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A refined starlet more in the mold of Julianne Moore than Julia Roberts, Amy Adams has proven to be a serious and versatile actress capable of saying no even if a project promises riches and fame. In fact, Adams has throughout her career maintained a steady focus on craft rather than celebrity–atypical for a business chock full of media-hungry wannabes willing to do anything to get on the cover of Us magazine. To no one’s surprise, Adams’s attention to her acting skills paid dividends early in her career. After a head-turning performance as a naive candy-striper who marries a con man (Leonardo DiCaprio) in “Catch Me If You Can” (2002), she received kudos from critics and colleagues for her role as an optimistic and overly pregnant Southern belle in “Junebug” (2005). With a nuanced performance that earned several award nominations, Adams put herself on firm footing for a vibrant and potentially productive career.

One of seven children, Adams grew up in Castle Rock, Colorado and was raised in a Mormon family. But that didn’t mean life was no fun. Everyone in her family were “bunch of hams,” thanks to her dad who wrote scripts for all to perform. After graduating high school, Adams performed dinner theater in Colorado and for a short time was a waitress at Hooters. She then moved to Minnesota for more dinner theater, starring in “Brigadoon” and “Good News” at the Chanhassen Dinner Theater. She got her first feature role in “Drop Dead Gorgeous” (1999), a satirical look at how far girls will go to win a teen beauty pageant. Urged by costar Kirstie Alley, Adams moved to Los Angeles–a far cry from the Midwestern peace of Minnesota. Though she arrived uncertain about what lay ahead, Adams didn’t have to wait long for her next gig–she landed a part on a series called “Manchester Prep,” a prequel to the movie “Cruel Intentions” (1999). A conflict arose between Fox Broadcasting and Columbia TriStar after just three episodes were shot, forcing producers to re-edit and release it as the forgettable straight-to-video feature, “Cruel Intentions 2″ (2000).

After the “Manchester Prep” debacle, Adams was on episodes of “That 70’s Show” (Fox, 1998- ) and “Charmed” (WB, 1998- ), then played a bikini-clad seductress in the indie thriller, “Psycho Beach Party” (2000). More episodic television followed, including appearances on “Zoe, Duncan, Jack & Jane” (WB, 2000), “Providence” (NBC, 1998-2003) and “Buffy, The Vampire Slayer” (WB, 1996-2003). After an episode of “Smallville” (WB, 2001- ), Adams played the girlfriend of a greedy cattleman (Bruce Campbell) trying to cheat his wife (Elizabeth Hurley) out of a divorce settlement in “Serving Sara” (2002). A tiny role in “Pumpkin” (2002) was followed by her eye-catching performance in Steven Spielberg’s “Catch Me If You Can.” She rounded out the year with a guest spot on the perennial political drama, “The West Wing” (NBC, 1999- ). She hit a bit of a lull in 2003, however, appearing only in one feature, “The Slaughter Rule,” a bittersweet coming-of-age drama about a teenager (Ryan Gosling) cut from his high school football team, the only means of escape from his lonely rural existence.

Adams rebounded in 2004, landing a recurring role on “Dr. Vegas” (CBS, 2004), but the show didn’t last long enough to make a difference to her career. She next voiced several characters on a couple episodes of “King of the Hill” (Fox, 1997- ), then returned to features with “The Wedding Date” (2005), playing the self-involved half-sister of a woman (Debra Messing) on a desperate search for the right man. Unfortunately, “The Wedding Date” failed to attract much attention for Adams despite a solid performance. But everything changed when people began talking about “Junebug,” a humorous drama out of Sundance about a sophisticated Chicago art dealer (Embeth Davidtz) who travels to rural North Carolina to woo an eccentric painter (Frank Hoyt Taylor) to her gallery. Her husband (Alessandro Nivola) comes along and brings her home to meet his dysfunctional family, which includes his loser brother (Ben McKenzie) and his very pregnant wife (Adams) who has a knack for gushing about everything under the sun. Adams gained widespread attention for the role–considered the emotional focal point of the film–starting with a Special Jury Prize for Acting at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. After its release, a deluge of accolades were bestowed upon her, including Best Supporting Actress from the National Society of Film Critics and a tie with “Brokeback Mountain” star Michelle Williams for Best Supporting Actress at the Broadcast Film Critics’ Choice Awards, both in 2006. Meanwhile, she was nominated for Best Supporting Actress for the 12th Annual SAG Awards ceremony.

• Born:
  in Colorado
• Job Titles:
  Actress

Milestones

• 1999 Made feature debut in the satiric comedy “Drop Dead Gorgeous,” opposite Denise Richards and Kirsten Dunst
• 2000 Appeared in the independent comedy “Psycho Beach Party,” a spoof of 1960’s Beach Party/Gidget surfing movies
• 2000 Made guest appearances on a number of television series, including “That 70s Show,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer,” and “Charmed”
• 2000 Starred in the direct-to-video feature “Cruel Intentions 2″; originally filmed as a TV spin-off of the hit film “Cruel Intentions,” titled “Manchester Prep” that was never aired
• 2002 Cast opposite Matthew Perry and Elizabeth Hurley in the romantic comedy “Serving Sara”
• 2002 Played Leonardo DiCaprio’s dimwitted fiancée, Brenda in “Catch Me if You Can”
• 2004 Cast in the short-lived medical drama “Dr. Vegas” (CBS)
• 2005 Starred in the romantic comedy “The Wedding Date,” opposite Debra Messing and Dermot Mulroney
• 2005 Starred in the southern drama “Junebug”
• Appeared productions such as “Brigadoon” and “Good News” while at Chanhassen Dinner Theater in Minnesota
• Raised in Minnesota
• Starred in the southern drama “Junebug” (lensed 2005)