Anne Dudek
Encyclopedia
Anne Louise Dudek is an American actress, known for her role as Dr. Amber Volakis on the television show House
and her leading role on UK television series The Book Group
as well as playing Francine Hanson in the series Mad Men
. In 2010, she joined the cast of Covert Affairs
.
) through 2001, Dudek appeared in various theater productions and on Broadway
. She made her Broadway debut in Wrong Mountain in 2000, and won the Connecticut Critics Circle Award for outstanding performance in The Glass Menagerie
.
After success on Broadway, she made the jump to television, with her first starring role coming on the British comedy drama The Book Group
. She has since guest starred on other TV shows, including Desperate Housewives
(as Karl Mayer's girlfriend in Season 1), How I Met Your Mother
(as Ted's Krav Maga
-trained ex-girlfriend), Friends
(as 'Precious', Mike Hanigan's girlfriend), Charmed
, Bones
(as Seeley Booth
's lawyer girlfriend), Numb3rs
and Six Feet Under. She also played Lucinda Barry in the pilot episode of Psych
, and a teacher who has a sexual relationship with one of her students (based on the case of Debra Lafave
) on Law & Order: Criminal Intent
.
Dudek had a recurring role on House
beginning in season 4, as Amber Volakis, one of forty physicians under consideration by Dr. House for permanent positions on his team. Her character continued to the end of season but was killed in the season 4
finale, "Wilson's Heart
". She would later reappear as an hallucination by House in the season 5 episode "Saviors
" and appear as such for the remainder of the season. Dudek later appeared in Mad Men
as next-door neighbor Francine Hanson, and on Big Love
as one of antagonist Alby Grant
's wives, both recurring roles.
In 2010, Dudek joined the cast of Covert Affairs
, portraying Danielle Brooks, the sister of the central character.
On film, she played the role of cruise line heir Tiffany Wilson in the 2004 comedy film
White Chicks
. She also played Anthony Hopkins
' daughter in The Human Stain
.
in the suburb Newton
, and attended Northwestern University
. She is married to artist Matthew Heller, with whom she has a son, Akiva, born on December 14, 2008. She is currently expecting her second child.
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
and her leading role on UK television series The Book Group
The Book Group
The Book Group is a comedy drama that aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom between 2002 and 2003, and ran for two series. It was written and directed by the American-born Glasgow resident Annie Griffin, who also wrote and directed Festival...
as well as playing Francine Hanson in the series Mad Men
Mad Men
Mad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...
. In 2010, she joined the cast of Covert Affairs
Covert Affairs
Covert Affairs is a USA Network television series starring Piper Perabo and Christopher Gorham. The one-hour drama premiered on Tuesday, July 13, 2010. The show concluded its first season on September 14, 2010 and was renewed for a second season on August 19, 2010. The second season began airing on...
.
Career
From the mid-1990s (while at Northwestern UniversityNorthwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
) through 2001, Dudek appeared in various theater productions and on Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
. She made her Broadway debut in Wrong Mountain in 2000, and won the Connecticut Critics Circle Award for outstanding performance in The Glass Menagerie
The Glass Menagerie
The Glass Menagerie is a four-character memory play by Tennessee Williams. Williams worked on various drafts of the play prior to writing a version of it as a screenplay for MGM, to whom Williams was contracted...
.
After success on Broadway, she made the jump to television, with her first starring role coming on the British comedy drama The Book Group
The Book Group
The Book Group is a comedy drama that aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom between 2002 and 2003, and ran for two series. It was written and directed by the American-born Glasgow resident Annie Griffin, who also wrote and directed Festival...
. She has since guest starred on other TV shows, including Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives
Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W...
(as Karl Mayer's girlfriend in Season 1), How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother
How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting...
(as Ted's Krav Maga
Krav Maga
Krav Maga is a noncompetitive eclectic self-defense system developed in Europe that involves striking techniques, wrestling and grappling. Krav Maga is known for its focus on real-world situations and extremely efficient, brutal counter-attacks...
