American actress

Vera Ann Farmiga [ 1 ] ( far-MEEG-ə ; born August 6, 1973 ) is an american actress, director, and producer. She began her professional acting career on stagecoach in the master Broadway production of Taking Sides ( 1996 ). Farmiga made her television debut in the Fox illusion venture series Roar ( 1997 ), and her sport film introduction in the drama-thriller Return to Paradise ( 1998 ). Farmiga ‘s breakthrough came in 2004 with her starring function as a drug addict in the drama Down to the Bone. She received farther praise for the play film Nothing But the Truth ( 2008 ), and won critical acclaim for starring in the 2009 comedy-drama Up in the Air, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Farmiga made her directorial debut in 2011 with the acclaim drama film Higher Ground, in which she besides had a leading function. She besides had starring roles in the political thriller The Manchurian Candidate ( 2004 ), the crime drama The Departed ( 2006 ), the diachronic play The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas ( 2008 ), the science fabrication thriller Source Code ( 2011 ), the action thriller Safe House ( 2012 ), the legal drama The Judge ( 2014 ), the biographic drama The Front Runner ( 2018 ), and the freak film Godzilla: King of the Monsters ( 2019 ). She has portrayed extrasensory detective Lorraine Warren in the Conjuring Universe films The Conjuring ( 2013 ), The Conjuring 2 ( 2016 ), Annabelle Comes Home ( 2019 ) and The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It ( 2021 ).

Reading: Vera Farmiga

From 2013 to 2017, Farmiga starred as Norma Louise Bates in the A & E drama series Bates Motel, which earned her a Primetime Emmy Award nominating speech .

early life [edit ]

Farmiga was born on August 6, 1973, [ 1 ] in Clifton, New Jersey. [ 2 ] Her parents are Ukrainians : Michael Farmiga, a systems analyst -turned-landscaper, and his wife Lubomyra “ Luba ” ( née Spas ), a schoolteacher. [ 3 ] She has an older buddy, Victor, [ 4 ] and five younger siblings : Stephan, Nadia, Alexander, Laryssa ( who was born with spina bifida ), [ 5 ] and Taissa. [ 6 ] Her maternal grandparents, Nadia ( née Pletenciw ; 1925–2014 ) and Theodor Spas ( 1921–1990 ), met at a preempt persons camp in Karlsfeld during World War II. [ 7 ] As a child, Farmiga converted with her family from the ukrainian Greek Catholic Church to Pentecostalism. [ 8 ] Farmiga considers herself to be “ 100 % ukrainian american “. [ 9 ] She was raised in an insular ukrainian American community in Irvington, New Jersey, with ukrainian as her native linguistic process. [ 2 ] She did not learn English until she started kindergarten at old age six. [ 10 ] When she was 12, the family moved from Irvington to Whitehouse Station, New Jersey. [ 11 ] She attended St. John the Baptist Ukrainian Catholic School in Newark, New Jersey, and toured with a ukrainian folk-dancing ensemble, Syzokryli, during her adolescent years. [ 12 ] [ 13 ] In addition to being a semi-professional folk music dancer, she is besides a classically train pianist. [ 14 ] [ 15 ] Farmiga was a member of Plast. [ 16 ] In 1991, she graduated from Hunterdon Central Regional High School. [ 17 ] During her junior year there, she found acting after being benched during a varsity soccer game ; her supporter convinced her to audition for the school production of The Vampire, and she won the moderate function of Lady Margaret. [ 18 ] Farmiga went on to study Theatre at Syracuse University, and graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts in 1995. [ 19 ] In her concluding class at Syracuse, she portrayed Nina Zarechnaya in The Seagull at the Kennedy Center American College Theater Festival, and the production won the top trophy. Her play professor, Gerardine Clark, stated : “ We ‘d never have won had she not nailed the one-fourth act. A numeral of the judges told me that. ” [ 5 ]

career [edit ]

early roles [edit ]

