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Calista Kay Flockhart (born on November
11, 1964) is an Emmy Award-nominated and Golden
Globe-winning American actress, primarily on soap operas
and television. She is best known for her role as the
title character in the 1997-2002 television show, Ally
McBeal. She now plays Sally Field's feuding daughter,
Kitty Walker, on the hit ABC drama, Brothers &
Sisters, as a political campaign advisor.
Early life: Flockhart was born in Freeport,
Illinois, to Ronald Flockhart, an executive for Kraft
Foods, and English teacher Kay Calista. She has one
older brother, Gary. Her mother reversed her own first
and middle names in naming her Calista Kay. (The name
Calista means most beautiful in Greek.) Because her
father's job required the family to move often,
Flockhart was raised with her brother in Illinois, Iowa,
Minnesota, upstate New York, and New Jersey.
As a child, she wrote a play called
Toyland in which she performed to a small audience at a
dinner party. However, she never professed an ambition
to become an actress, instead claiming she wanted to be
a clown when she grew up.
Flockhart attended Shawnee High School in Medford
Township, New Jersey. Following her graduation in 1983,
Flockhart attended The Mason Gross School of the Arts at
Rutgers University, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. While
there, she attended a specialized and competitive class,
lasting from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM. In her sophomore year
at Rutgers, Flockhart met aspiring actress Jane
Krakowski, the best friend of her roommate. Later they
would both work together on Ally McBeal.
Flockhart's acting ability was recognized when William
Esper (Mason Gross' theatre director and Flockhart's
acting teacher) made an exception to policy by allowing
Flockhart to perform on the main stage. Though this
venue is usually reserved for juniors and seniors,
Harold Scott insisted that Flockhart perform there in
his production of William Inge's Picnic. Flockhart
graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts Degree in Theatre
in 1988 as one of only a few students who successfully
completed the course. She was inducted into the Rutgers
Hall of Distinguished Alumni on May 3, 2003.
After receiving her degree, Flockhart moved to New York
City in 1989 where she remained until 1997, living with
three other women in a two-bedroom apartment and working
as a waitress and aerobics instructor whilst she
simultaneously sought auditions.
Career: In spring 1989, Flockhart made her first
television appearance in a minor role in an episode of
Guiding Light as a babysitter.
She made her professional debut on the New York stage,
appearing in Beside Herself alongside Melissa Joan Hart
at the Circle Repertory Theatre. Two years later,
Flockhart appeared in a television movie, Darrow. Though
she later appeared in films Naked in New York (1993) and
Getting In (1994), her first substantial speaking part
in a film was in Quiz Show, directed by Robert Redford.
Flockhart debuted on Broadway in 1994, as Laura in The
Glass Menagerie. Actor Julie Harris felt Flockhart
should be hired without further auditions, claiming that
she seemed ideal for the part. Flockhart received a
Clarence Derwent Award for her performance. In 1995,
Flockhart became acquainted with actors such as Dianne
Wiest and Faye Dunaway when she appeared in the movie
Drunks. Later that year, Flockhart starred in Jane Doe
as a drug addict. In 1996, Flockhart appeared as the
daughter of Dianne Wiest and Gene Hackman's characters,
in The Birdcage. Throughout that year, she continued to
work on Broadway, playing the role of Natasha in Anton
Chekhov's Three Sisters.
Ally McBeal: In 1997 Flockhart was requested to
audition for the starring role in David E. Kelley's FOX
television series, Ally McBeal. Kelley, having heard of
Flockhart, wanted her to audition for the contract part.
Though Flockhart at first hesitated due to the necessary
commitment to the show in a negotiable contract, she was
swayed by the script and travelled to Los Angeles to
audition for the part, which she won. She earned a
Golden Globe Award for the role in 1998. Flockhart also
appeared on the June 29, 1998 cover of Time magazine,
placed as the newest iteration in the evolution of
feminism, relating to the ongoing debate about the role
depicted by her character.
Flockhart maintained throughout Ally McBeal's run that
she has never been diagnosed with either anorexia and/or
bulimia, nor has she been a user of illegal drugs. She
did remark, however, that while starring in the show she
refrained from eating sweets, retaining her slim figure
by working out. She has now admitted that she had a
problem at the time, and was 'exercising too much' and
'eating too little'.
Other roles: Flockhart played the role of Helena
in the 1999 film version of Shakespeare's A Midsummer
Night's Dream. In 2000, she appeared in Things You Can
Tell Just by Looking at Her and Bash: Latter-Day Plays,
later accompanying Eve Ensler to Kenya in order to
protest violence against women, particularly Female
Genital Mutilation. Flockhart also starred in the
off-Broadway production of Ensler's The Vagina
Monologues.
In 2004, Flockhart appeared as Matthew Broderick's
psychotic girlfriend in The Last Shot. In the same year,
Flockhart travelled to Spain for the filming of Fragile,
which premiered in September 2005 at the Venice Film
Festival.
She auditioned for the role of Susan Mayer on Desperate
Housewives, but lost the role to Teri Hatcher. A couple
of years later, she signed a deal for ABC Television
Studio (formerly Touchstone Television) to star in a
weekly series.
Flockhart can currently be seen as communication advisor
Kitty Walker in the ABC TV prime time series Brothers
& Sisters, which premiered in September 2006.
Personal life: Flockhart has been romantically
involved with actor Harrison Ford since meeting him at
the 2002 Golden Globe Awards after she spilled wine on
his award. The pair were dating within a week. When
approached to star in the film Indiana Jones 4, Ford
requested that Flockhart co-star as his love interest.
Though the film producers agreed, Flockhart is not
currently attached to the project. Flockhart's reaction
was "Oh, yes. If I could kick his ass,
absolutely!"
On January 11, 2001, Flockhart adopted a baby boy, born
ten days prior, whom she named Liam. Flockhart continues
to support charities such as Public Schools Arts, and
causes such as breast cancer research. She is the
national spokeswoman for Peace Over Violence (POV),
which led her to acquire a Humanitarian Award on October
21, 2005. |
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