Amy Brenneman
Encyclopedia
Amy Frederica Brenneman (born June 22, 1964) is an American actress, perhaps best known for her roles in the television series NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...

, Judging Amy
Judging Amy
Judging Amy is an American television drama that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS-TV. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly...

and Private Practice. She has also starred in films such as Heat, Fear, Daylight
Daylight (film)
Daylight is a 1996 disaster film, starring Sylvester Stallone, Amy Brenneman, Viggo Mortensen, Dan Hedaya, and Danielle Harris. It was directed by Rob Cohen and released in theaters on December 6, 1996.-Plot:...

, Nine Lives
Nine Lives (2005 film)
Nine Lives is a 2005 American drama film written and directed by Rodrigo García. The screenplay, an example of hyperlink cinema, relates nine short, loosely intertwined tales with nine different women at their cores. Their themes include parent-child relationships, fractured love, adultery,...

and 88 Minutes
88 Minutes
88 Minutes is a 2007 American thriller film directed by Jon Avnet starring Al Pacino, Benjamin McKenzie, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, Deborah Kara Unger, Amy Brenneman, and Neal McDonough. Filming began in the Vancouver area on October 8, 2005 and wrapped in December 2005...

.

Early life

Brenneman was born in New London, Connecticut
New London, Connecticut
New London is a seaport city and a port of entry on the northeast coast of the United States.It is located at the mouth of the Thames River in New London County, southeastern Connecticut....

, the daughter of Frederica Joanne (née Shoenfield), a judge of the Connecticut State Superior Court
Superior court
In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general competence which typically has unlimited jurisdiction with regard to civil and criminal legal cases...

, and Russell Langdon Brenneman, Jr., an environmental lawyer. Her aunt was Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...

-era journalist Beryl D. Hines. Brenneman was raised in Glastonbury, Connecticut
Glastonbury, Connecticut
Glastonbury is a town in Hartford County, Connecticut, United States, founded in 1693. The population was 31,876 at the 2000 census. The town was named after Glastonbury in Somerset, England. Glastonbury is located on the banks of the Connecticut River, 7 miles southeast of Hartford. The town...

, where she participated in theatre as a teenager, both in school and with a local theater group. She graduated from Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...

, where she majored in comparative religion
Comparative religion
Comparative religion is a field of religious studies that analyzes the similarities and differences of themes, myths, rituals and concepts among the world's religions...

, in 1987. While at Harvard, she co-founded Cornerstone Theatre Company, with which she traveled for several years after graduation.

Career

In her first major television role, Brenneman played mob
American Mafia
The American Mafia , is an Italian-American criminal society. Much like the Sicilian Mafia, the American Mafia has no formal name and is a secret criminal society. Its members usually refer to it as Cosa Nostra or by its English translation "our thing"...

-connected uniformed officer Janice Licalsi
Janice Licalsi
Janice Licalsi formerly Gennaro was a fictional character portrayed by Amy Brenneman on the television series NYPD Blue. She appeared in 18 episodes during the first two seasons of the show...

 on the police drama
Dramatic programming
Dramatic programming in the UK, or television drama and television drama series in the US, is television program content that is scripted and fictional along the lines of √a traditional drama. This excludes, for example, sports television, television news, reality show and game shows, stand-up...

 NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...

. Her story arc
Story arc
A story arc is an extended or continuing storyline in episodic storytelling media such as television, comic books, comic strips, boardgames, video games, and in some cases, films. On a television program, for example, the story would unfold over many episodes. In television, the use of the story...

, which included a romantic relationship with David Caruso's
David Caruso
David Stephen Caruso is an American film and television actor and producer, best known for his role of Lieutenant Horatio Caine on the TV series CSI: Miami. The role that gained him initial significant recognition was the role of Det...

 character, ran through the show's first season (1993–1994) and the first few episodes of the second season. She was nominated for an Emmy Award for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Drama Series
This is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series-Superlatives:-1960s:*1960: no award*1961: no award*1962: Pamela Brown – Victoria Regina*1963: Glenda Farrell – Ben Casey...

 in 1994 and for Outstanding Guest Actress
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress - Drama Series
This is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Drama Series, Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, and Outstanding Guest Supporting Actress....

 the following year.

