Background

Ethnicity: Huffman has German, English, Scots-Irish/Northern Irish, Irish, Scottish, French, Dutch and Irish ancestry.

Felicity Huffman was born December 9, 1962, in Bedford, New York, the United States, into a wealthy Christian family of Grace Valle (née Ewing; 1921-2009) and Moore Peters Huffman (1910-1987), a banker and partner at Morgan Stanley. The youngest of eight children, with six sisters and one brother, she was raised by her mother after her parents divorced around the time of her first birthday.

She discovered that her biological father was a family friend Roger Tallman Maher when she was a teenager. She has seven siblings. They are 6 sisters Mariah, Betsy, Grace, Isabel, Jessie, and Jane, and one brother Moore Jr. In the 1970s her mother left New York and bought property in Snowmass, Colorado, where Felicity and her siblings spent their youth.

She told Oprah Winfrey that when she was born, her mother named her "Flicka", but had to change it because it was not a Christian name. She still uses "Flicka" as a nickname. The name "Flicka" comes from the book and movie My Friend Flicka (1943), a childhood favorite. It means "girl" in Swedish.

Education

Huffman attended The Putney School, a private boarding high school in Putney, Vermont. Huffman's interest in acting was spurred by a movie-theater outing to see Italian director Franco Zeffirelli's 1968 film adaptation of Romeo and Juliet, which won several industry honors that year, including the Academy Award for cinematography.

Thankfully, Huffman's family was supportive of her ambition, and she went off to acting camp every summer, and for high school even attended the Interlochen Arts Academy in northern Michigan, a boarding school whose alumni have included Tom Hulce ( Amadeus ) and the pop singer Jewel. During this time she also made her television debut, as Flicka Huffman, in a 1978 television movie called A Home Run for Love.

After graduating from Interlochen in 1981, Huffman studied at London's Royal Academy of Drama Arts and began a lengthy stint at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Though she did not earn her drama degree until 1988, she was active in the New York City theater scene, and by 1984 was working with the Atlantic Theater Company, which grew out of some workshops that Pulitzer Prizewinning playwright David Mamet had started with members of the NYU drama program.

Career

The same year that Huffman earned her NYU degree, she made her Broadway debut in a highly publicized production of a new play from Mamet, Speed-the-Plow. Huffman replaced one of the original three leads, pop singer Madonna. Despite such an auspicious start, Huffman had a difficult time finding and even keeping work. "Basically, I got fired off of the play Jake's Women," she recounted. "And then I did an ABC pilot with Ed Asner that was going to be a big deal and was called Thunder Alley, and I got fired from that." She had a brief role in the 1990 movie Reversal of Fortune, about the Claus von Bulow murder case, and was cast in a first-season episode of The X Files. She also appeared in a few made-for-television movies, including Stephen King's Golden Years and Quicksand: No Escape.

After a string of guest appearances and small film parts, Felicity Huffman got a chance to show television audiences just how talented she was in 1998 with the comedy Sports Night, created by Aaron Sorkin. Playing television producer Dana Whitaker, she earned a Golden Globe Award nomination in 2000 for her work on the series. While critics loved the show, it only lasted two seasons.

After a recurring role on the popular comedy Frasier, Felicity Huffman landed a leading role in a new suburban comedy, Desperate Housewives, co-starring with Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher, and Eva Longoria. Huffman was cast as Lynette Scavo, one of a quartet of housewives on Desperate Housewives ' Wisteria Lane. The campy drama revolved around several subplots but was loosely tied together over the mystery surrounding the death of a fifth housewife, Mary Alice, who provides a narrative voice-over. Huffman's Lynette is a former high-powered corporate executive who had four children, including a set of twins, in six years, and quit her job to become a stay-at-home mom. The new workload is far worse than anything she ever encountered in the business world, and Lynette struggles to maintain her sanity. Compounding her dilemma are her exceedingly rambunctious twin boys, and her secret addiction to their attention-deficit-disorder medication. During the course of the series, her character wrestled with balancing work and family. Early in the show's run, Lynette was a stay-at-home mom to her four children, often overwhelmed by the antics of her rambunctious brood and the absence of her husband Tom (Doug Savant), though the couple switched roles when Lynette returned to work. Throughout her character's ups and downs, Huffman made Lynette a realistic, genuine depiction of a modern wife and mother. For her work on the series, she won the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series in 2005.

That same year, Felicity Huffman found success on the big screen. She starred in Transamerica (2005), an independent film about a pre-operative transsexual named Bree. The story revolves around the discovery of a son named Toby from a sexual encounter during college and the cross-country journey the two take together. The gentle humanity she infused into this challenging role helped Huffman earn her first Academy Award nomination.

The actress has starred in Georgia Rule (2007), alongside Jane Fonda and Lindsay Lohan, and 2008 on independent drama Phoebe in Wonderland. She made a film, Lester, as a writer, director, and actress in 2010.

After Desperate Housewives finale, Huffman appeared in the comedy play November. The play debuted on September 26 and ended on November 4, 2012. In 2012, she also took part in the ensemble cast independent movie, Trust Me, opposite Clark Gregg.

In 2013, Huffman signed on for the lead role of the Fox drama pilot Boomerang, directed by Craig Brewer. The show centers on Margie Hamilton, a spy, and master of disguise, who is the matriarch of the Hamilton clan, a "briskly professional assassin who can kill and dispose of a suspected terrorist in the afternoon - then switch to wife and mother mode without a hitch". However, Fox did not pick up Boomerang as a new series.

In 2013, Huffman starred in the independent drama Rudderless, alongside Selena Gomez, and in the adventure film Big Game opposite Samuel L. Jackson. She also starred in another independent drama Stealing Cars and was cast in the comedy film Zendog. In April 2014 she appeared in the independent film Cake opposite Jennifer Aniston. She also made a noteworthy return to television in 2015 with American Crime, for which she garnered Emmy and Golden Globe nominations.

In 2019, Huffman teamed with Angela Bassett and Patricia Arquette for the Netflix comedy Otherhood, the trio playing empty nesters who intrude on their adult sons.

Achievements

• 

  Huffman is the recipient of numerous accolades including a Primetime Emmy Award, a Golden Globe Award, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and has received nominations for an Academy Award, and a BAFTA Award.
  
  Huffman drew critical praise for her performance as a transgender woman in the independent film Transamerica (2005). The role earned her a Golden Globe Award, Independent Spirit Award, National Board of Review, and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.
  
  She has appeared on television, in movies, and on stage many times with her husband; the couple each received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 7, 2012.

Works

More photos

• book

  • A Practical Handbook for the Boyfriend

    (Most dating books are written for women - what a mistake ...)

    2006

• movie

  • Christmas with the Kranks

    (Fed up with the commercial aspects of Christmas, particul...)

    2004
  • Transamerica

    (Transamerica tells the story of Bree (Felicity Huffman), ...)

    2005
  • Snap Decision

    (Inspired by a true story, Mare Winningham stars as a youn...)

    2001
  • Hackers

    (A neophyte "hacker" becomes the target of the FBI after h...)

    1995
  • Trust Me

    (Clark Gregg, Amanda Peet, and Saxon Sharbino lead an all-...)

    2013
  • Phoebe in Wonderland

    (This heartfelt, fantastical story of a troubled, imaginat...)

    2008
  • Cake

    (Jennifer Aniston stars in this dark comedy about an acerb...)

    2014
  • Things Change

    (Jerry (Joe Mantegna), a low-level mobster, is tasked with...)

    1988
  • Georgia Rule

    (Jane Fonda, Lindsay Lohan and Felicity Huffman star in Ge...)

    2007
  • Big Game

    (After Air Force One crashes, a young boy and the Presiden...)

    2014
  • American Crime

    (A home invasion sends shock waves into the community stir...)

    2015
  • Reversal of Fortune

    (Jeremy Irons in his portrayal of aristocrat Claus von Bul...)

    1990
  • Krystal

    (A young man living a sheltered life develops a crush on a...)

    2017
  • Quicksand: No Escape

    (In this thriller, the idyllic life of an upstanding archi...)

    1992
  • House Hunting

    (Two families go to an open house at a deserted farmhouse ...)

    2003
  • Magnolia

    (An intriguing and entertaining study in characters going ...)

    1999
  • Stealing Cars

    (A rebellious teenager with tremendous promise navigates h...)

    2015
  • Path To War

    (A powerful look inside Lyndon Johnson's White House in th...)

    2002
  • The Spanish Prisoner

    (From the mind of David Mamet, a businessman gets caught i...)

    1997
  • Raising Helen

    (Helen must choose between a life she loves or a new life.)

    2004
  • Door to Door

    (William H. Macy plays Bill who, despite crippling cerebra...)

    2002
  • Rudderless

    (William H. Macy makes his directorial debut in this heart...)

    2014

• TV series

  • Desperate Housewives

    (Set on Wisteria Lane, a street in the fictional town of F...)

    2004
  • Sports Night

    (Starring Peter Krause and Josh Charles as the anchors of ...)

