Catherine Keener

Catherine Ann Keener was born on March 26, 1959, in Miami, Florida, and raised in Hialeah, Florida. Her father, James Keener, and mother, Evelyn (née Jamiel), owned an auto shop. She is of Lebanese, English, Scottish, and German descent. Keener attended Wheaton College in Massachusetts, where she majored in American Studies and began taking acting classes due to a photography class being unavailable. After graduating in 1983, she worked at a McDonald’s in New York City before moving to Los Angeles to become an assistant casting director.

Keener’s acting career began with a one-word role as a waitress in “About Last Night” (1986). She met her future husband, Dermot Mulroney, on the set of “Survival Quest” (1989). A turning point in her career came with the independent film “Johnny Suede” (1991), where she starred opposite an unknown Brad Pitt, earning her first Independent Spirit Award nomination. She continued to build her reputation in independent cinema with roles in “Living in Oblivion” (1995) and “Walking and Talking” (1996).

Her mainstream breakthrough arrived with “Being John Malkovich” (1999), which earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress. A second Oscar nomination followed for her portrayal of Harper Lee in “Capote” (2005). Keener has demonstrated versatility across various genres, including comedies like “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” (2005) and dramatic roles in “Into the Wild” (2007) and “Get Out” (2017). She has also taken on voice roles in animated films such as “The Croods” (2013) and “Incredibles 2” (2018), and appeared in television series like “Kidding” (2018–2020) and “Modern Love” (2019).