Kyra Sedgwick Biography

Kyra Minturn Sedgwick (born August 19, 1965) is an American actress. She is best known for her starring role as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson on the TNT crime drama The Closer. Sedgwick's role in the series won her a Golden Globe Award in 2007 and an Emmy Award in 2010. The series ended on August 13, 2012, following the completion of its seventh season.

Early life

Sedgwick was born in New York City, the daughter of Patricia (née Rosenwald), a speech teacher and educational/family therapist, and Henry Dwight Sedgwick V, a venture capitalist. Her father was Episcopalian and of English heritage, and her mother was Jewish. On her father's side, she is a descendant of Judge Theodore Sedgwick, Endicott Peabody (the founder of the Groton School), William Ellery (a signer of the Declaration of Independence), John Lathrop (American minister) (1740"1816), of Boston, Massachusetts and is the great-granddaughter of Henry Dwight Sedgwick III, and thus the corresponding niece to his brother Ellery Sedgwick, owner/editor (1908-1938) of The Atlantic Monthly. Sedgwick is also the first cousin once removed of actress Edie Sedgwick, a niece of the writer John Sedgwick, a sister of actor Robert Sedgwick, and half-sister of jazz guitarist Mike Stern.

Sedgwick's parents separated when she was four and divorced when she was six; her mother subsequently re-married Ben Heller, an art dealer. Sedgwick graduated from Friends Seminary and attended Sarah Lawrence College. She transferred from Sarah Lawrence to the University of Southern California, graduating with a theater degree.

Career

Sedgwick made her debut at the age of 16 on the television soap opera Another World. In 1988 she made a strong impression in a TV version of Lanford Wilson's Lemon Sky. During the 1990s she appeared in several Hollywood movies, including Singles (1992), Heart and Souls (1993), Something to Talk About (1995) and Phenomenon, in which she played the love interest of John Travolta's character. She starred in the Emmy Award"winning 1992 made-for-TV film Miss Rose White as a Jewish immigrant who comes to terms with her ethnicity. She played the parts of Mae Coleman in 2003's Secondhand Lions and Stella Peck in the 2007 film The Game Plan. She also starred alongside her husband Kevin Bacon in the 2004 film The Woodsman. She dubbed the voice of Batwoman in the animated movie Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman.

Sedgwick has starred in the television series The Closer since 2005. In 2007 she began earning roughly US$300,000 per episode. Over the life of the series she was nominated for and won several awards for her starring role as Deputy Chief Brenda Leigh Johnson. She received a Golden Globe award in 2007 for her performance as lead actress and won a Primetime Emmy Award in 2010.

The Closer ended on August 13, 2012, following the completion of its seventh season; the series's broadcaster, TNT, said that the decision to retire the series was made by Sedgwick.

In 2009, Sedgwick was awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for Television.

Personal life

Sedgwick married actor Kevin Bacon on September 4, 1988. They have two children, Travis Sedgwick Bacon (born June 23, 1989) and Sosie Ruth Bacon (born March 15, 1992). She is also the aunt of R&B/pop singer George Nozuka and his younger singer/songwriter brother Justin Nozuka (their mother, Holly, is Sedgwick's half-sister). Sedgwick has identified herself as Jewish, and also stated that she does not participate in any specific religious activities for any faith except for attending some Passover seders. Sedgwick learned in 2011, via her appearance on the U.S. TV show Finding Your Roots with Henry Louis Gates, that she and Kevin Bacon are 10th cousins, once removed.

Awards and nominations

Until 2011, Sedgwick had made television history, being the only female actor to be nominated for an Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Award every year that her show aired in the eligibility period. However, that came to an end in 2011 when Sedgwick failed to receive a nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series at the 2011 Emmy Awards.

Year	Association	Category	Nominated work	Result
1993	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress " Miniseries or Television Film	Miss Rose White
1994	Saturn Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Heart and Souls
1996	American Comedy Awards	Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture	Something to Talk About
	Chicago Film Critics Association Awards	Best Supporting Actress	Something to Talk About
	Golden Globe Awards	Best Supporting Actress " Motion Picture	Something to Talk About
1997	MTV Movie Awards	Best Kiss (shared with John Travolta)	Phenomenon
2005	Independent Spirit Awards	Best Female Lead	Cavedweller
	Satellite Awards	Best Supporting Actress " Motion Picture	The Woodsman
		Best Actress " Television Series Drama	The Closer
2006	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress " Television Series Drama	The Closer
	Gracie Allen Awards	Outstanding Female Lead in a Drama Series	The Closer
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	The Closer
	Satellite Awards	Best Actress " Television Series Drama	The Closer
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	The Closer
		Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series	The Closer
	Television Critics Awards	Individual Achievement in Drama	The Closer
2007	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress " Television Series Drama	The Closer
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	The Closer
	Satellite Awards	Best Actress " Television Series Drama	The Closer
	Saturn Awards	Best Actress on Television	The Closer
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series	The Closer
2008	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress " Television Series Drama	The Closer
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	The Closer
	Satellite Awards	Best Actress " Television Series Drama	The Closer
	Saturn Awards	Best Actress on Television	The Closer
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	The Closer
		Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series	The Closer
2009	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress " Television Series Drama	The Closer
	People's Choice Awards	Favorite TV Drama Diva	The Closer
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	The Closer
	Saturn Awards	Best Actress on Television	The Closer
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	The Closer
		Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series	The Closer
2010	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress " Television Series Drama	The Closer
	Primetime Emmy Awards	Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series	The Closer
	Saturn Awards	Best Actress on Television	The Closer
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	The Closer
		Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series	The Closer
2011	Golden Globe Awards	Best Actress " Television Series Drama	The Closer
	Saturn Awards	Best Actress on Television	The Closer
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	The Closer
		Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series	The Closer
2012	Saturn Awards	Best Actress on Television	The Closer
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series	The Closer

