Nancy Giles (born July 17, 1960) 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 commentator, perhaps best known for her appearances in the series ''

China Beach ''China Beach'' is an American war film, war drama television series set at an evacuation hospital during the Vietnam War. The title refers to My Khe beach in the city of Da Nang, Đà Nẵng, Vietnam, nicknamed "China Beach" in English by Amer ...

'' and on ''

CBS News Sunday Morning ''CBS News Sunday Morning'' (normally shortened to ''Sunday Morning'' on the program itself since 2009) is an American news magazine A news magazine is a typed, printed, and published magazine, radio or television program, usually published ...

''.

Early life

Nancy Giles was born 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 ...

, the daughter of Dorothy Aileen (

née A birth name is the name of a person given upon birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name, or the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a birth certificate or birth re ...

Dove) and Thomas Jefferson Giles. She is a graduate of

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 ...

Career

Giles was a member of the Second City Touring Company in 1984. She is a writer and contributor to ''

''. She was the announcer and co-host of ''Fox After Breakfast''. She starred in two

ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...

television series, playing girl Private Frankie Bunsen for three seasons on ''

'' and hostile waitress Connie Morris on the

sitcom A sitcom, a portmanteau of situation comedy, or situational comedy, is a genre of comedy centered on a fixed set of characters who mostly carry over from episode to episode. Sitcoms can be contrasted with sketch comedy, where a troupe may use ne ...

Delta Delta commonly refers to: * Delta (letter) (Δ or δ), a letter of the Greek alphabet * River delta, at a river mouth * D ( NATO phonetic alphabet: "Delta") * Delta Air Lines, US * Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 Delta may also ...

''. She had guest roles on shows including '' The Jury'', ''

L.A. Law ''L.A. Law'' is an American legal drama television series that ran for eight seasons on NBC, from September 15, 1986, to May 19, 1994. Created by Steven Bochco and Terry Louise Fisher, it centers on the partners, associates and staff of a Los ...

'', ''

Spin City ''Spin City'' is an American sitcom television series that aired from September 17, 1996 to April 30, 2002, on ABC. Created by Gary David Goldberg and Bill Lawrence, the show is set in a semi-fictionalized version of the New York City mayor's ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', '' Dream On'', and ''

The Fresh Prince of Bel Air ''The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air'' is an American television sitcom created by Andy and Susan Borowitz for NBC. It aired from September 10, 1990, to May 20, 1996. The series stars Will Smith as a fictionalized version of himself, a street-smart t ...

''. She appeared in the 1985

Broadway Broadway may refer to: Theatre * Broadway Theatre (disambiguation) * Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S. ** Broadway (Manhattan), the street **Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...

production of the musical ''

Mayor In many countries, a mayor is the highest-ranking official in a municipal government such as that of a city or a town. Worldwide, there is a wide variance in local laws and customs regarding the powers and responsibilities of a mayor as well a ...

''. Giles and her CBS colleague, correspondent Erin Moriarty, have collaborated on two public-affairs radio series under the Giles and Moriarty banner, one for

WPHT WPHT (1210 AM) is a commercial radio station licensed to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The station broadcasts a talk radio format and is owned by Audacy, Inc. Its transmitter and broadcast tower are in Moorestown, New Jersey. The radio studios ...

in Philadelphia and another for Greenstone Media. Both shows were produced at the facilities of the

CBS Radio Network CBS News Radio, formerly known as CBS Radio News and historically known as the CBS Radio Network, is a radio network that provides news to more than 1,000 radio stations throughout the United States. The network is owned by Paramount Global. It ...

. Giles gave the commencement address for the

Ramapo College Ramapo College of New Jersey (RCNJ) is a public liberal arts college in Mahwah, New Jersey. It is part of New Jersey's public system of higher education. As of the fall 2021 semester, there were a total of 5,732 students enrolled at the college ...

's graduating class of 2007 and

Grinnell College Grinnell College is a private liberal arts college in Grinnell, Iowa, United States. It was founded in 1846 when a group of New England Congregationalists established the Trustees of Iowa College. Grinnell has the fifth highest endowment-to-st ...

's graduating class of 2014. In 2017 Giles along with CBS News colleague Nancy Wyatt launch the popular podcast The Giles Files.

Personal life

As of March 2020, Giles lives in

Weehawken, New Jersey Weehawken is a Township (New Jersey), township in the North Hudson, New Jersey, northern part of Hudson County, New Jersey, Hudson County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. It is located largely on the Hudson Palisades overlooking the North River ...

. During the

COVID-19 pandemic in the United States The COVID-19 pandemic in the United States is a part of the COVID-19 pandemic, worldwide pandemic of COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by SARS-CoV-2, severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). In the Uni ...

, she self-isolated to avoid infection, and produced in "A brisk walk with Nancy Giles", which documented her walk around the town, in particular up the inclined block on which

Weehawken High School Weehawken High School is a six-year comprehensive public high school that serves students in seventh through twelfth grade from Weehawken in Hudson County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Weehawken School District. The sch ...

is located, and up

Boulevard East Boulevard East (officially John F. Kennedy Boulevard East, and sometimes referred to as JFK Boulevard East) is a two-way, mostly two lane, scenic county road in the North Hudson, New Jersey municipalities of Weehawken, West New York, Guttenberg ...

, across from which the view of the Manhattan skyline prompted her to reflect on her parents' emigration to the area 70 years earlier.

Partial Filmography

Film

Television

Videogames

References

External links

* 1960 births Actresses from New York City African-American actresses American women comedians American film actresses American musical theatre actresses American television actresses Living people Oberlin College alumni CBS News people Comedians from New York City American political commentators 21st-century American comedians 21st-century American actresses 20th-century African-American women singers 21st-century African-American women 21st-century African-American people {{US-tv-actor-1960s-stub