Penelope Ann Miller

Penelope Ann Miller (born Penelope Andrea Miller; January 13, 1964), sometimes credited as Penelope Miller, is an American actress. She began her career on Broadway in the original run of Biloxi Blues (1985–1986), later appearing in the 1988 film adaptation of the same name. After playing small roles in the comedies Adventures in Babysitting and Big Top Pee-wee (1988), and receiving a Tony Award nomination for her leading role in the Broadway revival of Our Town (1988–1989), Miller came to prominence with a succession of major parts in films such as The Freshman, Awakenings, Kindergarten Cop (all 1990), Other People's Money (1991), Chaplin (1992), The Shadow (1994), and The Relic (1997). For her portrayal of exotic dancer Gail in Carlito's Way (1993), she was nominated for the Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress.

Other film credits include Along Came a Spider (2001), The Messengers (2007), The Artist (2011), The Birth of a Nation (2016), and Reagan (2024). On television, Miller starred as Molly Hooper on the Fox sitcom A Minute with Stan Hooper (2003–2004), played recurring roles on Men of a Certain Age (2009–2011) and Mistresses (2013–2014), starred as Eve Carlin on the first season of ABC's American Crime (2015), and co-starred as Joyce Dahmer in the Netflix series Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (2022).

Early life Miller was born in Los Angeles, California, to Beatrice (née Ammidown), a costume designer, publicist, and journalist, and Mark Miller, a television actor and producer. Her mother was the goddaughter of businessman Aristotle Onassis and an editor of Harper's Bazaar. She has two sisters: older, Marisa Miller, who is also a film actress, and younger, Savannah Miller, a social worker.

Miller graduated from high school in Los Angeles and attended Menlo College in Atherton, California, for two years from 1981 to 1983, then moved to New York City to study theatre at HB Studio.

Career Her Broadway theatre break came in 1985 when she was cast in the lead (opposite Matthew Broderick) in the Neil Simon play Biloxi Blues. (She also starred with Broderick in the 1988 film version of that play). She played a role in one episode ("Death and the Lady") of the television series Miami Vice (which aired on October 16, 1987), and accepted several other small roles in film and television work. She then returned to Broadway in a revival of Our Town; her portrayal of Emily garnered her a Tony Award nomination. She then appeared as Pee-wee Herman's (Paul Reubens) fiancée, Winnie Johnston, in the 1988 release of Big Top Pee-wee. She played a supporting role in 1989's Dead Bang, a cop thriller starring Don Johnson.

In 1990, she played Paula in Awakenings, starring Robert De Niro and Robin Williams. She also appeared in the 1990 movies Downtown, with Anthony Edwards and Forest Whitaker, and Kindergarten Cop, alongside Arnold Schwarzenegger, playing a teacher, hiding with her son Dominic from her criminal drug-dealing husband Cullen Crisp (Richard Tyson). She subsequently appeared in a number of other theatrical movies, notably as Edna Purviance in Chaplin and with Tim Daly as Margaret "Maggie" Harwood in Peter Yates' film Year of the Comet, both in 1992, and the following year she appeared as the love interest of Al Pacino's character in Carlito's Way.

Miller co-starred as the daughter of the character played by Marlon Brando in 1990's The Freshman, again opposite Matthew Broderick, and as the lawyer and stepdaughter of the character played by Gregory Peck in 1991's Other People's Money. She appeared as Margo Lane in The Shadow with Alec Baldwin, as well as in the film Miles from Home directed by Gary Sinise. She had the lead role in the big-budget creature feature The Relic (1997) as Dr. Margo Green. In 1998, she portrayed Barbara Henry in Ruby Bridges a made-for-television movie that was made by Disney, about Ruby Bridges, the first Black student to attend an all-white elementary school in New Orleans. In 2000, she played Mary Kay Letourneau in the TV film All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story.

In 2002, Miller starred in the film Dead in a Heartbeat and in a two-part episode of A&E's series A Nero Wolfe Mystery. Her 2005 film Funny Money was voted the top film of the Sarasota Film Festival. She appeared in the Fox series Vanished for six episodes, playing the ex-wife of a U.S. senator whose wife has mysteriously disappeared. In 2007, she appeared in the comedy Blonde Ambition co-starring Jessica Simpson and Luke Wilson. She guest starred as Fran on Desperate Housewives. Miller appeared in the horror film The Messengers, co-starring Dylan McDermott and Kristen Stewart. The film was produced by director Sam Raimi's production company, Ghost House Pictures. In 2011, she portrayed Doris, the wife of protagonist George Valentin (Jean Dujardin), in the Academy Award-winning film The Artist.

After a recurring role on the ABC soap opera Mistresses, Miller was cast in 2015 as a regular in the first season of ABC's drama series American Crime.

In October 2020, Miller was cast as First Lady Nancy Reagan in Reagan, a biographical film based on the life of President Ronald Reagan. Reagan was theatrically released in the United States on August 30, 2024. For her performance in the film, she and Dennis Quaid were nominated for a Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Screen Combo at the 45th Golden Raspberry Awards.

Personal life In 1994, Miller married actor Will Arnett. They divorced in 1995.