-trained ex-girlfriend), Friends
Friends
Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television...
(as 'Precious', Mike Hanigan's girlfriend), Charmed
Charmed
Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...
, Bones
Bones (TV series)
Bones is an American crime drama television series that premiered on the Fox Network on September 13, 2005. The show is based on forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology, with each episode focusing on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent...
(as Seeley Booth
Seeley Booth
FBI Special Agent "In charge" Seeley Joseph Booth is a fictional character in the US television series, Bones , portrayed by David Boreanaz. Agent Booth is a co-protagonist of the series alongside Dr...
's lawyer girlfriend), Numb3rs
NUMB3RS
Numb3rs is an American television drama which premiered on CBS on January 23, 2005, and concluded on March 12, 2010. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton, and follows FBI Special Agent Don Eppes and his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes , who helps Don solve crimes...
and Six Feet Under. She also played Lucinda Barry in the pilot episode of Psych
Psych
Psych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. It stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts...
, and a teacher who has a sexual relationship with one of her students (based on the case of Debra Lafave
Debra Lafave
Debra Jean Beasley, better known under her former married name of Debra Lafave, is a former teacher at Angelo L. Greco Middle School in Temple Terrace, Florida. She pleaded guilty in 2005 to...
) on Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent
Law & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama...
.
Dudek had a recurring role on House
House (TV series)
House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in...
beginning in season 4, as Amber Volakis, one of forty physicians under consideration by Dr. House for permanent positions on his team. Her character continued to the end of season but was killed in the season 4
House (season 4)
The fourth season of House premiered on September 25, 2007 and ended May 19, 2008. Having previously fired Chase, and with Foreman and Cameron quitting, House starts a competition between forty applicants for the vacant positions. He eventually narrows them down to seven, firing one each episode....
finale, "Wilson's Heart
Wilson's Heart
"Wilson's Heart" is the sixteenth episode and season finale of the fourth season of House and the eighty-sixth episode overall. It aired on May 19, 2008...
". She would later reappear as an hallucination by House in the season 5 episode "Saviors
Saviors (House)
"Saviors" is the twenty-first episode of the fifth season of House. It aired on April 13, 2009.-Plot:Cameron cancels a vacation with Chase, saying she wants to make sure House takes the case of an environmental activist named Doug who collapsed at a rally...
" and appear as such for the remainder of the season. Dudek later appeared in Mad Men
Mad Men
Mad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each...
as next-door neighbor Francine Hanson, and on Big Love
Big Love
Big Love is an American television drama that aired on HBO between March 2006 and March 2011. The show is about a fictional fundamentalist Mormon family in Utah that practices polygamy...
as one of antagonist Alby Grant
Alby Grant
Albert "Alby" Grant, played by Matt Ross, is a fictional character from the HBO series Big Love. The character is loosely based on the real life polygamist leader Warren Jeffs.-Overview:...
's wives, both recurring roles.
In 2010, Dudek joined the cast of Covert Affairs
Covert Affairs
Covert Affairs is a USA Network television series starring Piper Perabo and Christopher Gorham. The one-hour drama premiered on Tuesday, July 13, 2010. The show concluded its first season on September 14, 2010 and was renewed for a second season on August 19, 2010. The second season began airing on...
, portraying Danielle Brooks, the sister of the central character.
On film, she played the role of cruise line heir Tiffany Wilson in the 2004 comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
White Chicks
White Chicks
White Chicks is a 2004 American film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans and written and produced by Keenen Wayans, Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans. The film was produced by Columbia Pictures and Revolution Studios...
. She also played Anthony Hopkins
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
' daughter in The Human Stain
The Human Stain (film)
The Human Stain is a 2003 American romantic thriller film directed by Robert Benton. The screenplay by Nicholas Meyer is based on the 2000 novel of the same name by Philip Roth...
.
