Catherine Keener
{{short description|American actress (born 1959)}}
{{Use American English|date=July 2020}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Catherine Keener
| image = Catherine Keener 2014 (cropped).jpg
| caption = Keener in 2014
| birth_date = {{Birth date and age|1959|3|26}}{{cite news |title=Catherine Keener biography |url=https://www.tribute.ca/people/biography/catherine-keener/1532/ |work=Tribute|access-date=August 10, 2022}}
| birth_name = Catherine Ann Keener
| birth_place = Miami, Florida, U.S.
| alma_mater = Wheaton College (BA)[http://wheatoncollege.edu/news/2006/02/08/catherine-keener-83-receives-oscar-nomination-for-capote-role/ "Catherine Keener '83 receives Oscar nomination for Capote role"] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110720054620/http://wheatoncollege.edu/news/2006/02/08/catherine-keener-83-receives-oscar-nomination-for-capote-role/ |date=2011-07-20 }}, News release, Wheaton College, February 8, 2006
| years_active = 1986–present
| occupation = Actress
| spouse = {{marriage|Dermot Mulroney|1990|2007|reason=divorced}}
| children = 1
}}
Catherine Ann Keener (born March 26, 1959) is an American actress. She has portrayed disgruntled and melancholic yet sympathetic women in independent films, as well as supporting roles in studio films. She has been nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, for Being John Malkovich (1999) and for her portrayal of author Harper Lee in Capote (2005). Her performance as Gertrude Baniszewski in An American Crime (2007) earned her a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. Her other accolades include nominations for a BAFTA Award and two Golden Globe Awards.
Keener also starred in live-action roles in the films The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Into the Wild (2007), Synecdoche, New York (2008), Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010), Get Out (2017), Joker: Folie à Deux (2024), as well as starring voice roles in The Croods (2013), its sequel The Croods: A New Age (2020), and Incredibles 2 (2018). Keener is the muse of director Nicole Holofcener, having appeared in each of Holofcener's first five films.{{cite news|last1=Friedman|first1=Nick|title="MY MUSE": DIRECTORS & ACTORS WHO KEEP WORKING TOGETHER—PART I|url=http://www.thecredits.org/2013/12/my-muse-directors-actors-who-keep-working-together-part-i/|access-date=4 November 2014|date=December 24, 2013}} She also appeared in each of director Tom DiCillo's first four films, and three films directed by Spike Jonze. From 2018 to 2020, she starred in the Showtime dramedy series Kidding.
Early life and education
Keener is of Irish descent on her father's side, and of Lebanese descent on her mother's.{{Cite magazine|url=https://ew.com/article/2006/04/14/being-catherine-keener/|title=Being Catherine Keener|last=Schwartz|first=Missy|date=April 14, 2006|magazine=Entertainment Weekly|access-date=August 9, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150724215529/http://www.ew.com/article/2006/04/14/being-catherine-keener |archive-date=July 24, 2015}}{{cite news|last=Whitty|first=Stephen|title=Two-time Oscar nominee Catherine Keener has earned a reputation for mastering complex roles|newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=2010-05-09|url=http://www.nj.com/entertainment/movies/index.ssf/2010/05/two-time_oscar_nominee_catherine_keener_has_earned_a_reputation_for_mastering_complex_roles.html|access-date=2010-12-13}} Keener was raised in Hialeah, Florida{{cite journal|journal= Premiere|title=Filmography|page=83|volume=15|issue=2–12|publisher=Premiere Pub.|year=2001}} as a Catholic and attended Catholic schools. She attended Monsignor Edward Pace High School.{{Cite web|url=https://movies.yahoo.com/movie/contributor/1800012212/bio|title='Catherine Keener'|publisher=Yahoo! Movies|access-date=2010-05-20}}{{cite news|url=http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/london_film_festival/article4866736.ece|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110616085109/http://entertainment.timesonline.co.uk/tol/arts_and_entertainment/film/london_film_festival/article4866736.ece|url-status=dead|archive-date=June 16, 2011|title='Catherine Keener: America's muse captures British director of Genova'|newspaper=The Times|date=2008-10-04|access-date=2010-05-20}}
Keener's sister, Elizabeth Keener, is also an actress and a real estate agent working for Sotheby's in Los Angeles.{{Citation needed |date=July 2022}}
Keener attended Wheaton College, in Norton, Massachusetts. She majored in American Studies, also enrolling in a theater course. Her first theatrical production was the Wendy Wasserstein play Uncommon Women and Others, during her junior year at Wheaton. She graduated with her Bachelor of Arts from Wheaton College in 1983.{{Cite web |last=STAFF |first=AMY NEWBURY / SUN CHRONICLE |date=2000-02-16 |title=Oscar nominee an '83 Wheaton grad |url=https://www.thesunchronicle.com/oscar-nominee-an-83-wheaton-grad/article_2f30a318-8de1-5035-8662-7394e54c7df4.html |access-date=2024-07-22 |website=The Sun Chronicle |language=en}}
Career
Keener had a supporting role as Lt. Cricket Sideris in the television series Ohara. The series ran from January 1987 to May 1988.
