Biography

I grew up in St. Louis, Missouri consuming and being consumed by the arts. I started dancing and playing the violin at three and kept a rotation of ballet/tap/jazz/modern/violin/piano through high school, but theatre won out. I worked at the Theatre Project Company of St. Louis in high school which led to Summer Stock in Massachusetts and ultimately to the Professional Actor’s Training Program at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas.

My junior year of college I traveled to New York and saw the quintessential production of Balm in Gilead by Lanford Wilson, and a year later I was auditioning for Lanford and Marshall Mason at Circle Repertory Theatre, which became my New York Theatre home. I worked Off-Broadway, at Lincoln Center and on various Soap Operas. I knew how lucky I was to be an actor at this time in New York, even as I was playing a lawyer in a miniskirt on One Life to Live.

I met my husband in New York when he was raising funds to produce The Apostle for Robert Duvall. Stories here to share over drinks, but it ultimately led me across the country to Seattle. As I was auditioning and establishing myself as an actor in a very different world on the West Coast, I also began teaching, directing, and sharing my experience on various arts boards. I ultimately won two theatre education awards, while I was acting on camera and stage: at ACT, Seattle Rep, and the Tony Award winning Intiman Theatre. I also worked on a variety of television series and independent films and spent a lot of time driving between jobs in Seattle, Spokane, and Portland.

After my twin boys were born, I noticed a lot of the work was moving to Vancouver. I accepted a position on the SAG Seattle Board because I wanted to understand why the work left Washington and find a way to get it back. After a year on the local board, I was elected by the membership to the national board of the Screen Actors Guild, and at the same time was appointed by the governor (and appointed 3 more times) as a founding member of Washington FilmWorks, the film incentive program for the state. These positions in leadership changed my trajectory once again.

I served on the national board of SAG and then SAG-AFTRA for 20 years. Early on, after serving on many committees, I focused on the SAGindie Committee – where I have served as the national chair for over 15 years, and the Government Affairs Committee, where I served as national vice-chair. In Seattle, much of my acting work was in independent films, and I wanted to connect younger filmmakers with professional actors. Similarly, working on local and national legislation allowed me to support keeping work in Washington, and ultimately in the U.S.

After my boys left for college, I felt pulled to my former tribes in Los Angeles to focus more on my creative work. I currently teach and direct on a BFA level at AMDA College. I am also a member of the Bobby Moresco Actor’s Gym and continue to stay connected to the New Circle Lab in New York.