Annabeth Gish
Encyclopedia
Annabeth Gish is an American actress known for starring roles in Shag
, Mystic Pizza
and Double Jeopardy
. She is best known for her roles as Special Agent Monica Reyes
on The X-Files
, Elizabeth Bartlet Westin on The West Wing and as Eileen Caffee on the Showtime drama Brotherhood.
, the daughter of Judy and Robert Gish. Gish has said that she is "from different branches of the same family tree" as early silent film
actress sisters Lillian Gish
and Dorothy Gish
. When she was two, her family moved to Cedar Falls, Iowa
, where she grew up with her brother Tim and sister Robin. Her father was an English professor at the University of Northern Iowa
; her mother was an elementary school teacher.
Gish is married to former The X-Files
stunt man Wade Allen and they are the parents of two sons: Cash Alexander Allen (born January 12, 2007) and Enzo Edward Allen (born October 25, 2008).
. During this time she was active in the Lutheran denomination and became fluent in Spanish
. Gish went to Northern University High School
in Cedar Falls, Iowa where she graduated in 1989. She attended Duke University
where she was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma
sorority and focused her energies on the drama program, film studies and women's studies. She received a BA in English in July 1993. Numerous television and film appearances followed.
In 1987, she starred in the film Hiding Out
with Jon Cryer
. She played the sister of Julia Roberts' character in 1988's Mystic Pizza
. In 1989, Gish got her first major TV film role in When He's Not a Stranger
as a rape victim Lyn McKenna. Gish portrayed Anne Hampton, the doomed second wife of Rhett Butler
in 1994 in the TV mini series Scarlett
.
Annabeth Gish also had a major part in the 1989 comedy, "Shag: The Movie". The film also starred Bridget Fonda, Phoebe Cates, Page Hannah, Jeff Yagher and Scott Coffey. The film features Carolina shag dancing and was produced in cooperation with the North Carolina Film Commission. The soundtrack album was on Sire/Warner Bros. Records.
In 1994's Wyatt Earp
starring Kevin Costner, she played Urilla Sutherland, Wyatt's childhood sweetheart and eventual wife. The next year, she appeared in Oliver Stone
's Nixon
as Julie Nixon
. In 1996, Gish played the girlfriend Tracey in Beautiful Girls. In 1997, Gish received her first starring role in a movie, portraying Susan Sparks opposite Shaquille O'Neal
in the movie adaptation of DC Comics superhero Steel
. In 1997, she starred in the TV movie True Women
as Euphemia Ashby alongside Angelina Jolie
and Dana Delany
. In 1998, Gish starred in SLC Punk!
, released September 24, 1998, as a head shop owner named Trish.
In 2001, Gish joined the cast of The X-Files
as Special Agent Monica Reyes
after series star David Duchovny
announced his intention to leave the show. During the eighth and ninth seasons, Gish and fellow newcomer Robert Patrick
became the show's principal characters and it was presumed that the two could carry on the show even after Gillian Anderson left. While it is generally agreed their performances were good, ratings continued to drop with the departure of Duchovny and his dynamic with Gillian Anderson
; the ninth season of The X-Files became the show's last.
In 2003, Gish guest-starred on The West Wing playing Elizabeth Bartlet Westin
, eldest daughter of President
Josiah Bartlet
(Martin Sheen
). She appeared several times over the following seasons, rounding out the fictional Bartlet family also consisting of First Lady
Abigail Bartlet (Stockard Channing
) and daughters Ellie (Nina Siemaszko
) and Zoey (Elisabeth Moss
).
In 2006, Gish played the role of Julia in the independent movie The Celestine Prophecy
and costarred in Candles on Bay Street
alongside Eion Bailey
and Alicia Silverstone
. In the same year, Gish began a continuing major role in the eleven-episode Showtime drama Brotherhood. There she plays fictional Rhode Island State Representative Tommy Caffee's wife Eileen, who strives to maintain a model political family while struggling with adultery
and drug abuse
. Gish has said her portrayal of Eileen Caffee is the best role she has had in twenty-two years as an actress. Brotherhood was picked up for a second season of 10 episodes and then a third season of 8 episodes. In 2011, she will play the role of Anne Sullivan, a mysterious therapist in Pretty Little Liars
.
in 2011, it was announced that Gish will be making a guest appearance on the 12 season of the CBS Crime Drama CSI.
