An accomplished actress, Connie Britton is best known for playing iconic female powerhouse characters on TV. Born in 1967, her father was an energy company executive who encouraged his daughter's talents from an early age. Since then, Britton has starred on nearly every major network, including FOX, ABC, and NBC. After appearing in several short-lived TV shows early in her career, Britton found her breakout role when she was cast as Tami Taylor, the wife of a head football coach on "Friday Night Lights." The show ran for five seasons and earned the actress her first two (she now has four) Emmy nominations. Britton's next big project on TV was "Nashville," in which the actress portrayed country-music star Rayna Jaymes, a legend trying to hold on to her perch. However, unlike her counterpart on "Nashville," Britton continues to be one of the most sought-after performers in TV. Aside from her work in front of the camera, Britton has also devoted substantial time to a wide range of charity work both in the United States and internationally. In 2014, she was appointed as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Development Programme. In this role, Britton continues to raise awareness for UNDP's efforts to fight poverty and empower women around the world.

Although Britton is now one of the most seasoned TV stars of her generation, as an undergraduate at Dartmouth College, she was slow to get her start in acting. After performing in one play during her first semester, Britton decided to take a hiatus from theater. Britton majored in Asian Studies with a concentration in Chinese. As a part of her studies, she participated in the Beijing Foreign Study Program over her freshman summer. She then returned to Dartmouth for her sophomore year and fell in love with acting again, juggling her coursework with appearing in a number of theatre productions. She was also the Summer Sisterhood Chair for the Sigma Kappa sorority, which has since become Sigma Delta. In 1989, she graduated from Dartmouth with a Bachelor's in Asian Studies.

Since graduating, Britton hasn't allowed her fame to get in the way of maintaining connections with her alma mater. In recognition of her success on TV and on the world stage, in 2019 Dartmouth elected Britton to its Board of Trustees. Previously, the acclaimed actress sat down with Dartmouth's student newspaper in 2012 to discuss her career, while also reflecting on the importance of her days as an undergraduate. In particular, Britton praised her school's D-Plan, which refers to the flexibility Dartmouth gives its students in choosing when they take classes and when they're on break. "In college, I always said I believe that having as extensive of an experience of other cultures and other people as possible will make me a better actor anyway," said Britton. "I still believe that to this day. So I feel really fortunate about all of it."