Catherine Keener

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Catherine Keener
Birth name Catherine Ann Keener
Born March 23, 1959 (age 48)
Miami, Florida, Flag of United States United States
Spouse(s) Dermot Mulroney (1990 - present)(separated) 1 child
Notable roles Maxine Lund in Being John Malkovich (1999)

Trish in The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005)
Nelle Harper Lee in Capote (2005)

Catherine Ann Keener (born March 23, 1959[1] in Miami, Florida) is an Academy Award-nominated American actress.

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Keener was the third of five children born to Jim and Evelyn Keener of Irish and Lebanese descent respectively. Keener attended Immaculate Conception Catholic School in Hialeah,FL. Although she didn’t get into trouble growing up, by the time she reached high school(Monsignor Edward Pace H.S.), Keener began rebelliously acting out. She was eventually expelled from the 11th grade, although she later returned to school, and kept her grades high enough to be accepted into college.

She attended Wheaton College, a women’s school in Norton, Massachusetts. She stayed with an aunt who lived nearby to save on tuition, feeling out of place among her more privileged peers. She majored in English and history, and she enrolled in a theater course, but only because she couldn’t get into a photography class. Once she graduated from Wheaton College in 1983, Keener moved to New York, where she interned as an assistant to casting agent, Gail Eisenstadt.

When Eisenstadt relocated to Los Angeles shortly afterward, Keener followed her employer, still relatively unambitious. But when Eisenstadt had a heart-to-heart with Keener about her future, she admitted she wanted to try acting - an unusual transition from the casting industry. Eisenstadt pulled some strings and Keener landed bit parts in movies like About Last Night… (1986).

Keener in a publicity still for Being John Malkovich (1999)
Keener in a publicity still for Being John Malkovich (1999)

Keener officially broke into films with one line in About Last Night (1986). Although she struggled professionally the next few years, one low-quality project had an unexpected dividend. Keener met actor Dermot Mulroney working on Survival Quest (1989) when Mulroney got himself stuck trying to scale a cliff. The two dated and then married in 1990.

She then guest-starred as an artist on an episode of Seinfeld called "The Letter". She played Jerry's girlfriend, an artist who painted the infamous portrait of Kramer. Keener then earned her first starring role in Johnny Suede with the then unknown, Brad Pitt. Her performance gained critical acclaim and earned her her first Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead. She later went on to work with director Tom Dicillo, again, in Living in Oblivion (1995). Through another two years of movies she again was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for her performance in Walking and Talking, an independent cult-comedy film. Critics fell in love with Keener's ability to act so naturally on the screen.

In 2000, Keener earned her first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Being John Malkovich. In 2001, she again worked with director Nicole Holofcener in Lovely and Amazing garnering her a third Independent Spirit Award nomination. In 2002, she co-starred with Edward Norton in the off-Broadway revival of Burn This and the films Full Frontal, S1m0ne, and Death to Smoochy, all of which were box office disappointments, but since have gained a following of fans. In 2005, she made a huge comeback starring in the 2005 political thriller The Interpreter, The Ballad of Jack and Rose, and was the love interest of the main character in The 40-Year-Old Virgin.

Keener with Jake Gyllenhaal in Lovely & Amazing (2001)
Keener with Jake Gyllenhaal in Lovely & Amazing (2001)

Keener's performance as Harper Lee in Capote (2005) earned her several awards and nominations, including her second Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress. In 2006, she starred in the film Friends with Money, directed by Nicole Holofcener, with friend Jennifer Aniston.

In 2007, she will star in the film An American Crime, the true story of Gertrude Baniszewski, a middle aged mother who tortured and killed Sylvia Likens in her Indiana home. The movie is already creating a stir online with dedicated fans, and much Oscar buzz, and is slated for a 2007 release. Keener will play Baniszewski. Also, in 2007, she will play Jan Burres in the movie adaption of the book, Into the Wild, directed by Sean Penn.

She has been married to actor Dermot Mulroney since 1990, although the couple separated in September 2005.[2] They have a son named Clyde (b. 1999). She is also close friends with actors Brad Pitt and Jennifer Aniston, Pitt and Keener met while filming Johnny Suede. Keener has homes in Los Angeles and North Carolina.

Academy Awards

BAFTA Awards

  • 2006 Best Supporting Actress for Capote (nomination)

Chlotrudis Awards

Golden Globes, USA

Independent Spirit Awards

Satellite Awards

Screen Actors Guild Awards

  • 2000 Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for Being John Malkovich, Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for Being John Malkovich (nominations)
  • 2003 Best Lead Actress in a Comedy or Musical for Lovely and Amazing (nomination)
  • 2006 Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role for Capote, Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture for Capote (nominations)

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