Leslie Erin Grossman (born October 25, 1971) is an American actress. She is known for her role as Lauren on

The WB The WB Television Network (for Warner Bros., or the "Frog Network", for its former mascot, Michigan J. Frog) was an American television network launched on terrestrial television, broadcast television on January 11, 1995, as a joint venture be ...

sitcom '' What I Like About You'', and for her frequent collaborations with Ryan Murphy, appearing as Mary Cherry on The WB’s comedy-drama series ''

Popular Popularity or social status is the quality of being well liked, admired or well known to a particular group. Popular may also refer to: In sociology * Popular culture * Popular fiction * Popular music * Popular science * Populace, the total ...

'' (1999–2001), and as various characters on the FX anthology series ''

American Horror Story ''American Horror Story'' is an American anthology horror television series created by Ryan Murphy and Brad Falchuk for the cable network FX. The first installment in the '' American Story'' media franchise, each season is conceived as a ...

'' since 2017.

Early life and education

Grossman was born and raised in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...

. She attended Crossroads School for Arts & Sciences, where she directed plays. She started acting in her senior year at Sarah Lawrence College.

Career

In 1999, Grossman was cast in her first major role, playing supporting character Mary Cherry in

high school drama series ''

''. She had auditioned for the roles of Sam McPherson and Nicole Julian on ''

'' before having the part of Mary Cherry written for her. After ''Popular'', Grossman joined the cast of

sitcom '' What I Like About You'' with

Amanda Bynes Amanda Laura Bynes (born April 3, 1986) is an American actress, known for her work in television and film throughout the 1990s and 2000s. Bynes began her career as a child actress, working on the Nickelodeon sketch comedy series ''All That'' ( ...

and

Jennie Garth Jennifer Eve Garth (born April 3, 1972) is an American actress. She is known for starring as Kelly Taylor throughout the ''Beverly Hills, 90210'' franchise and Val Tyler on the sitcom '' What I Like About You'' (2002–06). In 2012, she starre ...

. She had a recurring role in the first season before being added to the main cast in the second season. She played Lauren, the co-worker and best friend of Val Tyler (Garth). On television, Grossman has appeared on ''

Nip/Tuck ''Nip/Tuck'' is an American medical drama television series created by Ryan Murphy that aired on FX in the United States from July 22, 2003, to March 3, 2010. The series, which also incorporates elements of crime drama, black comedy, family dra ...

'', '' Charmed'' and ''

CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...

'', amongst other television series. In 2011 she guest starred on ABC Family's ''

Melissa and Joey Melissa is a female given name. The name comes from the Greek language, Greek word μέλισσα (''mélissa''), "bee", which in turn comes from μέλι (''meli''), "honey". In Hittite language, Hittite, ''melit'' signifies "honey". ''Meliss ...

'', and in 2012 she appeared on '' The New Normal'' and ''

Ben and Kate ''Ben and Kate'' is an American single-camera sitcom television series that ran on Fox from September 25, 2012, to January 22, 2013, as part of the 2012–13 television season. The show was produced by 20th Century Fox Television and Chernin En ...

''. On film, Grossman appeared in '' Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous'' in 2005. She appeared in two movies in 2006, '' Running with Scissors'' in an uncredited role and in ''

Itty Bitty Titty Committee ''Itty Bitty Titty Committee'' is a feminist lesbian comedy film directed by Jamie Babbit. It was released on September 28, 2007. It follows the political awakening of Anna, a young, mild-mannered lesbian woman who joins a radical feminist group. ...

'' as Maude. In 2017, she joined the cast of the seventh season of ''

'' as Meadow Wilton and a flashback version of the infamous serial killer and Manson Family gang member,

Patricia Krenwinkel Patricia Dianne Krenwinkel (born December 3, 1947) is an American murderer and a former member of the Manson Family. During her time with Manson's group, she was known by various aliases such as Big Patty, Yellow, Marnie Reeves and Mary Ann Sco ...

. In 2018, she was promoted to series regular for its eighth season portraying witch Coco St. Pierre Vanderbilt. She later appeared in the ninth season as Camp Redwood’s owner Margaret Booth. She returned for the tenth season as a strong-willed literary agent named Ursula, and for the eleventh season as Barbara, a

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 ...

citizen that is going through a harrowing divorce process. Her appearances on the show mark the fourth collaboration between Grossman and Ryan Murphy, having appeared on ''Popular'', ''Nip/Tuck'', ''The New Normal,'' and ''American Horror Story''.

Personal life

Grossman has a daughter, Goldie. Grossman is

Jewish Jews ( he, יְהוּדִים, , ) or Jewish people are an ethnoreligious group and nation originating from the Israelites Israelite origins and kingdom: "The first act in the long drama of Jewish history is the age of the Israelites""The ...

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Grossman, Leslie 1971 births 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actresses from Los Angeles American film actresses American television actresses Living people Sarah Lawrence College alumni Jewish American actresses 21st-century American Jews