Her first film appearance was one line in About Last Night... (1986). Although she struggled professionally over the next few years, one project had an unexpected dividend: Keener met her future husband, actor Dermot Mulroney, in 1987 while working on Survival Quest (1989), after Mulroney became stuck while attempting to scale a cliff.
She also guest starred as an artist on an episode of Seinfeld called "The Letter". She played Jerry's girlfriend, an artist who painted a famous 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 first Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead. She went on to work with director Tom Dicillo again, in Living in Oblivion (1995). Two years later, she was once again nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for her performance in Walking and Talking, an independent cult-comedy film directed by Nicole Holofcener.
In 2000, Keener earned her first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Being John Malkovich, directed by Spike Jonze. In 2001, she 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 film Death to Smoochy. She also took part in the film Full Frontal, and Simone alongside Al Pacino.
In 2005, she starred in the political thriller The Interpreter (as a Secret Service agent partnered with Sean Penn's character) and The Ballad of Jack and Rose with Daniel Day-Lewis and played the love interest of Steve Carell in Judd Apatow's The 40-Year-Old Virgin. Keener's performance as writer Harper Lee in Capote (also 2005) earned her several awards and nominations, including her second Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress.[https://www.nytimes.com/2006/08/27/style/tmagazine/t_w_1595_1597_well_keener_.html "Being Catherine Keener"] August 27, 2006, New York Times In 2006, she starred in the film Friends with Money, directed by Nicole Holofcener.
In 2007, Keener played Jan Burres in Sean Penn's critically acclaimed film Into the Wild, based on Jon Krakauer's best-selling book of the same name. In 2008, her film An American Crime, the true story of Gertrude Baniszewski, a middle-aged mother who tortured and murdered Sylvia Likens in her Indiana home, was aired on Showtime. Keener played Baniszewski and her portrayal earned her an Emmy nomination in the Best Actress in a TV Mini-Series or Movie category. In 2008, Keener portrayed Philip Seymour Hoffman's wife Adele in Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut, Synecdoche, New York. She and Hoffman again played husband and wife in the 2012 film A Late Quartet. Keener played the title character's mother in the 2010 film Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, based on the series of books by Rick Riordan.
Keener starred in the six-episode HBO miniseries Show Me a Hero, based on the 1999 nonfiction book of the same name by Lisa Belkin.{{cite news|title=James Belushi, Terry Kinney & Michael Stahl-David Join HBO's 'Show Me A Hero'|url=https://deadline.com/2014/08/james-belushi-terry-kinney-michael-stahl-david-hbo-show-me-a-hero-819851/|access-date=31 January 2015|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=August 15, 2014}}{{cite news|last1=Andreeva|first1=Nellie|title=HBO Greenlights David Simon Miniseries Starring Oscar Isaac & Catherine Keener|url=https://deadline.com/2014/07/david-simon-miniseries-starring-oscar-isaac-catherine-keener-greenlighted-hbo-812259/|access-date=31 January 2015|website=Deadline Hollywood|date=July 30, 2014}} It aired in August 2015.{{cite news|last1=Simon|first1=David|title=A Maryland Film Festival panel slated|url=http://davidsimon.com/a-maryland-film-festival-panel-slated/|access-date=15 May 2015|publisher=DavidSimon.com|date=May 4, 2015}} In 2016, Keener starred in the independent film Unless.{{cite magazine|title = Catherine Keener Joins Indie Movie 'Unless'|url = https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/catherine-keener-joins-indie-movie-781647|magazine =The Hollywood Reporter|date=March 16, 2015|access-date = 2016-02-19}}{{cite magazine|title = Alan Gilsenan's indie Unless starts shooting in Toronto|url = http://playbackonline.ca/2015/03/16/alan-gilsenans-indie-unless-starts-shooting-in-toronto/|access-date = 2016-02-19|first = Etan |last = Vlessing|magazine=Playback|date= March 16, 2015}}
