Amanda Michael Plummer (born March 23, 1957) is an American actress. She is known for her work on stage and for her roles in such films as '' Joe Versus the Volcano'' (1990), ''

The Fisher King ''The Fisher King'' is a 1991 American fantasy comedy-drama film written by Richard LaGravenese and directed by Terry Gilliam. Starring Robin Williams and Jeff Bridges, with Mercedes Ruehl, Amanda Plummer, and Michael Jeter in supporting roles, ...

'' (1991), ''

Pulp Fiction ''Pulp Fiction'' is a 1994 American crime film written and directed by Quentin Tarantino, who conceived it with Roger Avary.See, e.g., King (2002), pp. 185–7; ; Starring John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Tim Roth, Vin ...

'' (1994), and '' The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'' (2013). Plummer won a

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual cer ...

in 1982 for her performance in '' Agnes of God''.

Early life

Plummer was born on March 23, 1957, in New York City, the only child of American actress

Tammy Grimes Tammy Lee Grimes (January 30, 1934 – October 30, 2016) was an American film and stage actress. Grimes won two Tony Awards in her career, the first for originating the role of Molly Tobin in the musical '' The Unsinkable Molly Brown'' and the ...

and Canadian actor

Christopher Plummer Arthur Christopher Orme Plummer (December 13, 1929 – February 5, 2021) was a Canadian actor. His career spanned seven decades, gaining him recognition for his performances in film, stage, and television. He received multiple accolades, inc ...

. Her father said that they named their daughter Amanda Michael after Amanda Prynne, a character from the play ''

Private Lives ''Private Lives'' is a 1930 comedy of manners in three acts by Noël Coward. It concerns a divorced couple who, while honeymooning with their new spouses, discover that they are staying in adjacent rooms at the same hotel. Despite a perpetuall ...

'', and the actress

Michael Learned Michael Learned (born April 9, 1939) is a distinguished American actor, known for her role as Olivia Walton in the long-running CBS drama series ''The Waltons'' (1972–1981). She has won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in ...

. She attended the elite Trinity School before graduating from the United Nations International School (UNIS). She attended

Middlebury College Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college in Middlebury, Vermont. Founded in 1800 by Congregationalists, Middlebury was the first operating college or university in Vermont. The college currently enrolls 2,858 undergraduates from all ...

for two and a half years and, as a young adult, studied acting at the

Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre is a full-time professional conservatory for actors in New York City. First operational from 1915 to 1927, the school re-opened in 1928 and has been active ever since. It is the birthplace of th ...

in New York City.

Career

Plummer has received critical acclaim for her film work, including such films as '' Cattle Annie and Little Britches'' (1981), ''

The World According to Garp ''The World According to Garp'' is John Irving's fourth novel, about a man, born out of wedlock to a feminist leader, who grows up to be a writer. Published in 1978, the book was a bestseller for several years. It was a finalist for the Natio ...

'' (1982), ''

Daniel Daniel is a masculine given name and a surname of Hebrew origin. It means "God is my judge"Hanks, Hardcastle and Hodges, ''Oxford Dictionary of First Names'', Oxford University Press, 2nd edition, , p. 68. (cf. Gabriel—"God is my strength" ...

'' (1983), and ''

The Hotel New Hampshire ''The Hotel New Hampshire'' is a 1981 coming of age novel by American writer John Irving, his fifth published novel. Plot This novel is the story of the Berrys, a quirky New Hampshire family composed of a married couple, Win and Mary, and th ...

'' (1984). Other films of note include ''

'', for which she received a BAFTA film nomination (1992), a

Chicago Film Critics Association Award The Chicago Film Critics Association (CFCA) is an association of professional film criticism, film critics, who work in print, broadcast and online media, based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. The organization was founded in 1990 by film cri ...

nomination (1992), and a

Los Angeles Film Critics Association Award The Los Angeles Film Critics Association (LAFCA) is an American film critic organization founded in 1975. Background Its membership comprises film critics from Los Angeles-based print and electronic media. In December of each year, the organiza ...

(1992). Other films include ''

'', for which she received an

American Comedy Award The American Comedy Awards were a group of awards presented annually in the United States recognizing performances and performers in the field of comedy, with an emphasis on television comedy and comedy films. They began in 1987, billed as the "f ...

nomination; ''

Girlfriend A girlfriend is a female friend, acquaintance or partner, usually a female companion with whom one is platonically, romantically, or sexually involved. In a romantic context, this normally signifies a committed relationship where the in ...

''; ''

Butterfly Kiss ''Butterfly Kiss'' (alternative title ''Killer on the Road'') is a 1995 British film, directed by Michael Winterbottom and written by Frank Cottrell Boyce. It stars Amanda Plummer and Saskia Reeves. The film was entered into the 45th Berlin Int ...

