Piper Lisa Perabo () (born October 31, 1976) is an American actress. Following her
breakthrough in the comedy-drama film ''
Coyote Ugly'' (2000),
she starred in ''
The Prestige
''The Prestige'' is a 1995 fantasy novel by British writer Christopher Priest. It tells the story of a prolonged feud between two stage magicians in late 1800s England. It is epistolary in structure; that is, it purports to be a collection of ...
'' (2006), ''
Angel Has Fallen'' (2019), and as
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
agent Annie Walker in the
USA Network
USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
spy drama series ''
Covert Affairs
''Covert Affairs'' is an American action drama television series filmed in Toronto, Canada, starring Piper Perabo and Christopher Gorham that premiered on Tuesday, July 13, 2010. On January 6, 2015, USA Network canceled ''Covert Affairs'' afte ...
'' (2010–2014), for which she was nominated for a
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama is a Golden Globe Award presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). The award honors the best performance by an actress in a drama television series.
...
.
Early life
Perabo is the daughter of Mary Charlotte (née Ulland), a
physical therapist
Physical therapy (PT), also known as physiotherapy, is one of the allied health professions. It is provided by physical therapists who promote, maintain, or restore health through physical examination, diagnosis, management, prognosis, patien ...
, and George William Perabo, a lecturer in poetry at
Ocean County College
Ocean County College (OCC) is a public community college in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. Its main campus is in Toms River. Other locations include the Southern Education Center in the Manahawkin section of Stafford Township and mult ...
.
She is of English, German, and Irish (father) and Norwegian (mother) descent; her surname is sometimes mistakenly described as Portuguese. She grew up in
Toms River, New Jersey
Toms River is a township in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States. Its mainland portion is also a census-designated place of the same name, which serves as the county seat of Ocean County.[Piper Laurie
Piper Laurie (born Rosetta Jacobs; January 22, 1932) is an American actress. She is known for her roles in the films ''The Hustler'' (1961), ''Carrie (1976 film), Carrie'' (1976), and ''Children of a Lesser God (film), Children of a Lesser God' ...]
.
She is the eldest of three children with two brothers, Noah and Adam. She graduated from
Toms River High School North
Toms River High School North is a four-year comprehensive public high school, and was the second public high school established in Toms River, in Ocean County, New Jersey, United States, operating as part of the Toms River Regional Schools. ...
in 1994, and earned a
bachelor's degree
A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...
in theater from
Honors Tutorial College at
Ohio University
Ohio University is a Public university, public research university in Athens, Ohio. The first university chartered by an Act of Congress and the first to be chartered in Ohio, the university was chartered in 1787 by the Congress of the Confeder ...
in 1998. In 1996, she attended the
Trinity/La MaMa Performing Arts Program. She also studied Latin, physics, and poetry in her final year.
Perabo was first noticed a year before she graduated from college. She was in New York City, visiting her then-boyfriend, and accompanied him to an audition. Casting director Denise Fitzgerald spotted her and asked her to read for a part. She was not cast, but when Fitzgerald found out that she did not have any representation, she made phone calls on Perabo's behalf and found her an agent.
Career
1997–2007: Beginning and breakthrough
After graduating, Perabo moved to New York, where she worked as a waitress.
She also studied acting at the
La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club and had roles in various plays.
She was cast in her first feature film just a month after moving to the city,
Marc Levin
Marc Levin is an American independent film producer and director. He is best known for his '' Brick City'' TV series, which won the 2010 Peabody award and was nominated for an Emmy for Exceptional Merit in Nonfiction Filmmaking and his dramat ...
's comedy ''
Whiteboyz
''Whiteboyz'' (sometimes styled ''Whiteboys'') is a 1999 American comedy film. The independent, limited release feature was written by Danny Hoch, Garth Belcon, Henri M. Kessler, Richard Stratton, and Marc Levin, and directed by Levin.Jennings, ...
''.
In 2000, she was cast in the
romantic musical
Musical is the adjective of music.
Musical may also refer to:
* Musical theatre, a performance art that combines songs, spoken dialogue, acting and dance
* Musical film and television, a genre of film and television that incorporates into the narr ...
comedy-drama
Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...
film ''
Coyote Ugly'' as Violet "Jersey" Sanford, for which she won an
MTV Movie Award
The MTV Movie & TV Awards (formerly the MTV Movie Awards) is a film and television awards show presented annually on MTV. The first MTV Movie Awards were presented in 1992. The ceremony was renamed the MTV Movie & TV Awards for its 26th editio ...
for Best Music Moment for "
One Way or Another
"One Way or Another" is a song by American new wave band Blondie from their 1978 album ''Parallel Lines''. Lyrically, the song was inspired by Blondie frontwoman Deborah Harry's experience with a stalker in the early 1970s, an incident which ...
