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Sports Night Girl
Background:
Felicity Huffman became headlines after portraying Dana Whitaker in the comedy
series Sports Night (1998-2000). Her brilliant performance in the show received
a TV Guide Award in 2000 and a nomination for both a Golden Globe and Screen
Actors Guild Award.
A big Tina Turner fan, Huffman also appeared in the 2004 hit drama series
Desperate Housewives. She played the role of Lynette Scavo while costarring with
Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher, Eva Longoria and Nicolette Sheridan. Along with the
rest of the Desperate Housewives cast, Huffman received an Emmy nomination for
her role.
Huffman claims that all five actresses of Desperate Housewives (Huffman, Cross,
Hatcher, Longoria and Sheridan) are friends on and off the set.
Passionate Reader
Childhood and Family:
"My dream is I would really like to keep working. I don't need a huge career but
would like a steady career that leaves me time for my children. My dream is to
have a successful family." Felicity Huffman
The youngest of seven sisters and one older brother, Felicity Huffman was born
on December 9, 1962, in Bedford, New York. After graduating high school in 1981,
Huffman continued her studies at the New York University Tisch School of the
Arts and received her BFA in Drama in 1988. Huffman then entered the prestigious
Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan where she majored in theater.
Felicity Huffman, whose nickname is Flicka, married award-winning actor William
H. Macy (born March 13, 1950) on September 6, 1997. She is a mother of two
daughters, Sofia (born August 1, 2000) and Georgia (born March 14, 2002).
Huffman, who has dog named Walter Wallingford, is a passionate reader. She also
enjoys being outdoors and playing a variety of sports in her free time.
Desperate Housewives
Career:
Felicity Huffman started her acting career playing Sara Greene in A Home Run for
Love (1978, TV movie). However, she disappeared from the scene and was not seen
again until she emerged as the "Wheel of Fortune Girl" in the dramatic comedy
film Things Change (1988). Subsequently she also won a small role in Reversal of
Fortune (1990, played Minnie).
After her performances on the big screen, Huffman went back to performing on TV.
She was seen in several TV movies including Golden Years (1991, portrayed Terry
Spann), Quicksand: No Escape (1992, played Joanna Reinhardt), The Water Engine
(1992, as Dance Hall Girl) and The Heart of Justice (1993, played the role of
Annie).
In 1995 Huffman played the role of an attorney in the film Hackers and followed
it with the television series Bed Time (played Donna) and the movie Harrison:
Cry of the City TV movie (played Peggy Macklin). Huffman also appeared in The
Underworld (1997, TV movie) and had a small role in The Spanish Prisoner.
After her small roles in films and TV shows, Huffman finally received her first
leading role in the comedy series Sports Night (1998-2000). She was bumped up to
the starring role of Dana Whitaker, a woman who lives for the show. Her bright
performance in the show awarded her TV Guide's Award for The Best Show You're
Not Watching in 2000. The role also brought her a nomination for Best
Performance by an Actress in a TV-Series, Comedy or Musical at the Golden Globes
Awards and an Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series Screen
Actors Guild Award nomination (2000). Commenting about her work with Aaron
Sorkin and Thomas Schlamme in Sports Night, she said, "It is such an honor to be
acting with a writer of the caliber of Aaron, and then there's Tommy -- I'd take
a bullet for those guys."
While filming Sports Night, Huffman also appeared in A Slight Case of Murder
(1999, TV movie) and had a small role in Magnolia (1999).
Huffman also took part in stage productions. On Broadway she performed in David
Mamet's Speed-the-Plow and worked with her husband, William H. Macy, in such
plays as The Three Sisters and Boy's Life. While off-Broadway, Huffman appeared
in Mamet's production of Cryptogram, for which she won an Obie in 1997.
After Sports Night's cancellation in 2000 and the birth of her first child,
Huffman could be seen again in the 2001 TV movies The Heart Department and Snap
Decision. In the following year she portrayed Lady Bird Johnson in John
Frankenheimer's Path to War and played the small role of Joey's Mom in Door to
Door. Additionally, Huffman played recurring roles in such TV series as Frasier,
The X Files and The D.A. She also appeared on The Oprah Winfrey Show five times.
In the year 2003, Huffman was back to lead status as Lorna Colm in the Showtime
original series Out of Order, co-starring Eric Stoltz and husband Macy. Although
the show was cancelled, Huffman emerged in another new show. She starred in
ABC's darkly comic primetime drama series Desperate Housewives (2004), playing
the character of Lynette Scavo. The series also starred Marcia Cross, Eva
Longoria, Teri Hatcher and Nicolette Sheridan. Because of her good performance,
Huffman was nominated for an Emmy. That same year, moviegoers could also see
Huffman's perform in theatre with a supporting role in the holiday comedy
Christmas with the Kranks. Recently Huffman starred as Bree in director Duncan
Tucker's Transamerica (2005).
Awards:
