Felicity Huffman

Felicity Huffman portrays the role of Lynette Scavo on Desperate Housewives.

Summary
Felicity Kendall Huffman (born December 9, 1962) is an American film, stage, and television actress. She is known for her role as executive producer Dana Whitaker on the ABC television show Sports Night (1998–2000), which earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination. She is perhaps best known for her wildly popular role as hectic supermom Lynette Scavo on the ABC show "Desperate Housewives" (2004–2012). The role of Lynette has earned her an Emmy Award.

In 2005, her critically acclaimed role as a transgender woman in the independent film Transamerica earned her a Golden Globe Award and an Academy Award nomination. She has also starred in such films as Reversal of Fortune, The Spanish Prisoner, Magnolia, Path to War, Georgia Rule and Phoebe in Wonderland.

Early Life
She was born in Bedford, New York, the daughter of Grace Valle (née Ewing), an actress, and Moore Peters Huffman, a banker and partner at Morgan Stanley. Her parents divorced a year after her birth, and she was raised mostly by her mother. She has six sisters (Mariah, Betsy, Jane, Grace, Isabel, Jessie) and a brother (Moore Jr.). She attended The Putney School, a private boarding high school in Putney, Vermont and graduated from Interlochen Arts Academy in Michigan in 1981. After high school she went on to New York University where she graduated in 1984 from Circle In The Square, with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Drama.

Theatre
Felicity Huffman made ​​her debut on stage in 1982 and 80's and 90's worked as a rule on stage productions. In 1988, she debuted on Broadway in the role as Karen in David Mamet's play Speed the Plow. In 1995, Huffman won Obie Award for her performance in the critically successful play The Cryptogram by David Mamet. In 1999 she starred in the premiere of David Mamet's play Boston Marriage, about the daringly intimate relationship between two turn-of-the-century women, as well as in several other major theatrical productions.

Film
Huffman debuted on the big screen in 1988 with a small role in the Mamet's film Things Change. Two years later, she appeared as Minnie, a Harvard law school student in the courtroom drama, Reversal of Fortune. Her other credits include 1992 thriller Quicksand: No Escape with Donald Sutherland and Tim Matheson, The Water Engine opposite William H. Macy, and supporting roles on The Heart of Justice (1992), Hackers (1995), Harrison: Cry of the City (1996) and The Underworld (1997). In 1997 she starred in Mamet's critically acclaimed film The Spanish Prisoner. In 1999 she appeared in the Paul Thomas Anderson's ensemble drama Magnolia and television adaptation of 1938 movie A Slight Case of Murder along with William H. Macy. In 2002 she played Lady Bird Johnson in HBO award-winning movie Path to War and made a cameo appearance in the Door to Door, where was shot her husband. She also starred in Snap Decision (2001) with Mare Winningham, Raising Helen (2004) as Kate Hudson's older sister, and Christmas with the Kranks (2004) as Jamie Lee Curtis's best friend.

In 2005 Huffman played Bree, a pre-operative transsexual who, on the brink of her transforming surgery, discovered that in her youth she had fathered a son - who is now a troubled teen hustler on the run, in independent drama Transamerica. Huffman's performance in the film Transamerica was praised by many critics and garnered her a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress as well as nominations for Best Actress (Screen Actors Guild) and Best Actress (Academy Awards) and several another awards and nominations. Huffman is now a voting member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences.

In 2007, Huffman starred in Garry Marshall's film Georgia Rule alongside Jane Fonda and Lindsay Lohan, and 2008 on the independent drama Phoebe in Wonderland. She made a film, Lesster, as a writer, director and actress in 2010.

Both Felicity Huffman and her husband William H. Macy each received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on March 7, 2012

Television
Huffman starred on the television mini-series Golden Years, based on the novel by Stephen King in 1991. In 1994 she starred in the ABC pilot Thunder Alley as Ed Asner's daughter, but was replaced in subsequent episodes by Diane Venora when the series began. In 90's, she has appeared mostly in guest roles on such shows as The X-Files, Early Edition, Chicago Hope and Law & Order.

From 1998 to 2000, she portrayed Dana Whitaker in the critically acclaimed series Sports Night, for which she received several awards and nominations, including a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Musical or Comedy. After the completion of Sports Night, she gave birth to her first child and soon returned to work. In 2001, she starred on not picked up CBS pilot Heart Department In 2003, she starred in Showtime's miniseries Out of Order. After a recurring role on the NBC sitcom Frasier, Huffman landed a leading role in an ABC comedy series "Desperate Housewives", co-starring with Marcia Cross, Teri Hatcher, Nicollette Sheridan and Eva Longoria.