". Despite the film's mixed response from critics, it was a box office success, grossing over $113 million worldwide.
She also appeared in ''
The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle'' as
FBI agent
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, t ...
Karen Sympathy.
After the success of ''Coyote Ugly'', Perabo decided to focus on
independent film
An independent film, independent movie, indie film, or indie movie is a feature film or short film that is produced outside the major film studio system, in addition to being produced and distributed by independent entertainment companies (or, i ...
s.
In 2001, she starred in an independent Canadian drama called ''
Lost and Delirious
''Lost and Delirious'' is a 2001 Canadian drama film directed by Léa Pool, and based on the novel '' The Wives of Bath'' by Susan Swan. ''Lost and Delirious'' is told from the perspective of Mary ( Mischa Barton), who observes the changing love b ...
'', playing a
boarding school
A boarding school is a school where pupils live within premises while being given formal instruction. The word "boarding" is used in the sense of "room and board", i.e. lodging and meals. As they have existed for many centuries, and now exten ...
student who falls in love with a female classmate (played by
Jessica Paré
Jessica Paré (born December 5, 1980) is a Canadian actress and singer known for her co-starring roles on the AMC series ''Mad Men'' and the CBS series '' SEAL Team''. She has also appeared in the films ''Stardom'' (2000), '' Lost and Delirious'' ...
). The film was met with mixed reviews, but the performances of Perabo, Paré and co-star
Mischa Barton were, however, widely praised. Perabo's performance in particular received critical acclaim, which Loren King of the ''
Chicago Tribune
The ''Chicago Tribune'' is a daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States, owned by Tribune Publishing. Founded in 1847, and formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper" (a slogan for which WGN radio and television ar ...
'' remarked was her "breakout performance". ''
Entertainment Weekly
''Entertainment Weekly'' (sometimes abbreviated as ''EW'') is an American digital-only entertainment magazine based in New York City, published by Dotdash Meredith, that covers film, television, music, Broadway theatre, books, and popular cul ...
s
Owen Gleiberman called her "an actress of glittering ferocity" and her performance "a geyser of emotion". Jim Lane of the ''
Sacramento News & Review
The ''News & Review'' is a group of free alternative weekly newspapers published by Chico Community Publishing, Inc. of Chico, California. The company publishes the ''Chico News & Review'' in Chico, California, the ''Sacramento News & Review'' i ...
'' said that "Perabo is a revelation, wild and fiery — it's a breakthrough performance, astonishing in its fervency" and
Roger Ebert
Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...
praised her performance for its sincerity and "wonderful abandon and conviction".
The next year she starred as a French exchange student in the independent comedy ''
Slap Her... She's French'', which was shelved in North America for two years, then released under the new title ''She Gets What She Wants''. The film was released under its original title in Europe. She had a role as the eldest Baker child, Nora, in ''
Cheaper by the Dozen
''Cheaper by the Dozen'' is a semi-autobiographical novel written by Frank Bunker Gilbreth Jr. and Ernestine Gilbreth Carey, published in 1948. The novel recounts the authors' childhood lives growing up in a household of 12 children. The bestsel ...
'' (2003), a role she reprised in the film's
2005 sequel. Her other films include ''
The I Inside'' (2003), ''Perfect Opposites'' (2004), ''George and the Dragon'' (2004), ''
The Cave'' (2005), ''
Imagine Me & You
''Imagine Me & You'' is a 2005 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Ol Parker and starring Piper Perabo and Lena Headey with Matthew Goode, Celia Imrie, and Anthony Head. It centers on the relationship between Rachel (Perabo) and ...
'' (2005), ''
Edison'' (2005), and ''
The Prestige
''The Prestige'' is a 1995 fantasy novel by British writer Christopher Priest. It tells the story of a prolonged feud between two stage magicians in late 1800s England. It is epistolary in structure; that is, it purports to be a collection of ...
