Anna Chlumsky shot to stardom at age 11, portraying the beloved Vada Sultenfuss in the movies “My Girl” and “My Girl 2,” released in 1991 and 1994, respectively. Upon seeing her best friend in his coffin after his untimely death in the film, she shattered hearts everywhere with the line, “He can’t see without his glasses!”
Vada returned in “My Girl 2” as a more mature teenager who was delving deeper into her passion for writing and experiencing the growing pains of adolescence. Chlumsky’s performances in the films earned her fame, critical acclaim, and a Young Artists Award for Best Performance by a Young Actress Starring in a Motion Picture for “My Girl 2.”
Then, without fanfare, Chlumsky disappeared for nearly a decade.
"You live on a risk-reward system and I wasn't getting much reward. And I knew I always wanted to go to school and get my education, so I did that. And I'm glad that I did,” she told People magazine in February of this year.
Chlumsky attended the University of Chicago, graduating with a Bachelor of Arts in International Studies in 2002. She initially aspired to be a food writer, but she could only find a job as a fact-checker for Zagat restaurant guides. She left for a position as an Editorial Assistant for a HarperCollins science fiction-fantasy imprint, but still remained unsatisfied working in the publishing industry. She ultimately decided to return to acting and attended the Atlantic Acting School in Manhattan to hone her craft.
Chlumsky came back in small roles on television, including “Law & Order,” “30 Rock,” and the short-lived ABC dramedy “Cupid.” In 2012, she experienced a second breakout with her role as Amy Brookheimer, an aide to Julia Louis-Dreyfus’ character, on HBO’s “Veep.” She remained in the role until 2019 and received six nominations for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series.
Most recently, Chlumsky took on the main role of ambitious investigative journalist Vivian Kent, who is intent on exposing Anna Delvey, a fake German heiress that conned wealthy socialites out of millions of dollars, in the Netflix series “Inventing Anna.”