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Early life
Graham was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, the daughter of Joan, a teacher
and noted author of children's books, and James Graham, a retired FBI
agent. Graham has a younger sister, Aimee, who is also an actress and
writer. The family, who are of Irish descent, followed a strict
traditional Catholic upbringing; Graham has since estranged herself from
the Catholic Church Graham has practiced Hinduism and associated
transcendental meditation since 1991. Graham graduated from the Agoura
High School in California in 1988. In 1986, Heather appeared on a
special "Teen Week" episode of the NBC-TV game show Scrabble.
After high school, Graham enrolled in extension classes of the
University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), and she also met the
actor James Woods. They became romantically involved at about the time
she was cast in the movie Diggstown, which starred Woods. Two years
later, Graham stopped taking classes at UCLA to pursue acting full time,
over her parents' objections. She then moved to Hollywood, where she
worked different jobs while continuing to establish herself as an
actress.
Initially, Graham's parents were supportive of her budding acting
career. However, her parents were concerned that she should not appear
in any movie featuring sex or nudity. She appeared fully nude in several
scenes in her breakout role in Boogie Nights and is currently estranged
from her parents, who are still devout Catholics.
Film and television career
As a supporting actress, Graham was cast in a number of parts that
brought her attention, including Nadine in 1989's Drugstore Cowboy. In
1991, she appeared in the TV series Twin Peaks as Annie Blackburn, Dale
Cooper's second-season love interest. However, her breakthrough role was
that of 1970s porn starlet Roller Girl in 1997's Boogie Nights, for
which she received several award nominations. Her first starring role
was in 1999 as Felicity Shagwell in Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged
Me. She also appeared in the music video for Lenny Kravitz's cover of
"American Woman" by The Guess Who. More recently, she starred as Mary
Kelly in the 2001 film From Hell, based on the story of Jack the Ripper.
Although Graham has been featured in mainstream films, she has also been
cast in a number of independent films. Some of those films, like 2002's
The Guru, have brought her critical praise. She also starred opposite
Joseph Fiennes in the less successful Killing Me Softly. In 2001, Graham
was named by People as one of the "50 Most Beautiful People in the
World".
Graham also played herself on one episode of the TV series Sex and the
City. She was given special guest-star status on several episodes of
NBC-TV's Scrubs during its fourth season (2004–2005), and also appeared
in a small role as a teacher in an episode of Fox's Arrested
Development. In 2005, Graham became the spokeswoman and TV model for the
Garnier brand of hair care products. Graham's print ad for Skyy vodka,
which was photographed in 2003 (titled "#3, Entourage") is still
appearing in national magazines today as well.
Graham's most recent project was starring in the ABC-TV comedy series
Emily's Reasons Why Not, in 2006. However, ABC-TV announced that the
show was canceled after its first airing on January 9, 2006. Because
they print their covers weeks in advance, and they did not expect the
quick cancellation, Life did a cover story on Graham two weeks later in
their January 27, 2006 issue, and they referred to her as "TV’s sexiest
star". Billboard ads also remained in place promoting the show weeks
after the cancellation.
Graham voiced the character of Antonia Bayle in the online role playing
game EverQuest 2. |
