Vera Farmiga is a renowned American actress who has garnered numerous accolades for her captivating performances on screen. Born Vera Ann Farmiga on August 6, 1973, in Clifton, New Jersey, she is the second of seven children to Ukrainian parents. Growing up in a Ukrainian Catholic household, Vera did not speak English until the age of six and was raised by her mother, a schoolteacher, and her father, a computer systems analyst.
As a shy and nearsighted girl, Vera discovered her passion for the arts, playing piano and folk dancing with a Ukrainian touring company in her teens. She graduated from Hunterdon Central Regional High School in 1991 and later earned a degree in acting from Syracuse University's School of Performing Arts in 1995.
Vera began her professional acting career in 1996, making her Broadway debut as an understudy in the play "Taking Sides". She went on to appear in various stage productions, including "The Tempest", "Good", "The Seagull", and "Second-Hand Smoke", before making her television debut in Fox's adventure series Roar in 1997.
In 1998, Vera made her big screen debut in the drama Return to Paradise, followed by roles in The Opportunists and Autumn in New York. She received critical acclaim for her performance in Down to the Bone, earning the Best Actress award at the 2004 Sundance Film Festival and the Los Angeles Film Critics Association.
Vera's impressive range of characters includes a senator's daughter in The Manchurian Candidate, the wife of a mobster in Running Scared, a humorous prostitute in Breaking and Entering, and a police psychiatrist in The Departed. Her outstanding performance in Up in the Air earned her an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress in a Supporting Role in 2010.
In 2011, Vera made her directorial debut with the drama Higher Ground, in which she also starred in the leading role. Although the film had a limited release, her direction and performance received attention at several festivals. She went on to star in the drama thriller series Bates Motel, receiving a Primetime Emmy Award nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in the first season.
In 2019, Vera received a second Primetime Emmy Award nomination for her role in the drama miniseries When They See Us. Outside of her acting career, Vera is a devoted mother to her two children, Fynn McDonnell and Gytta Lubov Hawkey, and enjoys reading, playing piano, boxing, jujitsu, and spending time with her pet angora goats.