'', ''

My Life Without Me ''My Life Without Me'' is a 2003 Spanish-Canadian Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Isabel Coixet and starring Sarah Polley, Mark Ruffalo, Scott Speedman, and Leonor Watling. Based on the 1997 short story collection ''Pretending ...

''; ''

Vampire A vampire is a mythical creature that subsists by feeding on the Vitalism, vital essence (generally in the form of blood) of the living. In European folklore, vampires are undead, undead creatures that often visited loved ones and caused mi ...

'', and ''

Ken Park ''Ken Park'' is a 2002 erotic drama which revolves around the abusive and dysfunctional lives of several teenagers, set in the city of Visalia, California. It was written by Harmony Korine, who based it on Larry Clark's journals and stories. Th ...

''. She made her

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

debut as Jo in the 1981 revival of '' A Taste of Honey'', which ran for almost a year with Valerie French playing Helen, Jo's mother. She received a

nomination, a

Theatre World ''Theatre World'' is an annual American theatre pictorial and statistical print publication. It includes Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway, and regional theatre, national theatrical awards, and obituaries. Theatre World "In 1944, three ...

, a

Drama Desk The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. Fol ...

, and an

Outer Critics Circle Awards The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newspa ...

for her portrayal. Amanda Plummer 1987 CBS

She won a

for Featured Actress and the

Outer Critics Circle The Outer Critics Circle Awards are presented annually for theatrical achievements both on Broadway and Off-Broadway. They are presented by the Outer Critics Circle (OCC), the official organization of New York theater writers for out-of-town newspa ...

and Boston Critics Circle Awards for her portrayal of Agnes in '' Agnes of God'', with Geraldine Page and Elizabeth Ashley. In 1983, she portrayed Laura Wingfield in a Broadway revival of ''

The Glass Menagerie ''The Glass Menagerie'' is a memory play by Tennessee Williams that premiered in 1944 and catapulted Williams from obscurity to fame. The play has strong autobiographical elements, featuring characters based on its author, his Histrionic persona ...

''. Other Broadway performances include Dolly Clandon in '' You Never Can Tell'' (1986), and as

Eliza Doolittle Eliza Doolittle is a fictional character and the protagonist in George Bernard Shaw's play ''Pygmalion'' (1913) and its 1956 musical adaptation, ''My Fair Lady''. Eliza (from Lisson Grove, London) is a Cockney flower woman, who comes to Profe ...

in ''

Pygmalion Pygmalion or Pigmalion may refer to: Mythology * Pygmalion (mythology), a sculptor who fell in love with his statue Stage * ''Pigmalion'' (opera), a 1745 opera by Jean-Philippe Rameau * ''Pygmalion'' (Rousseau), a 1762 melodrama by Jean-Jacques ...

'' (1987; for which she received her third

nomination, this time for Best Performance by a Leading Actress in a Play.) Off-Broadway plays include Beth in

Sam Shepard Samuel Shepard Rogers III (November 5, 1943 – July 27, 2017) was an American actor, playwright, author, screenwriter, and director whose career spanned half a century. He won 10 Obie Awards for writing and directing, the most by any write ...

's ''

A Lie of the Mind ''A Lie of the Mind'' is a play written by Sam Shepard, first staged at the off-Broadway Promenade Theater on 5 December 1985. The play was directed by Shepard himself with stars Harvey Keitel as Jake, Amanda Plummer as Beth, Aidan Quinn as Franki ...

'', and ''Killer Joe'', written by

Tracy Letts Tracy S. Letts (born July 4, 1965) is an American actor, playwright, and screenwriter. He started his career at the Steppenwolf Theatre before making his Broadway debut as a playwright for '' August: Osage County'' (2007), for which he received ...

. She has performed in many of

Tennessee Williams Thomas Lanier Williams III (March 26, 1911 – February 25, 1983), known by his pen name Tennessee Williams, was an American playwright and screenwriter. Along with contemporaries Eugene O'Neill and Arthur Miller, he is considered among the thre ...

' plays, including ''

Summer and Smoke ''Summer and Smoke'' is a two-part, thirteen-scene play by Tennessee Williams, completed in 1948. He began working on the play in 1945 as ''Chart of Anatomy'', derived from his short stories "Oriflamme" and the then-work-in-progress "Yellow Bir ...

'', '' The Gnädiges Fräulein'', ''

The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore ''The Milk Train Doesn't Stop Here Anymore'' (1963) is a play in a prologue and six scenes, written by Tennessee Williams. He told John Gruen in 1965 that it was "the play that I worked on longest," and he premiered a version of it at the Festiva ...

