Not so Jung chics
List activity
16 views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
4 people
- Actress
- Writer
- Producer
Michaela is currently a main company member of The Groundlings in Los Angeles.
Before moving to Los Angeles, Michaela pursued a life in regional theater.
She received her BFA from Boston University School For the Arts.
Her father is a math professor at Syracuse University, and her mother teaches Latin in the Boston area.- Actress
- Producer
- Soundtrack
This remarkable, one-of-a-kind actress has, since the early 1990s, intrigued film and TV audiences with her glowing, yet careworn eccentricity and old world-styled glamour. Very much in demand these days as a character player, Patricia Clarkson nevertheless continues to avoid the temptation of money-making mainstream filming while reaping kudos and acting awards in out-of-the-way projects.
The New Orleans born-and-bred performer with the given name of Patricia Davies Clarkson was born on December 29, 1959, the daughter of Arthur ("Buzz") Clarkson, a school administrator, and Jackie Clarkson, a local city politician and councilwoman. Patricia demonstrated an early interest in acting and managed to appear in a few junior high and high school-level plays while growing up. She took her basic college studies at Louisiana State University, studying speech for two years, before transferring to New York's Fordham University and graduating with honors in theatre arts.
Accepted into the prestigious Yale School of Drama graduate program, she earned her Master of Fine Arts after gracing a wide range of productions including "Electra," "Pericles," "Twelfth Night", "The Lower Depths," "The Misanthrope," "Pacific Overtures" and "La Ronde". From there she took on New York City where she attracted strong East Coast notice in 1986 for her portrayal of Corrina in "The House of Blue Leaves" and in such other plays as "Eastern Standard" (1988) and "Wolf-Man" (1989).
Known for her organic approach to acting, the flaxen-maned actress decided to try out her trademark whiskey voice in Hollywood at age 28, making her movie debut as Mrs. Eliot Ness in Brian De Palma's The Untouchables (1987) starring Kevin Costner. The following years she gained attention for playing Samantha Walker in The Dead Pool (1988) where she starred opposite Clint Eastwood's popular "Dirty Harry" character. Playing supportive, wifely types at the onset, she became a strong contender for character stardom by the mid-to-late 1990s, not only on stage but in the independent film arena.
On stage Patricia received impressive notices for her contributions to the plays "Raised in Captivity," "The Ride Down Mt. Morgan," "Three Days of Rain" and, in particular, "The Maiden's Prayer," which nabbed her both Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Award nominations. In 2004, she finally enacted the classic part she seemed born to play, that of Southern belle Blanche DuBois in the Kennedy Center production of "A Streetcar Named Desire". She earned glowing notices.
On camera she was offered roles of marked diversity. From the heavier dramatics of a film like Pharaoh's Army (1995), she could move deftly into light comedy, courtesy of Neil Simon in the TV-movie London Suite (1996). It was, however, her bleak, convulsive portrayal of Greta, a strung-out, heroin-happy German has-been actress, opposite a resurgent Ally Sheedy in the acclaimed art film High Art (1998) that truly put Patricia on the indie map. From this she was handed a silver plate's worth of excitingly offbeat roles. In 2003 alone, Patricia received a special acting prize at the Sundance Film Festival for her superb work in three films: as a somber, grieving artist in The Station Agent (2003), a cold-hearted cancer victim in Pieces of April (2003), and a jokey, get-with-it mom in All the Real Girls (2003). She was nominated for a "Best Supporting Actress" Oscar for the second film mentioned.
On TV Patricia received two Emmys for her recurring guest part as Frances Conroy's free-spirited sister in the acclaimed black comedy series Six Feet Under (2001). She also received the New York Film Critics Circle and the National Society of Film Critics awards for her supporting work in the gorgeous, 1950s-styled melodrama Far from Heaven (2002), as a prim and proper Stepford-wife and deceptive friend to Julianne Moore.
No matter the size, such as her extended cameos in The Green Mile (1999), All the Real Girls (2003), Miracle (2004) and Elegy (2008), Patricia manages to make the most of whatever screen time she has, often stealing scenes effortlessly. Working for director/actor Woody Allen in a small but notable role in Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008), he was impressed enough to promote her with a lead in a subsequent film Whatever Works (2009).
