Childhood

Calista Flockhart was born on November 11, 1964 in FreePort Illinois to Kay (school teacher) and Ronald (worker for Kraft Foods, Inc.).Calista was raised, along with brother Gary, in Iowa, Minnesota and New York State, before finally settling down in Medford, New Jersey.

The name "Kallista" means "most beautiful" in Greek.

While a student at Shawnee High School, Calista showed her school spirit by being an executive on the student council and a member of the cheerleading squad.

After finishing high school, Calista joined Rutgers University to study acting. After graduating with a BFA in theatre in 1988, she headed for New York City.

The twenty-three year old actress put her school and community theater experience to use to become a full-time actress.

Calista Flockhart has established herself as a talented actress in New York, Chicago, and elsewhere with an impressive stage and theater repertoire.

Career

Calista landed her first Broadway role playing Laura in Tennessee Williams ‘The Glass Menagerie’.

The role won her critical acclaim and eventually an award with the Theater World and Clarence Darwent Awards.

Her performance opened the doors for  big screen. Roles in "Quiz Show," "The Birdcage," and "Drunks," followed. But her love for Broadway brought her back to the Big Apple.

Calista also worked in an all-star production of Chekhov's "The Three Sisters" playing Natasha.

David E. Kelley heard about Calista, who was becoming known as a reputable Broadway actress and wanted to get the actress to Los Angeles for a reading of the pilot project ‘Ally McBeal’.

Calista wasn’t too keen on doing Television roles but a friend managed to convince her to take up the assignment and she finally went to the audition.

She was offered the role after the first meeting, and audiences immediately took to the quirky show, which was receiving sky-high ratings and critical praise.

Thanks to humor and insight, "Ally McBeal" offered a romantic love triangle, a rich fantasy life, and a contemporary look at the real-life office situations.

The role got Calista the 1998 Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a TV series, and the Q Award in the same category. She has also been nominated for an Emmy in 1998, and Golden Globe and People Choice Award in 1999, to name a few.

The series continued and Calista was offered many big screen roles.

13 December 2000 - Calista collapsed on the set of her TV show, _"Ally McBeal". It was announced she suffered from dehydration and exhaustion and had nothing to with her thinness.

Her significant weight loss over the first few months of the show caused much media speculation that she might have suffered from anorexia nervosa.