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	War and Love	Halina
1986	Tai-Pan	Tess Brock
1988	Kansas	Prostitute drifter
1989	Born on the Fourth of July	Donna
1990	Mr. and Mrs. Bridge	Ruth Bridge
1991	Pyrates	Sam
1992	Singles	Linda Powell
1992	Oliver Stone: Inside Out	Herself
1993	Heart and Souls	Julia	Nominated"?Saturn Award for Best Supporting Actress
1995	Murder in the First	Blanche
1995	Something to Talk About	Emma Rae King	Nominated"?American Comedy Award for Funniest Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture Nominated"?Chicago Film Critics Association Award for Best Supporting Actress Nominated"?Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress " Motion Picture
1995	The Low Life	Bevan
1996	Losing Chase	Elizabeth Cole
1996	Phenomenon	Lace Pennamin	Nominated"?MTV Movie Award for Best Kiss (shared with John Travolta)
1997	Critical Care	Felicia Potter
1998	Montana	Claire Kelsky
2000	Labor Pains	Sarah Raymond
2000	What's Cooking?	Rachel Seelig
2000	Conversations with Jon Turteltaub	Herself
2002	Personal Velocity: Three Portraits	Delia Shunt
2002	Just a Kiss	Halley
2003	Behind the Red Door	Natalie
2003	Secondhand Lions	Mae
2003	Batman: Mystery of the Batwoman	Batwoman	Voice role
2004	The Woodsman	Vicki	Nominated"?Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress " Motion Picture
2004	Something the Lord Made	Mary Blalock
2004	[[On the Set with Secondhand Lions]]	Herself
2004	Cavedweller	Delia Byrd	Nominated"?Independent Spirit Award for Best Female Lead
2005	Loverboy	Emily
2007	The Game Plan	Stella Peck
2008	Justice League: The New Frontier	Lois Lane	Voice role
2009	Gamer	Gina Parker Smith
2010	Chlorine	Georgie
2012	Man on a Ledge	Suzie Morales
2012	The Possession	Stephanie
2013	Reach Me	Colette	post-production

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982	Another World	Julia Shearer	Episode: "30 July 1982"
1985	ABC Afterschool Special	Cindy Eller	Episode: "Cindy Eller: A Modern Fairy Tale"
1985	Miami Vice	Sarah MacPhail	Episode: "Phil the Shill"
1986	Amazing Stories	Dora Johnson	Episode: "Thanksgiving"
1998	Lemon Sky	Carol	Television movie
1991	Women & Men 2	Arlene Megeffin	Television movie
1992	Miss Rose White	Rose White	Television movie Nominated"?Golden Globe Award for Best Actress " Miniseries or Television Film
2000	Talk to Me	Janey Munroe	3 episodes
2001	American Experience	Herself	Episode: "War Letters"
2002	Ally McBeal	Helena Greene	Episode: "All of Me"
2002	Door to Door	Shelly Soenpiet Brady	Television movie
2002	Stanley	Park Ranger	Episode: "Woodpecker Woes"
2002	100 Sexiest Artists	Herself	Episode: "100 Sexiest Artists"
2003	Queens Supreme	ADA Quinn Coleman	6 episodes
2004	Something the Lord Made	Mary Blalock	Television movie
2005"2012	The Closer	Brenda Leigh Johnson	109 episodes Golden Globe Award for Best Actress " Television Series Drama People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Drama Diva Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series Satellite Award for Best Actress " Television Series Drama (2005-06) Nominated"?Golden Globe Award for Best Actress " Television Series Drama (2006, 2008-11) Nominated"?Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (2006-09) Nominated"?Satellite Award for Best Actress " Television Series Drama (2007-08) Nominated"?Saturn Award for Best Actress on Television (2007-12) Nominated"?Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Drama Series (2006-12) Nominated"?Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2006, 2008-11) Nominated"?Television Critics Association Award for Individual Achievement in Drama