Robin Tunney
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| Robin Tunney | |
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| Born | Robin Jessica Tunney June 19, 1972 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1992 - present |
| Spouse | Bob Gosse (m. 1997–2002; divorced) |
Robin Jessica Tunney (born June 19, 1972) is an American actress. She is best known for her lead roles in the movie The Craft and the television series Prison Break and The Mentalist.
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[edit] Early life
Tunney was born in Chicago, Illinois to a car salesman father, Patrick, and a bartender mother, Cathy.[1][2] Tunney is Irish American;[3][4] her father emigrated from Ireland and grew up in Orland Park, Illinois, a southwest suburb of Chicago. She was raised Roman Catholic,[4] attended Carl Sandburg High School in Orland Park,[5] and resided in Palos Heights, Illinois, also in the Chicago area.[6] After graduating high school, she then studied Art at the Chicago Academy for the Arts. She is a cousin of Chicago Alderman Tom Tunney.[6]
[edit] Career
At the age of 19, Tunney moved to Los Angeles, California and obtained several recurring TV roles on Class of '96, Law & Order, Dream On, and Life Goes On. She gave her breakthrough performance as a suicidal teenager in Empire Records, and attracted further attention by playing a witch in The Craft. She shaved her head for Empire Records and had to wear a wig in The Craft.
In 1997, Tunney starred in Bob Gosse's Niagara, Niagara with Henry Thomas in a performance which garnered her the Best Actress award Volpi Cup at the 1997 Venice International Film Festival. Tunney also was featured opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1999 action film End of Days.
She starred in the pilot episode of House as a kindergarten teacher who collapses before her class and descends into dysphasia. She was credited as 'special guest star'.
She portrayed Veronica Donovan on the first season of Prison Break, credited third after two main characters. She also appeared in the premiere episode of season two.
She had a minor role in the film August released on July 11, 2008.
Tunney is currently starring opposite Simon Baker in the CBS drama series The Mentalist. She appeared on the February 11, 2009 edition of The Ellen DeGeneres Show to discuss Baker and the show.
[edit] Personal life
Tunney married producer/director Bob Gosse on October 4, 1997;[7] they divorced in 2002. As of 2009, Tunney was engaged to Australian writer/director Andrew Dominik.[8] She is single as of August 2010.[9]
On June 28, 2006, Tunney won the fifth table of Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown's eighth season, finishing ahead of Christopher Meloni, Macy Gray, Joy Behar, and Andy Dick, moving on to the final cut. The finale aired on July 5, 2006, where she competed against Jason Alexander, Michael Ian Black, Ida Siconolfi, and Keegan-Michael Key. Tunney came in second, behind Alexander. She played for The Children's Health Fund, which received $200,000 for her efforts. In August 2006, Tunney played in the World Series of Poker after having her entrance fee covered by the online cardroom PokerRoom.com.
[edit] Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1992 | Encino Man | Ella | |
| 1992 | Perry Mason-The Case of Reckless Romeo | Sara?? Turner | TV movie |
| 1993 | JFK: Reckless Youth | Kathleen 'Kick' Kennedy | TV movie |
| 1994 | Law & Order | Jill Templeton | TV episode - "Mayhem" |
| 1995 | Empire Records | Debra | |
| 1996 | The Craft | Sarah Bailey | |
| 1996 | Riders of the Purple Sage | Elizabeth 'Bess' Erne, Oldring's Masked Rider/Daughter | |
| 1997 | Julian Po | Sarah | |
| Niagara, Niagara | Marcy | Volpi Cup award for best actress | |
| 1998 | Montana | Kitty | |
| 1998 | Rescuers: Stories of Courage - Two Families | Melvina 'Malka' Csizmadi | |
| 1999 | End of Days | Christine York | |
| 2000 | Vertical Limit | Annie Garrett | |
| Supernova | Danika Lund | ||
| 2001 | Investigating Sex | Zoe | |
| 2002 | The Secret Lives of Dentists | Laura | |
| Cherish | Zoe | ||
| 2003 | Abby Singer | Herself (Cameo) | |
| The In-Laws | Angela Harris | ||
| The Twilight Zone | Edie Durant | TV episode - "Developing" | |
| 2004 | Paparazzi | Abby Laramie | |
| House | Rebecca Adler | Pilot episode | |
| Shadow of Fear | Wynn French | ||
| 2005 | The Zodiac | Laura Parish | |
| Runaway | Carly | ||
| 2005–2006 | Prison Break | Veronica Donovan | TV series - |
| 2006 | Hollywoodland | Leonore Lemmon | |
| The Darwin Awards | Zoe | ||
| Open Window | Izzy | ||
| 2008 | August | Melanie | |
| The Burning Plain | Laura | ||
| Passenger Side | Theresa | ||
| The Two Mr. Kissels | Nancy Kissel | ||
| From 2008 | The Mentalist | Teresa Lisbon | TV series |
[edit] Awards and nominations
Blockbuster Entertainment Awards
- 2001: Nominated, "Favorite Actress - Action" - Vertical Limit
- 2006: Won, "Festival Prize" - Open Window
- 1999: Nominated, "Best Female Lead" - Niagara, Niagara
- 1997: Won, "Best Fight" - The Craft (shared with Fairuza Balk)
- 2009: Won, "Best New Series" - The Mentalist (shared with Simon Baker, Amanda Righetti, Owain Yeoman and Tim Kang)
- 1997: Won, "Best Actress" - Niagara, Niagara
[edit] References
- ^ "Robin Tunney Biography (1972?-)". Film Reference. http://www.filmreference.com/film/89/Robin-Tunney.html.
- ^ McGavin, Patrick Z (July 5, 1998). "It's All An Act". Chicago Tribune. http://articles.chicagotribune.com/1998-07-05/features/9807050046_1_niagara-auditions-robin-tunney.
- ^ Burgerstein, Jonathan (March 1998). "Fly, Robin Hood, flyperpa". Interview. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1285/is_n3_v28/ai_20468520.
- ^ a b Hughes, Scott (1999-12-05). "Robin Tunney's angst-ridden roles". The Guardian (London). http://www.guardian.co.uk/film/1999/dec/05/comment. Retrieved 2010-06-24. "...her compulsion to tackle tough parts range from her Irish-Catholic background..."
- ^ "Robin Tunney:Biography". Movies MSN. http://movies.msn.com/celebrities/celebrity-biography/robin-tunney/. Retrieved 2010-06-24.
- ^ a b Crowder, Courtney (2010-09-21). "Palos Heights native wears a smile on CBS' 'Mentalist'". Chicago Tribune. http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/ct-live-0921-robin-tunney-tv-20100921,0,1336025.story. Retrieved 2010-10-15.
- ^ Weiner, Carey (March 22, 1998). "Up and Coming: Robin Tunney; a young best actress takes the plunge in 'Niagara, Niagara'". http://caren.campbell-online.com/robintunney.html. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
- ^ Zuckerman, Suzanne (May, 2009). "Actress Robin Tunney on How to Speak Your Mind". http://www.womenshealthmag.com/life/speak-your-mind. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
- ^ Morrison, Mark (August, 2010). "Robin's Green Shades". http://robingreenshades.blogspot.com/2010/07/in-style-article-transcription.html. Retrieved December 28, 2010.
[edit] External links
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