Donna Murphy

Biography

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) 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 (2000), directed by Nicholas Hytner, co-starring with Patrick Stewart in Star Trek: Insurrection (1998), The Astronaut's Wife (1999) with Johnny Depp, and Jade (1995), 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 (2000), and played David Morse's wife on the CBS crime drama series Hack (2002). Other television credits include Showtime's The Last Debate (2000) with James Garner, Mary Todd Lincoln in The Day Lincoln Was Shot (1998) (TNT), Steven Bochco's Murder One (1995), Liberty! The American Revolution (1997) (PBS), and guest appearances on Law & Order (1990), Ally McBeal (1997), The Education of Max Bickford (2001), Remember WENN (1996), Nothing Sacred (1997) and The Practice (1997). 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 Company), "Miss Julie" and "Wonderful Town" (City Center Encores!). She most recently starred as the title character in "Helen", directed by Tony Kushner, for the New York 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). Donna 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.