Alicia Witt life and biography

Alicia Roanne Witt is an American film, stage, television actress and singer.

Witt was a quick learner. By the age of two she was reading Shakespeare. By the time she was four, she was performing some of Shakespeare's works on TV shows such as ABC's That's Incredible, and NBC's Today. Witt's parents, who recognized her superior intelligence, decided to have her schooled at home. At the age of seven, she began to play piano, quickly learning to play the works of Beethoven and Bartok. Her first big screen appearance came with the 1984 sci-fi epic, Dune. By the time she was 14 Alicia got her GED and headed to L.A. with her mother, Diane (Who currently has the world's longest hair.) While in L.A., Alicia got several movie gigs including Mr. Holland's Opus, Four Rooms, and Fun. She also got a spot on the weekly sitcom Cybill CBS network. Witt is currently living alone in an apartment in L.A., with her mother living nearby. Alicia is 5'5.5" tall, and she has a cat named Jessie. She enjoys wig collecting, listens to big band music, and she continues to play classical music on the piano.

Recently seen as Cybill Shepherd's quirky daughter on the CBS sitcom Cybill, Alicia sheds her good girl image as porn star Cherish Oh Lordy in the soon-to-be-released Cecil B. Demented v Alicia Roanne Witt was born in Worcester, Massachusetts on August 21, 1975, to parents Robert and Diane. Interestingly enough, Diane is featured in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the longest hair to date. Diane Witt was not the only one receiving attention for a certain achievement; daughter Alicia had learned to read by the time she was 6 months old and at age 4 she appeared on ABC's That's Incredible and NBC's Today, reciting Shakespeare. At 2 years old, Alicia had written a letter to Good Housekeeping and was featured in the magazine as being their youngest reader. At 7 years old, Witt knew how to play classical piano and won several piano competitions in the years that followed.

Alicia's intelligence was something that was hard to ignore, so her parents decided to home school her and her brother Ian. By age 14, Alicia had received her high school diploma. After becoming a high school graduate, the child prodigy headed to Los Angeles with her mother to develop her acting repertoire. With Alicia's artistic talents, it was no wonder that she had already started her acting career at the age of 9. She appeared in the 1984 sci-fi film Dune. Once in the City of Angels, Alicia used her piano skills playing piano at the Regent Beverly Wilshire Hotel, in order to earn her living. After having previously worked with director David Lynch in Dune, Alicia appeared several times on the television series Twin Peaks. In less than a year and after a few auditions, Alicia was cast in the 1993 film Bodies, Rest & Motion and in the HBO trilogy Hotel Room, also by David Lynch.

In 1994, Alicia was awarded with the Special Jury Award for her role as Bonnie in the film Fun. Alicia received what could be considered her big break, in 1995. She was cast as Zoey on the CBS sitcom Cybill. Many more film roles were coming her way. Alicia was cast as the hopeless clarinet player in Mr. Holland's Opus (she actually had to learn how to play the instrument badly); she also appeared in one of the segments of the Tarantino film Four Rooms, where she portrayed Madonna's lover. She also had a role in Citizen Ruth, starring Burt Reynolds and Kelly Preston, as well as roles in The Reef, the animated film Gen 13 (for which she provided her voice), and Bongwater. Alicia finally scored a starring role in the teen slasher Urban Legends, co-starring Rebecca Gayheart.

Putting her intellect to good use, Alicia used her wit to win on Celebrity Jeopardy. When not acting and playing the piano, Alicia listens to big band music and is an avid wig collector. No longer typecast as the child prodigy (which was never really a stretch for the beautiful redhead), Alicia will soon be seen in Cecil B. Demented, as Stephen Dorff's porn-star girlfriend Cherish Oh Lordy, and Playing Mona Lisa, as a pianist who turns into a party girl.

Films:
1984 Dune (as Alia)
1993 Bodies, Rest & Motion
1994 Fun
1995 Four Rooms ; Mr. Holland's Opus
1996 Citizen Ruth
1997 Bongwater
1998 Urban Legend
1999 Gen
2000 Playing Mona Lisa ; Cecil B. Demented ; The Sopranos
2001 Vanilla Sky (as Libby)
2002 Two Weeks Notice ; American Girl
2004 Dark Kingdom: The Dragon King
2005 The Upside of Anger
2006 Last Holiday
2008 88 Minutes
2010 Backyard Wedding
2011 Bending the Rules

Television:

* Twilight Zone as Liz
* The Sopranos "D-Girl" as Amy Safir
* Ally McBeal as Hope
* Cybill as Zoe
* Law & Order: Criminal Intent as Det. Nola Falacci
* Twin Peaks as Gersten Hayward
* The Mentalist as Rosalind Harker
* Blue Smoke (2007) as Catarina Hale
* Two and a Half Men (2008) as Miss Pasternak
* Friday Night Lights (2009) as Cheryl

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