Shag (1989 film)
Shag is a 1989 comedy film starring Bridget Fonda, Phoebe Cates, Annabeth Gish, Page Hannah, Jeff Yagher and Scott Coffey. The film features Carolina shag dancing and was produced in cooperation with the North Carolina Film Commission. The soundtrack album was on Sire/Warner Bros...
, Mystic Pizza
Mystic Pizza
Mystic Pizza is a 1988 American coming of age film directed by Donald Petrie and starring Annabeth Gish, Julia Roberts, and Lili Taylor.The title of the film was based on a pizza shop that caught the eye of Hollywood screen writer, Amy Holden Jones...
and Double Jeopardy
Double Jeopardy (film)
Double Jeopardy is a 1999 thriller film directed by Bruce Beresford and starring Tommy Lee Jones and Ashley Judd. The film is about a woman who is framed for the murder of her husband.-Plot:...
. She is best known for her roles as Special Agent Monica Reyes
Monica Reyes
Special Agent Monica Reyes is a fictional character in the American FOX television series The X-Files, a science fiction show about a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth of Alien existence...
on The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
, Elizabeth Bartlet Westin on The West Wing and as Eileen Caffee on the Showtime drama Brotherhood.
Personal life
Gish was born Anne Elizabeth Gish in Albuquerque, New MexicoAlbuquerque, New Mexico
Albuquerque is the largest city in the state of New Mexico, United States. It is the county seat of Bernalillo County and is situated in the central part of the state, straddling the Rio Grande. The city population was 545,852 as of the 2010 Census and ranks as the 32nd-largest city in the U.S. As...
, the daughter of Judy and Robert Gish. Gish has said that she is "from different branches of the same family tree" as early silent film
Silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized recorded sound, especially with no spoken dialogue. In silent films for entertainment the dialogue is transmitted through muted gestures, pantomime and title cards...
actress sisters Lillian Gish
Lillian Gish
Lillian Diana Gish was an American stage, screen and television actress whose film acting career spanned 75 years, from 1912 to 1987....
and Dorothy Gish
Dorothy Gish
Dorothy Elizabeth Gish was an American actress, and the younger sister of actress Lillian Gish.-Early life:...
. When she was two, her family moved to Cedar Falls, Iowa
Cedar Falls, Iowa
Cedar Falls is a city in Black Hawk County, Iowa, United States, and it is home to one of Iowa's three public universities, the University of Northern Iowa. The population was 39,260 in the 2010 census, an increase from the 36,145 population in the 2000 census...
, where she grew up with her brother Tim and sister Robin. Her father was an English professor at the University of Northern Iowa
University of Northern Iowa
The University of Northern Iowa is a college located in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States. UNI offers more than 120 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities and Fine Arts, Natural Sciences, and Social and Behavioral sciences, and graduate college.UNI has...
; her mother was an elementary school teacher.
Gish is married to former The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
stunt man Wade Allen and they are the parents of two sons: Cash Alexander Allen (born January 12, 2007) and Enzo Edward Allen (born October 25, 2008).
Career
Her first starring role was in the 1986 teen film Desert BloomDesert Bloom
Desert Bloom is a 1986 American drama film directed by Eugene Corr and starring an ensemble cast led by Jon Voight and JoBeth Williams. It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1986 Cannes Film Festival and funded through the Sundance Film Festival Institute.-Plot:World War II has...
