Lisa Edelstein
| Lisa Edelstein | |
|---|---|
 Edelstein at the Fox House Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week 2007, May 2007 | |
| Born |
May 21, 1966 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress, playwright |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Spouse(s) | Robert Russell (m. 2014) |
Lisa Edelstein (/ˈliːsə ˈɛdəlstiːn/; born May 21, 1966)[1][2][3] is an American actress and playwright best known for playing Dr. Lisa Cuddy on the Fox medical drama series House. She currently stars as Abby McCarthy in the Bravo series Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce.
Early life
Edelstein was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of Bonnie and Alvin Edelstein. Her father is a pediatrician at Chilton Memorial Hospital[4] (since retired). Her mother is a retired social worker. Her family is Jewish.[5] The youngest of three children, she was raised in Wayne, New Jersey,[6] and attended Wayne Valley High School, graduating in 1984.[7]
At 16, Edelstein was a cheerleader for the New Jersey Generals. Edelstein encountered trouble when she organized a protest, because the team was forcing the cheerleaders to stand in bars while wearing their uniforms. Edelstein said she felt this was "akin to prostitution" and started a cheerleader strike.[8]
She moved to New York City at the age of 18 to study theatre at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.[9] While living in New York, she became involved in the club scene (known there only as "Lisa E.") and caused enough of a stir in the community to be dubbed New York City's "Queen of the Night" by writer and fellow celebutante James St. James, who briefly refers to Edelstein in his 1999 book Disco Bloodbath.[10]
Career
Actress
After being dubbed a "celebutante" by The New York Times magazine during her club kid days[6] Edelstein used her new-found celebrity to write, compose, and star in an original musical called Positive Me in response to the growing AIDS crisis of the 1980s. The play, performed at the La MaMa theatre in New York City, received many accolades.[6][11] After a regrettable experience hosting Awake on the Wild Side for MTV in 1990,[12] she appeared for a few seconds as a backstage make-up artist in the Jim Morrison biography The Doors followed by guest roles on several popular comedies, including Mad About You, Wings, and The Larry Sanders Show. On Sports Night, she played a sports reporter who claimed to be a former lover of Josh Charles's character whom he did not remember. On Seinfeld, she played George Costanza's frustrated girlfriend, the "Risotto Girl" (the only girlfriend of George's to appear in multiple episodes other than Susan Ross).
Bigger roles in TV dramas soon followed, among them the lesbian sister on ABC's Relativity (1996); a high-priced call girl turned Rob Lowe's date on The West Wing (1999); an assigned male at birth (AMAB) transgender woman on Ally McBeal (2000); and Ben Covington's (Scott Speedman) girlfriend on Felicity (2001). She also continued to land guest-star spots on such shows as ER, Frasier, Just Shoot Me!, Without a Trace, and Judging Amy, as well as small parts in the films What Women Want, Keeping the Faith, As Good as It Gets, and Daddy Day Care.
From 2004-2011, she portrayed her biggest and most notable role to date, Dr. Lisa Cuddy, the Dean of Medicine at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital and frequent adversary, friend, and eventual girlfriend of title character Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) on Fox's TV series House. Edelstein has often spoken fondly of her experiences on the show and fellow cast and crew, especially her friendship and strong working relationship with colleague Hugh Laurie.
In May 2011, Edelstein announced that she would not return for the eighth and final season of House.[13] In June 2011, she guest-starred in a three-episode arc of The Good Wife third season as attorney Celeste Serrano.[14] She guest-starred in Scandal in 2013, and later three episodes of the ABC series Castle.
She currently stars as the lead role of Abby McCarthy in the Bravo series Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce, a one-hour-long comedy-drama loosely based on the book series by Vicki Iovine and scheduled to premiere on December 2, 2014.
She has lent her voice to several animated programs, including King of the Hill, American Dad!, Superman: The Animated Series (as Mercy Graves, Lex Luthor's bodyguard, a role she later reprised in several episodes of Justice League), Legend of Korra (as Kya, Tenzin's sister) and the video game adaptation of Blade Runner (1997).