In February 1996, Farmiga starred as Miranda in the American Conservatory Theater ‘s production of The Tempest. [ 20 ] That same year, she portrayed Anne Hartman in a production of Good at The Barrow Group. [ 21 ] Farmiga made her Broadway debut aboard Ed Harris and Daniel Massey in October 1996, understudying the role of Emmi Straube in Ronald Harwood ‘s play Taking Sides. [ 24 ] Following these phase roles, she co-starred in the Hallmark Hall of Fame westerly television film Rose Hill in April 1997, portraying Emily Elliot. [ 25 ] Farmiga had a independent role in Fox ‘s ephemeral fantasy venture series Roar ( 1997 ), aboard Heath Ledger and Sebastian Roché. [ 26 ] The follow year, she guest-starred in an sequence of NBC ‘s procedural drama series Law & Order, portraying Lindsay Carson, the daughter of a convicted murderer who goes on her own killingspree. [ 27 ] She following played a back function aboard Vince Vaughn and Joaquin Phoenix in the drama-thriller Return to Paradise ( 1998 ). [ 28 ] She then had a guest appearance on the NBC situation comedy Trinity, portraying Allison. Two years former, Farmiga had a support function as Lisa Tyler in the romantic drama Autumn in New York ( 2000 ). [ 29 ]

2000s [edit ]

Her next film was the crime play The Opportunists ( 2000 ), in which she co-starred as Miriam Kelly, the daughter of Christopher Walken ‘s character. [ 30 ] The succeed year, Farmiga had a hold function as Daphne Handlova in the action thriller 15 Minutes alongside Robert De Niro, [ 31 ] and co-star in the drama film Dust, [ 31 ] which premiered at the 2001 Venice Film Festival. [ 32 ] Farmiga subsequently joined the chief casting of NBC ‘s ephemeral adjective drama series UC: Undercover as Alex Cross. The series premiered in September 2001, and was cancelled after one season. [ 33 ] She then appeared in the Hallmark fantasy television movie Snow White: The Fairest of Them All. [ 31 ] Farmiga had her first star character in the quixotic drama Love in the Time of Money, which premiered at the 2002 Sundance Film Festival. [ 34 ] In June 2002, she starred in David Eldridge ‘s Under the Blue Sky at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. [ 35 ] Farmiga future appeared as Lorena Fanchetti in the comedy-drama Dummy ( 2003 ), aboard Adrien Brody. [ 36 ]
The comply class, Farmiga had her breakthrough function as a dependent mother, Irene Morrison, in the freelancer drama movie Down to the Bone, [ 37 ] which premiered at Sundance in January 2004. [ 38 ] Praising her operation, Peter Travers of Rolling Stone wrote : “ If there were an ounce of sample left in Hollywood, the brilliant Vera Farmiga would be a front-runner for the Best actress Oscar ”. [ 39 ] She won the Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress, and earned a nomination for the Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead. [ 40 ] Farmiga future appeared aboard Hilary Swank and Anjelica Huston in the HBO drama film Iron Jawed Angels ( 2004 ), as the Polish-American suffragette Ruza Wenclawska. [ 41 ] soon after, she had a back function in the 2004 film Mind The Gap, in which she portrayed a womanhood who left her fiancé at the altar. She then starred as Detective Susan Branca in the ephemeral USA Network adaptation of the british crime drama series Touching Evil. [ 42 ] [ 43 ] besides in 2004, she had a corroborate role as Jocelyne Jordan in the political thriller The Manchurian Candidate, which besides starred Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep. [ 44 ] The follow year, she co-starred in the fantasy drama Neverwas with Aaron Eckhart and Ian McKellen, which premiered at the 2005 Toronto International Film Festival. [ 45 ] Farmiga then appeared aboard Leonardo DiCaprio and Matt Damon as police psychiatrist Dr. Madolyn Madden in Martin Scorsese ‘s crime drama The Departed ( 2006 ). [ 46 ] For her performance as Madolyn, Farmiga was nominated for the Empire Award for Best Newcomer, and shared with her co-stars the nomination for the Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture. [ 47 ] soon after, she portrayed Dr. Charlie Brooks in the 2006 indie thriller, The Hard Easy. She following starred as Teresa Gazelle in Wayne Kramer ‘s crime thriller Running Scared, [ 48 ] and as the Romanian prostitute Oana in Anthony Minghella ‘s romanticist crime drama Breaking and Entering ( both in 2006 ). [ 13 ] Farmiga subsequently landed the lead role of Sophie Lee in Gina Kim ‘s amatory play Never Forever, [ 49 ] which premiered at the 2007 Sundance. [ 50 ] G. Allen Johnson of the San Francisco Chronicle praised her as “ the best american actress you ‘ve never heard of ”. [ 51 ] She following starred as Abby Cairn in the psychological thriller film Joshua ( 2007 ), with Sam Rockwell, [ 52 ] and portray Fiona Ankany in the drama film Quid Pro Quo, [ 53 ] which premiered at the 2008 Sundance. David Edelstein of New York magazine stated that Farmiga ‘s performance on the latter film was “ frighteningly good ”, and added : “ She ‘s always visibly calculating, thinking better of something heedless she ‘s about to do – then doing it anyhow ”. [ 54 ] In September 2008, the historic drama The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas, in which she portrayed Elsa Hoess, was released worldwide. [ 55 ] Farmiga won the british Independent Film Award for Best Actress for her performance. [ 56 ] That like year, she starred in the war drama film In Transit aboard John Malkovich, [ 57 ] and portray Central Intelligence Agency surgical Erica Van Doren in the political thriller Nothing But the Truth. [ 58 ] The latter function earned Farmiga a nominating speech for the Critics ‘ Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress. [ 59 ] In 2009, Farmiga portrayed the lead character of Kate Coleman in Jaume Collet-Serra ‘s psychological thriller Orphan. [ 60 ] Her operation was praised, with Toby Young of The Times writing that she “ becomes more convert as the report unfolds. By the end, she has you in the handle of her hand ”. [ 61 ] She then appeared as Aurora de Valday in Niki Caro ‘s romanticist drama A Heavenly Vintage, which premiered at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival under the entitle The Vintner’s Luck. [ 62 ] [ 63 ] besides in 2009, she co-starred as patronize flier Alex Goran, inverse George Clooney, in Jason Reitman ‘s comedy-drama Up in the Air. [ 64 ] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times praise Farmiga ‘s performance, stating that she “ is one of the warmest and most attractive women in the movies, or at least she plays one ”. [ 65 ] She received nominations for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, [ 66 ] Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role, [ 67 ] BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, [ 68 ] Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress, [ 69 ] and her second nomination for the Critics ‘ Choice Movie Award for Best Supporting Actress. On June 25, 2010, she was inducted into the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences. [ 70 ]

