Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story
Please do not use {{Infobox television film}} directly. See the documentation for available templates. Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story is an American TV film directed by Peter Levin. It was first released on April 7, 2003 in the United States. This movie is adapted from Liz Murray's autobiography, Breaking Night.
Synopsis
Thora Birch stars as Liz Murray, one of two daughters of an extremely dysfunctional Bronx family. As a young girl, Murray lives with her sister, their drug-addicted, schizophrenic mother and their father, also a drug addict who is intelligent, but has AIDS, lacks social skills, and is not conscientious. She is removed from the home and put into the care system as her father cannot take care of her. At 15 she moves in with her mother, sister and Grandfather who sexually abused her mother. After a run-in with her Grandfather she runs away with a girl from school who is being abused at home. After her mother Jean Murray (1954-1996) dies of AIDS, which she got from sharing needles during her drug abuse, she gets a 'slap in the face' by her mother's death and begins her work to finish high school, which she amazingly completed in two years, rather than the usual four. She becomes a star student and earns a scholarship to Harvard University through an essay contest sponsored by The New York Times.
Cast
- Thora Birch - Liz Murray
- Michael Riley - Peter
- Robert Bockstael - David
- Makyla Smith - Chris
- Kelly Lynch - Jean Murray
- Jennifer Pisana - Young Liz Murray
- Aron Tager - Pops
- Ellen Page - Young Lisa
- Marla McLean - Lisa
- Marguerite McNeil - Eva
- Amber Godfrey - Dawn
- Seamus Morrison - Bobby
- Albert Eisten - Bryan
- John Fulton - Old Irish Cop
- Rejean Cournoyer - Young Irish Cop
- Mauralea Austin - Miss Wanda
- Cecil Wright - Mr. Maki
Reception
Awards and nominations
- 2003 Emmy Awards
- Nominated: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie — Thora Birch
- Nominated: Outstanding Made for Television Movie
- Nominated: Outstanding Single Camera Picture Editing for a Miniseries, Movie or a Special — Anita Brandt-Burgoyne
- 2003 Casting Society of America (Artios)
- Nominated - Best Casting for TV Movie of the Week — Susan Edelman
- 2004 American Cinema Editors (Eddies)
- Won - Best Edited Miniseries or Movie for Commercial Television — Anita Brandt-Burgoyne
External links
- Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story at IMDb
- Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story at Hollywood.com
- Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story at Starpulse.com
- Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story movie review & synopsis at Fandango.com
- Homeless to Harvard: The Liz Murray Story at Mylifetime.com