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Jami Gertz
Jami Gertz
	Gertz in 2008
Born	Jami Beth Gertz; October 28, 1965 (age 59); Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1981–present
Spouse	Tony Ressler (m. 1989)
Children	3

Jami Beth Gertz (/ˈdʒeɪmi/ JAY-mee; born October 28, 1965)^[1] is an American actress. Gertz is known for her early roles in the films Crossroads, Quicksilver (both 1986), Less than Zero, The Lost Boys (both 1987), and the 1980s TV series Square Pegs and 1996's Twister, as well as for her roles as Judy Miller in the CBS sitcom Still Standing and as Debbie Weaver in the ABC sitcom The Neighbors. Along with her husband, Tony Ressler, she is a part-owner of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association.

Early life

Gertz was born in Chicago, Illinois, and lived in the suburb of Glenview.^[2] She attended public schools, graduating from Maine East High School.^[3] Her parents are Sharyn and Walter Gertz, who was a builder and contractor,^[4] and she has two brothers, Michael and Scott. Gertz, who is Jewish, was raised in Conservative Judaism.^[5]^[6]^[7]

Career

She was discovered in a nationwide talent search by Norman Lear and studied drama at NYU.^[8] As a child actor, Gertz was in one episode of Diff'rent Strokes along with Andrew Dice Clay. She also had a recurring role on The Facts of Life as Blair's friend and schoolmate Boots St. Clair. Gertz made her film debut in the 1981 romance film Endless Love, which was followed by a co-starring role in the 1982–83 TV sitcom series Square Pegs. She gained more significant attention with a starring role in 1987's Less than Zero, as the friend of a doomed drug addict played by Robert Downey Jr. She also starred in the 1987 film The Lost Boys as Star, the "half vampire" girlfriend, with Kiefer Sutherland and Jason Patric.

After working in Paris as a scent designer for Lanvin, Gertz returned to the United States. She appeared in films including 1986's Solarbabies and Crossroads, the 1989 film Listen to Me with Kirk Cameron, Don't Tell Her It's Me, and Jersey Girl. In the 1994 episode of Seinfeld, "The Stall", she appeared as one of Jerry's girlfriends, who works as a phone sex operator and can't "spare a square" of toilet paper for Elaine in the restroom. Also in 1994, she played Sarah in the TV movie This Can't Be Love, starring: Katharine Hepburn, Anthony Quinn and Jason Bateman. She landed a key-supporting role, in the 1996 blockbuster Twister. Gertz later played the recurring character Dr. Nina Pomerantz during the 1997 season of ER. She reportedly was offered, but declined, the role of Rachel Green, during pre-production of Friends.^[9]

In 2000, Gertz took up a recurring role on the Fox hit Ally McBeal as Kimmy Bishop, John Cage's love interest. Gertz was nominated for an Emmy for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series. She returned to this role in one more episode as a guest star in the show's final season in 2002. Also in 2002, she portrayed comedian Gilda Radner in the television movie Gilda Radner: It's Always Something.^[5] Gertz's character on Still Standing, Judy Miller, is named after a character Radner portrayed on Saturday Night Live. Still Standing, a television sitcom in which Gertz co-starred with Mark Addy and which originally aired from 2002 to 2006, was her longest-running and most successful television show to date.

In 2003, Gertz starred as Brandy, a wanted criminal's girlfriend, in Undercover Christmas, and in 2005 Gertz played the lead role in the TV film Fighting the Odds: The Marilyn Gambrell Story. In 2009–10, she had a recurring role as Marlo Klein, wife of Ari Gold's newest business partner Andrew Klein, an agent at Miller-Gold Talent Agency, on HBO's Entourage. In 2011, she returned to broadcast television with a guest role in the Modern Family episode "Slow Down Your Neighbors". In 2011, she earned a producer's credit on the Academy Award-nominated film A Better Life, which was put in limited release throughout the month of June and early July before arriving on DVD in October.

From 2012 to 2014, Gertz starred in the ABC sitcom The Neighbors, in which she played the mother of a human family that moves into a neighborhood populated by residents from another planet.

