Laura Linney is an American theater, film and television actress, singer and producer. Best known to the general public for her roles in the films The Truman Show, The Mysterious River, Kinsey, Real Love, and Miracle on the Hudson. Also known as the leading woman in the series "This Scary Letter" P "" and "Ozark". Three times nominated for an Oscar, winner of Emmy and Golden Globe awards.
Childhood and youth
Laura Linney was born February 5, 1964 in the city of New York, on the island of Manhattan. Father is a famous playwright and writer Romulus Linney. Mother is a nurse. Laura grew up in modest conditions, after the divorce of her parents she was forced to live with her mother in a one-room apartment.
However, Laura Linney graduated from the elite Northfield Mount Herman School. After graduation, she was able to enter the prestigious Northwestern University, and after a while transferred to Brown University. She studied acting and was one of the chairmen of the student theater. After graduating from university, Laura Linney entered the Dzhulliard Academy, where she studied for another four years.
Carier start
The first movie experience was for Laura Linney the film "Lorenzo Oil." In the family drama of George Miller, the young actress played an unnamed teacher. A year later, she appeared in the political comedy Ivan Reitman's "Dave" in a more prominent role.
In 1995, the actress played a major role in the sci-fi action movie "Congo", and a year later appeared on the screen in the thriller "Primeval Fear" along with Richard Gere and Edward Norton.
Big breakthrough
A real breakthrough in the filmography of Laura Linney was the science fiction film "The Truman Show." For this work, she received positive reviews from critics, and the film itself became a box office hit and was nominated for several prestigious awards.
The actress continued to star actively, mainly in independent films. In 2000, Linney played a major role in the directorial debut of the famous screenwriter and playwright Kenneth Lonergan "You can count on me." For this work, she was first nominated for an Academy Award, but Julia Roberts received the award for the film Erin Brockovich.
Career heyday
2003 was one of the most fruitful in the creative biography of Laura Linney, three major projects with the participation of the actress were released at once. She appeared in a supporting role in Clint Eastwood’s thriller Mysterious River, the judicial drama Life of David Gale and the romantic comedy Real Love. All three paintings showed excellent results at the box office and earned the love of the audience.
A year later, Linney appeared in the biographical film "Kinsey" as the wife of the famous scientist Alfred Kinsey, played by Liam Neeson. The picture was positively received by critics and, according to the results of the calendar year, was included in many lists of the best films. Laura Linney received a second Academy Award nomination, this time as a supporting actress. At the end of the ceremony, the figurine went to Cate Blanchett for the role of the famous actress Catherine Hepburn in Martin Scorsese's film "The Aviator".
The following year, Laura starred in Noah Baumbach’s family drama, The Squid and the Whale, for which she won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Actress. A year later, Laura Linney took part in several films, but without much success.
She later earned her third Oscar nomination. In Tamara Jenkins’s family tragicomedy “Savages,” Linney played the sister of Philip Seymour Hoffman. However, this time the actress was not destined to win, the award went to Marion Cotillard for the role of Edith Piaf in the biopic “Life in Pink”.
In subsequent years, films with the participation of Laura Linney were not as successful as before. In 2012, she played the role of the wife of US President Franklin Delano Roosevelt, performed by Bill Murray, in the tragicomedy Hyde Park on the Hudson. As you can see from the photo, Laura Linney has a clear resemblance to the wife of President Margaret Sackley, in addition, she got used to the role perfectly, however, the weak script and slurred direction made the film one of the main disappointments of the year.
A year later, the actress appeared in the thriller "Fifth Power", which was also considered one of the most anticipated projects of the year, but in the end received negative reviews from critics and showed itself poorly at the box office.
TV work
In 1993, a mini-series based on the famous book series "City Stories" was released with Laura Linney in the title role. The project became a real hit and helped the young actress get more offers on the shooting of feature films.
However, even after successful Hollywood projects, Linnie returned to the project in 1998. She also took part in the filming of the three-part continuation of the series three years later.
In 2001, Laura Linney starred in the television movie "Indomitable Iris," for which she received an Emmy Award in the category "Best Actress in a Mini-Series or TV Movie".
From 2004 to 2006, she played the role of the ex-wife of the protagonist in the sitcom "Fraser". In total, the actress appeared in six series. This work brought Laura a second Emmy Award, this time as the best guest actress in a comedy series.
In 2008, the HBO cable channel released the mini-series John Adams, based on a biography of the second US president. Laura Linney played the wife of the protagonist, performed by Paul Giamatti, this role brought her the third Emmy, again for the best female role in a mini-series or television movie, as well as the Golden Globe Award in a similar category.
In 2010, Linnie began to play the main role in the tragicomedy series "This scary letter" R ", where she played a teacher with cancer in the terminal stage. For this role, she again received the Golden Globe in 2011 and was nominated for an Emmy. The series was closed after the fourth season.
Theatrical roles
From the very beginning of her acting career, Laura Linney worked actively in the theater. She participated in Broadway productions of such famous plays as The Six Degrees of Alienation, The Seagull, Uncle Vanya, and others.
For her theatrical work, the actress was nominated four times for the Tony Award, and also received the Drama Desk Award in 2017.
Recent work
In 2015, the actress appeared in the detective drama Mr. Holmes, again working with director Bill Condon, in whom Linnie has already starred in Kinsey and Fifth Power.
A year later, Laura Linney could be seen immediately in four major Hollywood projects. She played a small role as the mother of the protagonist in Tom Ford’s psychological drama Night Animals. She played the role of the wife of the protagonist in the biographical drama "Sally". She played the wife of the hero Colin Firth in the drama of Clint Eastwood's "Genius". She presented the image of a secondary character in the continuation of the blockbuster "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles".
In 2017, Laura co-starred in the drama Dinner along with Richard Gere, Rebecca Hall and Steve Coogan. At the moment, this is her last feature film.
Since 2017, Laura Linney has been starring in the Ozark series of Netflix streaming service. She portrays the wife of the protagonist, Marty Byrd, Wendy. According to the plot, Marty is involved in money laundering for a Mexican drug cartel and is forced to move to Lake Ozark when his partner decides to deceive their employers. The series received mixed reviews from critics, but became a real hit among ordinary viewers. Jason Bateman was nominated for an Emmy Award for his work on the project, while Laura Linney television academies bypassed this time.
Future projects
Soon, another mini-series from the series "City Stories" with Laura in the lead role will be released. She will also play one of the central characters in the series Sink Sank Sunk.
Full-length films with Linnie are not planned in the near future. The actress is busy filming the third season of the Ozark series.
Personal life
In 1995, Laura Linney married actor and playwright David Edkins, mostly known for his work in the theater and roles in television series. Five years later, the couple divorced.
For some time she met with the actor Eric Stoltz, known for the films "Mask" and "Pulp Fiction", it was he who gave the actress the script for the film "Squid and the Whale."
In 2009, Laura married a second time to real estate agent Mark Schrauer after a two-year engagement. In January 2014, Laura Linney gave birth for the first time, at the age of forty-nine. This made her the oldest Oscar nominee to give birth naturally. The couple named their son Bennett Amistad. Six months after giving birth, Laura returned to work.
The actress maintains friendships with director Bill Condon and actors Ian McKelen and Liam Neeson, the latter even led Linney to the altar during the second wedding.
He is actively involved in charity work and is also a member of the board of trustees of educational institutions where she received her education.