Penelope Ann Miller facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Penelope Ann Miller
Miller in 2012
Born	Penelope Andrea Miller (1964-01-13) January 13, 1964 (age 61) Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Other names	Penelope Miller
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1985–present
Spouse(s)	Will Arnett ​ ​ (m. 1994; div. 1995)​ James Huggins ​ (m. 2000)​
Children	2
Parent(s)	Mark Miller (father)

Penelope Ann Miller (born Penelope Andrea Miller; January 13, 1964) is an American actress. She started her acting journey on Broadway in a play called Biloxi Blues (1985–1986). Later, she also appeared in the movie version of the same play in 1988.

Penelope Ann Miller became well-known for her roles in many popular films. These include The Freshman, Awakenings, and Kindergarten Cop (all from 1990). She also starred in Other People's Money (1991), Chaplin (1992), The Shadow (1994), and The Relic (1997). For her role in Carlito's Way (1993), she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award. This is a very important award in the film industry.

She has also appeared in more recent films like The Artist (2011) and Reagan (2024). On television, she has been in shows such as A Minute with Stan Hooper (2003–2004), American Crime (2015), and Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story (2022).

Early life and education

Penelope Ann Miller was born in Los Angeles, California. Her mother, Beatrice, was a costume designer and journalist. Her father, Mark Miller, was a television actor and producer. Penelope has two sisters: Marisa, who is also an actress, and Savannah, who is a social worker.

After finishing high school in Los Angeles, Miller studied at Menlo College in California for two years. From 1981 to 1983, she learned about acting there. Then, she moved to New York City to continue her theater studies at HB Studio.

Acting career highlights

Penelope Ann Miller got her big break on Broadway in 1985. She played a main role in the play Biloxi Blues alongside Matthew Broderick. She later acted with him again in the 1988 movie version of the play.

She also had a small role in the TV show Miami Vice in 1987. Then, she went back to Broadway for a play called Our Town. Her performance earned her a Tony award nomination, which is a top award for theater actors. In 1988, she played Winnie Johnston, the fiancée of Pee-wee Herman (played by Paul Reubens), in the movie Big Top Pee-wee.

In 1990, Miller starred in several movies. She played Paula in Awakenings with famous actors Robert De Niro and Robin Williams. She also appeared in Downtown and Kindergarten Cop. In Kindergarten Cop, she played a teacher named Joyce Palmieri, who was hiding with her son from her criminal husband.

She continued to take on many different roles. In 1992, she played Edna Purviance in the movie Chaplin, which was about the life of the famous silent film star Charlie Chaplin. The next year, she was the love interest of Al Pacino's character in Carlito's Way.

Miller also acted with Marlon Brando in The Freshman (1990). In 1991, she played a lawyer in Other People's Money with Gregory Peck. She was also Margo Lane in The Shadow (1994) with Alec Baldwin.

In 1997, she had a main role as Dr. Margo Green in the big creature movie The Relic. In 1998, she played Barbara Henry in Ruby Bridges, a Disney TV movie. This movie was about Ruby Bridges, the first Black student to attend an all-white elementary school in New Orleans.

In 2011, Penelope Ann Miller played Doris in the movie The Artist. This film won many awards, including an Academy Award for Best Picture. In 2015, she joined the cast of the TV drama American Crime. More recently, in 2020, she was chosen to play First Lady Nancy Reagan in the movie Reagan, which came out in 2024.

Personal life

In 1994, Penelope Ann Miller married actor Will Arnett. They later divorced in 1995.

In 2000, Miller married James Huggins. They have two daughters named Eloisa May and Maria Adela.

Filmography

Key

Denotes projects that have not yet been released

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1987	Hotshot	Mary	Film debut
	Adventures in Babysitting	Brenda
1988	Biloxi Blues	Daisy Hannigan
	Big Top Pee-wee	Winnie Johnson
	Miles from Home	Sally
1989	Dead Bang	Linda Kimble
1990	Downtown	Lori Mitchell
	Freshman, TheThe Freshman	Tina Sabatini
	Awakenings	Paula
	Kindergarten Cop	Joyce Palmieri / Rachel Crisp
1991	Other People's Money	Kate Sullivan
1992	Year of the Comet	Margaret Harwood
	Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag, TheThe Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag	Mrs. Elizabeth Louise "Betty Lou" Perkins
	Chaplin	Edna Purviance
1993	Carlito's Way	Gail
1994	Shadow, TheThe Shadow	Margo Lane
1997	The Hired Heart (film)The Hired	Garnet Hadley
	Relic, TheThe Relic	Dr. Margo Green
	Little City	Rebecca
1998	Break Up	Grace
	Outside Ozona	Earlene Demers
1999	Chapter Zero	Cassandra
2000	Lisa Picard Is Famous	Penelope Ann Miller
	Forever Lulu	Claire Clifton
2001	Along Came a Spider	Elizabeth Rose
	Full Disclosure	Michelle	Video
2006	Funny Money	Carol Perkins
2007	Messengers, TheThe Messengers	Denise Solomon
	The Deal	Laura Martin
	Blonde Ambition	Debra
2008	Free Style	Jeannette Bryant
2009	Saving Grace B. Jones	Bea Bretthorst
2010	Flipped	Trina Baker
2011	Artist, TheThe Artist	Doris Valentin
	About Sunny	Louise
2013	Saving Lincoln	Mary Todd Lincoln
	Robosapien: Rebooted	Joanna Keller
2016	The Birth of a Nation	Elizabeth Turner
	The Bronx Bull	Debbie Forrester
2018	American Dresser	Vera
2020	Adverse	Nicole
2024	Reagan	Nancy Reagan
TBA	Murder at Hollow Creek	Lori Rhodes	Filming

Television films

Television series

Awards and nominations

See also

In Spanish: Penelope Ann Miller para niños