Contents
Who is Penelope Ann Miller?
American actress Penelope Andrea Miller was born in Los Angeles, California USA on 13 January 1963, making Capricorn her zodiac sign. She has 89 acting credits and is perhaps still known best for playing Gail in the 1993 crime thriller movie “Carlito’s Way”, which starred Al Pacino and Sean Penn, and was directed by Brian De Palma. It follows a Puerto Rican former convict who’s promised to himself that he’s going to stay away from drugs and life of crime, and the movie won two of its 11 award nominations.
Penelope’s currently shooting for two upcoming movies: “Murder at Hollow Creek” and “Reagan”.
Education and early life
Penelope was raised in Los Angeles alongside her younger sister Savannah and older sister Marisa by their father Mark Miller who’s an actor and movie producer, and mother Beatrice (nee Ammidown) who’s a costume designer and journalist; Marisa’s today an actress, while Savannah’s a social worker.
Penelope studied at a local high school in Los Angeles and became interested in acting during her four years there; she was cast to appear in a number of school plays, while she was also into sports, excelling in soccer. Some of the other activities which Penelope was interested in during her teenage years were dancing, running track and singing.
Upon matriculating in 1981, she enrolled at Menlo College in Atherton, California from which she transferred to HB Studio in New York City in 1983, graduating with a Bachelor’s degree in theatre in 1985.
Roles in TV series
Penelope’s debut TV series role was playing Nancy O’Hara in a 1984 episode of the romantic drama “Guiding Light”, and the remainder of the decade saw her appear in an episode of many series, such as the fantasy comedy “Tales from the Darkside”, the family comedy “The Facts of Life” and the crime action “Miami Vice”.
She appeared in only three TV series in the ‘90s, the most popular amongst these was perhaps the 1998 comedy “The Closer”, which starred Tom Selleck and Edward Asner, and was created by Ed Decter and John J. Strauss. It follows the work of legendary publicist Jack McLaren, and the series was nominated for a Primetime Emmy for Outstanding Music and Lyrics.
In 2002, Penelope played Lucy Valdon in two episodes of the action “A Nero Wolfe Mystery”, and in 2003 and 2004, she starred as Molly Hooper in all 13 episodes of the comedy “A Minute with Stan Hooper”, which also starred Brian Howe and Norm MacDonald, and was created by Barry Kemp; it follows TV show host Stan Hooper who’s moved from New York City to Waterford Falls, Wisconsin together with his family. The remainder of the 2000s saw Penelope appear in an episode or two of the crime action “CSI: NY”, the mystery comedy “Desperate Housewives” and the mystery thriller “Vanished”.
In 2013 and 2014, she portrayed Elizabeth Grey in the romantic thriller “Mistresses”, which starred Jes Macallan and Alyssa Milano, and was created by K. J. Steinberg. It follows the scandalous lives of four girlfriends, the series aired from 2013 through 2016 and won a 2013 Seoul International Drama Award for Most Popular Foreign Drama of the Year.
Penelope’s also known for voicing Jane in the 2019 mystery podcast “Gaslight”, which starred Kelsey Asbille and Chloe Grace Moretz, and follows the disappearance and reappearance of young adult Danny.
She’s since had only a single TV series role, playing Joyce Dahmer in three episodes of the 2022 biographical crime mini-series “Monsters”.
Roles in movies
Penelope’s debut film role was playing Mary in the 1986 sports drama “Hotshot”, and some of her following roles were in the 1987 crime comedy “Adventures in Babysitting”, the 1988 comedy “Biloxi Blues” and the 1989 crime action “Dead Bang”. What marked the decade for her was perhaps portraying one of the main characters Joyce in the 1990 action crime comedy “Kindergarten Cop”, which also starred Arnold Schwarzenegger and Pamela Reed, and was directed by Ivan Reitman. It follows a police officer who’s gone undercover as a kindergarten teacher, and the movie won four of its five award nominations.
