Best Known As: Lynette on the TV show Desperate Housewives
After more than two decades on stage and screen, Felicity Huffman became a household name in 2004, thanks to her Emmy-winning performance as Lynette on TV's Desperate Housewives. She studied theater in London and New York and began acting professionally in the late 1970s. After many television movies and guest spots, she landed a central role in the critically acclaimed series Sports Night (1998-2000). More TV and film roles followed, and Huffman proved herself capable of doing both comedy and drama. Married to actor William H. Macy, she has also stayed active in live theater, collaborating with her husband and writer David Mamet in productions such as Broadway's Speed-the-Plow (1988). Her films include Reversal of Fortune (1990, starring Jeremy Irons), Magnolia (1999, starring Tom Cruise), Raising Helen (2004, with Abigail Breslin), Transamerica (2005) and Georgia Rule (2007, with Jane Fonda and Lindsay Lohan).
Her co-stars on Desperate Housewives include Teri Hatcher and Eva Longoria... Huffman's nickname is "Flicka."
Career Highlights: Transamerica, Phoebe in Wonderland, Desperate Housewives: Season 03
First Major Screen Credit: Sports Night: Season 01 (1998)
Biography
An alumna of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London, actress Felicity Huffman is one of many classically trained stage performers who have found a home on television. She appeared on Broadway in David Mamet's Feed the Plow and co-founded the New York Atlantic Theater Company, along with Mamet and her husband, film actor William H. Macy.
Making her feature-film debut in 1988 in Mamet's comedy drama Things Change, Huffman continued her acting career in the world of made-for-TV movies. A few exceptions include small roles in Reversal of Fortune, Hackers, The Spanish Prisoner, and Magnolia. In 1997 she won an Obie award for her work in the off-Broadway production of David Mamet's Cryptogram.
Moving to the small-screen, Huffman was bumped up to starring status for the role of Dana Whitaker on the sitcom Sports Night, which ran from 1998 to 2000 on ABC before moving over to Comedy Central in syndication. She earned Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild nominations for her work on that show. After Sports Night's cancellation in 2000, Huffman had her first child and could be seen in a string of TV movies, notably as Lady Bird Johnson in John Frankenheimer's Path to War. She then lent her voice to Disney's animated series Kim Possible and made appearances on Frasier, The West Wing, and irls Club.
In 2003 Huffman was back to lead status as Lorna Colm on the Showtime original series Out of Order, also starring Eric Stoltz and husband Macy. Though the show was soon cancelled, it wouldn't be long before Huffman was back at it with another new show. This time around, she starred in ABC's dark primetime dramatic comedy series Desperate Housewives, which premiered in the Fall of 2004. The wildly successful series proved to be a break unlike anything the actress had ever experienced, earning her an Emmy, a Screen Actor's Guild Award, multiple Golden Globe nominations, and a stardom that finally made her a household name.
In 2006, she won a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture - Drama for her role in Transamerica, in which she plays a pre-op male-to-female transsexual who learns she has a teenage son from a clumsy sexual encounter during her life as a man. Huffman's critical acclaim cemented that she had arrived as an actress and would not need to rely on the notoriety of Desperate Housewives in order to maintain a vibrant career. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, All Movie Guide
Huffman was born in Bedford, New York, the daughter of Grace Valle (née Ewing), an actress, and Moore Peters Huffman, a banker.[1] Her parents divorced a year after her birth, and she was raised mostly by her mother. She has six sisters and a brother, Moore. She attended The Putney School, a boarding high school in Putney, Vermont and graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan. After high school she went on to New York University where she graduated in 1988 from Circle In The Square, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama.
On June 23, 2008, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce announced Huffman and her husband William H. Macy will each receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in the upcoming year.[3][4]
Felicity Huffman is planning to return to New York City and to Broadway again.[5]
Personal life
Huffman is married to actor William H. Macy, with whom she has two daughters, Sofia Grace (born August 1, 2000) and Georgia Grace (born March 14, 2002). They married on September 6, 1997. She has 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 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, in the mold of "Bennifer", "Brangelina", "Speidi", and "TomKat."
In 2005, Huffman revealed that she had suffered from both anorexia and bulimia in her late teens and twenties.[6] 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. 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 huge fan of Tina Turner and her dream was to be a back-up singer, so when Huffman was on The Oprah Winfrey Show, Oprah surprised her with a visit from Tina Turner where the two got to sing together. Huffman also sang back-up vocals for her friend Rebecca Pidgeon's cover version of Auld Lang Syne/Bring It On Home To Me in 1995.
2000: Nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series -- Sports Night
2005: Won for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series -- Desperate Housewives
2006: Won for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series -- Desperate Housewives
2006: Won for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series -- Desperate Housewives
2007: Nominated for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series -- Desperate Housewives
2007: Nominated for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Comedy Series -- Desperate Housewives
Other honors
2009: In June 2008 it was announced that Felicity Huffman would receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Although announced in June 2008, she is among the list of 2009 recipients. The date and time for the unveiling of her star and ceremony has not yet been announced but is expected in 2009.