Personal life
Dudek was born and raised in Greater BostonGreater Boston
Greater Boston is the area of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts surrounding the city of Boston. Due to ambiguity in usage, the size of the area referred to can be anywhere between that of the metropolitan statistical area of Boston and that of the city's combined statistical area which includes...
in the suburb Newton
Newton, Massachusetts
Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States bordered to the east by Boston. According to the 2010 U.S. Census, the population of Newton was 85,146, making it the eleventh largest city in the state.-Villages:...
, and attended Northwestern University
Northwestern University
Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston and Chicago, Illinois, USA. Northwestern has eleven undergraduate, graduate, and professional schools offering 124 undergraduate degrees and 145 graduate and professional degrees....
. She is married to artist Matthew Heller, with whom she has a son, Akiva, born on December 14, 2008. She is currently expecting her second child.
Filmography
| Film | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
| 2003 | The Human Stain The Human Stain (film) The Human Stain is a 2003 American romantic thriller film directed by Robert Benton. The screenplay by Nicholas Meyer is based on the 2000 novel of the same name by Philip Roth... |
Lisa Silk | Minor role |
| 2004 | White Chicks White Chicks White Chicks is a 2004 American film directed by Keenen Ivory Wayans and written and produced by Keenen Wayans, Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans. The film was produced by Columbia Pictures and Revolution Studios... |
Tiffany Wilson | Supporting role |
| The Naughty Lady | Sara | Lead role | |
| 2005 | A Coat of Snow | Anna Marie | Supporting role |
| 2007 | Park Park (2006 film) Park is the name of an independent comedy-drama released in 2007. It was produced by Dana Jackson and directed by Kurt Voelker.The story revolves around a Los Angeles park, where ten colorful characters encounter love - and loss - in the course of one day.... |
Meredith | Supporting role |
| 10 Items or Less 10 Items or Less (film) 10 Items or Less is a 2006 American comedy-drama written and directed by Brad Silberling and starring Morgan Freeman and Paz Vega. Shot in fifteen days, 10 Items or Less made its release as a digital download – the first such release via the Internet – while it was still in... |
Lorraine | Supporting role | |
| Speed Dating | Amy | Supporting role | |
| Television | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2001 | ER ER (TV series) ER is an American medical drama television series created by novelist Michael Crichton that aired on NBC from September 19, 1994 to April 2, 2009. It was produced by Constant c Productions and Amblin Entertainment, in association with Warner Bros. Television... |
Paula Gamble, Teddy's Mom | 1 episode |
| 2002 | For the People | Jennifer Carter | 1 episode |
| 2002–2003 | The Book Group The Book Group The Book Group is a comedy drama that aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom between 2002 and 2003, and ran for two series. It was written and directed by the American-born Glasgow resident Annie Griffin, who also wrote and directed Festival... |
Clare Pettengill | Main role; 12 episodes |
| 2003 | 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... |
Candace Hurley | 1 episode |
| Six Feet Under | Allison Williman | 1 episode | |
| Friends Friends Friends is an American sitcom created by David Crane and Marta Kauffman, which aired on NBC from September 22, 1994 to May 6, 2004. The series revolves around a group of friends in Manhattan. The series was produced by Bright/Kauffman/Crane Productions, in association with Warner Bros. Television... |
Precious | 1 episode | |
| 2004 | Desperate Housewives Desperate Housewives Desperate Housewives is an American television comedy-drama series created by Marc Cherry and produced by ABC Studios and Cherry Productions. Executive producer Cherry serves as Showrunner. Other executive producers since the fourth season include Marc Cherry, Bob Daily, George W... |
Brandi | 1 episode |
| Less Than Perfect Less Than Perfect Less Than Perfect is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from October 1, 2002, to June 6, 2006. The show was about a young female office employee and her co-workers... |
Annie | 2 episodes | |
| 2005 | Charmed Charmed Charmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M... |