. During this time she was active in the Lutheran denomination and became fluent in Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
. Gish went to Northern University High School
Northern University High School
Northern University High School, or Price Lab, is a small public high school in Cedar Falls, Iowa, United States, that is run by the University of Northern Iowa.-Athletics:...
in Cedar Falls, Iowa where she graduated in 1989. She attended Duke University
Duke University
Duke University is a private research university located in Durham, North Carolina, United States. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present day town of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco industrialist James B...
where she was a member of the Kappa Kappa Gamma
Kappa Kappa Gamma
Kappa Kappa Gamma is a collegiate women's fraternity, founded at Monmouth College, in Monmouth, Illinois, USA. Although the groundwork of the organization was developed as early as 1869, the 1876 Convention voted that October 13, 1870 should be recognized at the official Founders Day, because no...
sorority and focused her energies on the drama program, film studies and women's studies. She received a BA in English in July 1993. Numerous television and film appearances followed.
In 1987, she starred in the film Hiding Out
Hiding Out
Hiding Out is a 1987 movie starring Jon Cryer as a Wall Street broker "hiding out" as a high-school student as the mob tries to kill him.- Plot :...
with Jon Cryer
Jon Cryer
Jonathan Niven "Jon" Cryer is an American actor, screenwriter and film producer. He is the son of actress–singer Gretchen Cryer. He made his motion picture debut in the 1984 romantic comedy No Small Affair, but gained greater fame as "Duckie" in the 1986 John Hughes-scripted film Pretty in Pink...
. She played the sister of Julia Roberts' character in 1988's Mystic Pizza
Mystic Pizza
Mystic Pizza is a 1988 American coming of age film directed by Donald Petrie and starring Annabeth Gish, Julia Roberts, and Lili Taylor.The title of the film was based on a pizza shop that caught the eye of Hollywood screen writer, Amy Holden Jones...
. In 1989, Gish got her first major TV film role in When He's Not a Stranger
When He's Not a Stranger
When He's Not a Stranger is a 1989 Made for TV drama movie, starring Annabeth Gish and John Terlesky about a college freshman who is sexually assaulted by a football jock. It sums up the ordeal that rape victims experience and the sexual assault on college campuses...
as a rape victim Lyn McKenna. Gish portrayed Anne Hampton, the doomed second wife of Rhett Butler
Rhett Butler
Rhett Butler is a fictional character and one of the main protagonists of Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell.-Role:In the beginning of the novel, we first meet Rhett at the Twelve Oaks Plantation barbecue, the home of John Wilkes and his son Ashley and daughters Honey and India Wilkes...
in 1994 in the TV mini series Scarlett
Scarlett (TV miniseries)
Scarlett is a 1994 six hour miniseries loosely based on the sequel to Margaret Mitchell's novel, Gone with the Wind, written by Alexandra Ripley...
.
Annabeth Gish also had a major part in the 1989 comedy, "Shag: The Movie". The film also starred Bridget Fonda, Phoebe Cates, Page Hannah, Jeff Yagher and Scott Coffey. The film features Carolina shag dancing and was produced in cooperation with the North Carolina Film Commission. The soundtrack album was on Sire/Warner Bros. Records.
In 1994's Wyatt Earp
Wyatt Earp (film)
Wyatt Earp is a 1994 American semi-biographical Western film, written by Dan Gordon and Lawrence Kasdan and directed by Kasdan. It stars Kevin Costner in the title role as lawman Wyatt Earp, and features an ensemble cast that includes Dennis Quaid, Gene Hackman, Isabella Rossellini, Mark Harmon,...
starring Kevin Costner, she played Urilla Sutherland, Wyatt's childhood sweetheart and eventual wife. The next year, she appeared in Oliver Stone
Oliver Stone
William Oliver Stone is an American film director, producer and screenwriter. Stone became well known in the late 1980s and the early 1990s for directing a series of films about the Vietnam War, for which he had previously participated as an infantry soldier. His work frequently focuses on...
's Nixon
Nixon (film)
Nixon is a 1995 American biographical film directed by Oliver Stone for Cinergi Pictures that tells the story of the political and personal life of former US President Richard Nixon, played by Anthony Hopkins....
as Julie Nixon
Julie Nixon Eisenhower
Julie Nixon Eisenhower is the younger daughter of 37th U.S. President Richard M. Nixon and First Lady Pat Nixon, and sister to Patricia Nixon Cox....
