Connie Britton

Connie Britton (born Constance Elaine Womack; March 6, 1967) is an American actress.

After graduating in 1989, Britton (then Womack) moved to New York City, where she spent two years at the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre studying with Sanford Meisner.

While studying at the Neighborhood Playhouse, Britton (then Womack) made her New York theatrical debut in Caroline Kava's The Early Girl at The Courtyard Playhouse.

Britton played seasoned prostitute Laurel opposite Cooper Lawrence, who played Joan.

Britton's performance, while well received, nearly got her ousted from the Neighborhood Playhouse program, which prohibited students from taking professional employment during their course of study.

After graduating, Britton spent two more years working in off-Broadway theatre productions.

Britton made her feature film debut in the independent comedy-drama film The Brothers McMullen (1995), and the following year, she was cast as Nikki Faber on the ABC sitcom Spin City.

In 1995, Britton made her feature film debut in Edward Burns's comedy-drama The Brothers McMullen.

She moved to Los Angeles after the film's success.

After The Brothers McMullen, Britton was cast as Heather in a recurring role in the ABC sitcom Ellen, and starred as Cammie Barbash in the unsold Fox pilot Pins and Needles.

Britton was one of two finalists for the part of Dorothy Boyd opposite Tom Cruise in Cameron Crowe's romantic comedy-drama Jerry Maguire (1996), but lost the role to Renée Zellweger.

In 1996, she began co-starring as Nikki Faber in the ABC sitcom Spin City opposite Michael J. Fox.

Her character was written out of the show when Charlie Sheen replaced Fox.

She also appeared in the romantic comedy-drama No Looking Back (1998) and the mystery comedy-drama Looking for Kitty (2004), both directed by Edward Burns.

She later starred in the short-lived sitcoms The Fighting Fitzgeralds (2001) and Lost at Home (2003), and appeared in several films, most notably the sports drama film Friday Night Lights (2004) and the thriller film The Last Winter (2006).

In 2001, she co-starred opposite Chris Eigeman and Jamie Harris in the romantic comedy The Next Big Thing.

She later co-starred in the independent films The Life Coach, Special Ed, The Lather Effect and The Last Winter.

After leaving Spin City, Britton had a recurring role as Maggie Kimble Hume in the short-lived CBS crime drama The Fugitive.

In 2001, she played Gertrude Temple, Shirley Temple's bad mother in the ABC television film Child Star: The Shirley Temple Story, based on Temple's 1988 autobiography.

In the same year, she starred as Sophie Fitzgerald in the short-lived NBC sitcom The Fighting Fitzgeralds.

In 2001, Britton also had a recurring role in the NBC political drama The West Wing in the third season, appearing in the two-part premiere titled "Manchester" and the sixth episode titled "Gone Quiet" as Connie Tate, a member of Bruno Gianelli's team.

In 2002, she returned to ABC and starred as Rachel Davis in the short-lived sitcom Lost at Home.

She was first cast opposite Billy Bob Thornton in the film version of the series, Friday Night Lights (2004).

Britton starred as Tami Taylor on the NBC/DirecTV drama series Friday Night Lights from 2006 to 2011.

For this role, she received positive reviews from critics and was nominated for two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.

In 2006, she had a recurring role in the Fox espionage thriller 24 in the fifth season as Diane Huxley, a landlady and a brief girlfriend of Jack Bauer (Kiefer Sutherland).

Britton co-starred opposite Kyle Chandler in the NBC/DirecTV drama series Friday Night Lights as Tami Taylor, the wife of a head football coach Eric Taylor (Chandler), who becomes a high school guidance counselor.

The show ran for five seasons from October 3, 2006, to February 9, 2011.

During that time, Britton developed a devoted following for her performance – described by The New York Times as "something of an icon, a 40-something sex symbol and role model."

In 2011, she starred as Vivien Harmon in the first season of FX horror-drama series American Horror Story, for which she was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.

She reprised her role for the eighth season of the show, Apocalypse.

Britton starred as country singer Rayna Jaymes in the ABC/CMT musical drama series Nashville from 2012 to 2018, for which she was nominated for another Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama.

In feature films, Britton starred in the romantic comedy-drama Seeking a Friend for the End of the World (2012), the romantic comedy The To Do List (2013), the comedy-dramas This Is Where I Leave You (2014) and Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015), the action comedy American Ultra (2015), the period drama Professor Marston and the Wonder Women (2017), the comedy-drama The Land of Steady Habits (2018), the drama Bombshell (2019) and the thriller Promising Young Woman (2020).

Britton was born Constance Elaine Womack in Boston, Massachusetts, to Linda Jane (née Cochran) and Edgar Allen Womack, Jr., who was a physicist and an energy company executive.

She spent her early years in Rockville, Maryland.

When she was seven years old, she moved with her parents and her fraternal twin sister, Cynthia, to Lynchburg, Virginia, where she attended E. C. Glass High School and performed in plays in the E. C. Glass High School Theater; her photo is displayed in the E. C. Glass Alumni Theater.

She majored in Asian studies with a concentration in Chinese at Dartmouth College, and studied at the Beijing Normal University during her freshman summer with Kirsten Gillibrand, who was later elected to the United States Senate.

In 2016, Britton had a recurring role as socialite Faye Resnick in the first season of FX true crime anthology series American Crime Story.

In 2018, she starred as Abby Clark in the Fox procedural drama series 9-1-1 as a main role in the first season and a guest in the third season, and received a Golden Globe Award nomination for Best Actress – Miniseries or Television Film for her performance as Debra Newell in the Bravo true crime anthology series Dirty John.

In 2021, Britton starred in the HBO satire comedy-drama series The White Lotus alongside Jennifer Coolidge and Steve Zahn, for which she was nominated for an Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited or Anthology Series or Movie.