Amy Brenneman

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  • Actress Amy Brenneman currently stars in the ABC drama Private Practice.

    She has been nominated five times for Primetime Emmy Awards, including three nominations as Amy Gray in the CBS drama Judging Amy and two nominations as Janice Licalsi in the ABC drama NYPD Blue.

  • Early life

    Brenneman was born in New London, Connecticut, the daughter of Frederica S., a judge of the Connecticut State Superior Court, and Russell L. Brenneman, an environmental lawyer. 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-founded Cornerstone Theatre Company, which she traveled with for several years after graduation

  • Career

    In her first major television role, Brenneman played mob-connected uniform 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) and Nevada (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 CBS for 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.

    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 was cast to co-star in 88 Minutes alongside Al Pacino.

  • Love on the set

    Brenneman's first big break came when she was cast as police officer Janice Licalsi on the television series NYPD Blue in 1993. Her role was that of an officer with mafia connections who is instructed to kill lead character John Kelly (played by David Caruso), but she instead kills the mobster who ordered the hit. While on the set, Brenneman began a relationship with one of the shows directors, Brad Silberling. The two would eventually marry.

  • Personal life and political activity

    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 5, 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 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, Brennerman was nominated as a candidate on the 'Unite for Strength' slate for a place on the national governing board of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG) in elections scheduled for 18 September 2008. The bid was successful.

  • Awards

    Awards nominated:

    Emmy Awards


    2002 - Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series - Judging Amy

    2001 - Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series - Judging Amy

    2000 - Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series - Judging Amy

    1995 - Outstanding Guest Actress in a Drama Series - NYPD Blue

    1994 - Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series - NYPD Blue

    Golden Globe Awards

    2002 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama - Judging Amy

    2001 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama - Judging Amy

    2000 - Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series - Drama - Judging Amy


    Screen Actors Guild Awards


    1995 - Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series - NYPD Blue

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