In 2017, Keener starred as Missy Armitage in the racially themed horror film Get Out,{{cite news| url=https://www.motherjones.com/media/2017/02/jordan-peele-get-out-horror-movie-racism/| title="Get Out" is the horror flick America needs right now| last=Rios| first=Edwin| date=February 24, 2017| work=Mother Jones| access-date=2017-06-25}} which was a critical and commercial success.{{cite web|title='Get Out' box office success is important for the future of cinema|date=July 16, 2017 |url=http://www.goldderby.com/article/2017/get-out-box-office-jordan-peele-allison-williams-news/}}{{cite web|title=Vanity Fair: Get Out Is Thrilling, Terrifying, and Timely|website=Vanity Fair |date=February 23, 2017 |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/hollywood/2017/02/get-out-jordan-peele-review}}
Keener starred in the 2021 Netflix horror drama miniseries Brand New Cherry Flavor.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2019/11/brand-new-cherry-flavor-series-netflix-rosa-salazar-star-catherine-keener-eric-lange-jeff-ward-manny-jacinto-co-star-horror-adaptation-todd-grimson-1202787381/|title=N'Brand New Cherry Flavor' Series Headlined By Rosa Salazar A Go At Netflix; Catherine Keener, Eric Lange, Jeff Ward & Manny Jacinto Co-Star In Horror Adaptation|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Nellie|last=Andreeva|date=November 15, 2019|accessdate=April 24, 2021}}{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2021/07/watch-rosa-salazar-netflix-brand-new-cherry-flavor-teaser-trailer-1234795722/|title=Rosa Salazar Goes Dark In Netflix's 'Brand New Cherry Flavor' Teaser Trailer|website=Deadline Hollywood|first=Rosy|last=Cordero|date=July 19, 2021|accessdate=July 19, 2021}}
In 2024, Keener appeared in Joker: Folie à Deux, the sequel to the 2019 film Joker.{{cite web|url=https://deadline.com/2022/09/joker-folie-a-deux-catherine-keener-1235109456/|title='Joker: Folie à Deux' Adds Catherine Keener To Ensemble In Secret Role|last=Kroll|first=Justin|date=September 7, 2022}}
Acting style and reception
Throughout her career, Keener has developed a reputation for succeeding in complex roles, often portraying desolate, bittersweet women "who come across as empty or unfulfilled in their relationships or their creative endeavors", effortlessly earning sympathy from audiences in both protagonist and antagonist roles.{{Cite web|url=https://www.comingsoon.net/movies/features/1062493-catherine-keeners-ten-best-roles#/slide/1|title=Catherine Keener's Ten Best Roles|last=Williams|first=Nate|date=May 8, 2019|website=ComingSoon.net|access-date=August 9, 2019}} Director Rebecca Miller said that Keener is "very good at playing disgruntled", a designation about which Keener explained, "Anger is not a bad thing"; she finds comfort in playing roles of this nature because "It doesn't go hand in hand with the mode of behaviour that's ladylike or proper or dignified."{{Cite web|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/arts-entertainment/films/features/catherine-keener-oscar-success-within-her-sights-6108365.html|title=Catherine Keener: Oscar success within her sights|date=February 24, 2006|website=The Independent|access-date=August 10, 2019}} Nate Williams of ComingSoon.net deemed Keener "one of the most interesting performers in the game" as of 2019 due to her willingness "to embrace different roles", describing her as "A dramatic actor with no problem playing strange characters".
Keener gravitates towards roles in independent films, and opts for smaller character roles on rare occasions when she agrees to appear in larger studio ventures, which Entertainment Weekly critic Missy Schwartz believes "she inhabits more comfortably than flashier ones." Amanda McCorquodale, contributing to the Miami New Times, wrote that Keener regularly plays smart, neurotic women in independent films, likening her body of work to Woody Allen heroines.{{Cite web|url=https://www.miaminewtimes.com/arts/la-tiendecita-by-martha-of-miami-boutique-opens-in-westchester-11234998|title=Hialeah Actress Catherine Keener Returns to Miami for Tonight's Festival Premiere|last=McCorquodale|first=Amanda|date=March 11, 2010|website=Miami New Times|access-date=August 10, 2019}} Rotten Tomatoes crowned Keener "one of the queens of 1990s American independent cinema",{{Cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/celebrity/catherine_keener|title=Catherine Keener|website=Rotten Tomatoes|access-date=August 9, 2019}} while The Independent called her "A darling of the independent film world". Despite commending her diverse yet carefully cultivated roles, The Independent observed that most of Keener's studio roles have "barely registered" among critics and audiences. Williams believes that Keener's skillset and versatility have allowed her to work with some of the industry's best filmmakers. Schwartz wrote that directors such as Neil LaBute (Your Friends & Neighbors, 1998) and Steven Soderbergh (Full Frontal, 2002) have consistently "put her unusual beauty and trademark dry wit to good use."
