Connie Britton

Britton made her feature film debut in the independent comedy-drama film The Brothers McMullen (1995), and the following year, she was cast as Nikki Faber on the ABC sitcom Spin City (1996–2000). She later starred in the short-lived sitcoms The Fighting Fitzgeralds (2001) and Lost at Home (2003), and appeared in several films, most notably the sports drama film Friday Night Lights (2004) and the thriller film The Last Winter (2006).

Britton received positive reviews from critics for her performance as Tami Taylor on the NBC/DirecTV drama series Friday Night Lights (2006–2011). For this role she was nominated for two Emmy Awards for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. In 2011, she starred as Vivien Harmon in the first season of FX horror-drama series American Horror Story, for which she was nominated for the Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie.

Britton plays the leading role of country singer Rayna Jaymes in the ABC musical drama series Nashville (2012–present), for which she was nominated for a Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series and a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama in 2012. In 2014, Britton was named UNDP Goodwill Ambassador. Britton next starred in the comedy-drama film This Is Where I Leave You (2014), the drama film Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015) and the action comedy American Ultra (2015).

Britton uses her married name as her stage name. She met investment banker John Britton at Alpha Delta House at Dartmouth College. They moved to Manhattan together in 1989, married in 1991 and divorced in 1995.

In 1993, Britton joined the New York Junior League and was a member of the 1993 provisional class of volunteers where she listed her occupation as "Actress".

In November 2011, Britton adopted a son, Eyob "Yoby" Britton, from Ethiopia.

Britton studied Chinese in college. In a 2012 interview on NPR she said of the experience: "I always wanted to be an actor. But when I went to college, I had to fulfill a language requirement and so I thought it would be really cool to do it speaking Chinese. My Chinese these days is real, real shaky. Let's put it this way: These days, my singing is better than my Chinese."

Britton moved to Nashville, Tennessee in 2012 when she signed to star in the ABC musical drama Nashville.

On April 2, 2014, Britton became the 10th Goodwill Ambassador of the United Nations Development Programme, the anti-poverty agency of the UN. She joins celebrities such as Antonio Banderas, Maria Sharapova, Zinedine Zidane and Ronaldo in this role. She will focus her advocacy efforts on eradicating extreme poverty, fighting exclusion and empowering women.