Jennifer Tella
From Usgovsim
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| House Representative | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| In Office: 3 January 2013 - Present | ||||
| Constituency | New York 11 | |||
| Preceded by | Major Owens | |||
| Succeeded by | incumbent | |||
| Born | 12 January 1968 Renton, Virginia | |||
| Political Party | Democratic Supported by Working Families | |||
| Spouse | none | |||
| Religion | Episcopalian | |||
Jenifer Tella (born January 12, 1968) is House Representative for the eleventh congressional district of New York, which contains parts of Brooklyn. She is also a four-time Academy Award-nominated actress, most noted for her roles as Glory in North Country and as President Mallory West in Water, both of which she received a nomination for.
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[edit] Childhood & Education
Jen was born in Renton, Virginia to Charles Tella, a milkman, and Ethel Boxer-Tella, a woman's rights activist. She was raised in Renton for her whole childhood. She assisted her mother in her various electoral campaigns, none of which met much success. But from these campaigns, she learned the value of democracy. Taking after her father, she is a great supporter of workers' unions.
Jen was accepted to the Juilliard School in 1986 for her passion in drama. A starlet at her old high school, she played the lead female role three out of the four years she attended. Her years at Juilliard set the stage for Jen to fall in love with New York City, where she decided to live after graduating in 1990 with a Bachelor in the Fine Arts.
[edit] Film Career
After graduating, Jen hopped from one acting job to another to scrounge up enough money for food and the rent. She was spotted by Woody Allen in 1992 during an audition for a Broadway play. She was casted in a supporting role in Bullets Over Broadway opposite big names like Dianne Wiest, John Cusack, and Jim Broadbent. Her next role came in 1995, when she played opposite Kevin Kline in In & Out. Her role in In & Out lead to her first Oscar nomination and shoved the spotlight onto her.
But, Jen had other things on her mind. She met lights man David Newham on the set of Bullets Over Broadway, and they married in 1993. She had her first child, Jamie, in 1995. She decided to quit acting for the time being to be a "loving mother" to her newborn son. She succeeded in avoiding the press and tabloids for seven years.
Jen splashed back into fame when she joined the cast of Joss Whedon's short-lived TV series Firefly in 2002. This lead to her earning a cult following in the Sci-Fi world for her feministic character. She won a 2003 Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress on Television. She also gained media attention for her supporting role in Adaptation in 2002, a role she won over Hollywood Queen Meryl Streep. She earned her second Oscar nomination in Adaptation.
Jen went political with her work in 2003, when she played opposite Kevin Spacey in The Life of David Gale, an anti-death penalty film. She was praised for her role, but after the poor reception of the film as a whole, she did not win any awards. She continued her political work in the film North Country in the role of Glory, next to Charlize Theron.
She went back with the cast and crew of Firefly to film Serenity in 2005, which boosted her farther in the sci-fi world. For her work in Firefly, she was selected as a supporting character in Persephone, an independent film release. The film was mediocre as a whole and has been considered Jen's worst acting performance ever.
After the failure of Persephone, Jen left sci-fi to return to political films. She was selected in the lead role in Water, a futuristic global-political film about the impending wars over clean water. Jen received glowing reviews for her role and received many awards, including her first Golden Globe win and her fourth Oscar nomination. She retired from Hollywood after Waterto take care of her dying mother.
[edit] Filmography & Awards
- Bullets Over Broadway (1993)
- In & Out (1995)
- Academy Award nominee for Best Performance by a Supporting Actress
- Firefly (TV) (2002)
- Adaptation (2002)
- Academy Award nominee for Best Performance by a Supporting Actress
- The Life of David Gale (2003)
- North Country (2004)
- Academy Award nominee for Best Performance by a Supporting Actress
- Serenity (2005)
- Persephone (2007)
- Water (2009)
- Academy Award nominee for Best Performance by a Lead Actress
- Golden Globe winner for Best Performance by a Lead Actress (Drama)
[edit] Political Career
In the House of Representatives, Jen introduced the EDUCATE Act and was selected to the House Judiciary Committee.
[edit] Elections Results
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Democratic | Jennifer Tella | 111,840 | 87.3% | |
| Republican | Ben Norman | 23,128 | 12.7% | |
| Total | 134,968 | |||
[edit] External Links
| Preceded by Major Owens | Representative for New York 11th 2012 - Present | Succeeded by incumbent |
