Cady Huffman (born February 2, 1965)[1] is an American actress.

Cady Huffman
Huffman with then-husband William Healy, December 2007
Born
OccupationActress
Years active1985–present
SpouseWilliam Healy (1994–2011)

Early life

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Huffman was born in Santa Barbara, California, to Lorayne, a pre-school assistant director turned realtor, and Clifford Huffman, an attorney.[citation needed] She is the younger sister of actor Linus Huffman and automotive writer John Pearley Huffman, whose work often appears in Road & Track and Car and Driver magazines and The New York Times. She attended public schools in Santa Barbara (skipping the fourth grade) and graduated from the local San Marcos High School in June 1982. Huffman started performing in Santa Barbara's very active local theater community well before her teenage years. She also studied ballet at The Goleta School of Ballet and performed numerous classical ballets with the school's company.[citation needed]

Career

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Huffman first came to Broadway as a replacement cast member in the hit musical La Cage aux Folles (1985), and was quickly cast in Bob Fosse's Big Deal, to be followed by a Tony-Award nomination for her performance in The Will Rogers Follies (1991). In 2001, she played the role of Ulla in the original cast of the Broadway musical The Producers, by Mel Brooks. Huffman received the Tony Award for Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Musical for the role.

She made her film debut in the film Hero (1992). She has since appeared in Space Marines (1996),[2] Romance & Cigarettes and The Nanny Diaries. She also appeared in the 2010 film The Company Men.[3] During 2003 and 2004, she produced, starred in and acted as production designer for the independent film Sunday on the Rocks directed by Joe Morton.[4]

On television, she has had guest starring roles on programs such as Frasier, Law & Order: Criminal Intent and Mad About You. She appeared as herself in several guest spots on the television series Curb Your Enthusiasm during 2004. The series' fourth season plot involved Larry David joining the cast of The Producers. Beginning in August 2005, Huffman took over for Kimberlin Brown as Dr. Paige Miller on One Life to Live. Her last episode aired on January 23, 2006. During 2011 and 2012, she has appeared in episodes of The Good Wife.

She was a regular food judge on Food Network's Iron Chef America,[5] described by host Alton Brown as "the Kitty Carlisle" of the series.

During July and August 2007, Huffman starred in the Off-Broadway play Surface to Air written by David Epstein and directed by James Naughton, in a rare dramatic part for the actress who usually appears on stage in musicals.[6] In May 2009, she appeared in the new musical Pirates! in the Huntington Theatre Company, Boston, production.[7] She appeared alongside The Producers co-star Nathan Lane in The Nance which opened on Broadway on April 15, 2013. She was nominated for a 2013 Outer Critics Circle Award for her work in that play. In 2014, she played a major role in the Off-Broadway rock musical Revolution in the Elbow of Ragnar Agnarsson Furniture Painter.

In July 2017 she directed City of Light, a musical by Gabrielle Wagner, Julie Weiner and Jan Roper at the SheNYC Summer Theater Festival.[8]

In June 2023 she directed Anything Goes, a musical by Cole Porter, Guy Bolton and P.G. Wodehouse at Black Rock Theater in Fairfield, CT.[9]

Personal life

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She now lives in Brooklyn, New York City.[10]

Filmography

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Film

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Year Title Role Notes
1992 Hero Leslie Sugar, Flight Attendant
1997 Space Marines Dar Mullins
2004 Sunday on the Rocks Gayle
2004 Billy's Dad Is a Fudge-Packer! Billy's Mother Short film
2005 Romance & Cigarettes Female Dancer & Singer
2006 Twenty Dollar Drinks Betty Short film
2007 Itty Bitty Titty Committee Lola
2007 The Nanny Diaries Divorcing Mom
2009 Dare Dr. Kolton
2010 The Company Men Joanna
2010 Choose Alice
2012 Young(ish) Middle-Aged Woman Short film, completed
2013 Molly's Theory of Relativity[11] Natasha

Television

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Year Title Role Notes
1994 The George Carlin Show Episode: "George Goes Too Far"
1995 Pig Sty Rita Episode: "Leap Into an Open Grave"
1995 Mad About You Barking Woman Episode: "Up in Smoke"
1996 Vows of Deception Mary Jo TV movie
1997 Columbo The Receptionist Episode: "A Trace of Murder"
2003 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Pamela Winters Episode: "Cuba Libre"
2004 Curb Your Enthusiasm Cady Huffman 4 episodes
2004 Frasier Amber Licious Episode: "Detour"
2005 Law & Order: Trial by Jury Penny Sterba Episode: "The Abominable Showman"
2005–2006 One Life to Live Dr. Paige Miller TV series
2010 Submissions Only Andrea Dodson Episode: "Old Lace"
2011–2012 The Good Wife Marina Vassel 4 episodes
2012 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Maureen Manning Episode: "Home Invasions"
2016–2017 Blue Bloods Sheila Gormley Episodes: "Mob Rules"
& "Not Fade Away"
2017–Present After Forever Lisa 4 episodes

Theatre

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Year Title Role Notes
1985 La Cage aux Folles Angelique Replacement
1986 Big Deal Dancer Understudy: Pearl
1991 The Will Rogers Follies Ziegfeld's Favorite 1991 nominee: Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical
1997 Steel Pier Rita Racine / Shelby Stevens
1999 Dame Edna: The Royal Tour The Gorgeous Ednaette #1 Replacement
2001–2003 The Producers Ulla 2001 winner: Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Musical
2006 Plain and Fancy[12] Ruth Winters Musicals in Mufti, York Theatre Company
2013 The Nance Sylvie
2023 Dirty Blonde Jo, Mae CV Rep

References

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  1. ^ "Cady Huffman (Performer)". Playbill.
  2. ^ ' "Space Marines Credits" tcm.com, retrieved September 14, 2017
  3. ^ " The Company Men Cast and Crew' allmovie.com, retrieved September 14, 2017
  4. ^ Harvey, Dennis (March 24, 2004). "Review: 'Sunday on the Rocks'". Variety. Retrieved September 13, 2017.
  5. ^ Ferri, Josh. "Tony Winner Cady Huffman on Being 'Empowered' by Lena Dunham & Re-Teaming With Nathan Lane in 'The Nance' " broadway.com, April 15, 2013
  6. ^ Gans, Andrew. "Naughton Will Direct Smith, Huffman, Altman and Bryggman in 'Surface to Air' " Playbill, June 6, 2007
  7. ^ Gans, Andrew. "Huntington's 'Pirates!', with Huffman, Kazee, Alvin, Dixon, Opens May 20" Playbill, May 20, 2009
  8. ^ "Cady Huffman to Direct New Musical City Of Light at SheNYC Festival" broadwayworld.com, June 29, 2017
  9. ^ Lauterborn, Mike. "Fairfield's Broadway Method Academy is Now Black Rock Theater". www.hamlethub.com. Retrieved June 28, 2023.
  10. ^ Ferri, Josh. "Tony Winner Cady Huffman on Being 'Empowered' by Lena Dunham & Re-Teaming With Nathan Lane in 'The Nance' " broadway.com, April 15, 2013
  11. ^ Scheck, Frank (March 6, 2013). "Molly's Theory of Relativity: Film Review". The Hollywood Reporter.
  12. ^ Portantiere, Michael. "Anderson, Huffman, Noseworthy, Rae, et al. Cast in York's 'Plain and Fancy' "[permanent dead link] theatermania.com, October 19, 2006
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