Name:

"Calista" is a Greek name and means "most beautiful", she was named after her great-grandmother.

Biography :

Before the breakout sucess of the Fox tv series Ally McBeal, Calista Flockhart was acting on stage in semi-obscurity for more than a decade. It wasn´t easy for this girl to arrive where she is now, on top of televison and increasing her succes on movies, too.

Calista was born in Illinois (daughter of a Kraft Food executive father and a schoolteacher mother), she grew up in backwoods burgs in Iowa, Minnesota and New York state. Her family eventually settled in New Jersey and she went to Rutgers University there. Calista studied acting under a drama coach (William Esper) , and after her graduation in 1987 she moved to New York.

During seven years she appeared in the Williamstown Theatre Festival, off-off Broadway productions, off Broadway, daytime drama, and various tv series,. She also taught aerobics in the lean times.

Her first big break was her Broadway debut as Laura in The glass Menagerie .

Soon after, she got her screen debut in Robert Redford film "Quiz Show". And after that she was in Mike Nichols "The Birdcage".

When she was becoming more succesful on Broadway, she heard about Ally McBeal, a tv show that David E.Kelley was developing for Fox, and all her friends wanted her to audition. At the same time, David E.Kelley heard about a talented Broadway actress whose personality seemed perfect for the character, even though Calista wasn´t sure about doing televison, she was offered the title role after the first meeting with Kelley.

Awards

The awards she has won for her Ally McBeal role are the following:

1998-Golden Globe - Best Performace by an actress in a TV series-Comedy/Musical

1998-Q Award- Best Actress in a Quality Comedy Series.

1999- People´s Choice Award - Best tv series actress.

nominations:

And she has been nominated to:

1999-Golden Globe- Best performance by an actress in a TV series- Comedy/musical

1998-Emmy_ Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy series

1998- People´s choice award- favourite female performer in a new tv series.

1998- SAG award- Outstanding Performance by a female actor in a comedy series.

Tv Appearances :

Her tv appearenes have been as:

1997- Ally McBeal....Ally

1991- Darrow....Lilliam Anderson

Quick Stats

Name: Calista Flockhart

Date of birth: 11-11-65 (Veteran´s day)

Place of birth: Freeport, Illinois.

Family: Kay Flockhart (mum), Ronald Flockhart (dad) and Gary Flockhart (older brother)

School(s) where she went to:

Shawnee High-School

Rutgers University (both of them in N.J)

Pets: Webster (Terrier-Mutt dog)

She admires: Julie Harries, Dianne Weist, Judy David, Betty Davis, and Lucielle Ball.

Favourite shows: I love Lucy and Little House on the praire (she wanted to be Nelly Olson)