Calista Flockhart
Calista Kay Flockhart is an American actress. On television, she is best known for her roles as the title character on Ally McBeal, Kitty Walker on Brothers & Sisters, and Cat Grant on Supergirl. In film, she is known for roles in The Birdcage, A Midsummer Night's Dream, and Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her. Flockhart has received a Golden Globe Award and Screen Actors Guild Award, and been nominated for three Primetime Emmy Awards. She is married to actor Harrison Ford.
Early life
Calista Kay Flockhart was born in Freeport, Illinois, the daughter of Kay Calista, an English teacher, and Ronald Flockhart, a Kraft Foods executive. Her parents retired to Morristown, Tennessee, which is where her father lived until his death and her mother continues to reside. She has one older brother, Gary. Her mother reversed her own first and middle names in naming her Calista Kay.Because her father's job required the family to move often, Flockhart and her brother grew up in several places including Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, New Jersey, and Norwich, New York. As a child, she wrote a play called Toyland which she performed at a dinner party.
Flockhart attended Shawnee High School in Medford Township, New Jersey. Following graduation in 1983, Flockhart attended Glassboro State College her freshman year, then subsequently attended the Mason Gross School of the Arts at Rutgers University in New Brunswick, New Jersey. While there, she attended a specialized and competitive class, lasting from 6:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. In her sophomore year at Rutgers, Flockhart met aspiring actress Jane Krakowski, the best friend of her roommate. Later, they both would work together on Ally McBeal.
People began recognizing Flockhart's acting ability when William Esper made an exception to policy by allowing Flockhart to perform on the main stage. Though this venue usually is reserved for juniors and seniors, Harold Scott insisted that Flockhart perform there in his production of William Inge's Picnic. Flockhart graduated with a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in Theatre in 1988 as one of the few students who successfully completed the course. Rutgers inducted her into the Hall of Distinguished Alumni on May 3, 2003.
Flockhart moved to New York City in 1989 and began seeking auditions, living with three other women in a two-bedroom apartment and working as a waitress and aerobics instructor. She remained until 1997.
Career
Early career
In spring 1989, Flockhart made her first television appearance in a minor role in an episode of Guiding Light as a babysitter. Also, she played a teenager battling an eating disorder on a one-hour Afternoon Special on TV. Flockhart made her professional debut on the New York stage, appearing in Beside Herself alongside Melissa Joan Hart, at the Circle Repertory Theatre. Two years later, Flockhart appeared in the television movie Darrow. Though she later appeared in films Naked in New York and Getting In, her first substantial speaking part in a film was in Quiz Show, directed by Robert Redford.Flockhart debuted on Broadway in 1994, as Laura in The Glass Menagerie. Actress Julie Harris felt Flockhart should be hired without further auditions, claiming that she seemed ideal for the part. Flockhart received a Clarence Derwent Award for her performance. In 1995, Flockhart became acquainted with actors such as Dianne Wiest and Faye Dunaway when she appeared in the movie Drunks. Later that year, Flockhart starred in Jane Doe as a drug addict. In 1996, Flockhart appeared as the daughter of Dianne Wiest and Gene Hackman's characters in The Birdcage. Throughout that year, she continued to work on Broadway, playing the role of Natasha in Anton Chekhov's Three Sisters.
''Ally McBeal''
In 1997, Flockhart was asked to audition for the starring role in David E. Kelley's Fox television series Ally McBeal. Kelley, having heard of Flockhart, wanted her to audition for the contract part. Though she initially hesitated due to the necessary commitment to the show in a negotiable contract, she was swayed by the script and traveled to Los Angeles to audition for the part, which she won. She earned a Golden Globe Award for the role in 1998. Flockhart also appeared on the June 29, 1998, cover of Time magazine, placed as the newest iteration in the evolution of feminism, relating to the ongoing debate about the role depicted by her character. Flockhart starred on the show until it was canceled in 2002.''Brothers & Sisters''
Flockhart performed in a starring role as Kitty Walker, opposite Sally Field, Rachel Griffiths and Matthew Rhys, in the ABC critically acclaimed prime time series Brothers & Sisters, which premiered in September 2006 in the time slot after Desperate Housewives. The show was cancelled in May 2011 after running for five years. Flockhart's character was significant throughout the series' first four years, but her appearances were reduced for the 2010–2011 season, coinciding with the departure of TV husband Rob Lowe.Other work
Flockhart played the role of Helena in A Midsummer Night's Dream, a 1999 film version of Shakespeare's play. In 2000, she appeared in Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her and , later accompanying Eve Ensler to Kenya in order to protest violence against women, particularly female genital mutilation. Flockhart also starred in the Off-Broadway production of Ensler's The Vagina Monologues.In 2004, Flockhart appeared as Matthew Broderick's deranged girlfriend in The Last Shot. In the same year, Flockhart travelled to Spain for the filming of Fragile, which premiered in September 2005 at the Venice Film Festival. She was offered the role of Susan Mayer on Desperate Housewives but declined, and the role later went to Teri Hatcher.
In 2014, Flockhart landed a role in Full Circle
In 2015, Flockhart was cast in the television series Supergirl as Cat Grant, a "self-made media magnate and founder of CatCo" and boss to Kara. The series premiered on October 26, 2015, on CBS. Due to the network's wish to reduce the show's budget, it was moved to sister network The CW after its first season, along with a move to filming in Vancouver. Flockhart remained with the show, despite her previous aversion to working outside Los Angeles.
Personal life
Flockhart has been in a relationship with actor Harrison Ford since their meeting at the Golden Globe Awards on January 20, 2002. They became engaged on Valentine's Day in 2009, and were married on June 15, 2010, in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The ceremony was presided over by Governor Bill Richardson and New Mexico Supreme Court Chief Justice Charles W. Daniels. Flockhart and Ford have one adopted son together, Liam Flockhart Ford, whom Flockhart adopted at birth.From 2004 to 2014, Flockhart served as the national spokesperson for Peace Over Violence.