Parker Christian Posey (born
November 8, 1968) is an American
actress. She became known during the 1990s
after a series of roles in several well-received
independent films. As a result, she has
often been referred to as the "Queen of the Indies".
Biography
Early life
Posey was
born in Baltimore,
Maryland
, the daughter of Lynda, a chef,
and Chris Posey, who owned a Chevrolet
dealership. She has a twin brother, Christopher. Posey's
first name was a tribute by her father to 1950's supermodel
Suzy Parker.
After Posey's birth,
the family moved to Laurel, Mississippi
where her mother worked as a chef and culinary
instructor for the Viking Range
Corporation in Greenwood
, and her father operated a car dealership, Posey
Chevrolet, in Laurel. The family also lived in Monroe,
Louisiana
.
Posey was raised
Catholic.
Film career
Posey attended the
State University of New
York at Purchase, where she roomed with actresses
Sherry Stringfield and
Orlagh Cassidy. Fellow entertainment
professionals in her SUNY Purchase acting company (Class of 1991)
included actor
Reno Wilson and producers
Todd Baker and
Vincent Rutherford, Jr.
Posey made her first break in television when she won the role of
Tess Shelby on the daytime
soap opera
As the World Turns.
Stringfield, Posey's roommate, was also cast on the daytime drama
Guiding Light at about the
same time. Posey's first major role in a feature film was in
Dazed and
Confused (1993).
Throughout the late 1990s, Posey starred in a large number of
independent films and was named
"Queen of the Indies" by
Time magazine, which cited thirty-two
independent films to her credit,
including
Personal Velocity,
Clockwatchers,
Party Girl, and
The House of Yes, for which she
received especially positive reviews for her portrayal of a
delusional woman in love with her own
brother. She is part of the acting ensemble that often appears in
director
Christopher Guest's
films, including four of his
mock
documentaries: (
Waiting for
Guffman in 1996,
Best
in Show in 2000,
A Mighty
Wind in 2003, and
For Your Consideration in
2006). Posey is also a favorite of director
Hal Hartley. She appeared in
Henry Fool (1998), two of his shorts,
Opera No. 1 (1994; with
Adrienne Shelley, another Hartley regular),
Sisters of Mercy (2004), and his most recent film,
Fay Grim (2006). Posey also had a
notable role as the best friend of Adam in the 2005 film
Adam and Steve.
Though well known for her work in independent cinema, Posey has
also had supporting roles in several big budget
studio films, including
Scream 3 (2000),
You've Got Mail (1998),
Josie and the Pussycats
(2001),
Laws of
Attraction (2004), and
Blade: Trinity (2004). She also had a
small performance in
Superman
Returns, playing Kitty Kowalski, an assistant to villain
Lex Luthor.
Posey is also set for a role in an upcoming
John Waters film
Fruitcake along with
Johnny Knoxville. The film will likely be
set in her birth town of Baltimore. However, John Waters has
recently announced that he has cancelled
Fruitcake, saying
"I can't get it made...I thought it would do well, but it's not. In
this economy, I'm going to have to do a puppet show."
Posey was considered for the roles of
Rachel Green in
Friends (which went to
Jennifer Aniston), of Kimmy in
My Best Friend's
Wedding (which went to
Cameron
Diaz), and of Althea in
The People vs. Larry Flynt
(which went to
Courtney Love).
Television work
Although Posey primarily works in film, she has appeared in several
television projects.
- Posey appeared in the television miniseries adaptations of the
Armistead Maupin Tales of the City books; her
character, Connie, was featured in the original 1993 series and the
1998 miniseries "sequel" covering the second book.
- In 2000, she provided the voice of Umbriel the mermaid in the Futurama episode "The Deep South."
- Also in 2000, Parker provided the voice of Becky in an episode
of The Simpsons titled
"It's A Mad, Mad, Mad,
Mad Marge."
- She has also had a recurring role on the television series Will & Grace, as Dorleen, Jack's high-maintenance boss at Barneys New
York.
- Posey appeared on the Season One finale of Project Runway in 2005. She was a
spectator at New York Fashion
Week and was a judge alongside Nina
Garcia, Michael Kors, and Heidi Klum.
- In 2006, Posey guest-starred as the ambitious, back-stabbing
lawyer Marlene "The Squid" Stanger on Boston Legal.
- In March 2008, Posey headlined the quickly-cancelled Fox series
The Return of Jezebel
James.
- In October 2009, Posey guest-starred as a vegan and Jason
Schwartzman's love interest in the HBO series Bored to Death.
Other work
Posey made her stage debut in 2001, and has worked regularly on the
stage since. She also dabbles in music, she has appeared in two
music videos of the band
Cobra
Starship, one of which was called "Snakes on a Plane" and the
other is "The City is at War." She can also play the
mandolin. She learned to play as preparation for
her role in
A Mighty Wind
(2003), a film in which she also sang. She used her vocal talents
on several records of her ex-boyfriend,
Ryan
Adams, whom she dated until early 2005. She also played the
mandolin on
The Dandy Warhols track "I Am Sound" from
their
Welcome to
the Monkey House LP.
She is also the subject of several songs:
- Stuart Davis on his 2006
album ¿What.
- L.A. based rappers Trilambs recorded a
song titled "Parker Posey" in 2001.
- Musical project Forms of
Things Unknown recorded an experimental music instrumental
called "From Here to Parker Posey".
- Ryan Adams's "Hey Parker, It's Christmas," off of Christmas
7"
- Polish indie-rock band The Car Is
On Fire recorded a song entitled Parker Posey on their
2006 album Lake And Flames.
Filmography
References
- Index magazine interview
- [1]. January 16, 2009
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