Martha Plimpton – Bio, Career Achievements, Movies and TV Shows

Quick Facts

Martha Plimpton is known as an ex-model, recording artist, and iconic actress who is best remembered for her work in the 1985 film, The Goonies. Her acting prowess has encompassed film, spreading towards television, and extending to the stage. She is a known face on Broadway, thanks to her appearances in various productions such as Top Girls, Shining City, A Midsummer’s Night Dream, and A Delicate Balance.

Plimpton is a critically acclaimed performer who has received several awards for her phenomenal acting talent since she began her career as a child actress. She has risen to the very top of the professional ladder, endearing herself to millions of fans along the way. The actress is also an activist who is very vocal in her support and fight for LGBTQI rights, planned parenthood, and women’s rights.                       

Martha Plimpton’s Biography

The award-winning actress was born on November 16, 1970, in New York City, to Shelley Plimpton and Keith Carradine. Both her parents were also actors, who inspired her to follow their path by seeking a career in show business. Martha Plimpton is an alumnus of the Professional Children’s School. She landed her first acting role when she was eight years old, appearing on Broadway in a play called The Leaf People, followed by another called The Ass and the Heart.

Martha’s modeling career took off in the 1980s. Her tomboyish charm allowed her book gigs easily including a campaign for the popular fashion brand, Calvin Klein. Around the same time, she also began auditioning for film roles. She made her movie debut in the 1981 film Rollover, at age eleven. She then went on to appear in The River Rat, which led to her breakthrough role in the 1985 classic, The Goonies. Since then, Martha has gone on to appear in dozens of movies, plays, and television series. She remains a sought after actress to this day.

Movies and TV Shows

Few actors and actresses can boast of the number of acting credits Martha Plimpton has on her resume. Her most notable appearances on film include Shy People, Stars and Bars, Running on Empty, Another Woman, Zwei Frauen, Parenthood, A Woman at War, Stanley & Iris, Samantha, and Inside Monkey Zetterland. She has also starred in Daybreak, Chantilly Lace, The Beans of Egypt, I Shot Andy Warhol, Maine, The Defenders: Payback, Pecker, 200 Cigarettes, The Time Gal, and Hair High. She also starred in the acclaimed documentary Searching for Debra Winger.

Television lovers and fans of Martha’s work might also recognize her from her roles in the series ER, 7th Heaven, Surface, Raising Hope, The Good Wife, and The Real O’Neals. Martha has also done extensive work on the stage, starring in plays like The Coast of Utopia, Pal Joey, A Delicate Balance, The Glass Menagerie, Absolution, Hobson’s Choice, The Heidi Chronicles, Sweat, Other Desert Cities, and more. She has been featured on Broadway, Off-Broadway, as well as in independent theatre productions across the country. Martha Plimpton has landed several guest roles on major shows such as , Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Medium, Fringe, and The Blacklist. Martha has a reputation for being one of the most hardworking performers in Hollywood.

Career Achievements

Martha has had a very long and fulfilling career lined with achievements and honors. She has been put up for the Young Artist Awards three times. Once for Exceptional Performance by a Young Actress for her role in Goonies, another for Best Young Actress in a Motion Picture for her performance in Running on Empty, and one for Best Young Female Superstar in Motion Pictures for her appearance in The Mosquito Cast. The younger Martha earned an Independent Spirit Award for Shy People in 1987.

In 2002, she earned her first Emmy nomination for the character she portrayed in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. The electrifying performance Martha gave in Raising Hope scored her a Primetime Emmy Award nod for Best Lead Actress in a Comedy in 2011. In 2012, she won her first Emmy thanks to her portrayal of as Patti Nyholm in the drama series The Good Wife.

Martha Plimpton’s other career achievements include a 2001 Obie Award for Outstanding Performance, two Drama Desk Awards for Pal Joey and Coast of Utopia, and a 2008 Outer Critic’s Circle Award. She has been nominated for a Tony Award three times in a row: Best Featured Actress in a drama for her performance in Top Girls and the play Coast for Utopia in 2007 and 2008; and in a Musical for Pal Joey in 2009.

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