Parker Posey

For the African-American television actress, see Parker McKenna Posey.

Parker Posey
Posey at Fox Upfronts 2007
Born	Parker Christian Posey November 8, 1968 (1968-11-08) Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1991–present

Parker Christian Posey (born November 8, 1968) is an American actress. She became known during the 1990s after a series of roles in several well-received^{[citation needed]} independent films. As a result, she has often been referred to as the "Queen of the Indies".

Early life

Posey was born in Baltimore, Maryland. She is the daughter of Lynda (Patton), a chef, and Chris Posey, owner of the local Chevrolet dealership. She has a twin brother, Christopher. Posey's first name was a tribute by her father to 1950s supermodel Suzy Parker. After Posey's birth, the family moved to Laurel, Mississippi, where her mother worked as a chef and culinary instructor for the Viking Range Corporation in Greenwood, and her father operated a car dealership, Posey Chevrolet, in Laurel. The family also lived in Monroe, Louisiana. Posey was raised Catholic.

Film career

Posey attended the State University of New York at Purchase, where she studied drama and roomed with actresses Sherry Stringfield and Orlagh Cassidy.^{[citation needed]}

Posey made her first break in television when she won the role of Tess Shelby on the daytime soap opera As the World Turns. Posey's first major role in a feature film was in Dazed and Confused (1993), a cult classic featuring Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey, and Jason London.

Throughout the late 1990s, Posey starred in 32 independent films and was named "Queen of the Indies". These films include Personal Velocity, Clockwatchers, Party Girl, and The House of Yes, for which she received positive reviews for her portrayal of a delusional woman in love with her own brother. She is part of the acting ensemble that appears in director Christopher Guest's films, including four of his mock documentaries: Waiting for Guffman in 1996, Best in Show in 2000, A Mighty Wind in 2003, and For Your Consideration in 2006. Posey is also a favorite of director Hal Hartley.^{[citation needed]} She appeared in Henry Fool (1998), two of his shorts, Opera No. 1 (1994; with Adrienne Shelley), Sisters of Mercy (2004), and his most recent film, Fay Grim (2006). Posey also had a notable role as the best friend of Adam in the 2005 film Adam and Steve.

Posey has had supporting roles in several big budget studio films, including You've Got Mail (1998), Scream 3 (2000), Josie and the Pussycats (2001), Laws of Attraction (2004), Blade: Trinity (2004) and Superman Returns, playing Kitty Kowalski, Lex Luthor's ditzy sidekick.

Posey was to feature in the John Waters film Fruitcake along with Johnny Knoxville. The film was to be set in her birth town of Baltimore. However, John Waters announced that he has cancelled Fruitcake, saying "I can't get it made...I thought it would do well, but it's not. In this economy, I'm going to have to do a puppet show."

Television work

Posey has appeared in several television projects:

• Three television miniseries adaptations of Armistead Maupin's Tales of the City novels. Her character, Connie, plays a small but key role in all of the highly-acclaimed productions.
• In 2000, voice of Umbriel the mermaid in the Futurama episode "The Deep South."
• In 2000, voice of Becky in an episode of The Simpsons titled "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge."
• Two episodes on the television series Will & Grace, as Dorleen, Jack's high-maintenance boss at Barneys New York.^{[citation needed]}
• Season One finale of Project Runway in 2005. She was a spectator at New York Fashion Week and was a judge alongside Nina Garcia, Michael Kors, and Heidi Klum.
• In 2006, guest-starred as the ambitious, back-stabbing lawyer Marlene "The Squid" Stanger on Boston Legal.
• In March 2008, headlined the quickly-cancelled Fox series The Return of Jezebel James.
• In October 2009, guest-starred as Jason Schwartzman's love interest in the HBO series Bored to Death.
• In May 2011, guest-starred as Amy Poehler's nemesis in the NBC series Parks and Recreation.
• In August 2011, appeared in a recurring arc on Laura Linney's Showtime series The Big C.
• In October 2011, appeared as the ex-wife of Alan Cumming's character, Eli Gold, on The Good Wife.

