Vera Ann Farmiga (/fɑːrˈmiːɡə/; born August 6, 1973) is an American actress, director, and producer. She began her career on stage in the original Broadway production of Taking Sides (1996). She made her television debut in the Fox fantasy series Roar (1997), and her film debut in the drama-thriller Return to Paradise (1998).
Farmiga's breakthrough came in 2004 with her starring role as a drug addict in the drama Down to the Bone. She received further praise for the drama film Nothing But the Truth (2008), and won critical acclaim for starring in the 2009 comedy-drama Up in the Air, for which she was nominated for the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress. Farmiga made her directorial debut in 2011 with the acclaimed drama film Higher Ground, in which she also had a leading role. She also had starring roles in the political thriller The Manchurian Candidate (2004), the crime drama The Departed (2006), the historical drama The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas (2008), the science fiction thriller Source Code (2011), the action thriller Safe House (2012), the legal drama The Judge (2014), the biographical drama The Front Runner (2018), and the monster film Godzilla: King of the Monsters (2019).