Some of Penelope’s following roles were in the 1991 romantic comedy “Other People’s Money”, and in 1992 the romantic action adventure “Year of the Comet” and the biographical comedy “Chaplin”. In 1999, she starred as Barbara Cousins in the biographical sports drama “Rocky Marciano”, which also starred Jon Favreau and Judd Hirsch, and was written and directed by Charles Winkler. It follows the life of world heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano, and the film won one of its two award nominations.
The first half of the 2000s saw Penelope appear in a couple of popular movies, including the 2001 thriller “Along Came a Spider”, the 2001 action “Full Disclosure” and the 2005 mystery thriller “Personal Effects”. What marked the decade for her was playing Trina Baker in the 2010 romantic comedy “Flipped”, which starred Madeline Carroll and Callan McAuliffe, and was written and directed by Rob Reiner. It follows two teenagers who’ve fallen in love, and the movie won two of its four award nominations.
The year 2016 saw Penelope play Elizabeth Turner in the critically acclaimed biographical historical drama “The Birth of a Nation”, which starred Nate Parker, who also wrote and directed it. The movie follows the life of literate slave and preacher Nat Turner, and it won five of its 35 award nominations.
Some of Penelope’s most recent film roles have been in the 2019 drama “The College Admissions Scandal”, the 2020 crime thriller “Adverse”, and the 2022 comedy “The Virgin of Highland Park”.
Other credits
Penelope sang the songs “Dixie” and “Old Dan Tucker” in the 2013 biographical historical movie “Saving Lincoln”.
Some of her most recent talk-show appearances have been in “Dirty Diana”, “Today” and “Entertainment Tonight”.
Awards and nominations
Penelope’s won two of her nine award nominations: a 1991 Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Most Promising Actress, for “The Freshman” and a 1998 Hollywood Film Special Jury Award for Best Acting in a Feature for “Rhapsody in Bloom”.
She was also nominated for a 1994 Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture, for “Carlito’s Way”.
Love life and husbands
Penelope’s married twice. Her first husband was American actor, screenwriter and producer Will Arnett; he has 130 acting credits and is perhaps known best for voicing the lead character Bruce Wayne aka Batman in the 2017 animated action adventure “The Lego Batman Movie”. Penelope and Will married on 9 December 1994, but then divorced on 18 January 1995.
She’s been married to her second husband James Patrick Huggins since 28 May 2000; James has only a single acting credit, playing Carrie’s Father in the 2004 drama movie “Carry Me Home”. Penelope gave birth to their first daughter Eloisa May Huggins on 10 December 2000, and their second daughter Maria Adela Huggins followed on 23 March 2009.
Penelope filed for divorce on 14 March 2012, but she and James were able to reconcile and she withdrew the request on 15 June of the same year.
Penelope’s married to her second husband James Patrick Huggins as of June 2023, and they have two daughters together.
Interesting facts and hobbies
Penelope was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Actress for her performance in the revival of “Our Town” by Thornton Wilder.
She’s followed by nearly 30,000 people on Instagram and has posted close to 1,000 pictures and videos, with most of these showing her spending time with her husband and their daughters.
Penelope enjoys summer the most, as she likes to relax at the beach with her family; she also likes winter, as she gets to build a snowman and go skiing.
She’s a fan of board games, and some of her favorites are “Clue”, “Five Tribes” and “Azul”.
Penelope loves animals, and has featured her pet dog in some of her Instagram pictures.
Travelling is also something she’s passionate about; she’s been to a number of US states and many countries around the world, and her favorite city is Sydney, Australia.
One of Penelope’s favorite actresses is Andie MacDowell, and some of her favorite movies include “St. Elmo’s Fire”, “Ready or Not” and “Groundhog Day”.
Height, eyes and wealth
Penelope’s age is 60. She has blue eyes and long brown hair, is 5ft 6ins (1.68m) tall and weighs around 135lbs (61kgs).
Penelope’s net worth’s been estimated at over $6 million, as of June 2023.
