Dinah Lenney (born Dinah Gross; November 18, 1956,

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

) is an American actress and writer. She is the author of ''Bigger than Life: A Murder, a Memoir'', a 2007 book about the murder of her father, Republican Party politician and businessman Nelson G. Gross.

Biography

Lenney was born to Nelson Gerard Gross and Leah (née Binger) Gross. Her parents divorced in 1958, after which time she lived with her mother, who remarried Ron Lenney. Her surname was legally changed from Gross to Lenney around her sixteenth birthday.Lenney, Dinah. ''Bigger than Life: A Murder, a Memoir'' (2007); She attended

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

, graduating with a

B.A. Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in American Studies in 1978. She received a Certificate of Acting from the

Neighborhood Playhouse A neighbourhood (British English, Irish English, Australian English and Canadian English) or neighborhood (American English; see spelling differences) is a geographically localised community within a larger city, town, suburb or rural area, ...

, where she studied with

Sanford Meisner Sanford Meisner (August 31, 1905 – February 2, 1997) was an American actor and acting teacher who developed an approach to acting instruction that is now known as the Meisner technique. While Meisner was exposed to method acting at the Group ...

. She also holds a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

in creative nonfiction from the

Bennington Bennington is a town in Bennington County, Vermont, United States. It is one of two shire towns (county seats) of the county, the other being Manchester. As of the 2020 US Census, the population was 15,333. Bennington is the most populous to ...

Writing Seminars.Playwrights: Dinah Lenney
PioneerDrama.com; accessed March 28, 2008. In her acting career, Lenney has had a variety of stage, film, and television roles. On television she has appeared on shows such as '' Married... with Children'' (1991), ''

Murphy Brown ''Murphy Brown'' is an American television sitcom created by Diane English that premiered on November 14, 1988, on CBS. The series stars Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news anchor for ''FYI'', a ...

'', ''

Judging Amy ''Judging Amy'' is an American legal drama television series that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly. Its main character (Brenneman) is a judge who serves in a ...

'', '' A Fine Romance'' and ''

South of Nowhere ''South of Nowhere'' is an American teen drama television series created by Thomas W. Lynch. It first aired on November 4, 2005, on Noggin (brand), Noggin as part of its teen programming block, The N. The show was produced by Noggin LLC in assoc ...

''. Beginning in 1995 she played a recurring role on '' ER'' as Nurse Shirley. In 2006 she coauthored the book ''Acting for Young Actors'' with

Mary Lou Belli Mary Lou Belli is an American television director and author. Career Belli attended Penn State where she received a Bachelor's degree. For many years she acted in musical theatre and soap operas in New York City, followed by a Los Angeles caree ...

. In 2007

University of Nebraska Press The University of Nebraska Press, also known as UNP, was founded in 1941 and is an academic publisher of scholarly and general-interest books. The press is under the auspices of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the main campus of the Univer ...

published her memoir, ''Bigger than Life: A Murder, a Memoir'', which recounts her experience of learning that her father, Nelson G. Gross, had been kidnapped and murdered in September 1997. Her book ''The Object Parade'', a collection of 32 personal essays which first appeared in publications including ''

Creative Nonfiction Creative nonfiction (also known as literary nonfiction or narrative nonfiction or literary journalism or verfabula) is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contra ...

'', ''

AGNI Agni (English: , sa, अग्नि, translit=Agni) is a Sanskrit word meaning fire and connotes the Vedic fire deity of Hinduism. He is also the guardian deity of the southeast direction and is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu ...

'' and the ''

Harvard Review ''Harvard Review'' is a biannual literary journal published by Houghton Library at Harvard University. History In 1986 Stratis Haviaras, curator of the Woodberry Poetry Room at Harvard University, founded a quarterly periodical called ''Erato''. ...

'', was first published in 2014. Writing in the ''

Los Angeles Review of Books The ''Los Angeles Review of Books'' (''LARB'' is a literary review magazine covering the national and international book scenes. A preview version launched on Tumblr in April 2011, and the official website followed one year later in April 2012. ...

'', Ned Stuckey-French described ''The Object Parade'' as an "essay collection isguisedas a memoir, though perhaps it's the other way around."

Family

Lenney is married to screenwriter/producer Fred Mills; the couple has two children."Births"
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', March 5, 1993. Accessed March 28, 2008.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lenney, Dinah 1956 births American film actresses American memoirists American stage actresses American television actresses Bennington College alumni Living people Yale University alumni People from Englewood, New Jersey American women memoirists 21st-century American women