Penelope Ann Miller, born Penelope Andrea Miller on January 13, 1964, in Los Angeles, California, is a versatile American actress renowned for her performances across film, television, and theater.
Growing up in a family immersed in the entertainment world, she developed a passion for acting early on, studying at Menlo College in Atherton, California, before moving to New York City at age 18 to hone her craft at the HB Studio.
Her career spans over four decades, marked by collaborations with Hollywood legends such as Al Pacino, Marlon Brando, and Robert De Niro, and she has earned praise for roles that blend vulnerability with strength.
Miller’s personal life includes two marriages, first to actor Will Arnett in 1994, which ended in 1995, and later to investment counselor James Patrick Huggins in 2000, with whom she shares two daughters, Eloisa and Maria.
Siblings
Penelope has two sisters.
Her older sister, Marisa Miller, has followed in the family’s artistic footsteps as a film actress, appearing in various productions and maintaining a low-profile career in the industry.
The youngest sibling, Savannah Miller, opted for a life of public service, working as a social worker dedicated to supporting communities and individuals in need.
Their parents, father Mark Miller, a television actor, writer, and producer best known for his role in the 1960s sitcom Please Don’t Eat the Daisies, and mother Beatrice Ammidown, a multifaceted costume designer, publicist, journalist, and editor at Harper’s Bazaar who was the goddaughter of Aristotle Onassis, fostered an environment rich in storytelling and expression.
Career
Miller’s journey into acting began on the stage, where she made her Broadway debut in 1985 opposite Matthew Broderick in Neil Simon’s Biloxi Blues, a role that transitioned seamlessly to the 1988 film adaptation directed by Mike Nichols.
Early film roles in comedies like Adventures in Babysitting (1987) and Big Top Pee-wee (1988) showcased her comedic timing, but it was the late 1980s and early 1990s that propelled her to leading lady status.
She starred alongside Marlon Brando and Broderick in The Freshman (1990), delivered a poignant performance in Penny Marshall’s Awakenings with Robin Williams and Robert De Niro, and played the spirited schoolteacher opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in Kindergarten Cop (1990).
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The decade’s pinnacle came with her role as the ambitious lawyer in Other People’s Money (1991) alongside Danny DeVito and Gregory Peck, followed by her portrayal of Edna Purviance in Richard Attenborough’s Chaplin (1992) with Robert Downey Jr.
Her dramatic range shone brightest in Brian De Palma’s Carlito’s Way (1993), where she played the resilient Gail opposite Al Pacino, cementing her as a force in crime thrillers.
Miller ventured into superhero territory as Margo Lane in The Shadow (1994) with Alec Baldwin and tackled horror in The Relic (1997).
The 2000s brought a shift toward television and independent films, including the lead in the romantic drama Rhapsody in Bloom (1998) and a recurring role on Men of a Certain Age (2009–2011).
She earned critical acclaim for her supporting turn in the Oscar-winning silent film The Artist (2011) as Doris, the wife of Jean Dujardin’s character.
Recent years have seen her embrace complex, real-life figures: Joyce Dahmer in Netflix’s Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (2022), which garnered 13 Emmy nominations, and First Lady Nancy Reagan in the biographical drama Reagan (2024) opposite Dennis Quaid.
Accolades
Miller’s Broadway breakthrough in the revival of Thornton Wilder’s Our Town (1988–1989) as Emily Webb earned her a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play, alongside a Drama Desk Award nomination for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play.
Transitioning to film, she was honored with the Chicago Film Critics Association’s Most Promising Actress award in 1990 for The Freshman, and the Motion Pictures Bookers Club’s Star of Tomorrow in 1991 for Other People’s Money.
Her riveting performance in Carlito’s Way (1993) brought a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress, Motion Picture, affirming her status among Hollywood’s elite.
Further accolades include a Special Jury Award for Best Acting in a Feature at the Hollywood Film Festival in 1998 for Rhapsody in Bloom, where she also clinched Best Actress, and a Video Premiere Award nomination from the DVD Exclusive Awards in 2001 for Best Supporting Actress in Full Disclosure.
In recognition of her lifetime contributions, Miller received the Ft. Lauderdale International Film Festival Career Achievement Award and a Lifetime Achievement Award at the San Diego International Film Festival in 2019.
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