Catherine Keener (born March 26, 1959) is an American actress. Keener is known for her portrayals of disgruntled, melancholic and sympathetic women in independent films, as well as her supporting roles in studio films. Her accolades include nominations for two Academy Awards, a British Academy Film Award, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Primetime Emmy Award.
Keener was nominated twice for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, for Being John Malkovich (1999) and for her portrayal of author Harper Lee in Capote (2005). Her performance as Gertrude Baniszewski in An American Crime (2007) earned her a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie. She is the muse of director Nicole Holofcener, having appeared in each of Holofcener's first five films. She also appeared in each of director Tom DiCillo's first four films, and three films directed by Spike Jonze.
Keener has starred in the films The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005), Into the Wild (2007), Synecdoche, New York (2008), Where the Wild Things Are (2009), Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief (2010), Get Out (2017), and Joker: Folie à Deux (2024), as well as starring voice roles in The Croods (2013), its sequel The Croods: A New Age (2020), and Incredibles 2 (2018). From 2018 to 2020, she starred in the Showtime dramedy series Kidding.
Early life and education
Keener was born to Jim and Evelyn (née Jamiel) Keener. Her father was of Irish descent and her mother is of Lebanese descent. Keener was raised in Hialeah, Florida as a Catholic and attended Catholic schools. She attended Monsignor Edward Pace High School.
Keener attended Wheaton College, in Norton, Massachusetts. She majored in American Studies, also enrolling in a theater course. Her first theatrical production was the Wendy Wasserstein play Uncommon Women and Others, during her junior year at Wheaton. She graduated with her Bachelor of Arts from Wheaton College in 1983.
Career
thumb|Keener in 2014
Keener had a supporting role as Lt. Cricket Sideris in the television series Ohara. The series ran from January 1987 to May 1988.
Her first film appearance was one line in About Last Night... (1986) and three years later she appeared in Survival Quest.
She guest starred as an artist on an episode of Seinfeld called "The Letter", playing Jerry's girlfriend, an artist who painted a famous portrait of Kramer. Keener then earned her first starring role, in Johnny Suede, with the then-unknown Brad Pitt. Her performance gained critical acclaim and earned her first Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Female Lead. She went on to work with director Tom Dicillo again, in Living in Oblivion (1995). Two years later, she was once again nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for her performance in Walking and Talking, an independent cult-comedy film directed by Nicole Holofcener.
In 2000, Keener earned her first Oscar nomination for Best Supporting Actress for her role in Being John Malkovich, directed by Spike Jonze. In 2006, she starred in the film Friends with Money, directed by Nicole Holofcener.
In 2007, Keener played Jan Burres in Sean Penn's critically acclaimed film Into the Wild, based on Jon Krakauer's best-selling book of the same name. In 2008, her film An American Crime, the true story of Gertrude Baniszewski, a middle-aged mother who tortured and murdered Sylvia Likens in her Indiana home, was aired on Showtime. Keener played Baniszewski and her portrayal earned her an Emmy nomination in the Best Actress in a TV Mini-Series or Movie category. In 2008, Keener portrayed Philip Seymour Hoffman's wife Adele in Charlie Kaufman's directorial debut, Synecdoche, New York. She and Hoffman again played husband and wife in the 2012 film A Late Quartet. Keener played the title character's mother in the 2010 film Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief, based on the series of books by Rick Riordan.
Keener starred in the six-episode HBO miniseries Show Me a Hero, based on the 1999 nonfiction book of the same name by Lisa Belkin. It aired in August 2015. In 2016, Keener starred in the independent film Unless.
In 2017, Keener starred as Missy Armitage in the racially themed horror film Get Out, which was a critical and commercial success.
Keener starred in the 2021 Netflix horror drama miniseries Brand New Cherry Flavor.
In 2024, Keener appeared in Joker: Folie à Deux, the sequel to the 2019 film Joker.