Other appearances
Edelstein is a passionate supporter of Best Friends Animal Society, of which she is an Ambassador. She supports human rights organizations and is a patron of the arts. She has appeared in numerous magazines, including the September 2010 cover of H magazine.[15] She posed for PETA in an ad promoting vegetarianism, a diet she has followed for most of her life.[16]
Personal life
On May 25, 2014, Edelstein married artist Robert Russell in Los Angeles.[17]
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | The Doors | Makeup artist | |
| 1997 | As Good as It Gets | Woman at table | |
| 1998 | Susan's Plan | Penny Myers | |
| 1998 | L.A. Without a Map | Sandra | |
| 1999 | 30 Days | Danielle | |
| 2000 | Keeping the Faith | Ali Decker | |
| 2000 | What Women Want | Dina | |
| 2003 | Daddy Day Care | Crispin's mother | |
| 2005 | Say Uncle | Sarah Faber | |
| 2013 | She Loves Me Not | Amy[18] | |
| 2016 | Joshy | Claudia |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | L.A. Law | Francine Flicker | Episode: "My Friend Flicker" |
| 1992 | Mad About You | Lynne Stoddard | Episode: "Out of the Past" |
| 1993 | Good Advice | Robin | Episode: "The Kiss" |
| 1993 | Seinfeld | Karen | 2 episodes |
| 1993 | Wings | Marsha Peebles | Episode: "Labor Pains" |
| 1994 | The Larry Sanders Show | Diane French | Episode: "The Mr. Sharon Stone Show" |
| 1994 | Wild Oats | Unknown | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1995–97 | Almost Perfect | Patty Karp | 9 episodes |
| 1995 | Partners | Cindy Wolfe | Episode: "Who's Afraid of Ron and Cindy Wolfe?" |
| 1995 | Superman: The Animated Series | Mercy Graves | 8 episodes |
| 1996 | Ned & Stacey | Janine | Episode: "Friends and Lovers" |
| 1996–97 | Relativity | Rhonda Roth | 17 episodes |
| 1997 | ER | Aggi Orton | Episode: "Ambush" |
| 1998 | Just Shoot Me! | Erin Simons | Episode: "Sewer!" |
| 1998 | Frasier | Caitlin | Episode: "Frasier Gotta Have It" |
| 1998 | Indiscreet | Beth Sussman | Television movie |
| 1999 | Sports Night | Bobbi Bernstein | 3 episodes |
| 1999–2000 | The West Wing | Laurie "Brittany" Rollins | 5 episodes |
| 2000 | Grosse Pointe | Shawn Shapiro | Episode: "Satisfaction" |
| 2000–01 | Ally McBeal | Cindy McCauliff | 5 episodes |
| 2001 | Black River | Laura | Television movie |
| 2001–02 | Felicity | Lauren | 6 episodes |
| 2002 | Obsessed | Charlotte | Television movie |
| 2002 | Leap of Faith | Patty | 6 episodes |
| 2003 | A Date with Darkness: The Trial and Capture of Andrew Luster | Maeve Fox | Television movie |
| 2003 | Without a Trace | Dr. Lianna Sardo | Episode: "Moving On" |
| 2003 | The Practice | Diane Ward | 2 episodes |
| 2003 | Justice League | Mercy Graves | 2 episodes |
| 2004 | Judging Amy | Sylvia Danforth | Episode: "The Quick and the Dead" |
| 2004–11 | House | Lisa Cuddy | 153 episodes People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Drama Actress Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series |
| 2005 | Justice League Unlimited | Mercy Graves | Episode: "Clash" |
| 2005 | Fathers and Sons | Irene | Television movie |
| 2007 | King of the Hill | Alexis | Episode: "The Powder Puff Boys" |
| 2007–11 | American Dad! | Sharri Rothberg | 6 episodes |
| 2008 | Special Delivery | Maxine Carter | Television movie |
| 2011 | Childrens Hospital | Herself/Lisa Cuddy | Episode: "Run, Dr. Lola Spratt, Run!" |
| 2011 | The Good Wife | Celeste Serano | 3 episodes |
| 2011 | Paul The Male Matchmaker | Jillian | Episode: "Know When You Are Not Ready" |
| 2012 | Blue-Eyed Butcher | Kelly Siegler | Television movie |
| 2012 | Elementary | Heather Van Owen | Episode: "The Long Fuse" |
| 2013 | House of Lies | Brynn | 2 episodes |
| 2013 | Scandal | Sarah Stanner | Episode: "Top of the Hour" |
| 2013 | Castle | Rachel McCord | 3 episodes |
| 2013–14 | The Legend of Korra | Kya | 14 episodes |
| 2014– present |
Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce | Abby | Lead role; 13 episodes |
Video Games
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Blade Runner | Crystal Steele |
Awards
- In 2005, she accepted the award for Television Series drama at the 10th Annual Satellite Awards for her portrayal of Dr. Lisa Cuddy on House, M.D.
