Melissa Fitzgerald is an American

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a Character (arts), character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek ...

and the Senior Director of the

nonprofit organization A nonprofit organization (NPO) or non-profit organisation, also known as a non-business entity, not-for-profit organization, or nonprofit institution, is a legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public or social benefit, in co ...

Justice For Vets. As an actress, she may be best known for portraying Carol Fitzpatrick on ''

The West Wing ''The West Wing'' is an American serial (radio and television), serial political drama television series created by Aaron Sorkin that was originally broadcast on NBC from September 22, 1999, to May 14, 2006. The series is set primarily in the ...

''.

Early life and education

Fitzgerald's father is Pennsylvania judge James Fitzgerald; her mother, Carole, is involved in politics and volunteer work in Philadelphia. Fitzgerald graduated from

Springside School Springside Chestnut Hill Academy (also known as SCH Academy or SCH) is an independent, non-sectarian Pre-K through grade 12 school located in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, approximately 10 miles from C ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

in 1983, and earned a B.A. in Drama and Literature from the

University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

in 1987. Fitzgerald studied acting at The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City.

Career

Fitzgerald is the founder of Voices in Harmony, a non-profit community theater in

Los Angeles 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' ...

. From 1999 to 2006, she played Carol Fitzpatrick, assistant to press secretary

C.J. Cregg Claudia Jean Cregg is a fictional character played by Allison Janney on the American television drama ''The West Wing''. From the beginning of the series in 1999 until the sixth season in 2004, she was the White House Press Secretary in the ad ...

, on ''

''. On January 19, 2007,

Nicholas D. Kristof Nicholas Donabet Kristof (born April 27, 1959) is an American journalist and political commentator. A winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, he is a regular CNN contributor and an op-ed columnist for ''The New York Times''. Born in Chicago, Kristof wa ...

of ''

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 ...

'' announced that Fitzgerald had won a writing contest he had sponsored on

Darfur Darfur ( ; ar, دار فور, Dār Fūr, lit=Realm of the Fur) is a region of western Sudan. ''Dār'' is an Arabic word meaning "home f – the region was named Dardaju ( ar, دار داجو, Dār Dājū, links=no) while ruled by the Daju, ...

. On May 17, 2008, Fitzgerald received the

Chestnut Hill College Chestnut Hill College is a private Catholic college in the Chestnut Hill section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The college was founded in 1924 as a women's college by the Sisters of St. Joseph. It was originally named Mount Saint Joseph College ...

Medal, and she was the commencement speaker. In November 2013, Fitzgerald joined Justice For Vets as its Senior Director. The organization advocates for veterans treatment courts.

Filmography

Movies

*''

Love & Sex ''Love & Sex'' is a 2000 American comedy-drama film written and directed by Valerie Breiman. It stars Famke Janssen and Jon Favreau. Plot When her rather explicit article on oral sex is rejected, magazine journalist Kate Welles is told by her e ...

'' *''

Frequency Frequency is the number of occurrences of a repeating event per unit of time. It is also occasionally referred to as ''temporal frequency'' for clarity, and is distinct from ''angular frequency''. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) which is eq ...

'' *''

Monument Ave. ''Monument Ave.'', originally titled ''Snitch'' in the United States and titled ''Noose'' in Australia, is a 1998 American neo-noir crime film directed by Ted Demme and starring Denis Leary. The film also stars Famke Janssen, Martin Sheen, Ian ...

'' *''

The Truman Show ''The Truman Show'' is a 1998 American psychological satirical comedy-drama film directed by Peter Weir, produced by Scott Rudin, Andrew Niccol, Edward S. Feldman, and Adam Schroeder, and written by Niccol. The film stars Jim Carrey as Truma ...

'' *''

Boxing Helena ''Boxing Helena'' is a 1993 American mystery thriller and body horror film directed by Jennifer Lynch and starring Sherilyn Fenn, Julian Sands, and Bill Paxton. Before its release, the film's production was hampered by legal battles with Madonn ...

'' *''The Date'' *'' The Painter''

Television

*''

'' *''

Grey's Anatomy ''Grey's Anatomy'' is an American medical drama television series that premiered on March 27, 2005, on ABC as a mid-season replacement. The series focuses on the lives of surgical interns, residents, and attendings as they develop into se ...

References

External links

*
Justice for Vets profile
American television actresses American film actresses Living people Actresses from Philadelphia University of Pennsylvania alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Year of birth missing (living people) {{US-screen-actor-stub