Attractive and pixieish, Miller made her Broadway debut as Daisy in Neil Simon's "Biloxi Blues", a role she reprised in Mike Nichols' 1988 film adaptation. She followed up with leading lady duties in "Big Top Pee-Wee" (1988), "The Freshman" and "Kindergarten Cop" (both 1990) before playing a determined lawyer in "Other People's Money" (1991), the title character in the jokey "The Gun in Betty Lou's Handbag" and silent film star Edna Purviance in the biopic, "Chaplin" (both 1992). Miller received critical acclaim for her portrayal of Al Pacino's girlfriend in "Carlito's Way" (1993) and also played the femme lead opposite Alec Baldwin in "The Shadow" (1994).This daughter of actor-writer Mark Miller and journalist Bea Miller moved to NYC at age 18 to pursue acting. After brief appearances in TV commercials and daytime soap, Miller landed her breakthrough stage role. She was cast as an intellectual teenager in the short-lived 1987 CBS sitcom "The Popcorn Kid". That same year, a nearly unrecognizable Miller played the geeky runaway friend of Elisabeth Shue in the teen comedy "Adventures in Babysitting". After playing Kevin Anderson's girlfriend in the earnest "Miles From Home" (1988), she earned acclaim for her moving rendition of Emily Webb in the Broadway revival of Thornton Wilder's "Our Town" (1989). On the big screen, Miller has been paired with a number of strong leading men including Marlon Brando and Matthew Broderick in "The Freshman", Arnold Schwarzenegger in "Kindergarten Cop" and Danny De Vito in "Other People's Money". More recently, she headlined the surprise hit thriller "The Relic" (1997) and co-starred opposite Jon Bon Jovi in "Little City" (scheduled for a 1998 release). Miller has also ventured more into TV, co-starring as Joe Mantegna's showgirl wife in the CBS miniseries "Mario Puzo's 'The Last Don'" (CBS, 1997) and playing a rural doctor who employs an escort to keep well-meaning friends from matchmaking in the Lifetime movie "The Hired Heart" (1997). She returned to series TV as a co-star of Tom Selleck's sitcom "The Closer" (CBS, 1998) but left after only five appearances, claiming she was unhappy with the direction of her role.
Profession(s):
Actor, waitress
Sometimes Credited As:
Penelope Andrea Miller
Penelope Miller
Family
daughter:Eloisa May Huggins (born on December 10, 2000)
father:Mark Miller (appeared as the father in the 1960s sitcom "Please Don't Eat the Daisies"; divorced from Miller's mother c. 1974)
husband:James Patrick Huggins (born in March 1963; married in 2000; son of actress Adele Mara and producer Roy Huggins)
husband:Will Arnett (married in December 1994; filed for divorce in February 1995)
mother:Bea Ammidown (former editor for Harper's Bazaar born c. 1938; goddaughter of Aristotle Onassis; divorced from Miller's father c. 1974)
sister:Marisa Miller (older)
sister:Savannah Miller (younger)
Companion(s)
Al Pacino
, Companion
, ```..were romantically involved during and after filming of "Carlito's Way" (1993)
Matthew Broderick
, Companion
, ```..dated when they both appeared in "Biloxi Blues" on stage
Woody Harrelson
, Companion
, ```..dated c. 1985
2007 Co-starred in "Funny Money" a film adaptation of the 1994 play written by Ray Cooney
2006 Cast in the Fox drama "Vanished" as the senator's ex-wife
2002 Acted in the TNT movie "Dead in a Heartbeat"
2001 Co-starred opposite Angus Macfadyen in "A Woman's a Helluva Thing" (filmed 1999); screened at Seattle Film Festival
1999 Portrayed Mary Kay LeTourneau, a teacher who had an affair and two children with one of her students, in the TV-movie "The Mary Kay Letourneau Story: All-American Girl" (USA Network)
1998 Co-starred in the CBS sitcom "The Closer"; left series after five episodes
1997 Starred in the box-office hit "The Relic"
1997 Had featured role in the CBS miniseries "Mario Puzo's 'The Last Don'"
1993 Breakthrough screen role in "Carlito's Way"
1989 Played Emily Webb in a Broadway revival of Thornton Wilder's landmark play, "Our Town"; received a Tony nomination as Best Featured Actress in a Play; a taped presentation aired on PBS as part of the
1988 Reprised stage role in Mike NIchols' film version of "Biloxi Blues"
1987 Feature acting debut in "Adventures in Babysitting"
1987 Made primetime TV debut on "Facts of Life"
1987 TV series debut as Gwen Stottlemeyer on the short-lived CBS sitcom, "The Popcorn Kid"
1985 Broadway debut in "Biloxi Blues"
1984 Appeared in a deodorant ad and three episodes of the CBS daytime drama, "Guiding Light" and episodes of the CBS soap "As the World Turns"
1982 Moved to New York City at the age of 18; worked as a waitress at Tavern on the Green in Central Park; fired when she argued with a manager who caught her peeking at a private party
Grew up in Paris and Los Angeles after her parents divorced