- Born
- Birth nameCatherine Ann Keener
- Height5′ 9½″ (1.77 m)
- Catherine Keener is an American actress, Oscar-nominated for her roles in the independent films Being John Malkovich (1999) and Capote (2005). Acclaimed in her community for her quirky roles in independent film and mainstream such as The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Keener got her start as a casting director in New York City.
Catherine Ann Keener was born in Miami, Florida, and was raised in Hialeah, FL. She is the daughter of Evelyn (Jamiel) and James Keener, who owned an auto shop. She is of Lebanese (mother) and English, Scottish, and German (father) descent. Keener attended Wheaton College in Massachusetts. She began taking acting classes when she was unable to sign up for a photography class. After graduating, Keener managed a McDonalds in New York City before becoming an assistant casting director and soon relocating to Los Angeles.
Not long after, Keener told her superior of her aspirations for acting and she landed a one-worded role as a waitress in About Last Night (1986). Two years later, she landed a role in a film called Survival Quest (1989), where she met her future husband, Dermot Mulroney. After struggling for years in the industry, Keener landed a role in an independent film, opposite the unknown Brad Pitt, in Johnny Suede (1991). Her ascent in independent film began as she starred in Living in Oblivion (1995) and Walking and Talking (1996) before her mainstream break with Being John Malkovich (1999) in 1999, which earned Keener her first Oscar nomination. Since then, Catherine Keener has starred in several critically acclaimed films.- IMDb mini biography by: Keener_Perkins
- SpouseDermot Mulroney(November 17, 1990 - December 17, 2007) (divorced, 1 child)
- Children
- ParentsEvelyn Keener (Jamiel)James Keener
- RelativesElizabeth Keener(Sibling)
- Often works with Nicole Holofcener and Spike Jonze
- Has been close friends with Brad Pitt since they both starred in Johnny Suede (1991) together, and they often attend each other's movie premieres.
- Catherine was devastated when famed author Harper Lee, whom she played in Capote (2005), refused to speak with her before filming. The author, who had been celebrated author Truman Capote's best friend since childhood, refused to cooperate with the making of the film. Lee did contact Keener after filming, to tell her that she enjoyed the film.
- Gave birth to her only child at age 40, a son Clyde Mulroney on June 21, 1999. Child's father is her ex-husband, Dermot Mulroney.
- Good friends with actress Jennifer Aniston.
- As of 2017, has appeared in 3 films that were nominated for the Best Picture Oscar: Capote (2005), Captain Phillips (2013), and Get Out (2017).
- [on her harshest rejection]: "One director said I just wasn't sexy. It was hard, really hard. I left town for two months with my tail between my legs. But you have to kind of go, okay, maybe I'm not their idea of [sexy], but hell, I can have sex!"
- Well, for one thing, I like being a supporting actress. I like to come and go in the film. The interesting characters are very few if you want to be the lead, and they depend on you being beautiful. Since I'm not interested in those parts, the pressure's off, in a way. I'm not cast for my physicality. I find that playing so many characters in so many films is a way to be in the moment.
- Luck favors the prepared.
- Well, the day I got nominated, I had jury duty, a D.U.I. case. The morning the nominations were announced, I reported to jury duty as scheduled. That was good; it gave me perspective. If you start feeling too important, it's always good to go sit in a jury for a D.U.I. charge.
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