Gaby Hoffmann facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gaby Hoffmann
Hoffmann in June 2015
Born	Gabrielle Mary Antonia Hoffmann (1982-01-08) January 8, 1982 (age 43) New York City, U.S.
Alma mater	Bard College (2004)
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1988–present
Partner(s)	Chris Dapkins
Parents	Anthony Herrera (father) Viva (mother)

Gabrielle Mary Antonia Hoffmann (born January 8, 1982) is an American actress. She started acting in movies when she was young. Some of her early films include Field of Dreams (1989) and Uncle Buck (1989). As a teenager, she appeared in movies like Now and Then (1995) and Everyone Says I Love You (1996).

After taking a break, Hoffmann returned to acting in 2007. She became known for her roles in independent films such as Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus (2013) and Wild (2015). On TV, she played characters in popular series like Louie, Girls, and Transparent. For her work on Girls and Transparent, she was nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards.

Early Life

Gaby Hoffmann was born in New York City. Both of her parents were actors. Her mother, Viva, was an actress and writer. Her father, Anthony Herrera, was known for his roles in soap operas. Gaby's parents separated shortly after she was born. She was raised by her mother at the famous Chelsea Hotel in New York.

Gaby went to elementary school in Manhattan. Later, she moved to Los Angeles in 1994. She finished high school there in 1999.

Growing Up at the Chelsea Hotel

Gaby lived at the Chelsea Hotel until she was 11 years old. She later said she really enjoyed her time there. She and her best friend would roller-skate in the hallways. They also convinced the hotel staff to get them ice cream at night.

Gaby described her childhood as unique. She said, "I grew up in downtown New York in the '80s. If you weren't an artist or someone different, you were the odd one out." She and her mother moved out of the hotel in 1993. This move happened after a disagreement with the hotel's management.

Her experiences at the Chelsea Hotel even inspired a TV show. A producer read an article about Gaby and her mother. The article mentioned a children's book they wrote called Gaby at the Chelsea. This led to the idea for the 1994 sitcom Someone Like Me.

Moving to the West Coast

After leaving the Chelsea Hotel, Gaby and her mother moved to Woodland Hills, California. This was when Gaby was 12. Their new home was damaged in the 1994 Northridge earthquake. For a short time, they lived in a hotel in Santa Monica, California.

College and Other Experiences

After graduating from Calabasas High School in 1999, Gaby went to Bard College in New York. She studied literature and writing there. She took a break from acting to finish her studies. She graduated in 2004. Her final project for college was a documentary film.

After college, Gaby tried different things. She worked with a chef in Italy. She also trained to be a doula, which is someone who supports women during childbirth. For a while, she lived in a trailer in the Catskill Mountains.

Career

Acting as a Young Star: 1988–2001

Gaby started acting in commercials when she was four years old. This helped her family with money. In 1989, she got her first movie role in Field of Dreams with Kevin Costner. She played his character's daughter. The same year, she starred in Uncle Buck with John Candy and Macaulay Culkin.

After Uncle Buck, Gaby took a short break from acting. But she soon returned. She appeared in This Is My Life (1992), Sleepless in Seattle (1993) with Tom Hanks, and The Man Without a Face with Mel Gibson. Gaby felt more confident about acting after This is My Life.

In 1994, Gaby starred in her own TV show, Someone Like Me, on NBC. The show was about a young girl named Gaby and her family. It only lasted for six episodes. After that, Gaby starred in the 1995 TV movie Freaky Friday. It was a remake of an older film.

In the same year, Gaby played Young Samantha in the movie Now and Then. She also appeared in the TV movie Whose Daughter Is She?. Between 1996 and 2001, Gaby acted in several more films. These included Everyone Says I Love You (1996), Volcano (1997), The Hairy Bird (1998), and You Can Count on Me (2000).

Theatre Work in New York: 2003–2007

From 2003 to 2007, Gaby focused on acting in plays in New York. She performed in plays like The Sugar Syndrome and Third. In late 2005, she also appeared in an episode of Law & Order: Criminal Intent. She was in the Broadway play SubUrbia in 2006.

Return to Film and TV: 2007–Present

Hoffmann (bottom left) with fellow cast members of Transparent in 2015

Since 2007, Gaby has slowly returned to film acting. In 2007, she was in the movie Severed Ways: The Norse Discovery of America. In 2008, she appeared in two documentaries: Guest of Cindy Sherman and Chelsea on the Rocks. The latter was a tribute to the Chelsea Hotel where she grew up. In 2009, she had roles in Life During Wartime and the thriller 13.

In 2013, Gaby starred with Michael Cera in the adventure comedy Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus. She was nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead for her performance. She also joined a Web series called Lyle.

On television, Gaby played April in the FX series Louie in 2012. From 2014 to 2017, she had a recurring role as Caroline Sackler in the HBO series Girls. Her acting in Girls was praised, and she was nominated for an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series.

Gaby then played Ali Pfefferman in the Amazon Prime series Transparent from 2014 to 2019. This role earned her more Emmy nominations. In 2021, she acted in the drama C'mon C'mon with Joaquin Phoenix. She was nominated for a Gotham Independent Film Award for Outstanding Supporting Performance. From 2022 to 2023, she appeared in the HBO series Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty. In 2024, she co-starred with Benedict Cumberbatch in the Netflix miniseries Eric.

Personal Life

Gaby Hoffmann has a daughter, who was born in 2014. Her daughter's father is Gaby's longtime partner, cinematographer Chris Dapkins.

Gaby lives in the Fort Greene neighborhood of Brooklyn.

Filmography

Key

Denotes films that have not yet been released

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1989	Field of Dreams	Karin Kinsella
	Uncle Buck	Maizy Russell
1992	This Is My Life	Opal Ingels
1993	Sleepless in Seattle	Jessica
	Man Without a Face, TheThe Man Without a Face	Megan Norstadt
1995	Now and Then	Samantha "Sam" Albertson
1996	Everyone Says I Love You	Lane Dandridge
1997	Volcano	Kelly Roark
1998	All I Wanna Do	Odette Sinclair
	Snapped	Tara
1999	200 Cigarettes	Stephie
	Coming Soon	Jenny Simon
	Black and White	Raven
2000	You Can Count on Me	Sheila Seidleman
2001	Perfume	Gabrielle Mancini
2007	Severed Ways	Orn's Wife
2009	Life During Wartime	Wanda
2010	13	Clara Ferro
2011	Wolfe with an E	Karen
	Surrogate Mary, TheThe Surrogate Mary	Sally
2012	Nate & Margaret	Darla
2013	Crystal Fairy & the Magical Cactus	Crystal Fairy
	All That I Am	Susan
	Goodbye World	Laura
2014	Obvious Child	Nellie
	Veronica Mars	Ruby Jetson
	Wild	Aimee
	Lyle	Leah
	Manhattan Romance	Emmy
2021	C'mon C'mon	Viv
2024	Little Death	Martin 2.0
2025	For Worse	Liz
	The Mastermind	Maude
	Springsteen: Deliver Me from Nowhere	Adele Springsteen	Post-production

Television

Music videos

Theatre

Awards and Nominations

See also

In Spanish: Gaby Hoffmann para niños