Donna Murphy

Donna Murphy (born March 7, 1959 in Corona, Queens, New York) is an American actress. She was raised in Hauppauage, Long Island and Topsfield, Massachusetts.

Murphy is an accomplished and respected actress who has been building a career of striking range and diversity. She won the first of two Tony Awards for Best Actress, Along with the Drama and Drama League Awards for her portrayal of Fosca in Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's "Passion" and dazzled television viewers and critics alike when "Passion" was televised on PBS' American Playhouse. She was awarded her second Tony and Drama League Awards, as well as Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations for her performance as Anna Leonowans in the highly acclaimed revival of "The King and I". Her feature film work includes Center Stage (2000), directed by Nicholas Hynter, co-starring with Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), The Astronaut's Wife (1999) with Johnny Depp, Jade (1995), directed by William Friedkin, and Spider-Man 2 (2004) with Alfred Molina and directed by Sam Raimi.

For her performance in HBO's Someone Had To Be Benny, she received a Cable Ace Award as Best Actress in a Drama Special or Series, as well as a Daytime Emmy. She recenly co-starred with Joan Cusack on the ABC comedy series What About Joan, and will play David Morse's wife on the CBS series Hack. Other television credits included Showtime's The Last Debate with James Garner, Mary Todd Lincoln in The Day Lincolm Was Shot (TNT), Stephen Bocho's Murder One, Liberty (PBS), and guest appearances on Law and Order, Ally McBeal, The Education of Max Bickford, Remember WENN, Nothing Sacred, and The Practice.

After studying with the legendary Stella Adler and attending New York University's (NYU) Tisch School of the Arts, she made her professional debut in the Broadway hit "They're Playing Our Song" and went on to create memorable characters in comedies, dramas, and musicals on and off-Broadway and in theaters across the country. These credits include Edwin Drool in "The Mystery of Edwin Drool" (New York Shakespeare Featival and Broadway), "Twelve Dreams" and "Hello Again" at Lincoln Center (Drama Desk nominations), "Song of Singapore" (Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle nominations), "Little Shop of Horrors", "Privates on Parade" (Roundabout Theater Company), "Miss Julie", and "Wonderful Town" (City Center Encores!). She most recently starred as the title character in "Helen", directed by Tony Kushner, for the New York Shakespeare Festival (Drama League Award).

A versatile singer, she can be heard on a number of recordings including "Leonard Bernstein's New York" (Nonesuch), "Hello Again" (RCA Victor) "The King and I" (Varese Sarabande) and the Grammy Award winning "Passion" (Angel).

She is married to actor and singer Shawn Elliott since 1990 and resides in New York City.

External links

• Donna Murphy at IMDb