Lisa Edelstein
| Lisa Edelstein | |
|---|---|
 Edelstein at the Fox House Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week 2007, September 2007 |
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| Born | May 21, 1966 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress, playwright |
| Years active | 1990–present |
Lisa Edelstein (pron.: /ˈliːsə ˈɛdəlstiːn/; born May 21, 1966)[1][2] is an American actress and playwright. She is best known for her role as The Risotto Broad on the television comedy Seinfeld.
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Early life and education [edit]
Edelstein was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of Bonnie and Alvin Edelstein. Her father is a pediatrician at Chilton Memorial Hospital[3] (since retired). Her family is Jewish.[4] The youngest of three children, she was raised in Wayne, New Jersey,[5] and attended Wayne Valley High School, graduating in 1984.[6][dead link]
At 16, Edelstein was a cheerleader for Donald Trump's New Jersey Generals. Edelstein soon encountered trouble when she organized a protest, because the team was forcing the cheerleaders to go and stand in bars while wearing their uniforms. Edelstein said she felt this was "akin to prostitution" and started a cheerleader strike.[7]
She moved to New York City at the age of 18 to study theatre at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.[citation needed] 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 Downtown" by writer and fellow celebutante James St. James, who briefly refers to Edelstein in his 1999 book Disco Bloodbath.[8]
Career [edit]
Actress [edit]
After being dubbed a "celebutante" by The New York Times magazine during her club kid days[5] 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.[5][9] After a brief stint hosting Awake on the Wild Side for MTV in 1990,[10] she spent the early 1990s appearing in guest roles on several popular comedies, including Mad About You, Wings, The Larry Sanders Show, Sports Night and Seinfeld, where 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.
The actress 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) and the video game adaptation of Blade Runner (1997). Edelstein's film credits include small parts and cameos in What Women Want, Keeping the Faith, As Good as It Gets, and Daddy Day Care.
From 2004 to 2011, she played Dr. Lisa Cuddy, the Dean of Medicine at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital and frequent character foil and ex-girlfriend to title character Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) on Fox's TV series House, M.D. In May 2011, Edelstein announced that she would not return for the eighth season of House.[11]
Edelstein starred in the Lifetime network movie Special Delivery with Brenda Song.[12] In June 2011, it was revealed that she would join the cast of The Good Wife for a "juicy" multi-episode arc. She plays Celeste Serano, an attorney and one of Will Gardner's (Josh Charles) old flames.[13]
Other appearances [edit]
Edelstein appeared on the September 2010 cover of H magazine.[14] She posed naked for PETA in an ad promoting vegetarianism, a diet she has followed for most of her life.[15]
Filmography [edit]
Film [edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | The Doors | Makeup artist | cameo |
| 1997 | As Good as It Gets | Woman at table | cameo |
| 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 |
Television [edit]
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | L.A. Law | 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 | Episode: "Pilot" | |
| 1995-1997 | Almost Perfect | Patty Karp | 9 episodes |
| 1995 | Partners | Cindy Wolfe | Episode: "Who's Afraid of Ron and Cindy Wolfe?" |
| 1996-1997 | Relativity | Rhonda Roth | 17 episodes |
| 1995 | Superman: The Animated Series (Voice) | Mercy Graves | 8 episodes |
| 1996 | Ned & Stacey | Janine | Episode: "Friends and Lovers" |
| 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 | TV 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" |
| 2000-2001 | Ally McBeal | Cindy McCauliff | 5 episodes |
| 2001 | Black River | Laura | TV movie |
| 2001-2002 | Felicity | Lauren | 6 episodes |
| 2002 | Obsessed | Charlotte | TV movie |
| 2002 | Leap of Faith | Patty | 6 episodes |
| 2003 | Without a Trace | Dr. Lianna Sardo | Episode: "Moving On" |
| 2003 | A Date with Darkness: The Trial and Capture of Andrew Luster | Maeve Fox | TV movie |
| 2003 | The Practice | Diane Ward | 2 episodes |
| 2003 | Justice League (Voice) | Mercy Graves | 2 episodes |
| 2004 | Judging Amy | Sylvia Danforth | Episode: "The Quick and the Dead" |
| 2005 | Fathers and Sons | Irene | TV movie |
| 2005 | Justice League Unlimited (Voice) | Mercy Graves | Episode: "Clash" |
| 2008 | Special Delivery | Maxine Carter | TV movie |
| 2007 | King of the Hill (Voice) | Alexis | Episode: "The Powder Puff Boys" |
| 2004-2011 | House | Lisa Cuddy | 153 episodes |
| 2007-2011 | American Dad! (Voice) | Sharri Rothberg | 6 episodes |
| 2011 | Childrens Hospital (Cameo) | 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" |
| 2011 | Night of the Hurricane | Sharri Rothberg | Television special |
| 2012 | Blue-Eyed Butcher | Kelly Siegler | TV movie |
| 2012 | Elementary | Heather Van Owen | Episode: "The Long Fuse" |
| 2013 | House of Lies | Brynn | Episode: "Sincerity is an Easy Disguise in This Business" Episode: "The Runner Stumbles" |
| 2013 | Scandal | Mrs. Stanner | Episode: "Top of the Hour" |
Awards [edit]
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.[16]
References [edit]
- ^ 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.
- ^ http://www.chiltonhealth.org/cgi-bin/library.cgi?idReviewArticle=11
- ^ http://www.ajlmagazine.com/content/092006/falltv-edelstein.html
- ^ a b c 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) [1]
- ^ 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.
- ^ Kimberly Nordyke (January 15, 2008) House actress making "Delivery" for Lifetime Reuters. Accessed 2008-01-16.
- ^ "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.
- ^ "People's Choice Awards Nominees and Winners 2011". peopleschoice.com. Retrieved January 9, 2012.
External links [edit]
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Lisa Edelstein |
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- 1966 births
- Actresses from Boston, Massachusetts
- Actresses from New Jersey
- American film actresses
- American cheerleaders
- American Jews
- American television actresses
- American voice actresses
- Club Kids
- Circle in the Square Theatre School alumni
- Jewish American actresses
- Living people
- People from Wayne, New Jersey
- Tisch School of the Arts alumni
- 20th-century American actresses
- 21st-century American actresses
- American women dramatists and playwrights
- Writers from Boston, Massachusetts
- Women writers from New Jersey
