Elizabeth Perkins

Elizabeth Perkins
Perkins at the Paley Center for Media Gala Honoring Showtime Networks – Century Plaza Hotel, Los Angeles, December 11, 2008
Born	Elizabeth Ann Perkins (1960-11-18) November 18, 1960 (age 52) Queens, New York, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1984–present
Spouse(s)	Terry Kinney (1984–1988) Julio Macat (2000–present)
Children	Hannah Jo Phillips (b. 1991)
Website
elizabeth-perkins.org

Elizabeth Ann Perkins (born November 18, 1960) is an American actress. Her film roles have included Big, The Flintstones, Miracle on 34th Street, About Last Night..., and Avalon. She is perhaps best known for her role as Celia Hodes in the Showtime series Weeds.

[edit] Early life

Perkins was born in Queens, New York City, the daughter of Jo Williams, a drug treatment counselor and concert pianist, and James Perkins, a farmer, writer, and businessman.^[1] Her paternal grandparents were Greek immigrants from Salonika who anglicized their surname from "Pisperikos" to "Perkins" when they emigrated to the United States.^[2][3][4] Perkins was raised in Colrain, Massachusetts; her parents divorced in 1963.^[5] She began working in theatre with Arena Civic Theatre, a non-profit community theatre group based out of Greenfield, Massachusetts.^[6] Perkins attended Northfield Mount Hermon School, an elite preparatory school, and then spent three years in Chicago studying acting at the Goodman School of Drama.^[5] In 1984, she made her theatrical debut on Broadway in Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs^[7] and afterward, worked in a number of ensemble companies, including The New York Shakespeare Festival and the Steppenwolf Theater.^[8]

[edit] Career

She was listed as one of the 12 "Promising New Actors of 1986" in John Willis' Screen World, and has since landed numerous film roles. Perkins made her film debut in 1986 in Edward Zwick's About Last Night... and had a career breakthrough co-starring with Tom Hanks in Big. She received critical acclaim for her performance in Barry Levinson's Avalon,^[9] and was a standout opposite William Hurt in The Doctor (1991), receiving critical acclaim for her performance as a terminal cancer patient.^[5]

She played Wilma Flintstone in the 1994 live-action comedy The Flintstones.

In 1993, Perkins appeared in the television project For Their Own Good.^[10] She later starred in the comedy series Battery Park and has appeared in television and films including the 1994 remake of Miracle on 34th Street and 2000's 28 Days starring as Sandra Bullock's sister. Perkins also had a small role in the 2003 film Finding Nemo, she was the voice of a clownfish who was the wife of Marlin and mother of Nemo and was killed by a barracuda at the beginning of the film. Perkins appeared as a psychiatrist in the 2005 suspense thriller, The Ring Two, starring Naomi Watts.

From 2005 to 2009, Perkins played Celia Hodes, an alcoholic and image-obsessed PTA mother, alongside Mary-Louise Parker and Justin Kirk on the Showtime series Weeds. For her work on Weeds, Perkins received two Golden Globe nominations for Best Supporting Actress in a TV Series, Miniseries or Made for TV Motion Picture (in 2006 and 2007).^[5] She was also nominated three times for an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her work on Weeds.^[5] At a screening of the season 2 finale of Weeds, at the Museum of TV and Radio on October 25, 2006, Perkins said that she considers Celia Hodes her favorite role in her career.^[5] On May 6, 2010, she announced that the fifth season of Weeds was her last despite the cliffhanger her character had in the season finale.^[11]

She currently stars in the upcoming ABC comedy series How to Live with Your Parents (for the Rest of Your Life).^[12] She portrayed the uncredited character, Lizzie, in The Lorax.

[edit] Personal life

Perkins' first husband was Chicago actor and director Terry Kinney; the couple divorced.^[13] She has one daughter, Hannah Phillips, born in 1991. In 2000, she married her present husband, Argentinian-born cinematographer Julio Macat, gaining three stepsons: Maximillian, Alexander, and Andreas.^[14] In 2005, at the age of 44, she learned that she had latent autoimmune diabetes, a form of Juvenile diabetes that is most often diagnosed in middle age.^[15]

[edit] Awards and nominations

This section of a biography of a living person does not include any references or sources. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living people that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately. (November 2011)

Primetime Emmy Awards

• 2006 Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Weeds (nominated)
• 2007 Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Weeds (nominated)
• 2009 Best Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for Weeds (nominated)

Golden Globe Awards

• 2006 Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series, Mini-series, or TV Movie for Weeds (nominated)
• 2007 Best Supporting Actress in a Television Series, Mini-series, or TV Movie for Weeds (nominated)

Satellite Awards

• 2005 Best Actress in a Comedy Series for Weeds (nominated)
• 2006 Best Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-series, or TV Movie for Weeds (nominated)

Screen Actors Guild Awards

• 2007 Best Acting Ensemble in a Comedy Series for Weeds (nominated)
• 2009 Best Acting Ensemble in a Comedy Series for Weeds (nominated)

[edit] Filmography

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Official Website
• Elizabeth Perkins at the Internet Movie Database
• Elizabeth Perkins on Twitter
• Elizabeth Perkins at the Internet Broadway Database
• Elizabeth Perkins at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Elizabeth Perkins at AllRovi