After leaving NYPD Blue, Brenneman appeared in a number of films, including Casper
Casper (film)
Casper is a 1995 American comedy fantasy film starring Bill Pullman and Christina Ricci, based on the Casper the Friendly Ghost animated cartoons and comic books. The ghosts featured in the film were created through computer-generated imagery...

(1995), Heat (1995), Fear (1996), Daylight
Daylight (film)
Daylight is a 1996 disaster film, starring Sylvester Stallone, Amy Brenneman, Viggo Mortensen, Dan Hedaya, and Danielle Harris. It was directed by Rob Cohen and released in theaters on December 6, 1996.-Plot:...

(1996) and Nevada
Nevada (1997 film)
- Plot :Brennan plays "Chrysty", a woman with a past who arrives on foot to the small town of Silver City, Nevada. There, she meets the women of the town, all but one of whom accept her...

(1997). She had a brief recurring role on Frasier
Frasier
Frasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...

in its 1998–1999 season.

In 1999, Brenneman became creator and executive producer
Executive producer
An executive producer is a producer who is not involved in any technical aspects of the film making or music process, but who is still responsible for the overall production...

 of the television series Judging Amy
Judging Amy
Judging Amy is an American television drama that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS-TV. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly...

, in which she played the title character. Brenneman portrayed a divorced single mother working as a Family Court Judge in Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...

. The show's concept was based on the real-life experiences of her mother, Frederica Brenneman, as a superior court
Superior court
In common law systems, a superior court is a court of general competence which typically has unlimited jurisdiction with regard to civil and criminal legal cases...

 judge in the state of Connecticut. Judging Amy
Judging Amy
Judging Amy is an American television drama that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS-TV. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly...

ran on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...

 for six seasons and 138 episodes from September 19, 1999 to May 3, 2005 to good ratings. Frederica Brenneman was one of Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School
Harvard Law School is one of the professional graduate schools of Harvard University. Located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, it is the oldest continually-operating law school in the United States and is home to the largest academic law library in the world. The school is routinely ranked by the U.S...

's first female graduates and became a juvenile court
Juvenile court
A juvenile court is a tribunal having special authority to try and pass judgments for crimes committed by children or adolescents who have not attained the age of majority...

 judge in Connecticut when Amy was 3 years old. Amy has said, "I play my mother's job, not my mother."

In 2002, she was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award in recognition of her excellence and innovation in her creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television.

In March 2007, Brenneman was cast to co-star in the Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...

spinoff, Private Practice.

In 2007, Brenneman played "Sylvia Avila" in The Jane Austen Book Club
The Jane Austen Book Club
The Jane Austen Book Club is a 2004 novel by American author Karen Joy Fowler. The story, which takes place near Sacramento, California, centers around a book club consisting of five women and one man who meet once a month to discuss Jane Austen's six novels...

. In 2008, Brenneman co-starred in 88 Minutes
88 Minutes
88 Minutes is a 2007 American thriller film directed by Jon Avnet starring Al Pacino, Benjamin McKenzie, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, Deborah Kara Unger, Amy Brenneman, and Neal McDonough. Filming began in the Vancouver area on October 8, 2005 and wrapped in December 2005...

alongside Al Pacino
Al Pacino
Alfredo James "Al" Pacino is an American film and stage actor and director. He is famous for playing mobsters, including Michael Corleone in The Godfather trilogy, Tony Montana in Scarface, Alphonse "Big Boy" Caprice in Dick Tracy and Carlito Brigante in Carlito's Way, though he has also appeared...

.

Personal life

In 1995, Brenneman married director
Film director
A film director is a person who directs the actors and film crew in filmmaking. They control a film's artistic and dramatic nathan roach, while guiding the technical crew and actors.-Responsibilities:...

