Amy Brenneman

Amy Frederica Brenneman (born June 22, 1964) is a Golden Globe- and Emmy-nominatedAmerican actress, perhaps best known for her roles in the television series NYPD Blue, Judging Amy and Private Practice.

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, an environmental lawyer. Her mother's sister 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-foundedCornerstone 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) andNevada (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 CBSfor 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."^{[citation needed]}

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, 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 theScreen 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

Feature films

Year	Film	Role	Notes
1995	Bye Bye Love	Susan
	Casper	Amelia
	Heat	Eady
1996	Fear	Laura Walker	aka No Fear
	Daylight	Madelyne Thompson
1997	Lesser Prophets	Annie	aka The Last Bet (UK: video title)
	Nevada	Chrysty
1998	Your Friends & Neighbors	Mary
1999	The Suburbans	Grace
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
2007	The Jane Austen Book Club	Sylvia Avila
	88 Minutes	Shelly Barnes
2008	Downloading Nancy	Carol
2010	Mother and Child	Dr. Stone

Television

Year	Title	Role	Other notes
1993–1994	NYPD Blue	Officer Janice Licalsi	Nominated – Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Nominated - Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series
1998–1999	Frasier	Faye Moskowitz	Episodes: "Merry Christmas, Mrs. Moskowitz", "When a Man Loves Two Women", "Shutout in Seattle: Part 1", "Shutout in Seattle: Part 2"
1999–2005	Judging Amy	Amy Madison Gray	Nominated – Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series (3 times) Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Actress in a Drama Series Nominated - Golden Globe for Best Actress in a Television Drama Series (3 times)
2007	Grey's Anatomy	Dr. Violet Turner	Episodes: The Other Side of This Life: Part 1/Part 2 (Private Practice backdoor pilot)
2007–present	Private Practice	Dr. Violet Turner

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