Acting style and reception
Throughout her career, Keener has developed a reputation for succeeding in complex roles, Director Rebecca Miller said that Keener is "very good at playing disgruntled", a designation about which Keener explained, "Anger is not a bad thing"; she finds comfort in playing roles of this nature because "It doesn't go hand in hand with the mode of behaviour that's ladylike or proper or dignified." Nate Williams of ComingSoon.net deemed Keener "one of the most interesting performers in the game" as of 2019 due to her willingness "to embrace different roles", describing her as "A dramatic actor with no problem playing strange characters". Rotten Tomatoes crowned Keener "one of the queens of 1990s American independent cinema", while The Independent called her "A darling of the independent film world". Dunlevy described the actress as "a consummate pro who has brought charisma and soul to projects ranging from" goofball comedies to blockbuster films. and the divorce became final on December 19, 2007.
Filmography
Film
{| class = "wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class = "unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1986 || About Last Night... || Cocktail Waitress ||
|-
| 1989 || Survival Quest || Cheryl ||
|-
| 1990 || Catchfire || Trucker's girl ||
|-
|rowspan=3| 1991 || Switch || Steve's Secretary ||
|-
| Johnny Suede || Yvonne ||
|-
| Thelma & Louise || Hal's wife || Scenes cut
|-
| 1992 || The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag || Suzanne ||
|-
| 1993 || The Cemetery Club || Gail Moskowitz ||
|-
| 1995 || Living in Oblivion || Nicole Springer ||
|-
|rowspan=4| 1996 || Walking and Talking || Amelia ||
|-
| The Destiny of Marty Fine || Lena ||
|-
| Boys || Jilly ||
|-
| Box of Moonlight || Floatie Dupre ||
|-
| 1997 || The Real Blonde || Mary ||
|-
|rowspan=2| 1998 || Out of Sight || Adele Delisi ||
|-
| Your Friends & Neighbors || Terri ||
|-
|rowspan=3| 1999 || 8mm || Amy Welles ||
|-
| Simpatico || Cecilia ||
|-
|Being John Malkovich|| Maxine Lund ||
|-
| 2001 || Lovely & Amazing || Michelle Marks ||
|-
|rowspan=4| 2002 || Adaptation || Herself || Cameo
|-
| Full Frontal || Lee ||
|-
| Death to Smoochy || Nora Wells ||
|-
| Simone || Elaine Christian ||
|-
|rowspan=4| 2005 || The Ballad of Jack and Rose || Kathleen ||
|-
| The Interpreter || Dot Woods ||
|-
| The 40-Year-Old Virgin || Trish Piedmont ||
|-
| Capote || Nelle Harper Lee ||
|-
|rowspan=1| 2006 || Friends with Money || Christine ||
|-
|rowspan=2| 2007 || An American Crime || Gertrude Baniszewski ||
|-
| Into the Wild || Jan Burres ||
|-
|rowspan=4| 2008 || Hamlet 2 || Brie Marschz ||
|-
| What Just Happened || Lou Tarnow ||
|-
| Synecdoche, New York || Adele Lack ||
|-
| Genova || Barbara ||
|-
|rowspan=2| 2009 || The Soloist || Mary Weston ||
|-
| Where the Wild Things Are || Connie || Also associate producer
|-
|rowspan=4| 2010 || | Please Give || Kate ||
|-
| Cyrus || Jamie ||
|-
| Percy Jackson & the Olympians: The Lightning Thief || Sally Jackson ||
|-
| Trust || Lynn Cameron ||
|-
| rowspan=3| 2011 || | The Oranges || Paige Walling ||
|-
| Peace, Love & Misunderstanding || Diane ||
|-
| Maladies || Catherine ||
|-
| 2012 || A Late Quartet || Juliette Gelbart ||
|-
| rowspan=4| 2013 || The Croods || Ugga Crood || Voice
|-
| Enough Said || Marianne ||
|-
| Captain Phillips || Andrea Phillips ||
|-
| Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa || rowspan="2" | Ellie Zisman ||
|-
| rowspan=4| 2014 || Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa.5 || Direct to video
|-
| War Story || Lee || Also producer
|-
| Begin Again || Miriam Hart ||
|-
| Elephant Song || Susan Peterson ||
|-
| 2015 || Accidental Love || Rep. Pam Hendrickson ||
|-
| 2016 || Unless || Reta Winters ||
|-
| rowspan=4| 2017 || Get Out || Missy Armitage ||
|-
| Little Pink House || Susette Kelo ||
|-
| We Don't Belong Here || Nancy Green ||
|-
| November Criminals || Fiona Zeleny ||
|-
| rowspan=3|2018 || Nostalgia || Donna Beam ||
|-
| Incredibles 2 || Evelyn Deavor / Screenslaver || Voice
|-
| 2020 || The Croods: A New Age || Ugga Crood || Voice
|-
| rowspan=2|2022 || The Adam Project || Maya Sorian ||
|-
| Polar Bear || Narrator || Voice
|-
| 2024 || Joker: Folie à Deux || Maryanne Stewart ||
|-
| TBA || Love of Your Life || || Post-production
|}
Television
{| class = "wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class = "unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 1986
| L.A. Law
| Waitress
| Episode: "The House of the Rising Flan"
|-
| 1987
| Ohara
| Lt. Cricket Sideris
| 11 episodes