'', and the world premiere of ''

The One Exception This is a list of the one-act plays written by American playwright Tennessee Williams. 1930s ''Beauty Is the Word'' ''Beauty Is the Word'' is Tennessee Williams' first play. The 12-page one-act was written in 1930 while Williams was a freshman ...

''. In 1996, Plummer won an

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for her guest appearance on the episode " A Stitch in Time" of '' The Outer Limits''. In 2005, she won an Emmy as Miranda Cole in the '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' episode "Weak", in which she played a woman with schizophrenia. She was nominated for a

Golden Globe Award The Golden Globe Awards are accolades bestowed by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association beginning in January 1944, recognizing excellence in both American and international film and television. Beginning in 2022, there are 105 members of t ...

and received another Emmy Award for her performance in ''

Miss Rose White ''Miss Rose White'' is a television film adaptation by Anna Sandor of the 1985 Barbara Lebow play, ''A Shayna Maidel'', starring Kyra Sedgwick. It first aired on April 26, 1992. The production received five Emmy Awards, including Outstanding T ...

'', a Hallmark made-for-television film about a

Holocaust The Holocaust, also known as the Shoah, was the genocide of European Jews during World War II. Between 1941 and 1945, Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murdered some six million Jews across German-occupied Europe; a ...

survivor, for which she received the Anti-Defamation League Award. For her performance in '' Last Light'' (1993), she received a

Cable Ace Award The CableACE Award (earlier known as the ACE Awards; ACE was an acronym for "Award for Cable Excellence") is a defunct award that was given by what was then the National Cable Television Association from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in Ame ...

nomination. Other awards include the Hollywood Drama Critics Award for her performance in the title female role in ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'', the

Saturn Award The Saturn Awards are American awards presented annually by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. The awards were created to honor science fiction, fantasy, and horror in film, but have since grown to reward other films be ...

for her performance as Nettie in ''

Needful Things ''Needful Things'' is a 1991 horror novel by American author Stephen King. It is the first novel King wrote after his rehabilitation from drug and alcohol addiction. It was made into a film of the same name in 1993 which was directed by Frase ...

'' (1993), and a

for her performance in '' The Right To Remain Silent'' (1996). Plummer played Wiress, a former "tribute" who won the Hunger Games, in '' The Hunger Games: Catching Fire'' (2013), the film adaptation of the second novel of ''The Hunger Games'' trilogy, by

Suzanne Collins Suzanne Collins (born August 10, 1962) is an American author and television writer. She is known as the author of the book series '' The Underland Chronicles'' and ''The Hunger Games''. Early life Suzanne Collins was born on August 10, 1962, i ...

. Plummer starred alongside

Brad Dourif Bradford Claude Dourif (; born March 18, 1950) is an American actor. He was nominated for an Oscar, and won a Golden Globe and a BAFTA Award for his film debut role as Billy Bibbit in ''One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest'' (1975). He is also kno ...

in the critically acclaimed

Off Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

revival of

' '' The Two-Character Play'' at

New World Stages New World Stages is a five-theater, Off-Broadway performing arts complex in the Hell's Kitchen neighborhood of Manhattan in New York City. It is between 49th and 50th Streets beneath the plaza of the Worldwide Plaza complex at Eighth Avenue. ...

in 2013. In 2020, Plummer was featured in the

Netflix Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...

drama series '' Ratched''. Plummer will play Vadic, the main villain of the third and final season of '' Star Trek: Picard'', in 2023.

Personal life

Plummer dated screenwriter and director

Paul Chart Paul Chart (born 10 October 1961) is an English film director, screenwriter and producer. His film ''American Perfekt'' was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. Filmography * '' Not a War Film'' (1984) * ...

in the late 1990s. The two lived together in Los Angeles and worked together on Chart's film ''

American Perfekt ''American Perfekt'' is a 1997 road/crime thriller film written and directed by Paul Chart, produced by Irvin Kershner. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1997 Cannes Film Festival. The film stars Robert Forster as a psychi ...

''.

Filmography

Film

Television

Stage

References

External links

* * *
Article
playbill.com, October 20, 2004; accessed May 6, 2014.
Profile
hollywood.com (archived); accessed May 6, 2014.

April 28, 1996; accessed May 6, 2014.

October 14, 1995. *
''New York Times'' Arts Blog on ''The Two-Character Play''
June 2013; accessed May 5, 2014.
The Two-Character Play Off-Broadway 2013
{{DEFAULTSORT:Plummer, Amanda 1957 births Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from New York City American film actresses American people of Canadian descent American people of English descent American people of Scottish descent American stage actresses American television actresses American voice actresses Canadian film actresses Canadian people of American descent Canadian people of English descent Canadian people of Scottish descent Canadian stage actresses Canadian voice actresses Canadian television actresses Drama Desk Award winners Middlebury College alumni Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre alumni Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie Primetime Emmy Award winners Tony Award winners