Personal life

Gertz has been married to business executive Tony Ressler since 1989. They have three sons.^[10]^[11]^[12]

Gertz and her husband are members of the investment group led by Mark Attanasio which purchased the Milwaukee Brewers of Major League Baseball. Gertz-Ressler High Academy, a member of Alliance College-Ready Public Schools, is named for Gertz and her husband. They also became owners of the Atlanta Hawks of the National Basketball Association (NBA) in 2015.^[13] Gertz represented the Hawks in the NBA draft lottery for the 2018, 2019 and 2020 NBA drafts.^[14]

The Giving Back Fund named Gertz and her husband as the number-one donor to charity of any celebrity, in 2010.^[15] Gertz serves as a board director for the Melanoma Research Alliance, the largest nonprofit funder of melanoma research.^[16]

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1981	On the Right Track	Big Girl
1981	Endless Love	Patty
1984	Sixteen Candles	Robin
1984	Alphabet City	Sophia
1985	Mischief	Rosalie
1986	Quicksilver	Terri
	Crossroads	Frances
	Solarbabies	Terra
1987	The Lost Boys	Star
1987	Less than Zero	Blair
1989	Listen to Me	Monica Tomanski
	Renegades	Barbara
	Silence Like Glass	Eva Martin
1990	Don't Tell Her It's Me a.k.a., The Boyfriend School	Emily Pear
1990	Sibling Rivalry	Jeanine
1992	Jersey Girl	Toby
1994	This Can't Be Love	Sarah
1996	Twister	Dr. Melissa Reeves	Stinkers Bad Movie Award for Worst Supporting Actress Nominated – Golden Raspberry Award for Worst Supporting Actress
1999	Seven Girlfriends	Lisa
2001	Lip Service	Kat
2006	Keeping Up with the Steins	Joanne Fielder
2013	Dealin' with Idiots	Rosie
2022	I Want You Back	Rita

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1982–1983	Square Pegs	Muffy Tepperman	Regular role; 20 episodes
1983	Diff'rent Strokes	Lindsay	Episode: "My Fair Larry"
1983	For Members Only	Monica Mitchell	Television film
1984	Dreams	Martha Spino	Regular role; 12 episodes
1983–1984	The Facts of Life	Boots St. Claire	Recurring role; 4 episodes
1984	Family Ties	Jocelyn Clark	Episode: "Double Date"
1991–1992	Sibs	Lily Ruscio	Regular role; 22 episodes
1994	Seinfeld	Jane	Episode: "The Stall"
	This Can't Be Love	Sarah	Television film
	Dream On	Jane Harnick	Episodes: "The Taking of Pablum - Part 1 & Part 2"
	Related by Birth	Lily	Television short
1995	Dream On	Martin's Lover	Episode: "Take Two Tablets, and Get Me to Mt. Sinai"
1995	Hudson Street	Allison	Episode: "Bells & Whistles"
1997	ER	Dr. Nina Pomerantz	Recurring role; 6 episodes
2001	True Love		Television film
2000–2002	Ally McBeal	Kimmy Bishop	Recurring role; 6 episodes Nominated – Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Guest Actress in a Comedy Series
2002	Gilda Radner: It's Always Something	Gilda Radner	Television film
2003	Undercover Christmas	Brandi O'Neill	Television film
2005	Fighting the Odds: The Marilyn Gambrell Story	Marilyn Gambrell	Television film
2002–2006	Still Standing	Judy Miller	Regular role; 88 episodes Nominated – Young Artist Award for Most Popular Mom & Pop in a Television Series (shared with Mark Addy)
2006	Shark	Sara Metcalfe	Episode: "Sins of the Mother"
2007	Lost Holiday: The Jim & Suzanne Shemwell Story	Suzanne Shemwell	Television film
2009–2010	Entourage	Marlo Klein	Recurring role; 5 episodes
2011	Modern Family	Laura	Episode: "Slow Down Your Neighbors"
2012–2014	The Neighbors	Debbie Weaver	Regular role; 44 episodes
2016	This Is Us	Marin Rosenthal	Episode: “Career Days"
2017	Difficult People	David's Wife	Episode: "Bernie and Blythe"