Felicity Huffman Macy

Felicity Kendall Huffman is an American actress born on December 9, 1962, in Bedford, New York. She was raised by her parents, Grace Valle and Moore Peters Huffman, who divorced a year after her birth, and later discovered her biological father was family friend Roger Tallman Maher. Huffman spent much of her youth in Snowmass, Colorado. She attended The Putney School, graduated from the Interlochen Arts Academy in 1981, and studied at New York University, the Circle in the Square Theatre School, and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London.

Huffman began her acting career on stage in 1982. She made her Broadway debut in 1988 in David Mamet's play Speed the Plow and won an Obie Award in 1995 for her role in Mamet's The Cryptogram. During the 1980s and 1990s, she also appeared in supporting film and television roles, including the movies Reversal of Fortune, Hackers, and The Spanish Prisoner, as well as guest spots on series such as The X-Files and Law & Order. From 1998 to 2000, she starred as Dana Whitaker in the ABC comedy-drama Sports Night, which earned her a Golden Globe Award nomination.

Huffman gained widespread recognition for her role as Lynette Scavo on the ABC comedy-drama Desperate Housewives, which ran from 2004 to 2012. Her performance earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series, three Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe nominations. In 2005, she starred as Bree, a transgender woman, in the independent film Transamerica. Her performance drew critical praise and won her a Golden Globe Award, an Independent Spirit Award, a Satellite Award, and an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress.

Throughout her career, Huffman has appeared in numerous films, including Magnolia, Georgia Rule, Phoebe in Wonderland, Rudderless, and Cake. From 2015 to 2017, she starred in the ABC anthology crime drama American Crime, earning three Primetime Emmy Award nominations. Her later screen projects include appearances in the series Get Shorty, the miniseries When They See Us, and the films Otherhood and Tammy's Always Dying. She has also guest-starred on BoJack Horseman and The Good Doctor, and portrayed Rena Chynoweth in the 2025 limited series The Thirteenth Wife: Escaping Polygamy.

Huffman married actor William H. Macy in 1997, with whom she has two daughters, and the couple both received stars on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2012. She is a member of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences and co-authored the 2006 book A Practical Handbook for the Boyfriend. In 2019, Huffman was arrested and pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit mail fraud and honest services mail fraud in connection with a nationwide college entrance exam cheating scandal. She was sentenced to 14 days in prison, a $30,000 fine, 250 hours of community service, and one year of supervised release.