Amy Adams

Quotes

"I have worked with some of the meanest people in the world. You can't do anything to intimidate me."
- Amy Adams

Why Is She Famous?

Amy Adams always manages to light up the screen with her bubbly presence, cute looks and terrific sense of humor.

Amy Lou Adams was born on August 20, 1975, on the U.S. military base in Vincenza, Italy, where her father was stationed with the U.S. Army, and raised in Castle Rock, Colorado. She worked at the local Hooters Restaurant part-time while attending high school, all the while dreaming of a career in show business. Following graduation, she trained for a career as a dancer, and eventually found work in a prominent Denver dinner theater. In 1996, Adams relocated to Minnesota after a producer hired her to replace one of the girls at his dinner theater in Chanhassen, outside of Minneapolis. There, she honed her singing, dancing and acting skills, appearing in a number of productions, including Brigadoon and Good News. While the Midwest location may not have been as ideal as New York or L.A., she landed a lucky break when she was cast in the 1999 comedy Drop Dead Gorgeous, co-starring Kirsten Dunst and Denise Richards, which happened to be set in Minnesota. Adams' positive experience in making Drop Dead Gorgeous helped her change her mind about doing dinner theater, and at the urging of her co-star Kirstie Alley, she moved out to Los Angeles. Within a few weeks of her arrival, she landed a leading role on the FOX TV series Manchester Prep, based on the movie Cruel Intentions. The show never aired due to its risqu? sexual content; instead, it was released in 2000 as Cruel Intentions 2, a direct-to-video feature film. Despite this minor setback, Adams continued to find steady acting gigs. In 2000, she appeared in episodes of such TV series as Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Providence, Charmed, and That '70s Show, as well as in independent films like The Chromium Hook and Psycho Beach Party. In 2001, she guest starred in an episode of Smallville, and appeared in an episode of The West Wing the following year. Adams padded her movie role resume in 2002 with appearances in Serving Sara, starring Elizabeth Hurley and Matthew Perry, and Pumpkin with Christina Ricci. That same year, she had a small but memorable part as Leonardo DiCaprio's fianc?e in Steven Spielberg's Catch Me If You Can. Her sole screen appearance in 2003 was in the drama The Slaughter Rule with Ryan Gosling. Adams reemerged in 2004, co-starring with Fred Savage in the comedy The Last Run. She lent her voice to a couple of episodes of the animated series King of the Hill, and co-starred with Rob Lowe on Dr. Vegas, a CBS series that failed to find an audience and was quickly canceled. 2005 became the breakthrough year for Adams. She played Debra Messing's half-sister in the romantic comedy The Wedding Date, and landed the recurring role of Katy on the popular TV sitcom The Office. However, the highlight of her year was her poignant and very funny portrayal of Ashley in Junebug -- a pregnant Southern belle, who despite not being the central character in the film, emerged as the most memorable. After wowing audiences at Sundance, her performance went on to win acclaim from several critics' associations. Adams was cast alongside Will Ferrell and Sacha Baron Cohen (otherwise known as Ali G) in the NASCAR comedy Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006) and in the musical Moonlight Serenade (2006). Adams next appeared in the major production Charlie Wilson's War (2007), and in the independent film Sunshine Cleaning (2008) which premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival. Her recent role in Doubt (2008/I) secured her with her second Academy Award nomination for Best Supporting Actress.