Great Britton

Starring in the hit TV sevices Friday night Lights, Conne Britton '89 is living large with an acclaimed acting career.

ure, there's a chance she'll be cast in an Ang Lee movie one day, or perhaps it'll come in handy for a future celebrity edition of The Amazing Race, but at this point, learning Mandarin at Dartmouth hasn't really been of much use to actress Connie Britton (née Womack) '89. At least not in the traditional sense. The only apparent perk to speaking the language? Being asked about it by the likes of Conan O'Brien or David Letterman. "Unfortunately, Chinese has just become an interesting subject to discuss on talk shows now," she says. "And I haven't even kept up with it, so the amount I've retained at this point is tragic."

No matter. These days the Asian Studies major relies more on her Southern charms than her knowledge of Eastern languages to pay the bills. Starring in the NBC high school football drama Friday Night Lights, which is set in Texas, Britton, 40, has scored a role that's making audiences and critics swoon. (She was also in the 2004 film version opposite Billy Bob Thornton.) "Her romanticcomic timing [is] a wonder to behold," declared the writers at Entertainment Weekly. Her bosses are impressed, too. "She brings a humanity and a realism to her work more than I've seen before on TV," says producer Jeffrey Reiner. "She has a beautiful way of making her feelings transparent and she embodies each scene, even if she's just doing something mundane, like folding laundry. I'm blown away by her." Britton is pretty blown away herself, calling Friday Night Lights a "dream" to work on. "I'm so spoiled right now, I don't know if I'll be able to do another TV show again," she says. "This one's going to be hard to beat."

Aside from loving the freedom she's given as an actor on the series (unlike most comedies and dramas, the show is shot with handheld cameras, so the actors are able to move wherever they'd like in a scene; rehearsals are also done away with), Britton is digging life in Austin, where the show is filmed. When she's not on the set she and her castmates can often be found at a local watering hole taking in the music scene. "It's all about great bands and Tex-Mex," she says.

On weekends she heads to either her New York or Los Angeles home, depending on her mood. "L.A. is a beautiful place to live. There it's all about hiking and yoga. There's a wonderful quality of life and I have great friends," she says. "But New York is New York. You can't beat it." It was there that the actress got her start in showbiz after college. Performing in off-off-Broadway plays, she helped support herself by performing in $50-a-night Murder Mystery Theater productions and teaching aerobics. "I got this pseudo-certification from the phys-ed department at Dartmouth," says Britton, who kept in shape on campus by teaching fitness classes between her studies. "And some of the best gyms in Manhattan hired me with it. People would be surprised at how many doors Dartmouth opens, even in the aerobics world."

Britton got to hang up her leotard in 1995 after the surprise success of her first film, the Ed Burns-directed indie favorite, TheBrothersMcMullen. She had no idea it would be a hit. Shooting on weekends and even forgoing a paycheck (she later ended up making $4,000 for her hard work), Britton was "mortified" when she heard that Burns, then a production assistant at EntertainmentTonight, had handed a copy of his film to Sundance Film Festival founder Robert Redford. "I couldn't believe he was going to watch me act!" she says. A lot more people were about to do the same. The movie won the Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival. "It was insane," says Britton of the attention that followed. "I was trying for so long just to get any agent, and suddenly I had really established agents and directors calling. It was a very exciting time."

Raised in Lynchburg, Virginia, by physicist Allen Womack and stay-at-home mom Linda, who died in 2005 of breast cancer, Britton and her fraternal twin Cynthia (a Duke grad and defense contractor at the Department of Energy) were always encouraged to "do whatever we wanted—that was always ingrained in us," she says. Yes, even acting. "One of my moms proudest moments was watching me play Dolly in a high school production of Hello, Dolly!" she adds. Accepted to Dartmouth early decision, Britton knew she wanted to keep acting but chose not to major in drama. "There were so many cool courses at Dartmouth and I wanted to take advantage of that," she says. Choosing Chinese to fulfill her language requirement and then spending a foreign study term abroad in Beijing, she thought, "Well, I've completed half of the Asian studies major already, so why not go all the way?" she says. "And I'm glad I did. I think the best actors are people who have a wide-open view of the world. You have a lot more to pull from."

Britton did act in some campus plays and recalls George Bernard Shaw's Arms and the Man and Larry Shue's The Foreigner as two highlights. After graduation she studied formally in New York under renowned acting coach Sanford Meisner. Then, once TheBrothers McMullen put her on the map, she moved to Los Angeles to seek work. A year later she headed back East to play the role of Nikki Faber, assistant to Michael J. Fox's character on the hit sitcom Spin City. "I learned so much on that show from Michael," she says. "He's the master of that genre." Britton has also shot roles on TheWest Wing and 24.

Although she happily discusses all things Hollywood, Britton, who divorced college sweetheart John Britton '89 in 1995, buttons up when it comes to her personal life. "Next question!" says the actress, when asked if she's dating anyone at the moment. She will admit to being head over heels with one special companion, though: her pitbull-lab mix Lucy, whom she rescued after the dog had been abandoned in the hills of L.A. Britton even takes the pup to Austin with her. "She's my little sweetie pie," she says. "She comes to the set with me every day."

Another passion at the moment is a documentary she's in the process of editing about an Ethiopian orphan she met on a trip to Africa a few years ago. "I just became drawn to these children," she says. The actress has also become an active volunteer for the ONE Campaign, helping raise awareness and funds to end poverty and hunger around the globe. "I believe," she says, "in doing what we can to shed light on other parts of the world.

Here's Connie "I really am happy," Britton says of her success. "I've been very the goals that I had and being able to live them out."

JENNIFER WULFF is a writer at People magazine.