Paget Brewster
Paget Brewster | |
|---|---|
 Brewster performing at the Thrilling Adventure Hour comedy radio show | |
| Born | Paget Valerie Brewster March 10, 1969 Concord, Massachusetts, United States |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 1997–present |
| Spouse |
Steve Damstra (m. 2014) |
Paget Valerie Brewster (/ˈpædʒɛt bruːstər/; born March 10, 1969) is an American actress. Her best-known roles are Kathy on NBC's Friends (first as Joey's girlfriend and later Chandler's), Supervisory Special Agent Emily Prentiss on CBS's Criminal Minds, Elise and Mr. Mumbles on The Hub's Dan Vs., Frankie Dart on Yahoo's Community and Sadie Doyle on the Thrilling Adventure Hour segment "Beyond Belief." She has had numerous guest appearances on shows such as Two and a Half Men, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit and Modern Family. She currently stars as Dodo Bellacourt in the Comedy Central comedy Another Period and in Grandfathered with John Stamos and Josh Peck.
Early life
Brewster was born on March 10, 1969, in Concord, Massachusetts. Her mother, Hathaway Brewster (née Tew), worked as a government official, and her father, Galen Brewster, worked as a school administrator.[1][2][3] She has a younger brother, Ivan.
Brewster grew up in Massachusetts and moved to New York City to attend Parsons School of Design. During her first year, she made her acting debut and eventually dropped out of design school to pursue her acting career. In the mid 1990s, Brewster moved to San Francisco and enrolled in acting classes. As of 2014[update] she resides in Los Angeles.
Career
Brewster hosted a late-night talk show in the San Francisco Bay Area in the mid-1990s called The Paget Show for 65 episodes.[4] She first came to prominent attention in her recurring role as "Kathy" in the fourth season of NBC's Friends. She appeared in Andy Richter Controls the Universe and Huff. On film she played Ms. Indestructible, the female lead in James Gunn's low-budget superhero comedy The Specials (2000). She played Amy Pierson, a calculus teacher afraid of the water, in the independent film The Big Bad Swim, which premiered at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival.
In 2005, she began voice work as Judy Sebben/Birdgirl, a recurring character on the animated series Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law (and later played a similar guest character on American Dad!).
Brewster had a long run with the show Criminal Minds, playing multi-lingual Supervisory Special Agent Emily Prentiss until the show's sixth season, when she and A. J. Cook were released from their contracts by CBS in a cost-cutting move. Due to complaints from fans, both she and Cook were rehired and kept for the following season. In February 2012, Brewster announced via Deadline that she was leaving Criminal Minds at the end of the season to pursue a possible career in comedy television.[5] Brewster reprised as Emily Prentiss in season nine for the 200th episode, as a special guest star.[6]
Brewster subsequently portrayed bureau chief ADA Paula Foster in the Public Integrity Unit of the District Attorney's office on NBC's long-running police drama Law & Order: Special Victims Unit. Her character handled the case against SVU commanding officer Captain Donald Cragen (Dann Florek), suspected of murder after awakening next to a dead woman in the 13th season finale.[7][8][9]
Brewster is a regular on The Thrilling Adventure Hour, a staged production in the style of old-time radio that is recorded monthly at Largo in Los Angeles. She plays the recurring character of Sadie Doyle, the alcoholic socialite who can communicate with the supernatural alongside her husband, Frank (Paul F. Tompkins), in the "Beyond Belief" segments. In early April 2013, Brewster appeared in Modern Family as Trish in episode 20, "Flip Flop," playing an art expert who is dating Gloria's ex-husband, Javier. In August 2013, Brewster appeared in episode 106 of the Drunk History television series on Comedy Central. In January 2015 Brewster appeared on Community. In February 2014 it was announced that she had been cast in a new ABC comedy called St. Francis.
