Famous for her leading role in the drama television series The Big C (2010-2013), Laura Linney is an American film, TV, and theater actress. Her performances in films You Can Count on Me, Kinsey, and The Savages, have earned Linney, Oscar nominations and accolades worldwide. She has further been a recipient of four Emmy Awards, two Golden Globe Awards, and a Screen Actors Guild Award.

Early Life
Born to dramatist Romulus Linney and nurse, Ann Leggett Perse in New York City, Laura grew up in Manhattan. Her parents got a divorce when she was just six months old and Linney`s custody was given to her mother. Through her growing years, she participated in a lot of amateur productions and developed a keen passion for acting. She went to Brown University and graduated with a degree in theatre. Following this, she studied acting at the Julliard School, where she was batch mates with the Criminal Minds actress Jeanne Tripplehorn. From her father`s second marriage Linney has a half-sister, Susan.

Personal Life
In 1995, Linney tied the knot with her Julliard batch mate and actor David Adkins. The couple separated in 2000. In 2009, she married Marc Schauer, a real estate agent and it was the famous actor Liam Neeson, who walked her down the aisle. She gave birth to their son Bennett Armistead Schauer, in 2014.

Movie Career
Linney broke into the Hollywood industry with a small role in the 1992 drama film Lorenzos Oil. Directed by George Miller, the movie was a critical success but a financial disappointment. She then starred in movies like Dave (1993), Congo (1995), Primal Fear (1996), and Absolute Power (1997). Her first prominent success, however, came with the satirical comedy drama The Truman Show (1998). Directed by Peter Weir, the film starred Jim Carrey opposite her. The movie was welcomed with immense critical and commercial success, garnering multiple Academy Award nominations.

In 2000, Linney received her first Oscar nod for the drama film You Can Count On me. Co-starring Mark Ruffalo, Rory Culkin, and Matthew Broderick, the movie opened to highly positive reviews. Post You Can Count On Me, Linney appeared in various acclaimed movies. Her 2004 performance in Kinsey, a biopic about sexual behavior earned Linney, her second Academy Award nomination. The next year, in 2005, her role in The Squid and the Whale, an indie drama, received a Golden Globe nomination. In the same year, she appeared in Scott Derricksons horror drama film The Exorcism of Emily Rose. Based on a real-life story, the movie was a critical and commercial success.

Laura Linney then starred in movies like The Savages (2007), The Other Man (2008) and Hyde Park on Hudson (2012). Her 2016 releases include Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, Nocturnal Animals and the biographical drama film Sully, directed by Clint Eastwood.

TV Career
Apart from acting in films, Laura Linney has also been a part of television shows like Tales of the City (1993), Law & Order (1994), Frasier (2003-2004), and The Big C (2010-2013), in which she was also the executive producer.