. In 1996, Gish played the girlfriend Tracey in Beautiful Girls. In 1997, Gish received her first starring role in a movie, portraying Susan Sparks opposite Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille O'Neal
Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal , nicknamed "Shaq" , is a former American professional basketball player. Standing tall and weighing , he was one of the heaviest players ever to play in the NBA...
in the movie adaptation of DC Comics superhero Steel
Steel (film)
Steel is a 1997 American superhero film based on the DC Comics character John Henry Irons, who first appeared in 1993 during the Reign of the Supermen! storyline in the Superman comic book titles. The film stars Shaquille O'Neal as Irons and his alter ego Steel, Annabeth Gish as his wheelchair...
. In 1997, she starred in the TV movie True Women
True Women
True Women is a 1993 novel by Janice Woods Windle. The book was adapted into a 1997 CBS miniseries starring Dana Delany, Annabeth Gish, Angelina Jolie, Julie Carmen, Tina Majorino and Rachael Leigh Cook.-Plot summary:...
as Euphemia Ashby alongside Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie
Angelina Jolie is an American actress. She has received an Academy Award, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, and three Golden Globe Awards, and was named Hollywood's highest-paid actress by Forbes in 2009 and 2011. Jolie is noted for promoting humanitarian causes as a Goodwill Ambassador for the...
and Dana Delany
Dana Delany
Dana Welles Delany is an American film, stage, and television actress, producer, host and health activist.After various roles in the early career, Delany garnered her first leading role in 1987 in the short-lived NBC sitcom Sweet Surrender and achieved wider fame in 1988–1991 as Colleen McMurphy...
. In 1998, Gish starred in SLC Punk!
SLC Punk!
# "I Never Promised You a Rose Garden" - The Suicide Machines # "Sex and Violence" - The Exploited# "I Love Livin' in the City" - Fear# "1969" - The Stooges# "Too Hot" - The Specials# "Cretin Hop" - Ramones...
, released September 24, 1998, as a head shop owner named Trish.
In 2001, Gish joined the cast of The X-Files
The X-Files
The X-Files is an American science fiction television series and a part of The X-Files franchise, created by screenwriter Chris Carter. The program originally aired from to . The show was a hit for the Fox network, and its characters and slogans became popular culture touchstones in the 1990s...
as Special Agent Monica Reyes
Monica Reyes
Special Agent Monica Reyes is a fictional character in the American FOX television series The X-Files, a science fiction show about a government conspiracy to hide or deny the truth of Alien existence...
after series star David Duchovny
David Duchovny
David William Duchovny is an American actor, writer and director. He has won Golden Globe awards for his work as FBI Special Agent Fox Mulder on The X-Files and as Hank Moody on Californication.-Early life:...
announced his intention to leave the show. During the eighth and ninth seasons, Gish and fellow newcomer Robert Patrick
Robert Patrick
Robert Hammond Patrick, Jr. is an American actor, known for his leading and supporting roles in a number of films and television shows....
became the show's principal characters and it was presumed that the two could carry on the show even after Gillian Anderson left. While it is generally agreed their performances were good, ratings continued to drop with the departure of Duchovny and his dynamic with Gillian Anderson
Gillian Anderson
Gillian Leigh Anderson is an American actress.After beginning her career in theatre, Anderson achieved international recognition for her role as Special Agent Dana Scully on the American television series The X-Files. During the show's nine seasons, Anderson won Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen...
; the ninth season of The X-Files became the show's last.
In 2003, Gish guest-starred on The West Wing playing Elizabeth Bartlet Westin
Elizabeth Bartlet
Elizabeth "Lizzie" Anne Bartlet Westin is a fictional character played by Annabeth Gish on the television serial drama The West Wing. Elizabeth is the oldest of President Josiah Bartlet and Abbey Bartlet's three daughters.She is a married mother of two—daughter Annie and son Gus. Her husband is...
, eldest daughter of President
President of the United States
The President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
Josiah Bartlet
Josiah Bartlet
Josiah Edward "Jed" Bartlet is a fictional character played by Martin Sheen on the television serial drama The West Wing. He is President of the United States for the entire series until the last episode, when his successor is inaugurated...