Personal life
On the March 30, 2006, episode of Late Night with Conan O'Brien, Brewster revealed that she had recently received a handwritten note indicating Hugh Hefner would like her to pose for Playboy. She seriously considered the offer, but even though she said that she admired Playboy more than magazines such as Maxim and FHM and her parents gave her their blessing, she eventually turned it down for career reasons.[10] She has volunteered as an actress with the Los Angeles Young Storytellers Program.[11]
On March 17, 2013, Brewster became engaged to Steve Damstra. She made the announcement via Twitter by posting a photograph of the jade engagement ring on her finger.[12][13] Damstra is in the band Folded Light and Whirlwind Heat and is a friend of Brewster's Criminal Minds co-star Matthew Gray Gubler. Brewster and Damstra were married on November 28, 2014 in Los Angeles, California, in a ceremony officiated by Gubler.
Filmography
Film
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Let's Talk About Sex | Michelle | |
| 1999 | Desperate But Not Serious | Frances | |
| 2000 | The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle | Jenny Spy | |
| 2000 | The Specials | Emily Tilderbrook/Ms. Indestructible | |
| 2001 | Agent 15 | Agent 15 | Short film |
| 2001 | Hollywood Palms | Phoebe | |
| 2001 | Skippy | Julie Fontaine | |
| 2002 | Now You Know | Lea | |
| 2003 | Brainwarp | Lipstikk | Short film |
| 2004 | Eulogy | Aunt Lily | |
| 2005 | Man of the House | Binky Beauregard | |
| 2005 | My Big Fat Independent Movie | Julianne | |
| 2006 | Cyxork 7 | Bethany Feral | |
| 2006 | The Big Bad Swim | Amy Pierson | |
| 2006 | Kidney Thieves | Melinda | Short film |
| 2006 | Unaccompanied Minors | Valerie Davenport | |
| 2007 | Sublime | Andrea | Direct-to-video |
| 2012 | Batman: The Dark Knight Returns | Lana Lang (voice) | |
| 2014 | Gumshoe | Stiletto (voice) | Short film |
| 2015 | Justice League: Gods and Monsters | Lois Lane (voice) | |
| 2015 | Uncle Nick | Sophie | |
| 2015 | Welcome to Happiness | Prescilla |
Television
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997–1998 | Friends | Kathy | 6 episodes |
| 1998 | Ghost Cop | Anette | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1998 | Godzilla: The Series | Audrey Timmonds (voice) | 11 episodes |
| 1998 | Max Q | Rena Winter | Television film |
| 1999 | The Expert | Dr. Jo Hardy | Episode: "Pilot" |
| 1999–2000 | Love & Money | Allison Conkli | 13 episodes |
| 2000 | Star Patrol | Rachel Striker | Pilot |
| 2000 | One True Love | Tina | Television film |
| 2000–2001 | The Trouble With Normal | Claire Garletti | 13 episodes |
| 2001 | DAG | Patti Donovan | Episode: "Prom" |
| 2001 | Raising Dad | Gracie | Episode: "Sex Ed" |
| 2002 | George Lopez | Ginger | Episode: "The Wedding Dance" |
| 2002–2003 | Andy Richter Controls the Universe | Jessica Green | 19 episodes |
| 2003 | The Snobs | Pilot | |
| 2003 | Time Belt | Col. Jocelyn Anchor | Episode: "Oh. Shit. Zombies." |
| 2004 | Rock Me, Baby | Debbie | Episode: "Look Who's Talking" |
| 2004–2006 | Huff | Beth Huffstodt | 25 episodes |
| 2005 | Two and a Half Men | Jamie Eckleberry | Episode: "A Lung Full of Alan" |
| 2005 | Duck Dodgers | Rona Vipra (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2005 | Amber Frey: Witness for the Prosecution | Carol Carter | Television film |
| 2005–2007 | Harvey Birdman, Attorney at Law | Birdgirl (voice) | 9 episodes |
