Amy Brenneman Biography

Amy Frederica Brenneman (born June 22, 1964) is an American actress, who has played roles in the television series NYPD Blue, Judging Amy and Private Practice. She has also starred in films such as Heat, Fear, Daylight, Casper, Nine Lives and 88 Minutes.

Early life

Brenneman was born in New London, Connecticut, the daughter of Frederica Joanne (née Shoenfield), a judge of the Connecticut State Superior Court, and Russell Langdon Brenneman, Jr., an environmental lawyer. Her aunt was Cold War-era journalist Beryl D. Hines. Brenneman was raised in Glastonbury, Connecticut, where she participated in theatre as a teenager, both in school and with a local theater group. She graduated from Harvard University, where she majored in comparative religion, 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-connected uniformed officer Janice Licalsi on the police drama NYPD Blue. Her story arc, which included a romantic relationship with David Caruso's 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 in 1994 and for Outstanding Guest Actress the following year.

After leaving NYPD Blue, Brenneman appeared in a number of films, including Casper (1995), Heat (1995), Fear (1996), Daylight (1996) and Nevada (1997). She had a brief recurring role on Frasier in its 1998"1999 season.

In 1999, Brenneman became creator and executive producer of the television series Judging Amy, in which she played the title character. Brenneman portrayed a divorced single mother working as a Family Court Judge in Hartford, Connecticut. The show's concept was based on the real-life experiences of her mother, Frederica Brenneman, as a superior court judge in the state of Connecticut. Judging Amy ran on CBS 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's first female graduates and became a juvenile court 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 [[Women_in_Film_Crystal_+_Lucy_Awards#THE_LUCY_AWARD|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 spinoff, Private Practice.

In 2007, Brenneman played "Sylvia Avila" in The Jane Austen Book Club. In 2008, Brenneman co-starred in 88 Minutes alongside Al Pacino.

Personal life

In 1995, Brenneman married director Brad Silberling 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 (her mother was Jewish and her father was of English, Irish, and Swiss descent, and from a Protestant background).

Brenneman, who is very actively pro-choice, signed the "We Had Abortions" petition which appears in the October 2006 issue of Ms. Magazine. The petition contains signatures of over 5,000 women declaring that they had an abortion and were "unashamed of the choice they made."

In the February 28, 2007, all-star benefit reading of "The Gift of Peace" at UCLA's Freud Playhouse, she portrays an entrepreneur, alongside actors Ed Asner, Barbara Bain, George Coe, Wendie Malick, and James Pickens, Jr.. The play was an open appeal and fundraiser for passage of U.S. House Resolution 808, which sought to establish a Cabinet-level "Department of Peace" in the U.S. government, funded by a two percent diversion of The Pentagon'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 (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.

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1995	Bye Bye Love	Susan
1995	Casper	Amelia
1995	Heat	Eady
1996	Fear	Laura Walker	Also known as No Fear
1996	Daylight	Madelyne Thompson
1997	Lesser Prophets	Annie	Also known as The Last Bet
1997	Nevada	Chrysty
1998	Your Friends & Neighbors	Mary
1999	'	Grace
1999	Mary Cassatt: An American Impressionist	Mary Cassatt
2000	Things You Can Tell Just by Looking at Her	Detective Kathy Faber	segment "Love Waits For Kathy"
2003	Off The Map	Adult Bo Grodin
2005	Nine Lives	Lorna	Locarno International Film Festival Award for Best Actress Nominated"?Gotham Award for Best Cast
2007	'	Sylvia Avila
2007	88 Minutes	Shelly Barnes
2008	Downloading Nancy	Carol
2010	Mother and Child	Dr. Stone
2013	The Face of Love		Completed

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1992	Middle Ages	Blanche	3 episodes
1993-1994	NYPD Blue	Officer Janice Licalsi	24 episodes Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series
1998-1999	Frasier	Faye Moskowitz	4 episodes
1999-2005	Judging Amy	Amy Madison Gray	138 episodes Nominated"?Golden Globe Award for Best Actress " Television Series Drama (2000-02) Nominated"?Producers Guild Award for Outstanding Producer for Television Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (2000-02) Nominated"?Satellite Award for Best Actress " Television Series Drama Nominated"?Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series Nominated"?Viewers for Quality Television Award for Best Actress in a Quality Drama Series
2007	Grey's Anatomy	Dr. Violet Turner	2 episodes
2007-2013	Private Practice	Dr. Violet Turner	111 episodes