Born Nov. 18, 1960, in Queens, N.Y., Elizabeth Perkins is a graduate of Chicago's esteemed Goodman School of Drama. Returning to the Big Apple in the early '80s, she spent time with the ensemble touring company of Neil Simon's "Brighton Beach Memoirs."

Shifting gears in 1986, Perkins bowed on the silver screen as Demi Moore's razor-tongued best friend in About Last Night.... Two years later, Perkins landed her breakthrough role starring opposite Tom Hanks in the box-office hit Big, and she wowed critics with her fine portrayal of a terminal cancer patient in 1991's The Doctor. But her biggest success came with the live-action version of The Flintstones (1994).

Perkins tackled series television in 2000 with the short-lived "Battery Park" but had better luck in 2005 with the highly rated cable series "Weeds." For her supporting work on the show, she earned multiple Emmy and Golden Globe nods.