Keener seldom gives interviews, believing that overexposure "becomes a dirty business". The actress is known for being notoriously press-shy, and refuses to refer to herself as "famous" despite her success in the film industry. In 2010, Inside Jersey contributor Stephen Whitty observed that, throughout a decade of interviewing the actress, Keener had always been open to commenting about her collaborators, both directors and co-stars, but often refused to be interviewed about herself, considering her a shy person who values her privacy. In 2014, the Montreal Gazette journalist T'Cha Dunlevy selected Keener as his most memorable interview of the year, during which he admitted to mostly remembering laughing.{{Cite web|url=https://montrealgazette.com/news/local-news/catherine-keener-made-me-laugh-and-left-a-lasting-impression|title=Catherine Keener made me laugh, and left a lasting impression|last=Dunlevy|first=T'Cha|date=December 25, 2014|website=Montreal Gazette|access-date=August 10, 2019}} Dunlevy described the actress as "a consummate pro who has brought charisma and soul to projects ranging from" goofball comedies to blockbuster films. Keener has continued to enjoy a reputation "as a both charming and well respected actress".
Personal life
Keener married actor Dermot Mulroney in 1990. They have a son, Clyde, born in 1999, who is a singer. Mulroney filed for divorce in June 2007, citing irreconcilable differences{{Cite news |title=Dermot Mulroney Files for Divorce from Catherine Keener |date=June 11, 2007 |url=http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20042149,00.html |work=People |access-date=June 12, 2007 |archive-date=May 31, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160531073237/http://www.people.com/people/article/0,,20042149,00.html |url-status=dead }} and the divorce became final on December 19, 2007.{{cite news |title=Catherine Keener, Dermot Mulroney Divorce Finalized |url=http://www.extratv.com/2007/10/31/catherine-keener-dermot-mulroney-divorce-finalized/ |work=Extra (TV program) |date=October 31, 2007 |access-date=October 23, 2013}}{{cite news |title=Divorce papers |url=http://ll-media.extratv.com/archive/images/news/1031mulroneypdf.pdf |work=Los Angeles County Superior Court |publisher=Extra |date=October 30, 2007 |access-date=October 23, 2013}}
Filmography
=Film=
{{pending films key}}
=Television=
| class = "wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class = "unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 1986
| L.A. Law | Waitress | Episode: "The House of the Rising Flan" |
| 1987
| Ohara | Lt. Cricket Sideris | 11 episodes |
| 1988–1989
| Rebecca | 2 episodes |
| 1989
| Jan Engle | Episode: "Curse of the Corn People" |
| 1992
| Seinfeld | Nina West | Episode: "The Letter" |
| rowspan="2"|1996
| Magda | Television film |
| If These Walls Could Talk
| Becky Donnelly | Television film; segment: "1952" |
| 2014
| How and Why | Alice | Pilot |
| 2015
| Mary Dorman | 5 episodes |
| 2018–2020
| Kidding | Deirdre "Didi" Perera |
| 2018
| Forever | Kase |
| 2019
| Julie |
| 2021
| Boro |
| 2023
| Catherine Keener | Episode: "The Chopping Block" |
=Video games=
| class="wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class="unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2018
| Evelyn Deavor | |
=Podcast=
| class = "wikitable sortable" |
| Year
! Title ! Role ! class = "unsortable" | Notes |
|---|
| 2016–2017
| Homecoming | Heidi Bergman | |
Awards and nominations
{{main|List of awards and nominations received by Catherine Keener}}
See also
References
{{Reflist|30em}}
External links
{{Commons category}}
- {{IMDb name|0001416|Catherine Keener}}
{{Navboxes
| title = Awards for Catherine Keener
| list =
{{Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress}}
{{Dallas–Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress}}
{{Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress}}
{{Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress}}
{{New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress}}
{{Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress}}
{{Satellite Award Best Supporting Actress Motion Picture}}
{{TFCA Award for Best Supporting Actress}}
}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Keener, Catherine}}
Category:20th-century American actresses
Category:21st-century American actresses
Category:American film actresses
Category:American television actresses
Category:American voice actresses
Category:American people of Lebanese descent