theOscarSite facts:
Birth Name:
  • Laura Legett Linney
Birth Date:
  • 5 February 1964
Birthplace:
  • New York City
Quote:
  • "When I first came [to Los Angeles], I had my lovely list of theatre credits. My resume was golden in my mind. I had worked regionally, I'd worked on Broadway. And a casting director looked at my resume and said 'You really haven't done anything, have you?' I was just dumbstruck. The attitude here is that theatre is what you do when you can't get filmwork, and that is just insulting to the marrow of my bones!" -- Toronto Sun, April 1, 1996
Education:
  • Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois; transferred after one year
  • Brown University, Providence, Rhode Island; B.F.A., Theater Arts, 1986
  • Juilliard School, New York, New York; drama, 1990
Factoids:
  • She says that she was the worst at reading and writing in her class.
  • Was once a teacher for deaf and autistic children
  • Has played the wife of Gabriel Byrne in 3 films: JINDABYNE (2006), P.S. (2004), and A SIMPLE TWIST OF FATE (1994)
  • Two Tony® Award nominations: The Crucible (2002) and Sight Unseen (2005)
Significant Other(s):
  • Husband: David Adkins, actor; met at Juilliard; married 1995; divorced 2000
  • Dated: Eric Stoltz, actor (2005)
  • Engaged: Marc Schauer (2007)
Family:
  • Father: Romulus Linney, professor, playwright; divorced from Linney's mother 1965
  • Mother: Ann Leggett Perse (née Sims), nurse
  • Stepmother: Laura Callahan; served as associate director of investments for the Rockefellar Foundation
  • Half-sister: Susan Linney, book editor; b. 1975
Feature Film
Credits:
  • 2009: Kevin Approaches (announced), Spread
    2008: The Other Man
    2007: The City of Your Final Destination, The Nanny Diaries, Breach, The Savages
    2006: Man of the Year, The Hottest State, Jindabyne, Driving Lessons
    2005: The Exorcism of Emily Rose, The Squid and the Whale
    2004: Kinsey. P. S.
    2003: Love Actually, Mystic River, The Life of David Gale
2002: The Mothman Prophesies, The Laramie Project
2000: You Can Count on Me, Maze, The House of Mirth
1999: Lush
1998: The Truman Show
1997: Absolute Power
1996: Primal Fear
1995: Congo
1994: A Simple Twist of Fate
1993: Searching for Bobby Fischer, Dave
1992: Lorenzo's Oil
Academy Awards®:
  •    Nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role 2000: YOU CAN COUNT ON ME
  •    Nominated for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role 2004: KINSEY
  •    Nominated for Best Leading Actress 2007: THE SAVAGES

  • 3 nominations