Other work

Posey made her stage debut in 2001. She learned to play the mandolin as preparation for her role in A Mighty Wind (2003), a film in which she also sang. She used her vocal talents on several records of her ex-boyfriend, Ryan Adams. She also played the mandolin on The Dandy Warhols track "I Am Sound" from their Welcome to the Monkey House LP.^{[citation needed]}

Filmography

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1993	Dazed and Confused	Darla Marks
	Joey Breaker	Irene Kildare
	The Wake	Beachgoer	uncredited
	Description of a Struggle	Wanda
	Coneheads	Stephanie
1994	Mixed Nuts	Rollerblader
	Amateur	Girl Squatter
	Opera No. 1	Fairy # 1	Short film
	Iris		Short film
	Dead Connection	Denise
	Sleep With Me	Athena
1995	Party Girl	Mary
	An Eviction Notice		Short film
	Drunks	Debbie
	Flirt	Emily
	The Doom Generation	Brandi
1996	Frisk	Fergie
	Kicking and Screaming	Miami
	subUrbia	Erica
	Basquiat	Mary
1997	The House of Yes	"Jackie-O" Pascal	Sundance Film Festival Award for Special Recognition Nominated — Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
	The Daytrippers	Jo Malone
	Waiting for Guffman	Libby Mae Brown
	Clockwatchers	Margaret Burre
1998	Henry Fool	Fay Grim
	What Rats Won't Do	Mirella Burton
	You've Got Mail	Patricia Eden
	The Misadventures of Margaret	Margaret Nathan
1999	Dinner at Fred's	Celia
	The Venice Project	Myra
	Gushy		Short film
2000	Best in Show	Meg Swan
	Scream 3	Jennifer Jolie	Nominated — MTV Movie Award for Best Comedic Performance
2001	The Anniversary Party	Judy Adams
	Josie and the Pussycats	Fiona
2002	The Sweetest Thing	Judy Webb
	Personal Velocity	Greta	Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Female
2003	A Mighty Wind	Sissy Knox	Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Cast Nominated — Phoenix Film Critics Society Award for Best Cast
	The Event	Nick
2004	Blade: Trinity	Danica Talos
	The Sisters of Mercy		Short film
	Laws of Attraction	Serena
2005	Adam & Steve	Rhonda
2006	For Your Consideration	Callie Webb	Nominated — Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast
	Fay Grim	Fay Grim	Nominated — Chlotrudis Award for Best Actress
	The OH in Ohio	Priscilla
	Superman Returns	Kitty Kowalski	Nominated — Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
2007	Broken English	Nora Wilder	Nominated — Independent Spirit Award for Best Lead Female
2008	The Eye	Helen Wells
2009	Spring Breakdown	Becky	Straight to DVD
2010	Happy Tears	Jayne
2011	Inside Out	Claire Small
2012	Hemingway & Gellhorn	Mary Welsh Hemingway	filming

Television series

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1991	First Love, Fatal Love
1991-92	As the World Turns	Tess Shelby	unknown episodes
1993	Tales of the City	Connie Bradshaw
	Tracey Ullman Takes On New York	Libby
1998	More Tales of the City	Connie Bradshaw
2000	Futurama	Umbriel	Episode: "The Deep South"
	The Simpsons	Becky	Episode: "It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad Marge"
2001	More Tales of the City	Connie Bradshaw
	Will & Grace	Dorleen	Episode: "Loose Lips Sink Relationships" Episode: "Jingle Balls"
2002	Hell on Heels: The Battle of Mary Kay	Jinger Heath	Nominated — Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
2004	Frankenstein	Detective Carson O'Conner
2006	Boston Legal	Marlene Stanger	Episode: "Squid Pro Quo" Episode: "Spring Fever" Episode: "BL: Los Angeles" Episode: "Can't We All Get a Lung?"
2008	The Return of Jezebel James	Sarah Tompkins
2009	Bored to Death	Michelle Whiting	Episode: "The Case of the Stolen Skateboard"
2011	Parks and Recreation	Lindsey Carlyle-Shay	Episode: "Eagleton"
2011	The Big C	Poppy Kowalski	Episode: "A Little Death" Episode: "How Do You Feel?" Episode: "The Darkest Day"
2011	The Good Wife	Vanessa Gold	Episode: "Affairs of State"

External links

• Parker Posey at the Internet Movie Database