2010s [edit ]

Farmiga then starred in the surrealist romanticist comedy Henry’s Crime as stage actress Julie Ivanova, [ 71 ] which premiered at the 2010 Toronto International Film Festival. [ 72 ] She adjacent play Capt. Colleen Goodwin in Duncan Jones ‘ science fiction thriller movie Source Code, [ 73 ] which premiered at the 2011 South by Southwest. [ 74 ] In 2010, Farmiga was offered a jumper cable function in Marc Forster ‘s action biopic Machine Gun Preacher, but declined because she was fraught. [ 75 ] During her second pregnancy, Farmiga made her directorial debut with the micro-budget, Christian-themed drama Higher Ground, [ 76 ] in which she starred as the supporter, Corinne Walker. [ 77 ] The film received “ broadly favorable reviews ” on review collector site Metacritic [ 78 ] and premiered at the 2011 Sundance. [ 79 ] Many of her family members were involved in the production : Farmiga ‘s baby Taissa portrayed Corinne as a adolescent, her husband Renn Hawkey served as a producer and musical director, and her cousin Adriana Farmiga served as an art curator. She received nominations in both acting and directing for the film, including the Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Director, [ 80 ] and the Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture. [ 81 ] In his film revue, critic Kirk Honeycutt of The Hollywood Reporter noted : “ Directing debuts by actors do n’t come any better than this ”. [ 82 ] Of her performance, Leonard Maltin of IndieWire remarked that Farmiga “ gives an good, empathic performance should come as no surprise ; she is one of the most endow and daring actresses of our time ”. [ 83 ] Her future character was the flaky New Age mother Wendy Whitman in the independent comedy-drama Goats, [ 84 ] which opened at the 2012 Sundance. [ 85 ] That lapp year, she portrayed CIA surgical Catherine Linklater in Daniel Espinosa ‘s carry through thriller Safe House ( 2012 ). [ 86 ] Farmiga starred opposite Ryan Reynolds and, for the second time, Denzel Washington. [ 87 ] Farmiga ‘s fall to television came in 2013, when she began portraying Norma Louise Bates, the mother of Norman Bates, in A & E ‘s drama-thriller series Bates Motel. [ 88 ] The series is a contemporaneous boot of Alfred Hitchcock ‘s classic repugnance film Psycho ( 1960 ). [ 89 ] For her performance, she won the 2013 Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television, [ 90 ] and the 2016 People ‘s Choice Award for Favorite Cable television receiver Actress. [ 91 ] She besides received three nominations for the Critics ‘ Choice Television Award for Best Actress in a Drama Series ( 2013–2015 ), [ 92 ] [ 93 ] a well as nominations for the 2013 Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama, [ 94 ] the 2013 Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series, [ 95 ] and the 2013 TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Drama. [ 96 ] Tim Goodman of The Hollywood Reporter called Farmiga ‘s operation “ superb ” and Mary McNamara of the Los Angeles Times identified her as “ the main reason [ the serial ] is surprisingly good ”. [ 97 ] [ 98 ] In addition to star, she served as a producer and belated executive producer from the second temper to its one-fifth and final season, which aired in 2017. [ 99 ] [ 100 ]