Miller married James Huggins in 2000, and they have two daughters. On March 14, 2012, Miller filed for legal separation from Huggins after 12 years of marriage. On June 15, 2012, Miller withdrew her request for separation.

Filmography +Key Denotes projects that have not yet been released Film Year Title Role Notes 1987 Hotshot Mary Film debut Adventures in Babysitting Brenda 1988 Biloxi Blues Daisy Hannigan Big Top Pee-wee Winnie Johnson Miles from Home Sally 1989 Dead Bang Linda Kimble 1990 Downtown Lori Mitchell Tina Sabatini Awakenings Paula Kindergarten Cop Joyce Palmieri / Rachel Crisp 1991 Other People's Money Kate Sullivan 1992 Year of the Comet Margaret Harwood Mrs. Elizabeth Louise "Betty Lou" Perkins Chaplin Edna Purviance 1993 Carlito's Way Gail 1994 Margo Lane 1997 The Hired Heart Garnet Hadley Dr. Margo Green Little City Rebecca 1998 Break Up Grace Outside Ozona Earlene Demers 1999 Chapter Zero Cassandra 2000 Lisa Picard Is Famous Penelope Ann Miller Forever Lulu Claire Clifton 2001 Along Came a Spider Elizabeth Rose Full Disclosure Michelle Video 2006 Funny Money Carol Perkins 2007 Denise Solomon The Deal Laura Martin Blonde Ambition Debra 2008 Free Style Jeannette Bryant 2009 Saving Grace B. Jones Bea Bretthorst 2010 Flipped Trina Baker 2011 Doris Valentin About Sunny Louise 2013 Saving Lincoln Mary Todd Lincoln Robosapien: Rebooted Joanna Keller 2016 The Birth of a Nation Elizabeth Turner The Bronx Bull Debbie Forrester 2018 American Dresser Vera 2020 Adverse Nicole 2024 Reagan Nancy Reagan 2024 Murder at Hollow Creek Lori Rhodes

Television films Year Title Role Notes 1988 Tales from Hollywood Hills: Closed Set Tina 1994 Witch Hunt Kim Hudson1997The Last Don Nalene De Lena The Hired Heart Garnet Hadley Merry Christmas, George Bailey Mary Hatch Bailey 1998 Rhapsody in Bloom Lilah Bloom Ruby Bridges Barbara Henry 1999 Rocky Marciano Barbara Cousins 2000 All-American Girl: The Mary Kay Letourneau Story Mary Kay Letourneau Killing Moon Laura Chadwick 2001 Dodson's Journey Meredith Dodson Zane Douglas 2002 Dead in a Heartbeat Dr. Gillian Hayes Scared Silent Kathy Clifson 2003 Rudy: The Rudy Giuliani Story Donna Hanover National Lampoon's Thanksgiving Family Reunion Pauline Snider 2004 Carry Me Home Harriet 2005 Personal Effects Bonnie Locke 2008 Gloria 2017 NY Prison Break: The Seduction of Joyce Mitchell Joyce Mitchell 2019 The College Admissions Scandal Caroline DeVere 2026 Ms. Berviltuck and the Children Ms. Berviltuck

Television series Year Title Role Notes 1985 Tales from the Darkside Keena Episode: "Ring Around the Redhead" 1987 Kristen Morgan Episode: "The Greek Connection" Family Ties Joyce Episode: "Higher Love" Gwen Stottlemeyer 6 episodes Miami Vice Jill Ryder Episode: "Death and the Lady" St. Elsewhere Laurel Episode: "Ewe Can't Go Home Again" 1989 Great Performances Emily Webb Episode: "Our Town" 1991 Morton & Hayes Jody Episode: "The Bride of Mummula" 1997 Nalene De Lena Episode: "#1.1" 1998 Erica Hewitt 10 episodes 2002 Lucy Valdon 2 episodes 2003–2004 Molly Hooper 13 episodes 2005 CSI: NY Rose Whitley Episode: "What You See Is What You Get" Desperate Housewives Fran Ferrara Episode: "Coming Home" 2006 Vanished Jessica Nevins 9 episodes 2009–2011 Men of a Certain Age Sonia Tranelli 9 episodes 2013–2014 Mistresses Elizabeth Grey 10 episodes 2015 American Crime Eve Carlin 2018 Riverdale Ms. Wright 1 episode Criminal Minds Dr. Elizabeth Rhodes 2022 Dahmer – Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story Joyce Dahmer 10 episodes

Awards and nominations Year Award Category Nominated work Result 1991 Chicago Film Critics Association Most Promising Actress The Freshman 1994 Golden Globe Awards Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture Carlito's Way 1995 Saturn Awards Best Actress The Shadow 1997 Saturn Awards Best Actress The Relic 1998 Hollywood Film Awards Special Jury Award for Best Acting in a Feature Rhapsody in Bloom 2001 DVD Exclusive Awards Best Supporting Actress Full Disclosure 2012 Gold Derby Awards Best Ensemble Cast The Artist Screen Actors Guild Awards Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture 2016 Satellite Awards Best Ensemble – Television Series American Crime 2024 San Diego International Film FestivalGregory Peck AwardLifetime Achievement 2025Golden Raspberry AwardsWorst Screen Combo (shared with Dennis Quaid)Reagan