Sep 27, 2016 11:38 AM EDT By Jane Reed, UniversityHerald Reporter

Born in 1967, this veteran actress is known for the cult favorite movie "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion." She may not look like it in the movie, but actually she is a Harvard graduate.

And her resume boasts of her earning a degree in East Asian Studies. This Oscar-winning actress graduated from Harvard in 1989, according to KR CR Tv.

Born in New York City, she already started performing in her own home. In fact, she wrote and acted in backyard plays written by her friend Hope Davis. And she even starred in theater productions at the Dwight-Englewood School. Later on, she enrolled and was accepted into Harvard University. But she was a multi-cultural type of gal. She entered as an exchange student with the CIEE in Beijing, China. And guess what? She is fluent in Mandarin Chinese!

She completed her East Asian Studies degree from Harvard and went on stage as the magna cum laude of her class. But she took care of her performing bone by founding the Harvard-Radcliffe Veritones - a co-ed a cappalla group.

After college, she started small by going into production. She was hired as a third assistant director in the movie "Amongst Friends." She was then promoted to a casting director, then to assistant producer. Eventually, she was offered a lead role. And that is when her acting career started. Looks like all those backyard productions were handy.

Now, she holds an Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actress in Woody Allen's "Mighty Aphrodite." She also appeared in "Mimic," "The Replacement Killers," and received a Golden Globe nomination for her role in "Human Trafficking." But although she appeared in several movies, she also made a guest appearance in television shows. Like the medical television drama, "House," where she appeared as psychiatrist Cate Milton. Eventually, she became a recurring character.

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