Tracee Chimo

Tracee Chimo is an American stage and film actress, who became an arts critic favorite[1] after her 2012 breakout role as Daphna, the antagonist in Joshua Harmon’s dark comedy Bad Jews. She is known for her versatility, as is evidenced by her ability to transform her physical appearance to suit the needs of her character. It has been suggested that her early training as a dancer contributed to Chimo's understanding of how physical changes affect how others perceive a character, as well as how they evidence the individual's inner life.[2]

Tracee Chimo
Tracee Chimo, 2011
Born	Saugus, Massachusetts, U.S.
Occupation	Actress, dancer

Early life

Chimo was born in Saugus, Massachusetts. Her father is of Albanian descent and her mother is of Irish and Italian ancestry (her father is an Albanian Orthodox Christian, and her mother is Catholic).[3][4][5] She splits her time between living in Los Angeles and New York City.

Career

Chimo's 2010 work in Bachelorette and Circle Mirror Transformation was praised by Erik Piepenburg of The New York Times, who lauded Chimo for transforming herself into two characters so distinct from one another, commenting, "If, at the same time, you could meet the shy, expressionless Lauren, mumbling into the wall of her red hoodie, and the glittering, claws-extended Regan, the meanest predator on the hunt, it would be hard to believe that they are the same person underneath. And maybe they aren’t — even if the actress Tracee Chimo channeled those characters to critical acclaim in two Off-Broadway plays this season."[6] Chimo's performance in Mirror was also singled out by Elisabeth Vincentelli of the New York Post, who called her "a master of the comic silent reaction."[7]

In 2012, Charles Isherwood of The New York Times, who also noted Chimo's performances in these two productions, called her work in the Broadway revival of Harvey "excellent". Echoing other critic's, Isherwood stated, "What's most startling about this actress is her versatility: she seems to be almost physically transformed from performance to performance, so deeply does she burrow into her characters’ identities. I didn’t recognize her at all, with her hair a frizzy nimbus of angry-looking dark curls and her face scrubbed free of makeup, in keeping with Daphna’s righteous self-seriousness."[1]

In 2016 TBS premiered the TV comedy series People of Earth, on which Chimo plays Chelsea Healey.[8]

Awards and nominations

2014 Lucille Lortel Win for "Outstanding Lead Actress in a Play" for Bad Jews[9]

2013 Outer Critics Circle Award nomination for "Outstanding Lead Actress - Bad Jews[10]

2013 Drama League Award nomination for "Distinguished Performance - Bad Jews[11]

2013 Rising Star Award - Winner from the Salem State University Alumni Association

2011 Stage Scene Award LA for "Best Performance by a Featured Actress in a Drama" for her work in Neil LaBute's The Break of Noon[12]

2011 Clarence Derwent Award on June 14 for "Most Promising Actress in New York City"[13]

2011 Lucille Lortel Nomination for "Outstanding Lead Actress" in Bachelorette[14]

2010 Drama Desk Award for "Outstanding Ensemble Performance" in Circle Mirror Transformation[15]

2010 Obie Award for Circle Mirror Transformation[16]

2010 Lucille Lortel Nomination for "Outstanding Featured Actress" in Circle Mirror Transformation[17]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role
2012	The Five-Year Engagement	Margaret
2013	He's Way More Famous Than You	Tracee
2013	Gods Behaving Badly	River Styx
2013	Concussion	Woman #2
2013	Side Effects	Receptionist
2013	Take Care	Rachel
2014	Cyber	Secretary
2016	Sully	Evelyn May

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2010	Guiding Light	Jamie Collick
2010	Louie	Dog Pound Volunteer	Episode: "Dogpound"
2011	Inside the Actor’s Studio Apartment	Actress
2012	First Dates with Toby Harris	Michelle	Episode: "Movies"
2012	I Just Want My Pants Back	Dylan
2013–2015	Orange Is the New Black	Neri Feldman	8 episodes
2013	The Good Wife	Chrissy Quinn	Episode: "Outside the Bubble"
2014	The Money	Jane Mulvaney[18][19]	Pilot
2013	Black Box	Mackenzie Teller	5 episodes
2014	Royal Pains	Lauren	Episode: "Oh, M.G."
2015	High Maintenance	Orly	Episode: "Esme"
2015–2017	Difficult People	Gaby	6 episodes
2016–2017	People of Earth	Chelsea Healey	10 episodes
2018-Present	Madam Secretary (TV series)	Nina Cummings
2018	Genius	Gertrude Stein

