Anna Chlumsky

Anna Chlumsky (born December 3, 1980) is an American film, stage and television actress who rose to prominence for her role as Vada Sultenfuss in My Girl (1991), as well as in its 1994 sequel. Chlumsky abandoned her acting career in 1999 to study at the University of Chicago, and pursued other work before returning to acting in her late twenties, starring in independent films such as Blood Car (2007) and In the Loop (2009). As of 2012, Chlumsky has a starring role in the HBO series Veep, for which she was nominated in 2013 and 2014 for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.

Chlumsky entered show business at an early age, modeling with her mother in an advertising campaign, though her roles in My Girl (1991) and My Girl 2 (1994) brought her fame. She also starred in Trading Mom (1994) alongside Sissy Spacek, as well as in Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain with Christina Ricci. In the mid to late 1990s, she appeared or starred in several television film and series.[citation needed

As a child Chlumsky considered working with horses or in paleontology. Once she reached adulthood, roles became scarce and she began to consider other careers. She attended the University of Chicago, graduating in 2002 with a BA in International Studies. After graduation she worked as a fact-checker for the Zagat Survey and served as an editorial assistant for a HarperCollins science fiction-fantasy imprint. She found this work unsatisfying and decided to return to acting. She went to the Atlantic Acting School in Manhattan to receive formal training.[1]

Chlumsky appeared in the 30 Rock episode, "The Fighting Irish" as Liz Lemler. She appeared as Mary Calvin in a season 17 episode of Law & Order, first airing on January 12, 2007; and as Lisa Klein in a season 20 episode, first airing March 15, 2010. She was in four episodes of the ABC dramedy Cupid.[2]

She starred in the Off Broadway production of Unconditional by Brett C. Leonard at The Public Theater, which opened on February 2008; it was produced by the LAByrinth Theater Company, She also starred in Lanford Wilson's Balm in Gilead in November 2005 at the American Theatre of Actors in New York City.[3]

In June 2012 she starred in the world premiere of David Adjmi's 3C at the Rattlestick Playwrights Theater in New York. She appeared in Armando Iannucci's BBC Films political satire In The Loop, co-starring with Peter Capaldi, Tom Hollander, Chris Addison, James Gandolfini, and Mimi Kennedy, a quasi-spinoff of Iannucci's BBC TV series The Thick of It.[4] She plays Liza, a State Department assistant in the movie. Chlumsky currently plays the chief of staff to vice-president Julia Louis-Dreyfus in HBO's Veep, also produced by Iannucci.[5]

Dan Aykroyd, who played her father in the two My Girl films, has said that a script for a third film has been in development since 2003.[6] In April 2012 Chlumsky "put to rest" any rumors that such a film was in development.[7] In addition to her role on Veep, Chlumsky has appeared in multiple television series between 2011 and 2013, including White Collar, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, and NBC's adaptation of Hannibal.[2]

Chlumsky was born in Chicago, Illinois, to Nancy (née Zuncic), a singer, actress, and former stewardess, and Frank Chlumsky, Jr., a chef and saxophone player.[8][9][10]

Chlumsky is of Czech descent, and from a Catholic family.[11][12] She graduated from Walther Lutheran High School, and in 2002 from the University of Chicago. In October 2007, she announced her engagement to Army Reserve member Shaun So.[13] They married on March 8, 2008, in Brooklyn, New York, and have one child.[14]

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes

1989	Uncle Buck	School Child

1991	My Girl	Vada Margaret Sultenfuss	Won – MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (shared with Macaulay Culkin)

Nominated – MTV Movie Award for Best On-Screen Duo (shared with Culkin)

1994	My Girl 2	Vada Sultenfuss

1994	Trading Mom	Elizabeth Martin

1995	Gold Diggers: The Secret of Bear Mountain	Jody Salerno	Won – Young Artist Awards for Best Young Leading Actress in a Feature Film

2005	Wait	Cara	Short

2007	Blood Car	Lorraine

2008	Eavesdrop	Chelsea

2009	In the Loop	Liza Weld

2009	The Good Guy	Lisa

2009	My Sweet Misery	Chloe

2010	Civil Unions: A Love Story	Unnamed	Short

2011	The Pill	Nelly

2012	Bert and Arnie's Guide to Friendship	Sabrina