She adjacent appeared in James Wan ‘s horror film The Conjuring ( 2013 ), [ 101 ] which was met with critical and commercial achiever. [ 102 ] The movie became the second highest-grossing horror film of all clock time up to that date. [ 103 ] Farmiga portrayed paranormal research worker and self-professed clairvoyant Lorraine Warren, aboard Patrick Wilson, [ 104 ] for which she was nominated for the MTV Movie Award for Best Scared-As-Shit Performance. [ 105 ] Sheri Linden of The Hollywood Reporter wrote that “ Farmiga resonates an extraordinary sensitivity ” in the role, while Justin Chang of Variety called her performance “ moving ” and highlighted her chemistry with Wilson as a “ rock-solid rapport ”. [ 106 ] [ 107 ] She reprised her character in the sequel, The Conjuring 2 ( 2016 ), which was besides directed by Wan. The film was the irregular released in the independent serial, but the third released within The Conjuring Universe. [ 108 ] Like its predecessor, The Conjuring 2 was met with a convinced critical reception and commercial success, [ 109 ] surpassing The Conjuring as the second highest-grossing repugnance movie of all time. [ 103 ] Farmiga appeared as Edith Martin in the romanticist comedy At Middleton, with Andy García and her sister Taissa. [ 110 ] The film premiered at the Seattle International Film Festival in May 2013. [ 111 ] [ 112 ] besides in 2013, she starred as Alice Bercovich in Nae Caranfil ‘s Romanian-American comedy-drama Closer to the Moon, based on the events of the Ioanid Gang. [ 113 ] Farmiga following co-star in David Dobkin ‘s drama film The Judge ( 2014 ) as Samantha Powell, the love interest and senior high school school girlfriend of Robert Downey Jr. ‘s character. [ 114 ] She then starred as Eleanor Finch in Ricky Gervais ‘ drollery Special Correspondents, which premiered at the 2016 Tribeca Film Festival. [ 115 ] [ 116 ] She adjacent appeared as Alise Firth in Jordan Roberts ‘ adventure comedy-drama Burn Your Maps, [ 117 ] which premiered at the 2016 Toronto International Film Festival. Farmiga co-star as Dr. Nora Phillips in Neill Blomkamp ‘s BMW curtly film The Escape ( 2016 ), aboard Dakota Fanning and Clive Owen. [ 118 ] The comply year, she administrator produced the objective film Unspoken, which premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival in October 2017. [ 119 ] Farmiga co-star with Liam Neeson in Jaume Collet-Serra ‘s action thriller The Commuter, [ 120 ] which was released in January 2018. [ 121 ] besides in January 2018, she appeared as a politician in Amazon ‘s sci-fi anthology series Philip K. Dick’s Electric Dreams, in an episode directed by Dee Rees. [ 122 ] [ 123 ] Farmiga then portrayed Laura Jaconi in Shana Feste ‘s comedy-drama movie Boundaries, which premiered in March 2018 at South by Southwest. [ 124 ] following in 2018, Farmiga starred as neo-Nazi group leader Shareen Krager in Guy Nattiv ‘s racial play Skin, which premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival in September, [ 125 ] and portrayed Oletha “ Lee ” Hart in Jason Reitman ‘s Gary Hart biopic The Front Runner, reverse Hugh Jackman, which was released in November 2018. [ 126 ] In March 2019, she starred as Jane Doe alongside John Goodman in Rupert Wyatt ‘s skill fabrication thriller Captive State. [ 127 ] In May 2019, she portrayed Dr. Emma Russell in the third base episode of the MonsterVerse film franchise, Godzilla: King of the Monsters, directed by Michael Dougherty. [ 128 ] besides in May 2019, Farmiga portrayed prosecutor Elizabeth Lederer in Ava DuVernay ‘s Netflix crime drama miniseries When They See Us, based on the Central Park jogger event. [ 129 ] For her performance, she was nominated for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a limited Series or Movie. [ 130 ] In June 2019, she reprised her character as Lorraine Warren in the horror sequel film Annabelle Comes Home. [ 131 ]

