Amy Brenneman With an acting career that spans nearly thirty years, this unassuming, talented actress is best known for her role as Judge Amy Grey in the long running television series ‘Judging Amy.’ Amy Brenneman was born on June 22 1964 in New London, Connecticut to an attorney father, Russell Brenneman and a state court judge, Frederica Brenneman. Amy was the youngest of three children, her two siblings are both males. With that pedigree it was obvious that Amy too would somehow take a role in the judicial system, even if it is only acting the part on the small screen. Amy was raised in Glastonbury, Connecticut where she expressed an early interest in the stage and acting when she became a member of her school and local theater groups. Amy graduated from Glastonbury High School, Glastonbury, Connecticut, in 1982 Amy’s university education was completed at Harvard University where she majored in comparative religion and graduated in 1987. During her years at Harvard, Amy and her husband to be, Brad Silberling, co-founded the Cornerstone Theater Company, with which she traveled for a several years after. After touring for five years, she moved to New York, where she became a teacher in Brooklyn. Although Amy had played small roles in theater producftions, she landed her first TV role in 1992 when she first appeared as Officer Janice Licalsi on the police drama, NYPD Blue. She appeared in season one and in two episodes of season two which ran from 1993 through 1994.
During her role as the, mob-connected uniformed officer, she had an ongoing relationship with the character played by fellow star David Caruso. Amy’s role in the series earned her an Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress. She went on to be nominated for several Golden Globes with four actual wins. In 1992 Amy played the role of Amy Wainwright in an episode of ‘Murder she Wrote’ with Angela Lansbury called ‘A Christmas Secret’ and in 1999 she made a guest appearance on the ‘Late night with Conan O Brien’ show and later in 2005 she was a guest on three episodes of the Ellen DeGeneres Show and in the same year she appeared on the Jimmy Kimmel Show. In May 1995 Amy married her long time partner, director Brad Silberling. The wedding ceremony took place in the garden of her parent’s home in Connecticut. In 1999 Amy once again landed a role where she would be cast as a character using her own name, Amy. The series was ‘Judging Amy’, and was based in Connecticut where she plays the role of a family court judge. The series is based around the court cases and inter-twines itself with her family and personal life. Her brother in the series is Dan Futterman, the face of Daniel Pearl in the 2007 movie 'Mighty Heart', when he starred along side Angelina Jolie who played Mariane Pearl. Amy's mother is played by Tyne Daly, ex-cop of the popular 1980’s series ‘Cagney and Lacey’ in which she starred along side Sharon Gless.
In 2007 Amy is billed to appear in the spin-off series from ‘Grey’s Anatomy’, ‘Private Practice’ in which she stars with Tyne’s brother, Tim Daly. Amy has previously featured in ‘Grey’s Anatomy’ as Dr Violet Turner. Amy and her husband, Brad, now live in Connecticut with their two children, a son Bodhi and a daughter, Charlotte. ABB |
