Vera Farmiga Biography

Summary

"Vera Ann Farmiga" (born August 6, 1973) is an American actress, best known for her roles in the films "Running Scared", "The Departed", and "Orphan."

Early life

Vera Ann Farmiga (), the second oldest of seven children, was born in Essex County, New Jersey and grew up in Irvington, New Jersey. She is the daughter of Ukrainian immigrants Mykhailo, a computer-systems analyst, and Luba Farmiga, a schoolteacher. Farmiga was raised in an insular Ukrainian American community, not speaking English until the age of six. She attended a Ukrainian Catholic school in Newark and toured with a Ukrainian folk-dancing ensemble. In 1991, Farmiga graduated from Hunterdon Central Regional High School.

Career

Although she originally intended to become an optometrist, Farmiga attended Syracuse University's School of Visual and Performing Arts. She made her Broadway debut in 1996 as an understudy in the play "Taking Sides". The same year, she starred as Miranda in the American Conservatory Theater production of "The Tempest". Following her theater debut, she played a role the television series, "Roar", which was filmed in Australia, alongside Heath Ledger. Farmiga said that the series 'wanted to be Braveheart but turned out more Xena: Warrior Princess.' Throughout the late 1990s, she continued appearing in stage, television and film roles, including a part in the film "Return to Paradise".

Farmiga appeared in several high profile films in the early 2000s, including "Autumn in New York", "15 Minutes" and the 2004 remake of "The Manchurian Candidate". Her lead performance in the film "Down to the Bone" received a 'Best Actress' award from the Los Angeles Film Critics Association. In 2006, she appeared in "Running Scared".

Rather than attending auditions for films in which she interested, Farmiga makes short films which she submits for casting. "To fade in and fade out, have intimacy with the mikes, the lighting, and have the luxury of takes - you could make yourself as ugly or as beautiful as you wanted". The films have always resulted in a meeting.

It was one of these audition films that led to Scorsese inviting her for what she calls 'a chemistry read' with Leonardo DiCaprio, which led to her role as a police psychiatrist in "The Departed".

Farmiga starred in "The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas".

In 2008, she played the role of Erica Van Doren in the political thriller, "Nothing But the Truth", for which she has been nominated as Best Supporting Actress in the 2009 Critics Choice Awards.

Personal life

Farmiga met French actor Sebastian Roché, while filming "Roar". The two eloped to the Bahamas after the series' end in 1997. The marriage ended in 2003. After being together for four years, Farmiga married Renn Hawkey in September 2008. Farmiga has a son named Fynn with Hawkey. Hawkey, a carpenter, is also the keyboardist for a goth band named Deadsy.