Elizabeth Perkins, born on November 18, 1960, in Queens, New York, is an accomplished American actress known for her versatile roles in both film and television. Raised in Vermont by her mother, a concert pianist and drug treatment counselor, and her father, a businessman and writer, her early life was marked by her parents' divorce.

She is of Greek and English descent. Perkins attended Northfield Mount Hermon School and later pursued her passion for acting at the Goodman School of Drama at DePaul University in Chicago, where she earned her Certificate in Acting.

Elizabeth Perkins made her Broadway debut in 1984 with Neil Simon's "Brighton Beach Memoirs" and quickly gained recognition as one of the "Promising New Actors of 1986". Her film debut came the same year in Edward Zwick's "About Last Night," but it was her role alongside Tom Hanks in "Big" (1988) that marked a significant breakthrough in her career.

She continued to impress critics with her performances in films such as "Avalon" (1990) and "The Doctor" (1991), where she played a terminal cancer patient.

In addition to her film work, Elizabeth Perkins is perhaps best known for her role as Celia Hodes on the Showtime series "Weeds," for which she received three Primetime Emmy nominations and two Golden Globe nominations. Her television career also includes appearances in "Battery Park," "Miracle on 34th Street," and "Finding Nemo," where she voiced Coral, a clownfish.

Her personal life includes two marriages: first to actor Terry Kinney from 1984 to 1988, and later to cinematographer Julio Macat in 2000. She has one daughter, Hannah Jo Phillips, and three stepsons.