Theatre

Title	Role	Notes
Circle Mirror Transformation	Lauren	Sundance Theatre Lab[20] Playwrights Horizons[21]
Origin Story	Zoe	Sundance Theatre Lab
Vamp	Angela	Emerging Artists Theatre
Bushwhackin’	Amber	Waves Primary Stages
Guilty	Lindsey	Acorn Theatre @ Theatre Row
365 Days 365 Plays	Week 37	The Public Theater
Hollywood Nurses	Nurse Suzanne	ARS Nova
Vendetta Chrome	Tallulah	Clubbedthumb The Ohio Theatre
Irena’s Vow	Fanka Silberman	BPAC The Walter Kerr Theatre [22] Rose Nagelberg Theatre
Bachelorette	Regan	Second Stage Theatre[23]
Break of Noon	Host/GiGi	Lucille Lortel Theater[23] MCC Theater[23] Geffen Playhouse[23]
Harvey	Myrtle Mae	Roundabout Theatre[23] Studio 54[23]
Bad Jews	Daphna	Roundabout Theatre[23] Laura Pels Theatre[24]

References

1. Isherwood, Charles (30 October 2012). "Tiny Space, Big Enough for Emotions". The New York Times. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
2. New York Times [New York City] 14 August 2010, pag. C1 An Actress Wielding a Dancer’s Intuition.
3. "Bad Jews Kvetching Over Good Soup Off-Broadway".
4. Company, Roundabout Theatre. "Interview with Tracee Chimo".
5. "Orange Is the New Black's Tracee Chimo Stars In Off-Broadway Revival Bad Jews". 10 October 2013.
6. Piepenburg, Erik (14 August 2010). "An Actress Wielding a Dancer’s Intuition". The New York Times, p. C1.
7. Vincentelli, Elisaeth (October 14, 2009). "‘Mirror’ reflects well on cast". New York Post
8. D'Alessandro, Anthony (July 30, 2015). "Wyatt Cenac, Alice Wetterlund, Luka Jones, Brian Huskey & More Join TBS' 'The Group'". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
9. "Awards and Info Page for Bad Jews". Lortel Archives. Retrieved 17 May 2014.
10. "Outer Critics Circle Awards Nominations Announced". TheaterMania. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
11. Miller, Gregory. "2013 Drama League Awards nominations announced". NY Post. Retrieved 29 May 2013.
12. "StageSceneLA Announces Best Of 2010-2011 Awards! aka "The Scenies"". StageSceneLA. Steven Stanley. Retrieved 14 September 2011.
13. "The Clarence Derwent Award". Actor's Equity Association Website. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
14. "NOMINATIONS FOR THE 2011 LUCILLE LORTEL AWARDS". OffBroadway.com. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
15. Mandell, Johnathan. "2010 Drama Desk Award Nominations". 2010 Drama Desk Award Winners. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
16. "Off-Broadway's Highest Honor". The Village Voice. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
17. Healy, Patrick. "Lucille Lortel Nominees Announced". New York Times. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
18. Goldberg, Lesley. "Ray Liotta, Mamie Gummer Among David Milch 'Money' Cast Additions". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
19. "Billy Magnussen Joins HBO's 'The Money'; Rosemary Harris, Mamie Gummer, Ray Liotta To Recur". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 14 October 2013.
20. Baker, Annie. "The Actor Crushes of Circle Mirror Transformation Scribe Annie Baker". Broadway.com. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
21. Jones, Kenneth. "Baker's Comedy About Theatre Games, Circle Mirror Transformation, Opens in NYC". Playbill.com. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
22. Rooney, David. "Irena's Vow". Variety.com. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
23. "Tracee Chimo's About The Artists Page". About The Artists. Retrieved 12 February 2013.
24. Lipton, Brian Scott. "Tracee Chimo Is Even Better When She's Bad". New York Theatre Magazine. Retrieved 14 October 2013.

External links

• Tracee Chimo at the Internet Broadway Database
• Tracee Chimo at the Internet Off-Broadway Database
• Tracee Chimo on IMDb