Who is Anna Chlumsky? Everything You Need to Know

Quick Facts

Also Known As: Anna Maria Chlumsky

Age: 42 Years, 42 Year Old Females

Family:

Spouse/Ex-: Shaun So (m. 2008)

father: Frank Chlumsky

mother: Nancy L. Chlumsky

children: Clara Elizabeth So, Penelope Joan So

Actresses American Women

Height: 5'2" (157 cm), 5'2" Females

City: Chicago, Illinois

Ancestry: Czech American, Croatian American

Notable Alumni: Atlantic Acting School

U.S. State: Illinois

More Facts

education: University Of Chicago, Atlantic Acting School

Recommended For You

Recommended Lists:

University Of Chicago

American Actresses

Sagittarius Actresses

Childhood & Early Life

Anna Chlumsky was born on December 3, 1980, in Chicago, Illinois, to Nancy and Frank Chlumsky, Jr. Her father is a chef and her mother previously worked as a flight attendant. Both her parents are gifted artists; while her mother is a singer and actress, her father can play the saxophone.

She appeared as a child model for Marshall Field's ads at the age of 10 months. Her parents separated when she was two, after which she was raised by her single mother.

Continue Reading Below

Recommended Lists:

Actresses Who Are In Their 40s

Women Film & Theater Personalities

American Film & Theater Personalities

American Female Film & Theater Personalities

Early Career

Anna Chlumsky started her career at an early age as a child model and appeared in various advertising campaigns for the next 6-7 years. However, her big-screen debut came in 1989 when she landed a small role in the movie 'Uncle Buck'.

In 1991, she shot to fame for portraying Vada Sultenfuss, the death-obsessed daughter of a widowed Pennsylvania mortician, in 'My Girl'. The film was a success, which resulted in the 1994 sequel 'My Girl 2', in which she reprised her role and played the 13-year-old protagonist.

Chlumsky, who was praised for her previous roles, secured lead roles in 'Trading Mom' and 'Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain'. Even though the films received mixed reviews, her performance was once again praised.

In 1997, she was cast in two made-for-television movies: 'A Child's Wish' and 'Miracle in the Woods'. She played a terminally ill 16-year-old girl in the former movie. The next year, she made guest appearances in two television drama series, 'Cupid' and 'Early Edition', following which she took a break from acting.

Recommended Lists:

Sagittarius Women

Return To Acting

After completing her graduation, Anna Chlumsky looked for alternative career choices, including working in the publishing field. However, she realized that she was not enjoying her 9-to-5 job and soon rediscovered her love for acting. While acting happened to her naturally as a child, her agent advised that she gets formal training. She joined Atlantic Acting School in Manhattan to study acting for a year.

She returned to acting with a lead role in the 2005 short film 'Wait'. For the next few years, she appeared in movies like 'Blood Car' and 'Eavesdrop', and the television series '30 Rock' and 'Law & Order'.

Her breakthrough role came in 2009 when she was cast in the satirical black comedy film 'In the Loop', which was a spin-off of the BBC Television series 'The Thick of It'. The film was critically successful, receiving an 'Academy Award' nomination in 2010. After 'My Girl', this was the first movie that gave her public recognition.

In 2009, she appeared in two more feature films, 'The Good Guy' and 'My Sweet Misery', and acted in the television movies, 'House Rules' and '12 Men of Christmas'. That year, she also appeared in four episodes of the revived ABC TV series 'Cupid'.

She continued to feature in a number of movies throughout the years, the most recent being the 2015 film 'The End of the Tour'. However, she has been more successful on television, landing a major role in the 2012 political satire 'Veep'. The hit series has recently been renewed for a sixth season starting in April 2017.

Continue Reading Below

Among her other television works, she made guest appearances in the series 'Army Wives' and 'Law & Order: Special Victims Unit' in 2012. She also bagged the recurring role of an FBI trainee, Miriam Lass, in the television series 'Hannibal'.

Major Works

'My Girl' was a success at the box office, and was received with mix to positive reviews by critics. Anna Chlumsky was praised for her portrayal of "an 11-year-old girl's painful maturation".

In the second phase of her acting career, her portrayal of Amy Brookheimer, the Vice President’s chief of staff, in ‘Veep’, the political satire comedy television series, has received much praise from critics. The series, which received generally positive reviews on its first season, continued to better its ratings in the following seasons, with a 92% rating on Rotten Tomatoes for season 5.

Awards & Achievements

In 1991, at the age of 11, Anna Chlumsky shared the 'MTV Movie Awards' for 'Best Kiss' with co-star Macaulay Culkin for her role in 'My Girl'. The same year, she was also nominated the 'Most Promising Actress' by 'Chicago Film Critics Association'.

In 1991 and 1994, she received two 'Young Artist Awards' for portraying Vada Sultenfuss in 'My Girl' and 'My Girl 2'. She won 'Best Young Leading Actress – Feature Film' for her role in 'Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain'. She won another 'Young Artist Award' in 1998 for her guest role in the TV series 'Cupid'.

For the last five years, she has received numerous awards and nominations for her role in the critically hit television series 'Veep'. She has been nominated for 'Primetime Emmy Awards' for 'Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series' four times straight between 2013 and 2016.

Personal Life & Legacy

Anna Chlumsky got engaged to Shaun So, a business executive who previously served in the military, in October 2007 and got married the next year, on March 8, in Brooklyn, New York. The couple has two girls, Penelope Joan So and Clara Elizabeth So.

Trivia

Both Anna Chlumsky's father and her father-in-law are in the culinary business. While her father is a culinary instructor at Kendall College in Chicago, her husband Shaun's father owns a Chinese restaurant called China Town in Topsham, Maine.

Anna Chlumsky Biography