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Alicia Roanne Witt (born August 21,
1975) is an American film, stage, television actress and singer.
Witt was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, the daughter of Diane, a junior
high school reading teacher, and Robert Witt, a science teacher and
photographer. She has a brother, Ian. Witt was discovered by David Lynch
when she appeared on the television show That's Incredible! in 1980; she
had recited Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. He cast her in the movie Dune
(1984), where she played Paul Atreides' young sister Alia. She turned
eight during filming. Afterwards, she left Hollywood to concentrate on her
studies and music. She was home schooled by her parents. She won several
national and international classical piano competitions, including the
"Bartok-Kabalevsky International Piano Competition".
At age 14, Witt earned her high school diploma. Shortly thereafter, she
moved to Hollywood with her mother (who was noted from 1988–93 in the
Guinness Book of Records for the world's longest hair) to pursue a career
as a full-time actress. Soon, Lynch, to whom she refers as a mentor,
created the role of Gersten Hayward especially for her in his successful
series Twin Peaks. He cast her again in Blackout, a segment in his
short-lived HBO series Hotel Room.
During this time, Witt supported herself by playing piano at the Regent
Beverly Wilshire Hotel. She went on to play small parts in Mike Figgis'
Liebestraum (in which her brother Ian also appears), the Gen-X drama
Bodies, Rest & Motion and the TV movie The Disappearance of Vonnie. In
1994, the red-haired Witt landed her first lead role in a film, playing a
disturbed teenager in Fun. She received the Special Jury Recognition Award
at the Sundance Festival and was nominated for Best Actress at the
Independent Spirit Awards. This performance inspired Madonna to recommend
Witt to be cast as her daughter in the first segment, "The Missing
Ingredient" of Four Rooms.
Witt was introduced to a larger audience playing the role of Zoey
Woodbine, daughter of actress Cybill Shepherd's character in the sitcom
Cybill from 1995 to 1998. Between seasons she starred in films: Mr.
Holland's Opus, Alexander Payne's abortion comedy Citizen Ruth, Passion's
Way and Bongwater. After Cybill was cancelled, Witt received a leading
role in the horror film Urban Legend and the animated feature Genął which
was never released because the studio stopped funding before the
completion of the movie.
In 2000, Witt had starring roles on the television shows Ally McBeal and
The Sopranos; the lead role in the comedy Playing Mona Lisa, a supporting
part in John Waters' Cecil B. Demented, and her stage debut in Robbie
Fox's musical The Gift at the now-closed Tiffany Theater in Los Angeles,
in which she played a high-priced stripper with a disease.
In the years following, Witt's acting career slowed. She had a small part
in Cameron Crowe's Vanilla Sky, which was intended as a reference to her
roles in Dune and Liebestraum. She also played a college graduate who
discussed losing her virginity in the experimental Ten Tiny Love Stories
and the trailer-trash "Barbie" in American Girl, which was released to
video in 2005.
She appeared in the 2002 romantic comedy Two Weeks Notice opposite Hugh
Grant. In 2003-2004, she lived primarily in the UK, filming The Upside of
Anger opposite Kevin Costner; and she starred as Evelyn in a
stage-production of Neil LaBute's The Shape of Things. Between these two
projects, she went to South Africa to shoot the German TV movie Kingdom in
Twilight which also goes by the names The Sword of Xanten and The Ring of
the Nibelungs. She played Kriemhild in this film interpretation of the
epic poem Das Nibelungenlied, which was released in the US as Dark
Kingdom: The Dragon King. On June 14, 2004, Witt modeled what is believed
to be the most expensive hat ever made, for Christie's auction house in
London. The Chapeau d'Amour, designed by Louis Mariette, is valued at $2.7
million (US) and is encrusted in diamonds. In September 2006 she returned
to the London stage, portraying the piano-playing Abigail, a role in which
she demonstrated herself an "outstanding pianist" of "formidable skill",
in Piano/Forte at the Royal Court Theatre.
Witt joined the cast of Law & Order: Criminal Intent for the 2007-08
season as Det. Nola Falacci, a character who is a temporary replacement
for Megan Wheeler, played by Julianne Nicholson who was away on maternity
leave. She is a recurrent character in Friday Night Lights for the 2009-10
season.
Witt currently resides in Los Angeles and New York.
Beside her work as an actress, she is working on her music career. Her
self-titled EP with four songs was released on iTunes in July 2009.