Huffman won an Emmy Award for her work on "Desperate Housewives" (Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series) in 2005, as well as two 2006 Screen Actors Guild Awards (Best Actress - Comedy Series and part of Best Ensemble - Comedy Series) in 2006 and received several other awards. A report in November 2010 suggested that Huffman, along with co-star Teri Hatcher, would be quitting "Desperate Housewives". but ABC denied the claim. The series ended in May 2012 after a total of eight seasons.

Personal Life
Huffman is married to actor William H. Macy, with whom she has two daughters, Sophia 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.

In 2005, Huffman revealed that she had suffered from both anorexia and bulimia in her late teens and twenties.

Huffman identifies as pro-choice, and has campaigned for women's rights on behalf of NARAL. She also identifies as a Democrat.

She is also the co-author of the self-help book A Practical Handbook for the Boyfriend.

On March 1, 2012 Felicity launched What The Flicka, a website dedicated to women and mothers where she is a regular contributor. Felicity also posts $20 workout videos to her youtube channe l that are quick 5 minutes or less workouts for viewers to do at home.

Trivia

 * Has one older brother, Moore.
 * Jessica Alba was one of her students at the Atlantic Theater Company.
 * BFA in Drama - New York University, Tisch School of the Arts (1988).
 * Graduated high school in 1981 from the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy in Interlochen, Michigan, where she majored in theater.
 * One of her idols is Tina Turner.
 * She told Oprah Winfrey that when she was born, her mother named her "Flicka", but had to change it because it wasn't 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.
 * She and husband William H. Macy both received Emmy nominations in 2005.
 * Met William H. Macy when she was one of his students at the Atlantic Theater Company
 * She was fired from the TV show "Thunder Alley" (1994).
 * On an episode of Oprah Winfrey's "Wildest Dreams" segments, Huffman's dream came true when she got to sing backup to her idol Tina Turner who was performing live for Oprah (Feb. 2005)
 * Grew up in Aspen, Colorado.
 * She auditioned for Awakenings (1990).
 * Her parents divorced when she was one year old.
 * Auditioned for a role on "Star Trek" (1966).
 * Has been with William H. Macy, her husband, for 15 years before their marriage in 1997.
 * Was among the guests at Marcia Cross' wedding to Tom Mahoney
 * Invited to join AMPAS in 2006.
 * Shares a birthday with "Desperate Housewives" (2004) co-star Jesse Metcalfe.
 * Has six older sisters named Mariah, Betsy, Jane, Grace, Jessie and Isabel and an older brother named Moore Jr.
 * Born to Moore Peters Huffman, a banker, and his then wife Grace Valle, née Ewing, an actress, she and her siblings were raised by their mother.
 * Best friend of Patricia Wolff.
 * Likes herbal tea.
 * She stands at 5' 5" (1.65 m).
 * Both she and her husband, William H. Macy, are regular triathlon participants.
 * Revealed that she had suffered from bulimia and anorexia in her twenties, but finally managed to overcome those conditions due to a therapy and meeting William H. Macy (2005).
 * Sang backup for Rebecca Pidgeon's album New York Girls' Club.
 * Was forced to turn down a role in Jean-Paul Salomé's The Chameleon (2010) because of scheduling conflicts with "Desperate Housewives" (2004).
 * Returned to work three months after giving birth to her daughter Sofia in order to begin filming her guest appearance on "The West Wing" (1999).
 * Returned to work five months after giving birth to her daughter Georgia in order to begin filming her guest appearance on "Girls Club" (2002).
 * Gave birth to her second child at age 39, a daughter Georgia Grace Macy on March 14, 2002. Child's father is her husband, William H. Macy.
 * Gave birth to her first child at age 37, a daughter Sofia Grace Macy on August 1, 2000. Child's father is her husband, William H. Macy.

Personal Quotes
"My main experience is that this is a freelance business, and in a freelance business you're always sure your last job really is your last job. With the show comes job security."

"Having it in your pants is really different. Because all your focus goes there. It's like this thing, dangling, which takes all of your attention. It's no wonder that it's all they think about." [on the prosthetic penis she wore for her role as a man undergoing a sex change operation in Transamerica (2005)]

"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." [acceptance speech at the 66th Golden Globe]

"I'm shot into the stratosphere. You can't pasteurize the Academy Award. You can't negotiate it. It is the top. It is the biggest thing ever. I've been hopping around and screaming all morning." [about her Oscar nomination]

"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 complain about your kids."

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.

"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."

[after being asked if she had any last words after giving an interview for the March 2007 issue of Redbook Magazine] "Yes. Please Write 'Felicity Huffman is smart. And thin.'"

"Whenever I start to talk about acting, people's eyes roll back in their heads and they lose the will to live, so I don't think I'm going to go into that."

Salary
"Desperate Housewives" (2004) Season 2 - $250,000 per episode.