Donna (I) Murphy filmography and biography
Date of birth: 7 March 1959, Corona, New York, USA
Donna (I) Murphy biography
Donna Murphy won the first of two Tony Awards for Best Actress, along
with the Drama Desk 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 (1996) (TV) 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,
Star Trek: Insurrection,
The Astronauts Wife and Jade. For her
performance in "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. Other television credits include
The Last Debate (2000) (TV), a role as "Mary Todd Lincoln" in
The Day Lincoln Was Shot (1998) (TV), Steven Bochco's
Murder One,
Liberty! The American Revolution, and guest appearances
on Law amp; Order, Ally McBeal,
Remember WENN, Nothing Sacred and
The Practice. After studying with the legendary
Stella Adler and attending New York University's Tisch School of
the Arts, Murphy 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 her portrayal of "Edwin
Drood" in "The Mystery of Edwin Drood", "Twelve Dreams", "Hello Again",
"Song of Singapore", "Little Shop of Horrors", "Privates on Parade",
"Miss Julie" and "Wonderful Town". A versatile singer, she can be heard
on a number of recordings, including "Leonard Bernstein's New York",
"Hello Again", "The King and I", and the Grammy Award-winning
"Passion". Ms. Murphy was born in Corona, New York, and raised in
Hauppauge, Long Island, and Topsfield, Massachusetts. She is married to
actor Shawn Elliott and resides in New York City.
Donna 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 Desk 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 (1996) (TV) 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, directed by Nicholas Hytner,
co-starring with Patrick Stewart (I) in
Star Trek: Insurrection,
The Astronauts Wife with Johnny Depp, and
Jade, directed by William Friedkin.
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 recently co-starred with Joan Cusack on
the ABC comedy series What About Joan, and will play
David Morse (I)'s wife on the CBS series, Hack.
Other television credits include Showtime's
The Last Debate (2000) (TV) with James Garner, "Mary Todd
Lincoln" in The Day Lincoln Was Shot (1998) (TV) (TNT),
Steven Bochco's Murder One,
Liberty! The American Revolution (PBS), and guest
appearances on Law amp; Order,
Ally McBeal,
The Education of Max Bickford,
Remember WENN, Nothing Sacred and
The Practice.
After studying with the legendary Stella Adler and attending
NYU's 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 Drood" in
"The Mystery of Edwin Drood" (New York Shakespeare Festival 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 Co.), "Miss Julie", and "Wonderful Town" (City
Center Encores!). She most recently starred as the title character in
"Helen", directed by Tony Kushner, for the N.Y. 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).
Ms. Murphy was born in Corona, New York and raised in Hauppauge, Long
Island and Topsfield, Massachusetts. She is married to actor
Shawn Elliott and resides in New York City.
Donna (I) Murphy trivia
- Has won two Tony Awards as Best Actress (Musical) in 1994 for "Passion,"
a performance she recreated in the television version of the same
title, Passion (1996) (TV); and in 1996 for playing one of the
title characters (the "I," or Anna Lenowens) in a revival of "The King
and I." She was also nominated in the same category in 2004 for a
revival of "Wonderful Town" and in 2007 for "LoveMusik.".
- BFA in Drama - New York University, Tisch School of the Arts (1980)
- Donna was appearing on Broadway in "Wonderful Town" (Tony nominated,
Best Actress) at the time Spider-Man 2 was in
post-production. She had been having some severe vocal difficulties
during the run of the show and she missed a few performances early on.
Spidey 2 Production brought her into a recording studio to do some
looping for the big out-of-control explosive scene where her character
is killed. One of the things they needed Donna to do was a 10-15 second
scream. You can imagine her horror over having to do this with her
voice already in poor condition. So she called her stepdaughter (also
an actress) and said, "Come down here and do my screaming for me." So
when you watch the film and see her screaming her head off, it isn't
her.
Donna (I) Murphy quotes
- "I love any kind of transformation. I want to look in the mirror and not
see Donna looking back at me."
- On working in Star Trek: Insurrection: "I hadn't seen much
of Star Trek, so this really was like stepping into a whole new
universe. But I feel a sense of honor and responsibility being in it,
because I know that the fans of the series and films have such
affection for and devotion to all the cast members, and particularly
Picard. So I take my seduction of him very seriously." (1998)