More recent work includes leads and supports in the films Vincent in Brixton (2003), Legendary (2010), Friends with Benefits (2011), Learning to Drive (2014), The Bookshop (2017), Delirium (2018), Out of Blue (2018), Almost Love (2019) and as the antagonist Ava Paige in the sci-fi thrillers The Maze Runner (2014), Maze Runner: The Scorch Trials (2015) and Maze Runner: The Death Cure (2018). On TV, the never-married Patricia earned a supporting Golden Globe for her fine work in the mini-series Sharp Objects (2018) and had a strong recurring role on the political series House of Cards (2013).- Actress
- Soundtrack
Popular African-American vocalist and entertainer Barbara McNair dazzled audiences with her singing prowess and exceptional beauty for well over four decades until her death on February 4, 2007 of throat cancer in Los Angeles. The Chicago-born entertainer and one-time secretary was raised in Racine, Wisconsin, one of five children born to Horace and Claudia Taylor McNair. She sang in her church choir and was encouraged by her parents to pursue voice. Following music studies at the Racine Conservatory of Music and the American Conservatory of Music in her hometown Chicago, she moved to Los Angeles and attended USC before relocating once again to New York to pursue her dream.
Barbara worked her way up from typist to singer of small supper clubs to headlining large showrooms as one of America's more visible singers of the late 50s and 60s. A jazz stylist influenced by the great Sarah Vaughan at first, she gently eased into popular music. Her first big break came with a week-long gig on Arthur Godfrey's talent show, which led to bookings at The Purple Onion, The Persian Room and L.A.'s Cocoanut Grove. She began receiving invites on the TV variety circuit ('Ed Sullivan's "Toast of the Town," "The Dean Martin Show" and "The Tonight Show") and made it to Broadway with the musicals "The Body Beautiful" (1958) and "No Strings" (1962), replacing original star Diahann Carroll in the latter. At different times she recorded on the Coral, Signature and Motown labels resulting in such modest hits as "You're Gonna Love My Baby" and "Bobby."
In the late 60s Barbara made a choice to scout out acting roles, hoping to parlay her singing success into a movie career. The singer showed initial promise as a sexy lead alongside Raymond St. Jacques in the gritty crime drama If He Hollers, Let Him Go! (1968) in which she made news with her celebrated nude sequences. She also wore a nun's habit alongside Mary Tyler Moore in Elvis Presley's last feature film Change of Habit (1969), and appeared opposite Sidney Poitier as Virgil Tibbs' wife in both They Call Me Mister Tibbs! (1970) and The Organization (1971). A warm, inviting presence, she pioneered her own syndicated musical TV show The Barbara McNair Show (1969), a rarity at the time for a black entertainer, and guested on all the popular TV programs of the day including "Mission: Impossible," "Hogan's Heroes" and "I Spy."
The early 1970s were a difficult time for Barbara when offers suddenly stopped coming in and her husband/manager, who had mob affiliations, was shot and killed in 1976. Barbara went on to appear in such stage musicals as "The Pajama Game" and "Sophisticated Ladies", and was also seen in a recurring role for a time on General Hospital (1963) in later years. She was also spotted in a couple of obscure films in the 80s and 90s. Barbara's love of performing continued even in lesser venues -- cabaret clubs, cruise ships, special events and even retirement centers in Florida -- still sporting her stunning looks and vocal sparkle. In 2006 she opened for Bob Newhart in Philadelphia and New Jersey. Married four times in all, Barbara died at age 72 and was survived by husband, Charles Blecka.- Arsema was born in Atlanta, Georgia, but has lived most of her life across sub-Saharan Africa (Uganda, Kenya, Togo and Benin), where she picked up an interest in acting as a storytelling device. Born of a Nigerian father and Ethiopian mother, Arsema received her B.A. in Biological Sciences from Carnegie Mellon University in 2016 and her Masters of Public Health in Health Policy from Yale University in 2018.
After receiving her degree, she moved to South Africa where she auditioned for an agent, leading to her first professional screen role. In 2020 she enrolled into the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art in London, UK, where she is working towards her Masters of Fine Arts in Professional Acting. She is due to graduate in the summer of 2022.