Amy Frederica Brenneman (born June 22, 1964) is an American actress and producer. She worked extensively in television, coming to prominence as Detective Janice Licalsi in the ABC police drama series NYPD Blue (1993–1994). Brenneman next co-created and starred as Judge Amy Gray in the CBS drama series Judging Amy (1999–2005). She received five Primetime Emmy Award nominations for these roles.
Brenneman was born on June 22, 1964,[1] in New London, Connecticut, to Frederica Joanne (née Shoenfield), a judge of the Connecticut State Superior Court, and Russell Langdon Brenneman Jr., an environmental lawyer.[2][3] Her aunt was Cold War-era journalist Beryl D. Hines.[4] Her mother was Jewish, and joined a Congregationalist church as an adult.[5] Her father, who was of English, Irish, and Swiss descent, was from a Protestant background.[6]
After leaving NYPD Blue, Brenneman made her way into film. In 1995, she appeared in Bye Bye Love, Casper, and the critically acclaimed crime drama Heat.[3] In 1996, Brenneman had the female lead role opposite Sylvester Stallone in disaster thriller Daylight, and also starred in another thriller, Fear. In 1997, she played the leading role in the independent drama film Nevada.[9] The next year she starred in Your Friends & Neighbors directed by Neil LaBute.[10] In 1998–1999 season, she returned to television with a recurring role on the NBC comedy, Frasier, as Faye Moskowitz.[11]
In 1999, Brenneman became creator and executive producer of her own television series Judging Amy, in which she played the title character.[11] 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. Frederica Brenneman was one of Harvard Law School's first female graduates and became a juvenile court judge in Connecticut when Amy was three years old. Amy has said, "I play my mother's job, not my mother."[12]Judging Amy ran on CBS for six seasons and 138 episodes from September 19, 1999, to May 3, 2005, to good ratings. In 2002, she was awarded the Women in FilmLucy Award in recognition of her excellence and innovation in her creative works that have enhanced the perception of women through the medium of television.[13]
In 1995, Brenneman married directorBrad Silberling in the garden at her parents' home. They had originally met on the set of NYPD Blue. Brenneman and Silberling have two children, Charlotte Tucker and Bodhi Russell, in Pasadena.[22][23]
Brenneman 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 an abortion and were "unashamed of the choice they made."[26]
In July 2008, Brenneman 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 September 18, 2008.[28] The bid was successful.[29]
Brenneman is also a strong supporter of more restrictive gun laws, and in 2009 she hosted the Target for a Safe America gala at the Riviera Country Club in Los Angeles for the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence, a gun control group that favors restrictive gun laws and supports gun bans.[30]
^Martino, Stacey (February 28, 2007). "The Peace Alliance". The Gift of Peace. Archived from the original on September 19, 2008. Retrieved March 1, 2007.