 Brad Silberling
Brad Silberling
Bradley Mitchell Silberling is an American television and film director. He is married to the actress Amy Brenneman, who he met on the set of NYPD Blue and with whom he has two children, Charlotte Tucker and Bodhi Russell...

 in the garden at the home of her parents. They have two children: Charlotte Tucker (b. March 20, 2001) and Bodhi Russell (b. June 8, 2005). Brenneman attends an Episcopal church, and is "also half-Jewish" (on her mother's side).

Brenneman, who is very actively pro-choice
Pro-choice
Support for the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-choice movement, a sociopolitical movement supporting the ethical view that a woman should have the legal right to elective abortion, meaning the right to terminate her pregnancy....

, signed the "We Had Abortions" petition which appears in the October 2006 issue of Ms. Magazine
Ms. magazine
Ms. is an American feminist magazine co-founded by American feminist and activist Gloria Steinem and founding editor Letty Cottin Pogrebin together with founding editors Patricia Carbine, Joanne Edgar, Nina Finkelstein, and Mary Peacock, that first appeared in 1971 as an insert in New York magazine...

. The petition contains signatures of over 5,000 women declaring that they had an abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...

 and were "unashamed of the choice they made".

In the February 28, 2007, all-star benefit
Benefit concert
A benefit concert or charity concert is a concert, show or gala featuring musicians, comedians, or other performers that is held for a charitable purpose, often directed at a specific and immediate humanitarian crisis. Such events raise both funds and public awareness to address the cause at...

 reading of "The Gift of Peace" at UCLA's Freud Playhouse, she portrays an entrepreneur, alongside actors Ed Asner
Ed Asner
Edward Asner , commonly known as Ed Asner, is an American film, television, stage, and voice actor and former president of the Screen Actors Guild, primarily known for his Emmy Award-winning role as Lou Grant on both The Mary Tyler Moore Show and its spin-off series, Lou Grant...

, Barbara Bain
Barbara Bain
Millicent Fogel , known professionally as Barbara Bain, is an American actress.-Early life:Bain was born in Chicago. She graduated from the University of Illinois with a bachelor's degree in sociology. She moved to New York City, where she was a dancer and high fashion model. Bain studied with...

, George Coe
George Coe
George Coe is an American film, stage, and television actor. He is best known for having been a cast member on the first three episodes of Saturday Night Live, as well as for his work on various television shows.-Career:...

, Wendie Malick
Wendie Malick
Wendie Malick is an American actress and former fashion model, known for her roles as Judith Tupper Stone on the HBO series Dream On , Nina Van Horn on the NBC sitcom Just Shoot Me! , Ronee Lawrence on the NBC sitcom Frasier and Victoria Chase on the TV Land sitcom Hot in Cleveland .-Early...

, and James Pickens, Jr.
James Pickens, Jr.
James Pickens, Jr. is an American actor. He is best known for his starring role as Dr. Richard Webber on the ABC drama television series Grey's Anatomy, and for his supporting role as Deputy Director Alvin Kersh on later seasons of the Fox Network science fiction series The X-Files.- Early life...

. The play was an open appeal and fundraiser for passage of U.S. House
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives is one of the two Houses of the United States Congress, the bicameral legislature which also includes the Senate.The composition and powers of the House are established in Article One of the Constitution...

 Resolution
Resolution (law)
A resolution is a written motion adopted by a deliberative body. The substance of the resolution can be anything that can normally be proposed as a motion. For long or important motions, though, it is often better to have them written out so that discussion is easier or so that it can be...

 808, which sought to establish a Cabinet
Cabinet (government)
A Cabinet is a body of high ranking government officials, typically representing the executive branch. It can also sometimes be referred to as the Council of Ministers, an Executive Council, or an Executive Committee.- Overview :...

-level "Department of Peace" in the U.S. government, funded by a two percent diversion of The Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...

's annual budget.