Denise | 1 episode |
| The Inside The Inside The Inside is an American crime drama television series created by Tim Minear and Howard Gordon and produced by Imagine Television. The Inside follows the work of the FBI's Los Angeles Violent Crimes Unit , a division dedicated to investigating particularly dangerous crimes. The Inside initially... |
Ellen Olsen | 1 episode | |
| Invasion Invasion (TV series) Invasion is an American science fiction television series that aired on ABC for only one season beginning in September 2005. Somewhat similar to Invasion of the Body Snatchers, the show told the story of the aftermath of a hurricane in which water-based creatures infiltrate a small Florida town and... |
Katie Paxton | 1 episode | |
| Bones Bones (TV series) Bones is an American crime drama television series that premiered on the Fox Network on September 13, 2005. The show is based on forensic anthropology and forensic archaeology, with each episode focusing on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent... |
Tessa Jankow | 2 episodes | |
| 2005, 2010 | How I Met Your Mother How I Met Your Mother How I Met Your Mother is an American sitcom that premiered on CBS on September 19, 2005, created by Craig Thomas and Carter Bays.As a framing device, the main character, Ted Mosby with narration by Bob Saget, in the year 2030 recounts to his son and daughter the events that led to his meeting... |
Natalie | 2 episodes |
| 2006 | Psych Psych Psych is an American detective comedy-drama television series created by Steve Franks and broadcast on USA Network. It stars James Roday as Shawn Spencer, a young crime consultant for the Santa Barbara Police Department whose "heightened observational skills" and impressive detective instincts... |
Lucinda | 1 episode |
| Law & Order: Criminal Intent Law & Order: Criminal Intent Law & Order: Criminal Intent is an American police procedural television drama series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and produced by Dick Wolf and René Balcer, the series premiered on September 30, 2001, as the second spin-off of Wolf's successful crime drama... |
Danielle McCaskin | 1 episode | |
| 2006–2007 | Big Day Big Day Big Day, originally titled A Day in the Life, is an American situation comedy that first aired on ABC from November 28, 2006 to January 30, 2007. The series was co-produced by Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa and directed by Michael Spiller for Sony Pictures Television... |
Brittany | 3 episodes |
| 2007 | Numb3rs NUMB3RS Numb3rs is an American television drama which premiered on CBS on January 23, 2005, and concluded on March 12, 2010. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton, and follows FBI Special Agent Don Eppes and his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes , who helps Don solve crimes... |
Emmanueline Kirtland | 1 episode |
| 2007–2010 | Mad Men Mad Men Mad Men is an American dramatic television series created and produced by Matthew Weiner. The series premiered on Sunday evenings on the American cable network AMC and are produced by Lionsgate Television. It premiered on July 19, 2007, and completed its fourth season on October 17, 2010. Each... |
Francine Hanson | 15 episodes |
| 2007, 2009 | Big Love Big Love Big Love is an American television drama that aired on HBO between March 2006 and March 2011. The show is about a fictional fundamentalist Mormon family in Utah that practices polygamy... |
Lura Grant | 9 episodes |
| 2007–2009 | House House (TV series) House is an American television medical drama that debuted on the Fox network on November 16, 2004. The show's central character is Dr. Gregory House , an unconventional and misanthropic medical genius who heads a team of diagnosticians at the fictional Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital in... |
Amber Volakis | 18 episodes |
| 2009 | Castle Castle (TV series) Castle is an American comedy-drama television series, which premiered on ABC on March 9, 2009. The series is produced by Beacon Pictures and ABC Studios. On January 10, 2011, Castle was renewed for a fourth season... |
Emma Carnes | 1 episode |
| 2010–present | Covert Affairs Covert Affairs Covert Affairs is a USA Network television series starring Piper Perabo and Christopher Gorham. The one-hour drama premiered on Tuesday, July 13, 2010. The show concluded its first season on September 14, 2010 and was renewed for a second season on August 19, 2010. The second season began airing on... |
Danielle Brooks | Main role |