Elizabeth Ann Perkins (born November 18, 1960) is an American actress.
Her film roles have included About Last Night (1986), Big (1988), The
Flintstones (1994), Miracle on 34th Street (1994), Avalon (1990), and
He Said, She Said (1991), and her voice as Coral in the Pixar film
Finding Nemo (2003). She is also well known for her role as Celia
Hodes in the Showtime TV series Weeds, for which she received three
Primetime Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations.Perkins
was born in Queens, New York, the daughter of Jo Williams, a drug
treatment counselor and concert pianist, and James Perkins, a farmer,
writer, and businessman. She has two older sisters. Her paternal
grandparents were Greek immigrants from Salonika who anglicized their
surname from "Pisperikos" to "Perkins" when they moved to the United
States. Perkins was raised in Colrain, Massachusetts; her parents
divorced in 1963. She began working in theatre with Arena Civic
Theatre, a non-profit community theatre group based in Greenfield,
Massachusetts. Perkins attended Northfield Mount Hermon School, an
elite preparatory school, and then spent 1978 to 1981 in Chicago
attaining her Certificate in Acting from the Goodman School of Drama
at DePaul University. In 1984, she made her theatrical debut on
Broadway in Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs and afterward, worked
in a number of ensemble companies, including The New York Shakespeare
Festival and the Steppenwolf Theater.She was listed as one of the 12
"Promising New Actors of 1986" in John Willis' Screen World, and has
since landed numerous film roles. Perkins made her film debut in 1986
in Edward Zwick's About Last Night... and had a career breakthrough
co-starring with Tom Hanks in Big. She received critical acclaim for
her performance in Barry Levinson's Avalon, and was a standout
opposite William Hurt in The Doctor (1991), receiving critical acclaim
for her performance as a terminal cancer patient. In 1993, Perkins
appeared in the television project For Their Own Good. She later
starred in the comedy series Battery Park and has appeared in
television and films including Miracle on 34th Street and 2000's 28
Days starring as Sandra Bullock's sister. Perkins also had a small
role in the 2003 film Finding Nemo, voicing Coral who was the wife of
Marlin and mother of Nemo, and who was killed and eaten by the
barracuda in the beginning of the film. Perkins also appeared as a
psychiatrist in the 2005 suspense thriller, The Ring Two, starring
Naomi Watts.
Her film roles have included About Last Night (1986), Big (1988), The
Flintstones (1994), Miracle on 34th Street (1994), Avalon (1990), and
He Said, She Said (1991), and her voice as Coral in the Pixar film
Finding Nemo (2003). She is also well known for her role as Celia
Hodes in the Showtime TV series Weeds, for which she received three
Primetime Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations.Perkins
was born in Queens, New York, the daughter of Jo Williams, a drug
treatment counselor and concert pianist, and James Perkins, a farmer,
writer, and businessman. She has two older sisters. Her paternal
grandparents were Greek immigrants from Salonika who anglicized their
surname from "Pisperikos" to "Perkins" when they moved to the United
States. Perkins was raised in Colrain, Massachusetts; her parents
divorced in 1963. She began working in theatre with Arena Civic
Theatre, a non-profit community theatre group based in Greenfield,
Massachusetts. Perkins attended Northfield Mount Hermon School, an
elite preparatory school, and then spent 1978 to 1981 in Chicago
attaining her Certificate in Acting from the Goodman School of Drama
at DePaul University. In 1984, she made her theatrical debut on
Broadway in Neil Simon's Brighton Beach Memoirs and afterward, worked
in a number of ensemble companies, including The New York Shakespeare
Festival and the Steppenwolf Theater.She was listed as one of the 12
"Promising New Actors of 1986" in John Willis' Screen World, and has
since landed numerous film roles. Perkins made her film debut in 1986
in Edward Zwick's About Last Night... and had a career breakthrough
co-starring with Tom Hanks in Big. She received critical acclaim for
her performance in Barry Levinson's Avalon, and was a standout
opposite William Hurt in The Doctor (1991), receiving critical acclaim
for her performance as a terminal cancer patient. In 1993, Perkins
appeared in the television project For Their Own Good. She later
starred in the comedy series Battery Park and has appeared in
television and films including Miracle on 34th Street and 2000's 28
Days starring as Sandra Bullock's sister. Perkins also had a small
role in the 2003 film Finding Nemo, voicing Coral who was the wife of
Marlin and mother of Nemo, and who was killed and eaten by the
barracuda in the beginning of the film. Perkins also appeared as a
psychiatrist in the 2005 suspense thriller, The Ring Two, starring
Naomi Watts.
Share this
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
SUBSCRIBE OUR NEWSLETTER
Join us for free and get valuable content delivered right through your inbox.