Born in South Carolina, Parker graduated from the North Carolina School of the Arts, where she studied acting.  She took up a stage career in New York, and in 1990 earned a Theatre World Award and a Tony nomination for her work in "Prelude To A Kiss".  Her formidable body of work (on the large and small screens) has consistently been well-received by critics.  Some of her career highlights are "Longtime Companion" (1990); "Grand Canyon" and "Fried Green Tomatoes" (1991); "Bullets Over Broadway" (1994); "The Portrait of a Lady" (1996); "Red Dragon" (2002); and 2003's epic "Angels in America", for which she won a Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe.