred in the Broadway production ofTime Stands Still byDonald Margulies alongsideBrian D'Arcy James andAlicia Silverstone atManhattan Theatre Club'sSamuel J. Friedman Theatre from January 28, 2010, through March 27, 2010. She received her thirdTony Award nomination for her performance. The play returned to Broadway with most of the original cast in September 2010 and closed on January 30, 2011.[32] That same year, Linney returned to television inShowtime's half-hour series about cancer,The Big C. She served as both an actress and executive producer on the show. She starred as a suburban wife and mother who explores the emotional ups and downs of suffering cancer, and the changes it brings to her life and her sense of who she is.[33] In 2011, she won aGolden Globe Award for her performance. In 2013, she won her fourthPrimetime Emmy Award for the final season of the series.
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In 2012, she starred inRoger Mitchell'sHyde Park on Hudson alongsideBill Murray asFranklin D. Roosevelt. The film also starredOlivia Colman,Olivia Williams andSamuel West. Murray was nominated for aGolden Globe Award for his performance. In 2015, she starred inBill Condon'sMr. Holmes alongsideIan McKellen. The film received rave reviews, earning an 89% onRotten Tomatoes with the consensus reading, "Mr. Holmes focuses on the man behind the mysteries, and while it may lack Baker Street thrills, it more than compensates with tenderly wrought, well-acted drama."[34] In 2016, she appeared in Clint Eastwood'sSully withTom Hanks as Lorraine Sullenberger, the wife ofChesley Sullenberger. The film was a critical and commercial success making almost US$240 million at the box office.[35]
She starred inGenius (2016) alongsideColin Firth,Jude Law,Nicole Kidman,Guy Pearce andDominic West. She appeared briefly inTom Ford's critical hitNocturnal Animals alongsideAmy Adams,Jake Gyllenhaal, andMichael Shannon. The consensus from the review aggregatorRotten Tomatoes is, "Well-acted and lovely to look at,Nocturnal Animals further underscores writer-director Tom Ford's distinctive visual and narrative skill".[36]
From 2017 to 2022, she appeared in Netflix's crime drama seriesOzark alongsideJason Bateman.[37] She was nominated for theScreen Actors Guild Award for her performances in both seasons one and two and for thePrimetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series for seasons two, three and four.
In 2017, she starred in the Broadway revival ofThe Little Foxes alongsideCynthia Nixon atManhattan Theatre Club'sSamuel J. Friedman Theatre from April 19 to July 2, 2017. She alternated the roles of Regina and Birdie with Nixon.[38] She received her fourth Tony Award nomination for her performance.[39] In 2018, Linney starred in a monologue play adapted from theElizabeth Strout novel byRona Munro titledMy Name Is Lucy Barton, at theBridge Theatre inLondon directed byRichard Eyre. It previewed on June 2, 2018, and opened on June 6.[40]
Linney reprised her role as Mary Ann Singleton in the 2019Netflix miniseriesTales of the City based on theTales of the City series alongsideOlympia Dukakis andElliot Page.
In 2020, Linney starred inFalling oppositeViggo Mortensen, who also directed.[41] It had its world premiere at theSundance Film Festival on January 31, 2020.[42] She next starred inThe Roads Not Taken, directed bySally Potter, alongsideJavier Bardem andElle Fanning.[43] It premiered at theBerlin International Film Festival on February 26, 2020.[44] Its general release was on March 13, 2020, but was pulled from theaters due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, subsequently releasing onvideo on demand on April 10.[45]
In 2020, Linney reprised her role inMy Name Is Lucy Barton, returning toBroadway in the American premiere atManhattan Theatre Club'sSamuel J. Friedman Theatre. Preview performances began on January 6, 2020, with the play officially opening on January 15, Linney received rave reviews from critics, withThe New York Times describing her as "luminous".[46] For her performance she received aDrama Desk Award forOutstanding Solo Performance and her fifth nomination for aTony Award.[47][48]
In 2020, it was reported that Linney would star in the Irish film drama,The Miracle Club, withMaggie Smith andKathy Bates. Its plot was described as a "joyful and hilarious" journey of a group of riotous working-class women from Dublin, whose pilgrimage to Lourdes in France leads them to discover each other's friendship and their own personal miracles." As of December 2021 it was in pre-production, having received sustaining funding from the U.K. Global Screen Fund.[49]The Miracle Club premiered at the 2023Tribeca Festival.[50]
In 2022, Linney made her television directorial debut with the eleventh episode ofOzark's final season ("Pound of Flesh and Still Kickin'").[51]
In 2023, Linney starred on Broadway inSummer, 1976 written byDavid Auburn oppositeJessica Hecht. Performances began April 25, 2023 atManhattan Theatre Club'sSamuel J. Friedman Theatre. The run ended on June 18, 2023.
Linney married actor David Adkins on September 2, 1995; they divorced in 2000.[52][53] In 2007, she became engaged to Marc Schauer, a drug and alcohol counselor[54] fromTelluride, Colorado.[55] On her wedding day in May 2009, actorLiam Neeson walked her down the aisle.[56] On January 8, 2014, at the age of 49, Linney gave birth to a son.[57]
Linney was a guest and presenter at theWe Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial on January 18, 2009.[58]
Linney has received numerous accolades including twoGolden Globe Awards, fourPrimetime Emmy Awards, and aScreen Actors Guild Award. She has received nominations for aBAFTA Award, and fiveTony Awards.
Linney has also been nominated by theAcademy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences for:
