Vera Farmiga

Actor

• Born: August 6, 1973
• Birthplace: Clifton, New Jersey

Contribution: Vera Farmiga is an actor and director best known for her Academy Award–nominated role in the 2009 film Up in the Air, opposite George Clooney, as well as her roles in The Departed (2006) and Source Code (2011). Her work in television series such asBates Motel (2013–17) and When They See Us (2019) also earned critical acclaim.

Background

Vera Ann Farmiga was born on August 6, 1973, in Clifton, New Jersey, the second of seven children. Her parents—Mykhailo, a computer-systems analyst, and Luba, a teacher—emigrated from Ukraine and raised their children in a Ukrainian community; Farmiga did not speak English until she was six years old.

Farmiga attended a Ukrainian Catholic school and spent much of her adolescence touring with a Ukrainian folk-dancing troupe called Syzokryli. She was also involved in theater productions in high school. She graduated from Hunterdon Central Regional High School in Flemington, New Jersey, in 1991 and enrolled in the drama program at Syracuse University's College of Visual and Performing Arts.

Career

Farmiga began to perform on stage shortly after graduation, playing Miranda in the American Conservatory Theater's 1996 production of The Tempest. The same year, she landed her first Broadway role as an understudy in Taking Sides. She was featured in the 1997 Off-Broadway production Second-Hand Smoke. Also in 1997, she had a supporting role in the CBS television movie Rose Hill and starred opposite Heath Ledger in the series Roar. Though the series was short lived, Farmiga gained a significant following.

Farmiga made her movie debut in the 1998 drama Return to Paradise, starring Joaquin Phoenix, Anne Heche, and Vince Vaughn as travelers who find trouble in Asia. In 2000, she played Richard Gere's daughter in Autumn in New York, also starring Winona Ryder. The same year, she appeared in the crime drama The Opportunists as the daughter of Christopher Walken's character. Farmiga next appeared in a supporting role in the thriller 15 Minutes, starring Robert De Niro, and also appeared with Joseph Fiennes in the Macedonian film Dust. Continuing her stream of work that year, Farmiga joined the cast of the short-lived television series UC: Undercover. The show was canceled in early 2002.

Farmiga's first starring role was in the 2002 romantic drama Love in the Time of Money. She followed this milestone with a role in the romantic comedy Dummy (2002), which starred Milla Jovovich and Adrien Brody. In 2004, Farmiga appeared in the independent film Down to the Bone, which earned her the Special Jury Prize for acting at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004. That year, Farmiga also had a role in the thriller The Manchurian Candidate, costarring Denzel Washington and Meryl Streep, and starred in the USA Network series Touching Evil, which lasted only a single season and was based on the British series of the same name. Farmiga next appeared in the 2006 film The Departed, alongside actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Jack Nicholson. The film, which was directed by Martin Scorsese, was recognized with several major awards, including the Academy Awards for best picture and best director.

Farmiga followed this success by appearing in several independent films, including Never Forever (2007) and Quid Pro Quo (2008). In 2008, she won a British Independent Film Award for best actress for her starring role in the Holocaust film The Boy in the Striped Pajamas (2008). In the same year, she appeared in the thriller Nothing but the Truth with Kate Beckinsale.

In 2009, Farmiga played the mother of a disturbed child in the thriller Orphan, but it was Jason Reitman's 2009 film Up in the Air that caught the attention of critics and audiences alike. Farmiga starred opposite George Clooney as a businesswoman who is frequently in flight across the country for work. Her performance earned her nominations for numerous awards, including Academy and Golden Globe Awards for best supporting actress.

In 2011, Farmiga appeared in the thriller Source Code, where she played an air force captain alongside star Jake Gyllenhaal. The same year, she made her directing debut with the film Higher Ground, in which she also starred. She was nominated for a Satellite Award for best actress for the film.

In 2013, Farmiga began starring in the A&E series Bates Motel, based on the 1960 film Psycho. For her role as Norma Bates, the mother of Norman Bates, she was nominated for a 2013 Emmy Award for outstanding lead actress in a drama series. That same year, Farmiga had a lead role as paranormal investigator Lorraine Warren in the critically acclaimed and highly successful horror filmThe Conjuring. She would reprise the role in a number of sequels and spin-offs, including The Conjuring 2 (2016) and Annabelle Comes Home (2019).

Farmiga appeared in a wide variety of other films in addition to her high-profile horror projects. These included the legal drama The Judge (2014) alongside Robert Downey Jr. and Robert Duvall, the independent comedy-drama Burn Your Maps (2016), the Liam Neeson thriller The Commuter (2018), the political drama The Front Runner (2018) with Hugh Jackman, and the biopic Skin (2018). She appeared in two films in 2019 that were noted box office failures: the alien invasion thriller Captive State and the blockbuster monster movie Godzilla: King of the Monsters. That year Farmiga also earned a Primetime Emmy nomination for best supporting actress for her role in the miniseries When They See Us, which was released on the streaming service Netflix.

Impact

Farmiga's performances in television and film have often been recognized by critics and peers, as attested by her numerous award nominations and wins. She earned a reputation for versatility, appearing in projects that ranged from serious drama to horror to comedy. She also became known for her down-to-earth style, preferring the company of her goats and tractor in rural New York to the glamorous life of Hollywood.

Personal Life

Farmiga was married to French actor Sebastian Roché from 1997 until 2005. In September 2008, Farmiga married boyfriend Renn Hawkey. They had a son, Fynn, in 2009, and a daughter, Gytta, in 2010. Farmiga's youngest sister, Taissa Farmiga, also became an actor and made her film debut in Higher Ground.

Principal Works

Film

Return to Paradise, 1998

Autumn in New York, 2000

15 Minutes, 2001

Love in the Time of Money, 2002

Down to the Bone, 2004

The Manchurian Candidate, 2004

The Departed, 2006

The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, 2008

Orphan, 2009

Source Code, 2011

Safe House, 2012

The Conjuring, 2013

The Judge, 2014

The Conjuring 2, 2016

Burn Your Maps, 2016

The Commuter, 2018

Boundaries, 2018

The Front Runner, 2018

Skin, 2018

Captive State, 2019

Godzilla: King of the Monsters, 2019

Annabelle Comes Home, 2019

Television

Roar, 1997

UC: Undercover, 2001–2

Touching Evil, 2004

Bates Motel, 2013–17

When They See Us, 2019

Bibliography

Alexander, Bryan. "There's No Stopping Vera Farmiga." USA Today 26 Aug. 2011: 10B. Print.

Farmiga, Vera. "Vera Farmiga on The Conjuring, Bates Motel, Maternal Angst . . . and Knitting." Interview by John Patterson. Guardian. Guardian News and Media, 1 Aug. 2013. Web. 19 Aug. 2013.

Hirschberg, Lynn. "A Film of One's Own." New York Times. New York Times, 3 Sept. 2006. Web. 4 Aug. 2013.

Luscombe, Belinda. "That's the Spirit." Time. Time, 29 Aug. 2011. Web. 4 Aug 2013.

Stack, Tim. "Vera Farmiga Is Crazy Good on Bates Motel." Entertainment Weekly 3 May 2013: 56. Print.

"Vera Farmiga." IMDb, 2019, www.imdb.com/name/nm0267812/. Accessed 25 Nov. 2019.

Windolf, Jim. "Vera Farmiga." New York 22 Aug. 2011: 155–56. Print.