In July 2008, Brenneman was nominated as a candidate on the 'Unite for Strength' slate for a place on the national governing board of the Screen Actors Guild
Screen Actors Guild
The Screen Actors Guild is an American labor union representing over 200,000 film and television principal performers and background performers worldwide...

 (SAG) in elections scheduled for 18 September 2008. The bid was successful.

Brenneman is also a strong supporter of more restrictive gun control laws, and in 2009 she hosted the Target for a Safe America gala at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a gun control group that favors restrictive gun laws and supports gun bans.

Feature films

Year Title Role Notes
1995 Bye Bye Love
Bye Bye Love (film)
Bye Bye Love is a 1995 American comedy-drama film that deals with the central issue of divorce. It was directed by Sam Weisman and written by Gary David Goldberg and Brad Hall...

Susan
1995 Casper
Casper (film)
Casper is a 1995 American comedy fantasy film starring Bill Pullman and Christina Ricci, based on the Casper the Friendly Ghost animated cartoons and comic books. The ghosts featured in the film were created through computer-generated imagery...

Amelia
1995 Heat Eady
1996 Fear Laura Walker Also known as No Fear
1996 Daylight
Daylight (film)
Daylight is a 1996 disaster film, starring Sylvester Stallone, Amy Brenneman, Viggo Mortensen, Dan Hedaya, and Danielle Harris. It was directed by Rob Cohen and released in theaters on December 6, 1996.-Plot:...

Madelyne Thompson
1997 Lesser Prophets Annie Also known as The Last Bet
1997 Nevada
Nevada (1997 film)
- Plot :Brennan plays "Chrysty", a woman with a past who arrives on foot to the small town of Silver City, Nevada. There, she meets the women of the town, all but one of whom accept her...

Chrysty
1998 Your Friends & Neighbors
Your Friends & Neighbors
Your Friends & Neighbors is a 1998 comedy-drama film written and directed by Neil LaBute and starring Amy Brenneman, Aaron Eckhart, Catherine Keener, Nastassja Kinski, Jason Patric, and Ben Stiller in an ensemble cast. This film was the first to be reviewed on the website Rotten Tomatoes...

Mary
1999 Grace
1999 Mary Cassatt: An American Impressionist Mary Cassatt
Mary Cassatt
Mary Stevenson Cassatt was an American painter and printmaker. She lived much of her adult life in France, where she first befriended Edgar Degas and later exhibited among the Impressionists...

2000 Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her
Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her
Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her is a film written and directed by Rodrigo García starring an ensemble cast. Garcías debut film was shown at the 2000 Cannes Film Festival and won the Un Certain Regard Award...

Detective Kathy Faber segment "Love Waits For Kathy"
2003 Off The Map
Off the Map (film)
Off the Map is a 2003 drama film directed by Campbell Scott. The play and screenplay were written by Joan Ackermann.An eccentric family lives in separate existence from the outside world. The family continues to thrive and survive self-sufficiently. Bo uses her imagination and creativity to...

Adult Bo Grodin
2005 Nine Lives
Nine Lives (2005 film)
Nine Lives is a 2005 American drama film written and directed by Rodrigo García. The screenplay, an example of hyperlink cinema, relates nine short, loosely intertwined tales with nine different women at their cores. Their themes include parent-child relationships, fractured love, adultery,...

Lorna Locarno International Film Festival
Locarno International Film Festival
The Film Festival Locarno is an international film festival held annually in the city of Locarno, Switzerland since 1946. After Cannes and Venice and together with Karlovy Vary, Locarno is the Film Festival with the longest history...

 - Best Actress (2005)
Nominated — Gotham Awards
Gotham Awards
The Gotham Awards is an annual ceremony of awards presented to the makers of independent films which takes place in New York City...

