Parker Posey Biography

Parker Christian Posey was born on November 8, 1968, to Lynda, a chef, and Chris Posey, the proprietor of a Chevrolet dealership.

Her father named her after the 1950s model, Suzy Parker, whom he admired. Her grandmother gave her the nickname “Missy” to avoid taunts from fellow students at school.

She has a twin brother, Chris. She studied at R. H. Watkins High School in Laurel, Mississippi.

She enrolled at the State University of New York at Purchase, where she majored in drama. Sherry Stringfield and Orlagh Cassidy, the popular actresses, were her roommates.

Her acting career started with her role as ‘Tess Shelby’ in the daytime soap opera ‘As the World Turns’ which ran on television from 1991 to 1992.

She made a minor appearance in ‘Sleepless in Seattle’, a romantic comedy film by Nora Ephron in 1993 but she went unnoticed as her scenes were cut off from the film.

In 1993, she played a major role in the feature film, ‘Dazed and Confused’, a cult classic starring Ben Affleck, Matthew McConaughey, and Jason London.

She became extremely popular when she started acting in non-studio films like ‘Sleep with Me’ and many others, which earned her the title of ‘Queen of the Indies’.

In 1995, she gained public attention through her lead role in ‘Party Girl’. She then appeared in a number of minor supporting roles and also continued acting in independent films.

Her acting career reached its peak in 1997, with 20 movies in hand, out of which, three were featured at ‘The Sundance Film Festival’. Her performance in ‘The House of Yes’ the same year, was greatly lauded by critics and also won her the ‘Special Recognition Award’.

In 1998, she was cast in a major role in ‘You've Got Mail’, co-starring Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks.

She proved her mettle as a comedian with her performance in ‘Best in Show’, an award-winning comedy directed by Christopher Guest in 2000.

She starred in a number of films through the new millennium including ‘Scream 3’, ‘Josie and the Pussycats’, ‘Laws of Attraction’ and ‘Blade: Trinity’.

She was nominated for the ‘Independent Spirit Award’ for Best Actress in 2007 for her proven acting skills in Zoe Cassavetes' directorial debut ‘Broken English’.

In 2012, she made a celluloid appearance in the HBO film, ‘Hemingway & Gellhorn’, where she played the role of the third wife of Ernest Hemingway.

Though dubbed as the ‘Queen of the Indies’, Posey continues to star in roles in other mainstream movies and television shows such as ‘Highland Park,’ ‘Hair Brained,’ ‘And Now a Word From Our Sponsor,’ ‘Inside Amy Schumer,’ ‘Grace of Monaco,’ ‘Ned Rifle,’ ‘Granite Flats,’ ‘Irrational Man,’ ‘Café Society,’ ‘Mascots,’ and ‘Columbus.’

In 2018, she starred as ‘Gina’ in the heist comedy film ‘The Con Is On’ directed by James Oakley. The film was panned by critics and received a 0% approval score on Rotten Tomatoes. That same year, she joined the cast of the sci-fi television series ‘Lost in Space’ as ‘June Harris / Zoe Smith.’ The series ran for 3 seasons and aired its final episode in 2021.

She played the role of ‘Marie’ in the American comedy-drama film ‘Elsewhere’ written and directed by Hernán Jiménez. The film holds a 6 out of 10 rating on IMDb. She was next seen in the 2023 comedy horror film ‘Beau Is Afraid’ where she portrayed ‘Elaine Bray.’ The film received mostly positive reviews from critics.

She will be next seen in the upcoming American horror-comedy film ‘The Parenting’ directed by Craig Johnson. She will also appear in the upcoming spy comedy series ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith.’

Her performance as ‘Darla Marks’ in the 1993 movie ‘Dazed and Confused’, earned her widespread attention in Hollywood. The movie went on to collect $7,993,039 at the box office and made it to the ‘Funniest Movies of the Past 25 Years List’.

In 1996, she won the ‘Sundance Film Festival Award for Special Recognition’ for her role as ‘Jackie-O’ Pascal’ in ‘The House of Yes’.

In 1997, The Time Magazine honored her with the title, “Queen of the Indies” for her appearance in dozens of independent films.

She was presented the ‘Excellence in Acting Award’ at the Provincetown International Film Festival in 2012.

To date, Posey remains single but she has had relationships with celebrities like producer-director Bob Gosse, Zach Leary, actors Stuart Townsend, and the musician, Ryan Adams.