2020s [edit ]

Farmiga appeared in Ryan Murphy ‘s drama limited series Halston, based on the life of the fashion architect of the same name, antonym Ewan McGregor in the style function. [ 132 ] She reprised her function as Lorraine Warren in The Conjuring: The Devil Made Me Do It, released in June 2021. [ 133 ] IN September 2021, Farmiga appeared as Livia Soprano in the film prequel to The Sopranos, titled The Many Saints of Newark, which is directed by Alan Taylor. [ 134 ] Farmiga has besides been tapped to star as Eleanor Bishop in the Marvel Cinematic Universe superhero miniseries Hawkeye, which premiered on Disney+ on November 24, 2021. [ 135 ] Among Farmiga ‘s projects in development are the repugnance film Bad Bloom, which she will headline and besides produce alongside her conserve, [ 136 ] the mystery thriller film The Salamander Lives Twice co-star Adrien Brody, [ 137 ] and the Apple TV+ miniseries Five Days at Memorial, an adaptation of the ledger of the same name by Sheri Fink, in which she will play the lead character of Dr. Anna Pou. [ 138 ]

personal life [edit ]

Farmiga in 2010, when she was meaning Farmiga met actor Sebastian Roché while starring together in the illusion adventure series Roar ; they eloped to the Bahamas after it ended in 1997, [ 26 ] and were divorced in 2004. [ 26 ] She began dating Deadsy musician Renn Hawkey, after being introduced by reciprocal friend Allen Hughes on the fructify of Touching Evil. [ 16 ] They married on September 13, 2008, when Farmiga was five months pregnant with their first child. [ 26 ] She gave birth to a son, Fynn, in January 2009 in Rhinebeck, New York [ 139 ] and a daughter, Gytta, in November 2010. [ 140 ] The family owns homes in Hudson Valley, New York [ 141 ] and Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. [ 2 ] Farmiga ‘s sister-in-law is actress and photographer Molly Hawkey. [ 142 ] She is near friends with her Bates Motel co-star Freddie Highmore, who is godfather to her son, [ 143 ] and with her Conjuring co-star Patrick Wilson. [ 144 ] Farmiga is a nondenominational Christian ; in a 2011 interview with Christianity Today, Farmiga said :

I grew up in a ukrainian Catholic-turned-Christian family, and that is my family ‘s faith. My beget instilled in me … to define God, to define holiness for myself. That was my parents ‘ number one lesson for us. I do n’t belong to any particular church, but I ‘m person who will be able to walk into any position of worship, any firm of worship, and have a direct commensurateness. [ 145 ]

Filmography and awards [edit ]

According to the review-aggregate locate Rotten Tomatoes and the box office locate Box Office Mojo, Farmiga ‘s highest-grossing and most critically applaud films include Down to the Bone ( 2004 ), The Manchurian Candidate ( 2004 ), The Departed ( 2006 ), Joshua ( 2007 ), The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas ( 2008 ), Orphan ( 2009 ), Up in the Air ( 2009 ), Source Code ( 2011 ), Safe House ( 2012 ), The Conjuring ( 2013 ), The Conjuring 2 ( 2016 ), The Commuter ( 2018 ), Godzilla: King of the Monsters ( 2019 ), and Annabelle Comes Home ( 2019 ). [ 146 ] [ 147 ] Farmiga won a Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Actress and was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her function in Down to the Bone ( 2004 ). [ 40 ] She won a british Independent Film Award for Best Actress for The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas ( 2008 ). [ 56 ] Her most acclaim function, in Up in the Air ( 2009 ), garnered Farmiga nominations for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress, a BAFTA for Best Actress in a Supporting Role, and a screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Female Actor in a Supporting Role. [ 66 ] [ 69 ] [ 68 ] [ 67 ] For her directorial debut, Higher Ground ( 2011 ), she received a Gotham Independent Film Award for Breakthrough Director nomination. [ 80 ] Farmiga won a Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television, and received nominations for a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and a TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Drama for her function in the play series Bates Motel ( 2013–2017 ). [ 90 ] [ 95 ] [ 96 ] For her operation in the miniseries When They See Us ( 2019 ), Farmiga received her second Primetime Emmy Award nomination, in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a limited Series or Movie. [ 130 ]

References [edit ]