 - Best Ensemble Cast (2005)
2007 Sylvia Avila
2007 88 Minutes
88 Minutes
88 Minutes is a 2007 American thriller film directed by Jon Avnet starring Al Pacino, Benjamin McKenzie, Alicia Witt, Leelee Sobieski, Deborah Kara Unger, Amy Brenneman, and Neal McDonough. Filming began in the Vancouver area on October 8, 2005 and wrapped in December 2005...

Shelly Barnes
2008 Downloading Nancy
Downloading Nancy
Downloading Nancy is a 2008 drama film directed by Johan Renck, starring Maria Bello and Jason Patric. The film premiered at the 2008 Sundance Film Festival, where it was nominated for a Grand Jury Prize.-Plot:From the press release:...

Carol
2010 Mother and Child
Mother and Child (film)
Mother and Child is an American drama film directed and written by Rodrigo García, and stars Naomi Watts, Annette Bening, Kerry Washington, Shareeka Epps and Samuel L. Jackson. It premiered on September 14, 2009 at the 2009 Toronto International Film Festival and at the Sundance Film Festival on...

Dr. Stone

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1993–94 NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue
NYPD Blue is an American television police drama set in New York City, exploring the internal and external struggles of the fictional 15th precinct of Manhattan...

Officer Janice Licalsi Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Drama Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress - Drama Series
This is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series-Superlatives:-1960s:*1960: no award*1961: no award*1962: Pamela Brown – Victoria Regina*1963: Glenda Farrell – Ben Casey...


Nominated — Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress - Drama Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress - Drama Series
This is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Single Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Comedy or Drama Series, Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series, and Outstanding Guest Supporting Actress....

1998–99 Frasier
Frasier
Frasier is an American sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for eleven seasons, from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee in association with Grammnet and Paramount Network Television.A spin-off of Cheers, Frasier stars...

Faye Moskowitz Episodes: "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz", "When a Man Loves Two Women", "Shutout in Seattle" Part 1 & 2
1999–2005 Judging Amy
Judging Amy
Judging Amy is an American television drama that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS-TV. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly...

Amy Madison Gray Nominated—Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama (2000–02)
Nominated—PGA Awards - Television Producer of the Year Award in Episodic (2000)
Nominated—Satellite Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama (2002)
Nominated—TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...

 Awards - Actress of the Year in a Drama Series (2000–01)
Nominated—Viewers for Quality Television Awards - Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series (2000)
Nominated—Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Drama Series
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress - Drama Series
This is a list of winners of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress – a Drama Series.-Superlatives:-1950s:*1952: Helen Hayes*1953: no award*1954: Loretta Young – The Loretta Young Show*1955: no award...

 (2000–02) Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series (2003)
2007 Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy
Grey's Anatomy is an American medical drama television series created by Shonda Rhimes. The series premiered on March 27, 2005 on ABC; since then, seven seasons have aired. The series follows the lives of interns, residents and their mentors in the fictional Seattle Grace Mercy West Hospital in...

Dr. Violet Turner
Violet Turner
Dr. Violet Marianne Wilder is a fictional character on the American television series Private Practice . She is portrayed by Amy Brenneman.-Storylines:...

Episodes: "The Other Side of This Life
The Other Side of This Life
"The Other Side of This Life", which aired as the 22nd and 23rd episodes of season 3 of the TV series Grey's Anatomy, is a backdoor pilot episode for the spin-off show, Private Practice. The episode was written by Shonda Rhimes, the creator of both of the series, and the episode was directed by...

" Part 1 & 2]] (Private Practice backdoor pilot)
2007–present Private Practice Dr. Violet Turner
Violet Turner
Dr. Violet Marianne Wilder is a fictional character on the American television series Private Practice . She is portrayed by Amy Brenneman.-Storylines:...


External links

  • Official Amy Brenneman web site
  • Frederica/Amy Brenneman article at Harvard Law School alumni
    Alumnus
    An alumnus , according to the American Heritage Dictionary, is "a graduate of a school, college, or university." An alumnus can also be a former member, employee, contributor or inmate as well as a former student. In addition, an alumna is "a female graduate or former student of a school, college,...

     site
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