Virginia Chance got pregnant when she was 15 years old, and she married the baby's father, Burt. Now she lives with her husband, their grown-up son, Jimmy, and her Alzheimer's-addled grandmother, Maw Maw.
She's not thrilled when Jimmy brings home a baby that's the result of a one-night stand he had with a serial killer. She suggests that he take the little girl to the local fire station safe-drop. Virginia knows that it's hard to raise a baby and doesn't want to do it again. But when Jimmy refuses to give Princess Beyonce away, Virginia warms to the baby and renames her Hope.
Virginia works for Knock Knock Knock Housekeeping, cleaning rich people's houses. She takes the junk her bosses throw away and hoards it in a shed so that when Burt wins the lottery they will have stuff for their big new house.
Virginia lies to Jimmy and tells him that her mother was a missionary who was murdered. She ultimately admits that her mom died when she hit her head on a ceramic duck. But Virginia doesn't know that Maw Maw made up that story when her Virginia's mom abandoned her. Jimmy doesn't tell his mom that her own mother is actually still alive and living a swinging lifestyle.
When Virginia’s jet-setter cousin comes to town, she does her best to remind Virginia of her terribly awkward, back-brace ridden youth, and how she stole her future husband Burt away from her mean-spirited cousin.
An accomplished actress, Martha Plimpton has achieved success on stage, screen and television. For her work on RAISING HOPE, she was recently nominated for an Emmy® Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Comedy Series and for a 2011 Broadcast Critics Choice Award for Leading Actress in a Comedy.
Plimpton made her film debut in Alan J. Pakula's "Rollover" and has gone on to star in over 30 films, including "The Goonies," "The Mosquito Coast," "Running on Empty," "Beautiful Girls," "Parenthood," "200 Cigarettes," "Pecker" and the independent feature "Small Town Murder Songs."
Her memorable TV guest appearances include "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit" (for which she earned an Emmy® nomination for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series), "Grey's Anatomy," FRINGE, "The Good Wife" and "How to Make it in America."
On stage, Plimpton most recently starred in the New York Philharmonic concert of "Company" opposite Patti LuPone and Stephen Colbert. Previously she starred alongside Stockard Channing in "Pal Joey" for the Roundabout Theatre Company, garnering her third Tony nomination, as well as a Drama Desk nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Musical and a Drama League nomination. In 2008, Plimpton starred in "Top Girls" for the Metropolitan Theatre Club and received Tony and Drama Desk nominations and starred in Lincoln Center Theatre's production of William Shakespeare's "Cymbeline" as "Imogen" to critical acclaim.
Other memorable theater credits include "The Coast of Utopia" (Drama Desk Award, Outer Critics Award and Tony nomination), Shakespeare in the Park's "A Midsummer Night's Dream," "Shining City," "False Servant" (Drama League nomination), "Hurleyburley," "Hobson's Choice" (Obie Award, Lortell nomination). She is also a proud member of the Steppenwolf Theatre Ensemble and was awarded the National Medal of Arts Award.
Plimpton divides her time between Los Angeles and New York City.