Witt used to date Cybill co star, Peter Krause. |
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Backyard Wedding (2010)
(TV).... Kim
The Pond (2010) .... Shelly
Peep World (2010) .... Amy
"Friday Night Lights" .... Cheryl (8 episodes, 2009-2010)
- Injury List (2010) TV episode .... Cheryl
- I Can't (2010) TV episode .... Cheryl
- The Toilet Bowl (2010) TV episode .... Cheryl
- In the Bag (2009) TV episode .... Cheryl
- The Son (2009) TV episode .... Cheryl
(3 more)
"The Mentalist" .... Rosalind Harker (1 episode, 2009)
- Red John's Footsteps (2009) TV episode .... Rosalind Harker
"Two and a Half Men" .... Miss Pasternak (1 episode, 2008)
- A Jock Strap in Hell (2008) TV episode .... Miss Pasternak
Puppy Love (2008) .... Claire
"Wainy Days" .... Laura (1 episode, 2008)
- Shelly II (2008) TV episode .... Laura
"Law & Order: Criminal Intent" .... Detective Nola Falacci / ... (5
episodes, 2007)
... aka Law & Order: CI (USA: promotional abbreviation)
- Senseless (2007) TV episode .... Detective Nola Falacci
- Offense (2007) TV episode .... Detective Nola Falacci
- Courtship (2007) TV episode .... Detective Nola Falacci
- Lonelyville (2007) TV episode .... Detective Nola Falacci
- Seeds (2007) TV episode .... Det. Nola Falacci
88 Minutes (2007) .... Kim Cummings
... aka 88 Minutes (International: English title) (USA: promotional
title)
... aka 88 (USA: closing credits title)
... aka 88: 88 Minutes (USA: complete title)
Blue Smoke (2007) (TV) .... Reena Hale
... aka Nora Roberts' Blue Smoke (USA: complete title)
Last Holiday (2006) .... Ms. Burns
The Upside of Anger (2005) .... Hadley Wolfmeyer
... aka An deiner Schulter (Germany)
Ring of the Nibelungs (2004) (TV) .... Kriemhild
... aka Curse of the Ring (Australia: DVD title) (International:
English title) (USA: DVD title)
... aka Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King (USA: DVD title)
... aka Die Nibelungen - Der Fluch des Drachen (Germany: DVD title)
... aka La saga dei Nibelunghi (Italy)
... aka Sword of Xanten (UK: theatrical title)
Girls' Lunch (2004)
"The Twilight Zone" .... Liz (1 episode, 2003)
- The Executions of Grady Finch (2003) TV episode .... Liz
Two Weeks Notice (2002) .... June Carver
American Girl (2002/I) .... Barbie
... aka Confessions of an American Girl (USA: video title)
Vanilla Sky (2001) .... Libby
Ten Tiny Love Stories (2001)
... aka Women Remember Men (USA: alternative title)
"Ally McBeal" .... Hope Mercey (2 episodes, 2000)
- Ally McBeal: The Musical, Almost (2000) TV episode .... Hope
Mercey
- Hope and Glory (2000) TV episode .... Hope Mercey
Cecil B. DeMented (2000) .... Cherish
... aka Cecil B. Demented (France)
"The Sopranos" .... Amy Safir (1 episode, 2000)
- D-Girl (2000) TV episode .... Amy Safir
Playing Mona Lisa (2000) .... Claire Goldstein
The Reef (1999) .... Sophy Viner
... aka Das Riff (Germany: TV title)
... aka Passion's Way (USA)
Gen 13 (1999) (V) (voice) .... Caitlin Fairchild
Urban Legend (1998) .... Natalie Simon
... aka Mixed Culture
... aka Urban Legend (France)
"Cybill" .... Zoey Woodbine (87 episodes, 1995-1998)
- Ka-Boom! (1998) TV episode .... Zoey Woodbine
- Cybill in the Morning (1998) TV episode .... Zoey Woodbine
- Don Gianni (1998) TV episode .... Zoey Woodbine
- Daddy (1998) TV episode .... Zoey Woodbine
- Farewell, My Sweet (1998) TV episode .... Zoey Woodbine
(82 more)
Bongwater (1997) .... Serena
... aka Bong Water (USA: DVD box title)
Citizen Ruth (1996) .... Cheryl Stoney
... aka Meet Ruth Stoops
Mr. Holland's Opus (1995) .... Gertrude Lang
Four Rooms (1995) .... Kiva (segment "The Missing Ingredient")
The Disappearance of Vonnie (1994) (TV) .... Janine
Fun (1994) .... Bonnie
"Hotel Room" .... Diane (1 episode, 1993)
... aka David Lynch's Hotel Room
- Blackout (1993) TV episode .... Diane
Bodies, Rest & Motion (1993) .... Elizabeth
Liebestraum (1991) (as Alicia Roanne Witt) .... Girl in Dream
"Twin Peaks" .... Gersten Hayward (1 episode, 1990)
- Episode #2.1 (1990) TV episode .... Gersten Hayward
Dune (1984) (as Alicia Roanne Witt) .... Alia |