(Martin Sheen
Martin Sheen
Ramón Gerardo Antonio Estévez , better known by his stage name Martin Sheen, is an American film actor best known for his performances in the films Badlands and Apocalypse Now , and in the television series The West Wing from 1999 to 2006.He is considered one of the best actors never to be...
). She appeared several times over the following seasons, rounding out the fictional Bartlet family also consisting of First Lady
First Lady
First Lady or First Gentlemanis the unofficial title used in some countries for the spouse of an elected head of state.It is not normally used to refer to the spouse or partner of a prime minister; the husband or wife of the British Prime Minister is usually informally referred to as prime...
Abigail Bartlet (Stockard Channing
Stockard Channing
Stockard Channing is an American stage, film and television actress. She is known for her portrayal of First Lady Abbey Bartlet in the NBC television series The West Wing; for playing Betty Rizzo in the film Grease; and for her role as Ouisa Kittredge in the play Six Degrees of Separation and its...
) and daughters Ellie (Nina Siemaszko
Nina Siemaszko
Nina Siemaszko is an American film and television actress.-Biography:Siemaszko was born Antonina Jadwiga Siemaszko in Chicago, Illinois to a Polish American father, a fighter in the Polish Underground who survived the Sachsenhausen concentration camp and an English mother...
) and Zoey (Elisabeth Moss
Elisabeth Moss
Elisabeth Singleton Moss is an American actor. Her notable roles include that of Zoey Bartlet, the third and youngest daughter of President Jed Bartlet, on the NBC television series The West Wing , and secretary turned copywriter Peggy Olson on the AMC original series Mad Men .-Early life and...
).
In 2006, Gish played the role of Julia in the independent movie The Celestine Prophecy
The Celestine Prophecy (film)
The Celestine Prophecy is a 2006 American film directed by Armand Mastroianni and starring Matthew Settle, Thomas Kretschmann, and Sarah Wayne Callies...
and costarred in Candles on Bay Street
Candles on Bay Street
Candles on Bay Street is a Hallmark Hall of Fame television movie starring Alicia Silverstone as a single mother who returns to her hometown after a lengthy absence.-Plot:...
alongside Eion Bailey
Eion Bailey
Eion Francis Hamilton Bailey is an American actor, perhaps best known for appearing in the HBO miniseries Band of Brothers as Pvt. David Kenyon Webster and in the films Fight Club, Center Stage, Mindhunters and Sexual Life...
and Alicia Silverstone
Alicia Silverstone
Alicia Silverstone is an American actress, author, and former fashion model. She first came to widespread attention in music videos for Aerosmith, and is perhaps best known for her roles in Hollywood films such as Clueless and her portrayal of Batgirl in Batman & Robin .-Early life:Silverstone...
. In the same year, Gish began a continuing major role in the eleven-episode Showtime drama Brotherhood. There she plays fictional Rhode Island State Representative Tommy Caffee's wife Eileen, who strives to maintain a model political family while struggling with adultery
Adultery
Adultery is sexual infidelity to one's spouse, and is a form of extramarital sex. It originally referred only to sex between a woman who was married and a person other than her spouse. Even in cases of separation from one's spouse, an extramarital affair is still considered adultery.Adultery is...
and drug abuse
Drug abuse
Substance abuse, also known as drug abuse, refers to a maladaptive pattern of use of a substance that is not considered dependent. The term "drug abuse" does not exclude dependency, but is otherwise used in a similar manner in nonmedical contexts...
. Gish has said her portrayal of Eileen Caffee is the best role she has had in twenty-two years as an actress. Brotherhood was picked up for a second season of 10 episodes and then a third season of 8 episodes. In 2011, she will play the role of Anne Sullivan, a mysterious therapist in Pretty Little Liars
Pretty Little Liars (TV series)
Pretty Little Liars is an American mystery-thriller teen drama television series created by Marlene King. Based on the popular series of novels written by Sara Shepard, the show premiered on June 8, 2010 on ABC Family...
.
in 2011, it was announced that Gish will be making a guest appearance on the 12 season of the CBS Crime Drama CSI.