|-
| 1988–1989
| Knightwatch
| Rebecca
| 2 episodes
|-
| 1989
| CBS Summer Playhouse
| Jan Engle
| Episode: "Curse of the Corn People"
|-
| 1992
| Seinfeld
| Nina West
| Episode: "The Letter"
|-
| rowspan="2"|1996
| Heroine of Hell
| Magda
| Television film
|-
| If These Walls Could Talk
| Becky Donnelly
| Television film; segment: "1952"
|-
| 2014
| How and Why
| Alice
| Pilot
|-
| 2015
| Show Me a Hero
| Mary Dorman
| 5 episodes
|-
| 2018–2020
| Kidding
| Deirdre "Didi" Perera
| 20 episodes
|-
| 2018
| Forever
| Kase
| 5 episodes
|-
| 2019
| Modern Love
| Julie
| 2 episodes
|-
| 2021
| Brand New Cherry Flavor
| Boro
| 8 episodes
|-
| 2023
| Lucky Hank
| Catherine Keener
| Episode: "The Chopping Block"
|}
Video games
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class="unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 2018
| Lego The Incredibles
| Evelyn Deavor
|
|}
Podcast
{| class = "wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Role
! class = "unsortable" | Notes
|-
| 2016–2017
| Homecoming
| Heidi Bergman
|
|}
Awards and nominations
{| class="wikitable sortable"
|-
! Year
! Title
! Award
|-
| 1991
| Johnny Suede
| rowspan="2" | Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead
|-
| 1995
| Walking and Talking
|-
| 1999
| Being John Malkovich
|Florida Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress<br />Kansas City Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress<br />New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Supporting Actress<br />Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress<br />Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture<br />Southeastern Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress<br />Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress<br />Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress<br />Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture<br />Nominated—Las Vegas Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress<br />Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress<br />Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role<br />Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
|-
| 2001
| Lovely & Amazing
|Nominated—Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead<br />Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
|-
|rowspan="4"| 2005
| The Ballad of Jack and Rose
|Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress<br />Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
|-
| The Interpreter
|Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
|-
| The 40-Year-Old Virgin
|Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress<br />Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
|-
| Capote
|Boston Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress<br />Dallas-Fort Worth Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress<br />Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress<br />Toronto Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress<br />Nominated—Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress<br />Nominated—BAFTA Award for Best Actress in a Supporting Role<br />Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress<br />Nominated—Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress<br />Nominated—Online Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress<br />Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role<br />Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture<br />Nominated—Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress
|-
|rowspan="2"| 2007
| An American Crime
|Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress - Miniseries or Television Film<br />Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie
|-
| Into the Wild
|Nominated—Broadcast Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress<br />Nominated—Houston Film Critics Society Award for Best Supporting Actress<br />Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Supporting Role<br />Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
|-
| 2008
| Synecdoche, New York
|Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Ensemble Cast<br />Independent Spirit Robert Altman Award
|-
| 2009
| Where the Wild Things Are
|Nominated—Saturn Award for Best Actress
|-
| 2010
| Please Give
| Nominated—Comedy Film Award for Best Leading Actress<br />Nominated—Gotham Independent Film Award for Best Ensemble Cast<br />Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy
|-
| 2017
| Get Out
| Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture
|}
See also
- List of people from Miami