    1998
  • Get Shorty

    (Get Shorty follows Miles Daly, a hitman who tries to beco...)

    2018

Religion

Huffman is a Christian. She stated, that she prays every evening.

Politics

Huffman identifies herself as a Democrat. She took part in the women’s march in Washington to protest against Donald Trump’s inauguration.

Views

Huffman identifies as pro-choice and has campaigned for women's rights on behalf of NARAL. Huffman is the co-author of the self-help book A Practical Handbook for the Boyfriend. On March 1, 2012, Huffman launched What The Flicka, a website dedicated to women and mothers where she is a regular contributor. In March 2019, the website was reportedly deactivated.

Quotations: "I feel ashamed of us. We had an opportunity to lead the world in a different way after 9/11 and we blew it. And I don't know if we'll ever recover. And then we re-elected that bonehead. I want to walk around saying, "I'm so sorry." America's a dichotomy. It's binge and purge. It's really right-wing, and also the left is coming up. It's stuff yourself and then starve yourself."

"There are so few perks about getting older. Everything heads south and you become less and less attractive, but one of the perks is that you can usually learn to come home to yourself. You're a little more comfortable in your skin, as saggy as it is. And that's a gift."

"In the new millennium, we're fighting against the icon of the perfect mother. I don't know about here, but in America, you're not allowed to talk about how it's driving you crazy, or how you don't like it, or how, if you have to give a bath one more time, you're going to pull your hair out. Because then you're considered a bad mom. There's a very established conversation or litany, which is, "Isn't motherhood the best?" To me, that question just isn't applicable. You can complain about your job, you can complain about your husband, you can complain about your friends, but God forbid you to complain about your kids."

"I know as actors our job is usually to shed our skins, but I think as people our job is to become who we really are and so I would like to salute the men and women who brave ostracism, alienation and a life lived on the margins to become who they really are. "

Personality

On March 12, 2019, Huffman was arrested along with Full House actress Lori Loughlin and another four dozen individuals as part of a widespread college admissions scam that involved parents paying bribes to boost their children's chances of attending elite colleges.

According to court documents, Huffman and Macy contributed $15,000 to a phony charitable organization in exchange for having a preferred proctor oversee their older daughter's college entrance exam and secretly change her incorrect answers. Huffman was charged with felony conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail (her husband was not charged) and released after posting a $250,000 bond.

On April 8, it was announced that Huffman was among the 13 parents who agreed to plead guilty to the charges. The actress released a statement that day, which read: "I am in full acceptance of my guilt, and with deep regret and shame over what I have done, I accept full responsibility for my actions and will accept the consequences that stem from those actions.

"I am ashamed of the pain I have caused my daughter, my family, my friends, my colleagues and the educational community," she continued. "My daughter knew absolutely nothing about my actions, and in my misguided and profoundly wrong way, I have betrayed her. This transgression toward her and the public I will carry for the rest of my life."

On May 13, Huffman pleaded guilty to federal charges for paying $15,000 to have a proctor correct SAT questions answered incorrectly by her daughter. Sentencing is scheduled for September 13, 2019.

Physical Characteristics: Huffman has a height of 5 ft 5 in or 165 cm, and a weight of 53 kg or 117 lbs. She also has blonde hair and blue eyes.

Interests

• gardening

• Writers

  Open Mind, Open Heart by Thomas Keating, Like Family by Paula McLain, Wild Swans by Jung Chang, The Girls' Guide to Hunting and Fishing by Melissa Bank, The Shadow of the Wind by Carlos Ruiz Zafón, Your Self-Confident Baby by Magda Gerber and Allison Johnson

• Music & Bands

  Tina Turner

Connections

Huffman met her future husband, the Atlantic company's co-founder, William H. Macy at the NYU drama program. Huffman did not begin dating Macy until 1994, about ten years after they first met when they reconnected at a London funeral of a mutual friend. Huffman dated Macy on-and-off for 15 years. They wed in 1997. They have two daughters, Sophia and Georgia.

Father:

Moore Peters Huffman

Mother:

Grace Valle Huffman

Spouse:

William H. Macy

colleague:

Laurence Fishburne III

Daughter:

Sophia Grace Macy

Daughter:

Georgia Grace Macy

colleague:

Angelina Jolie

colleague:

Selena Gomez

colleague:

Samuel Jackson

Friend:

Eva Longoria

colleague:

Kyle MacLachlan

colleague:

Vera Farmiga

Acquaintance:

Henry Louis Gates Jr.

Acquaintance:

Oprah Winfrey