Biografie

Was once a teacher for deaf and autistic children.

Filmed Mystic River (2003) in Boston, US, while filming Tatsächlich... Liebe (2003) in London, UK. She flew across the Atlantic several times in a short manner of time, in order to complete filming on both movies.

Attended and graduated from the Juilliard School in New York City (1990).

Less than a month before turning 50, she gave birth to her first child, a son Bennett Armistead Schauer on January 8, 2014. Child's father is her husband, Marc Schauer.

Gained about 20 pounds for her role in Kinsey - Die Wahrheit über Sex (2004), mainly by eating Krispy Kreme glazed doughnuts.

[on Jim Carrey]: He has tremendous charm. He has an enormous heart, just a big big heart. I think that is the thing. I think if you look at his other work you can see that there, which is what makes his characters more than just mimicry. I think that is why his work has hit so hard. Because there is just more there. So with this one, you see more of his humanity.

[on her character on Die Truman Show (1998)]: Well the thing that was interesting was that we sort of did these back stories about these characters and where they were and what was going on with them. And when the movie picks up, Hanna Gill, who plays Meryl Burbank, is aware of the fact that she is losing her influence over Truman. He's not happy at home. He's beginning to get agitated. He's beginning to think of things outside the house, and she can feel that she is losing her power. So consequently the smile gets bigger and bigger and the desperation, that is why there is that intense undertow to her. Because she knows she is losing it.

[on her character in Die Truman Show (1998)]: The concept of The Truman Show - it was so much fun. What gave us all an additional challenge was that those of us who were the cast play the actors but playing a role. So we did all this elaborate back-story. So I made up my actress name Hanna Gill, who plays Meryl Burbank, who is married to Truman Burbank. So we did all this double layering of character work not really knowing what was going to come through. I'm glad that some of the people who have seen the movie can say that they can actually see it in all of us. All of us who play the characters surrounding Jim (Jim Carrey) in the film, that they can see the double layer.

[on her father]: My parents were divorced and I didn't grow up with him, but I spent a lot of time around him and his influence on me has been profound.

[on her fame]: I don't consider myself a celebrity and I don't consider myself a star.