| 2005–2013 | American Dad! | Various voices | 15 episodes |
| 2005–2006 | Stacked | Charlotte | 3 episodes |
| 2006 | Drawn Together | Child Services (voice) | Episode: "Captain Girl" |
| 2006 | A Perfect Day | Allyson Harlan | Television film |
| 2006–2016 | Criminal Minds | Emily Prentiss | 128 episodes |
| 2007, 2012 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Sheila Tierney / ADA Paula Foster | 3 episodes |
| 2008 | Lost Behind Bars | Lauren Wilde | Television film |
| 2009 | King of the Hill | Myrna (voice) | Episode: "Lucky See, Monkey Do" |
| 2011–2013 | Dan Vs. | Elise / Various voices | 53 episodes |
| 2011 | My Life As an Experiment | Stacie Wilder | Pilot |
| 2013 | Modern Family | Trish | Episode: "Flip Flop" |
| 2013 | Spy | Erica | Pilot |
| 2013–2015 | The Venture Bros. | Amber Gold / Various voices | 3 episodes |
| 2013–2015 | Drunk History | Herself / Emma Folsom | 4 episodes |
| 2013 | The Birthday Boys | Keri | Episode: "Going All the Way" |
| 2014–2015 | Community | Debra Chambers / Francesca "Frankie" Dart | 14 episodes |
| 2014 | The Boondocks | Various voices | Episode: "The New Black" |
| 2014–2016 | Adventure Time | Viola (voice) | 2 episodes |
| 2014 | Saint Francis | Stephanie Quinlan | Pilot |
| 2014 | Key and Peele | Det. Sally Ferguson | Episode: "Sex Detective" |
| 2015 | Down Dog | Amanda Asher | Pilot |
| 2015 | Kroll Show | Bobby's Mom | Episode: "The In Addition Tos" |
| 2015 | Another Period | Dodo Bellacourt | 10 episodes |
| 2015 | Justice League: Gods and Monsters Chronicles | Lois Lane (voice) | Episode: "Bomb" |
| 2015–present | Grandfathered | Sara Kingsley | Main role |
| 2015 | Moonbeam City | Charisma (voice) | Episode: "Lasers & Liars" |
| 2015 | W/ Bob & David | Charlene Boyeur | Episode: "Episode 1" |
References
- ^ "Paget Brewster Biography (1969-)". FilmReference.com.
- ^ Social Register, Volume 101. Social Register Association. 1981. via Google Books.
- ^ "Hathaway Tew, 1966 Debutante, Engaged to Wed; Bradford Student and Galen Brewster to Marry in Summer". The New York Times. April 9, 1967.
- ^ Rubin, Sylvia (September 12, 1999). "Fall TV Preview / Paget Brewster Puts Her Money on `Love'". San Francisco Chronicle. SFGate.com. Retrieved March 3, 2014.
- ^ Brewster, Paget (February 16, 2012). "That's a wrap. [...]". Twitter. Twitter.com.
- ^ Eng, Joyce (February 4, 2014). "Paget Brewster on Criminal Minds 200th Episode Return: "It Was Bittersweet"". TV Guide. TVguide.com.
- ^ O'Connell, Michael (July 18, 2012). "Paget Brewster to Guest on 'Law & Order: SVU' Season 14 Premiere (Exclusive)". The Hollywood Reporter. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
- ^ Daniels, Janice (July 20, 2012). "Paget Brewster to Guest Star on 'Law & Order: SVU' — Her Next Role Possibly?". Hollywood TV Critics. Retrieved July 20, 2012.
- ^ Raftery, Liz (July 20, 2012). "Criminal Minds' Paget Brewster Lands Guest Spot on SVU". TV Guide. Retrieved July 18, 2012.
- ^ "Paget Brewster Interview – Huff". Ugo.com. Archived from the original on November 1, 2007. Retrieved March 3, 2013.
- ^ "YSF - Young Storytellers Foundation - Press & Events". May 2012.
- ^ "Twitter / pagetpaget: It's jade. And he's the best. ..." Twitter. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
- ^ Bustos, Kristina (March 17, 2013). "'Criminal Minds' star Paget Brewster reveals engagement". DigitalSpy.
