Isabel Gillies
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Isabel Boyer Gillies (born February 9, 1970) is an American author and actress. She played
Kathy Stabler Kathy is a feminine given name. It is a pet form of Katherine, Kathleen and their related forms. Kathy may refer to: In sports *Kathy Bald, Canadian freestyle swimmer * Kathy May, American tennis player * Kathy Radzuweit, German volleyball playe ...
,
Elliot Stabler Elliot Stabler Sr. (); is a fictional character, played by Christopher Meloni and one of the lead characters on the NBC police procedural series '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' and '' Law & Order: Organized Crime''. Stabler was a lead for ...
's wife in '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit''. Her memoir ''Happens Every Day'' was a ''
New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
'' bestseller, and her most recent book is ''Cozy''.


Early life and education

Gillies was born and raised in
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 ...
. She attended the
Brearley School The Brearley School is an all-girls private school in New York City, located on the Upper East Side neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan. The school is divided into lower (kindergarten – grade 4), middle (grades 5–8) and upper (grades 9 ...
before graduating from the
Nightingale-Bamford School The Nightingale-Bamford School is an independent all-female university-preparatory school founded in 1920 by Frances Nicolau Nightingale and Maya Stevens Bamford. Located in Manhattan on the Upper East Side, Nightingale-Bamford is a member of th ...
. As a student, Gillies struggled with severe dyslexia. She graduated from
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then-Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, the ...
with a BFA in film. Gillies is the daughter of Archibald and Linda Gillies.


Career

Gillies landed her first movie role when
Whit Stillman John Whitney Stillman (born January 25, 1952) is an American writer-director and actor known for his 1990 film '' Metropolitan'', which earned him a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay. He is also known for his other f ...
cast her as Cynthia McLean in his pioneering independent film, '' Metropolitan'' (1990). Other film credits include Finley in ''
Another Girl Another Planet "Another Girl, Another Planet" is a song by English rock band the Only Ones. It is the second track on their debut studio album, ''The Only Ones'', released in 1978. The song is the band's most successful and has since been covered by several oth ...
'' (1992), Alison in ''
I Shot Andy Warhol ''I Shot Andy Warhol'' is a 1996 biographical drama film about the life of Valerie Solanas and her relationship with the artist Andy Warhol. The film marked the feature film directorial debut of Canadian director Mary Harron. The film stars Lil ...
'' (1996), Moira Ingalls in '' On Line'' (2002), Isabel in ''
Happy Here and Now ''Happy Here and Now'' is a 2002 mystery drama film directed by Michael Almereyda. The film stars David Arquette, Liane Balaban, Gloria Reuben, Ally Sheedy, and Karl Geary. ''Happy Here and Now'' had its world premiere at the CineVegas film ...
'' (2002), and Kathryn in ''New Orleans, Mon Amour'' (2008). Prior to her role as Kathy Stabler on ''SVU'', which she played from 1999 to 2011, Gillies appeared in "Bad Girl," an episode of the original ''
Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment, launching the '' Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire run on NBC, premiering on ...
'' series, playing Monica Johnson, a young woman who murders an undercover police officer and then undergoes a religious conversion during her trial and is
born again Born again, or to experience the new birth, is a phrase, particularly in evangelicalism, that refers to a "spiritual rebirth", or a regeneration of the human spirit. In contrast to one's physical birth, being "born again" is distinctly and sepa ...
. In 2000, she played the role of Alison in the short-lived Fox series, ''
The $treet ''The Street'' (stylized as ''The $treet'') is an American drama television series that aired on Fox from November 1 to December 13, 2000. Created by Jeff Rake and Darren Star, only 12 episodes were produced, and the series was pulled from U.S. ai ...
''. In 2021, she reprised her role as Kathy Stabler for one episode during season 22 of ''SVU''; the cross-over episode that launched '' Law & Order: Organized Crime''. The handling of her character led Gillies to discuss how fandom had changed due to social media.


Books

In addition to writing for a number of outlets, including the ''Los Angeles Times'', ''The New York Times'', Gillies has four books to her credit. Her 2009 memoir, ''Happens Every Day,'' is about her leaving
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 ...
to follow her first husband to
Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...
. ''Happens Every Day'' was a ''New York Times'' bestseller. It was featured by
Starbucks Starbucks Corporation is an American multinational chain of coffeehouses and roastery reserves headquartered in Seattle, Washington. It is the world's largest coffeehouse chain. As of November 2021, the company had 33,833 stores in 80 c ...
as a nationwide selection for its book program.
NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
's ''
Fresh Air ''Fresh Air'' is an American radio talk show broadcast on National Public Radio stations across the United States since 1985. It is produced by WHYY-FM in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The show's host is Terry Gross. , the show was syndicated to 6 ...
'' selected it as a Top Ten Book of 2009. Her follow-up memoir, ''A Year and Six Seconds,'' was published in 2011. In 2014, Gillies tried her hand with fiction with ''Starry Night.'' This young-adult novel was published by Farrar, Straus & Giroux in September 2014. In 2019, she returned to non-fiction with ''Cozy''. This was published by Harper Wave.
The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...
said of it, “For Gillies, coziness is a state of mind, the environments we create in our homes to feel at ease. Think of her as a companion to Marie Kondo, filling up all those spaces once they’ve been decluttered.”


Personal life

She was married to DeSales Harrison, an English professor at
Oberlin College Oberlin College is a Private university, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Oberlin, Ohio. It is the oldest Mixed-sex education, coeducational liberal arts college in the United S ...
, from 1999 to 2005. Gillies married Peter Lattman, an editor at ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'', on October 13, 2007. Gillies spends her summers in
Islesboro, Maine Islesboro is a town in Waldo County, Maine, United States, comprising Islesboro Island and several smaller islands. The population was 583 at the 2020 census. It has a summer colony accessible by state ferry service from Lincolnville Beach thr ...
.Alan Huffman: Islesboro, Maine
Retrieved 2017-04-27.


Filmography


Film


Television


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Gillies, Isabel American television actresses Actresses from New York City Tisch School of the Arts alumni 21st-century American memoirists Living people 1970 births Writers from New York City American women memoirists People from Islesboro, Maine American film actresses 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 21st-century American women writers Brearley School alumni Nightingale-Bamford School alumni