This page uses content from the Felicity Huffman biography page on the English version of Wikipedia and is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. This list of authors can be seen in the page history. Rotten Tomatoes disclaims any and all warranties as to the accuracy or reliability of the content.

Felicity Huffman (born December 9, 1962) is an American film and television actress, who has won Emmy and Golden Globe awards and been nominated for an Academy Award.

Biography

Early life

Huffman was born in Bedford, New York. Her parents divorced a year after her birth, and she was raised mostly by her mother. She graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. After high school she went on to New York University where she graduated in 1988 from the Tisch School of the Arts, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama.

Career

Felicity Huffman is best known for her leading role as Lynette Scavo in the television series Desperate Housewives and her starring role in the 2005 film Transamerica. Huffman also starred in the television dramedy Sports Night, and has had guest starring roles on Frasier, The West Wing, and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip. Huffman has also appeared in the films Raising Helen and Christmas with the Kranks.

Huffman won an Emmy for her work on Desperate Housewives (Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series), as well as two 2005 Screen Actors Guild Awards (Best Actress - Comedy Series and part of Best Ensemble - Comedy Series). Huffman's role as transsexual woman in the film Transamerica was praised by many critics and garnered her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress as well as nominations for the Best Actress (Screen Actors Guild) and Best Actress (Academy Awards). Huffman is a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

Private life

Huffman is married to actor William H. Macy, with whom she has two daughters, Sofia Grace and Georgia Grace. She has also appeared on television, in movies, and on stage many times with her husband, such as on the TV show Sports Night and in the movie Magnolia. The couple have become the subject of a running gag on the satirical news show The Colbert Report, in which the couple (who live a quiet life outside the glaring media spotlight) are regularly referenced as representing the greatest of today's celebrity couples in a culture obsessed with celebs. Colbert refers to the couple as "Filliam H. Muffman", a play on the current trend by media types to combine the names of major celebrity couples. The segment is a fan favorite, especially because Colbert often breaks character by bursting into laughter.

In 2005, Huffman revealed that she had suffered from both anorexia and bulimia in her late teens and twenties. At the height of her bulimia she would purge up to six times a day. Her weight dropped to 98 lbs, her periods stopped, and she was too weak to go jogging. However, with therapy and upon meeting Macy she managed to overcome those conditions. She is still known for her self-deprecating humor and her belief that she is "not pretty."

She is a fan of Tina Turner and her dream was to be a back-up singer, so when Huffman was on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Winfrey surprised her with a visit from Tina Turner where the two got to sing together.

Trivia

• Is the only actor or actress to have appeared in all three television shows created by Aaron Sorkin (Sports Night, The West Wing, and Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip)

Filmography

• 2007: Georgia Rule (completed) as Lilly
• 2005: Transamerica as Sabrina 'Bree' Osbourne
• 2004: Christmas with the Kranks as Merry
• 2004: Raising Helen as Lindsay Davis
• 2003: House Hunting as Sheila
• 1999: Magnolia as Cynthia
• 1997: The Spanish Prisoner as Pat McCune
• 1995: Hackers as Prosecuting Attorney
• 1993: The X-Files - "Ice" as Dr. Nancy Da Silva
• 1991: Golden Years as Terry Spann
• 1990: Reversal of Fortune as Minnie, Dershowitz's Student Staff
• 1988: Things Change as The Wheel of Fortune Girl

Awards & nominations

OBIE Award

• 1994-95: won for her performance as Donny in David Mamet's "Cryptogram"

Academy Awards

• 2006: nominated for Best Actress in a Leading Role -- Transamerica

Golden Globe Awards

• 2006: won for Best Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama -- Transamerica
• 2006: nominated for Best Actress in a TV Series - Comedy/Musical -- Desperate Housewives
• 2005: nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series - Comedy/Musical -- Desperate Housewives
• 2000: nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV Series - Comedy/Musical -- Sports Night

Emmy Awards

• 2005: won for Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Comedy Series -- Desperate Housewives

Independent Spirit Awards

• 2006: won for Best Female Lead -- Transamerica

National Board of Review

• 2005: won for Best Actress -- Transamerica

Screen Actors Guild Awards

• 2006: won for Outstanding Performance by an Female Actor in a Comedy Series -- Desperate Housewives
• 2006: won for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series -- Desperate Housewives
• 2006: nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role -- Transamerica
• 2005: won for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series -- Desperate Housewives
• 2000: nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series -- Sports Night

External links

• Huffman interview, 2005, Miami Herald
• Huffman interview, 2005, PlanetOut
• Huffman interview, 2005, Asbury Park Press
• Huffman interview, 2006, AOL Living

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