Amy Brenneman Biography

NAME: Amy Brenneman

OCCUPATION: Film Actress, Television Actress

BIRTH DATE: June 22, 1964

EDUCATION: Harvard University

PLACE OF BIRTH: New London, Connecticut

Actress. Born on June 22, 1964, in New London, Connecticut. A versatile performer, Amy Brenneman is perhaps best known for her portrayal of a juvenile court judge and divorced mother on the hit drama Judging Amy. The show was based in part of her own mother’s experiences as a State of Connecticut Superior Court judge. Brenneman’s father was also involved in legal matters, working as an environmental attorney.

Brenneman made her small-screen debut in a 1992 episode of Murder She Wrote, and was soon headlining her own series with that same year's Middle Ages. After her yearlong stint on NYPD Blue it was time to make the leap to the big screen, and following 1995's Bye Bye, Love, Brenneman would go on to appear in features while gradually climbing the credits. With the exception of her leading-lady role in the little-seen Nevada, Brenneman's frequent supporting roles would always manage to stand out no matter how formidable her co-stars' talents. Putting her childhood experiences to creative use in Judging Amy, the show proved an enduring success with its sincere blend of drama and family conflict. Moving into the new millennium, Brenneman essayed the role of artist Mary Cassatt in the made-for-television feature Mary Cassatt: An American Impressionist (1999), and took on substantial roles in the theatrical releases Things You Can Tell Just By Looking at Her (2000) and Off the Map (2003). Brenneman is married to director Brad Silberling, whom she met while working on NYPD Blue. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi.

Brenneman reunited with “Things You Can Tell” director Rodrigo Garcia for his anthologized drama about nine different women in “Nine Lives” (2005), playing the ex-wife of a man (William Fichtner) who suddenly finds herself in love with him again after the death of his second wife. Returning to her bread-and-butter, she was on an episode of “Grey’s Anatomy” (ABC, 2005- ), which served as a backdoor pilot for the spin-off series, “Private Practice” (ABC, 2007- ), where Brenneman was a series regular. She was cast as Dr. Violet Turner, a psychiatrist at the Oceanside Wellness Centre, a private hospital run by former Seattle Grace surgeon, Dr. Addison Montgomery (Kate Walsh). Meanwhile, Brenneman continued to appear in films, including “The Jane Austen Book Club” (2007), in which she played a recent divorcee and member of a group of Jane Austen enthusiasts who discover that their lives are playing out like one of the author’s novels. In the critically derided thriller “88 Minutes” (2008), she played the assistant of a forensic psychologist (Al Pacino) who receives a mysterious phone call saying he has less than 90 minutes to live. She co-starred in “Downloading Nancy” (2009), a techno-thriller about an unhappy wife (Maria Bello) who falls in love with the man she hired over the Internet to kill her.

Amy Brenneman Awards:

2002 Screen Actors Guild Awards: Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series - Nominee

2000 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama - Nominee

2001 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama - Nominee

2002 Golden Globe: Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama - Nominee

1995 Emmy: Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series - Nominee

2000 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series - Nominee

2001 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series - Nominee

2002 Emmy: Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series - Nominee

1994 Emmy: Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series - Nominee