- In 2011, she won the People's Choice Award for Best Drama Actress in a TV Series for her portrayal of Dr. Lisa Cuddy on House, M.D.[19]
References
- ↑ Chase's Calendar of Events, 2011 Edition. McGraw-Hill Professional. 2010. p. 282. ISBN 0-07-174026-0.
- ↑ Laufenberg, Norbert B. (2005). Entertainment Celebrities. Trafford Publishing. p. 203. ISBN 1-4120-5335-8.
- ↑ NOTE: TV Guide gives birth year as 1967: "Lisa Edelstein". TVGuide.com. Retrieved May 26, 2014.
- ↑ "Lisa Edelstein". chiltonhealth.org.
- ↑ Miller, Gerri. "Fall TV:Lisa Edelstein". Retrieved August 27, 2013.
- 1 2 3 Vaughan, Bonnia. "Small-Screen GemLisa Edelstein – The actress talks about her role on Relativity", Entertainment Weekly, October 6, 2008. Retrieved March 31, 2011. "Thanks to Relativity – and her role as lovelorn lesbian Rhonda – the Wayne, N.J., native has another opportunity to set a strong example."
- ↑ Rohan, Virginia. "North Jersey-bred and talented too", The Record (Bergen County), June 18, 2007. Retrieved June 25, 2007. "Lisa Edelstein: Class of 1984, Wayne Valley High School"
- ↑ Lisa Edelstein Talks About Being a Cheerleader for Donald Trump (VIDEO)
- ↑ "Lisa Edelstein- Biography". Yahoo! Movies. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
- ↑ James St. James. Party Monster. Simon & Schuster, 2003.
- ↑ "Theater". New York Magazine (New York Media, LLC) 22 (45): 150. November 13, 1989. ISSN 0028-7369.
- ↑ "Lisa Edelstein Interview". jwi.org. Retrieved October 24, 2011.
- ↑ "House Shocker: A 'Disappointed' Lisa Edelstein Calls It Quits". TV Line. May 17, 2011. Retrieved May 18, 2011.
- ↑ "Lisa Edelstein moves from House to The Good Wife". June 23, 2011. Retrieved June 23, 2011.
- ↑ Edelstein on the cover of the September 2010 H mag at H's official site; Retrieved September 17, 2010
- ↑ Christina Everett, "'House' Star, 44, Poses Nude for PETA," NY Daily News, April 18, 2012.
- ↑ "House Star Lisa Edelstein Tied the Knot This Weekend, Too!—Get All the Details on Her Wedding to Robert Russell". E Online. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
- ↑ "She Loves Me Not (2013)". imdb.com. Retrieved August 27, 2013.
- ↑ "People's Choice Awards Nominees and Winners 2011". peopleschoice.com. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
External links
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