'' (2006). She appeared as a
nutritionist A nutritionist is a person who advises others on matters of food and nutrition and their impacts on health. Some people specialize in particular areas, such as sports nutrition, public health, or animal nutrition, among other disciplines. In many ...
on the
Fox
Foxes are small to medium-sized, omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull, upright, triangular ears, a pointed, slightly upturned snout, and a long bushy tail (or ''brush'').
Twelve sp ...
show ''
House'', in an episode entitled "
Resignation
Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...
".
2008–present: ''Covert Affairs'' and other work
In 2008, Perabo co-starred with
Jamie Lee Curtis
Jamie Lee Curtis (born November 22, 1958) is an American actress, producer, children's author, and activist. She came to prominence with her portrayal of Lt. Barbara Duran on the ABC sitcom '' Operation Petticoat'' (1977–78). In 1978, she m ...
in the family comedy film ''
Beverly Hills Chihuahua''. Also that year, she made her
off-Broadway debut in the
Neil LaBute
Neil N. LaBute (born March 19, 1963) is an American playwright, film director, screenwriter, and actor. He is best-known for a play that he wrote and later adapted for film, '' In the Company of Men'' (1997), which won awards from the Sundance F ...
play ''
Reasons to Be Pretty''.
As the play's run was coming to an end, she read the script for the
USA Network
USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Madison ...
television spy drama series ''
Covert Affairs
''Covert Affairs'' is an American action drama television series filmed in Toronto, Canada, starring Piper Perabo and Christopher Gorham that premiered on Tuesday, July 13, 2010. On January 6, 2015, USA Network canceled ''Covert Affairs'' afte ...
'': "I was reading movie scripts and I wasn't finding anything that was really speaking to me and my agent suggested that I read
he ''Covert Affairs'' script And I hadn't thought about doing television, but when I read it, it kind of changed everything for me. She's such a powerful character, she's so smart, the action is so intense, and I really thought it would be fun to do."
The following year, Perabo was cast as
CIA
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA ), known informally as the Agency and historically as the Company, is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States, officially tasked with gathering, processing, ...
field agent In espionage, a field agent is an agent who works in the field as opposed to one who operates at the office or headquarters. A field agent can work alone or in a group but usually has a case officer who is in charge.
Field agents can be undercover ...
Annie Walker, the lead character in ''Covert Affairs''. For her work in the series, she received a nomination for the 2010
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama
The Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama is a Golden Globe Award presented annually by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association (HFPA). The award honors the best performance by an actress in a drama television series.
...
. The series ran for five seasons, from 2010 to 2014.
In September 2012, Perabo had a supporting role, alongside
Bruce Willis
Walter Bruce Willis (born March 19, 1955) is a retired American actor. He achieved fame with a leading role on the comedy-drama series ''Moonlighting'' (1985–1989) and appeared in over a hundred films, gaining recognition as an action hero a ...
,
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Joseph Leonard Gordon-Levitt (; born February 17, 1981) is an American actor. He has received various accolades, including nominations for the Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy for his leading performances ...
, and
Emily Blunt
Emily Olivia Leah Blunt (born 23 February 1983) is a British actress. She is the recipient of several accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for three British Academy Film Awar ...
, in the
time travel
Time travel is the concept of movement between certain points in time, analogous to movement between different points in space by an object or a person, typically with the use of a hypothetical device known as a time machine. Time travel is a w ...
thriller film ''
Looper
Looper may refer to:
Animals
* Cabbage looper (''Trichoplusia ni''), a member of the moth family Noctuidae
* Inchworm, of the insect order Lepidoptera, the moths and butterflies
People
* Looper (surname), a Dutch-language surname with the mean ...
''. In December 2012, she was cast in a recurring role on the sitcom ''
Go On Go On may refer to:
* Go On (TV series), ''Go On'' (TV series), a TV series starring Matthew Perry
* ''Go On...'', the third album by American pop band Mr. Mister
* Go On (George Strait song), "Go On" (George Strait song), a country music song reco ...
''. Her character, Simone, was a former member of
Matthew Perry
Matthew Langford Perry (born August 19, 1969) is an American-Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Chandler Bing on the NBC television sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004).
As well as starring in the short-lived television series '' St ...
's character's support group, who returned and became his love interest. She was originally scheduled to appear in three episodes, but this was increased to four.
Perabo had a starring role in the thriller ''
Into the Grizzly Maze
''Into the Grizzly Maze'' (originally titled ''Red Machine'', then changed to ''Endangered'' and later to ''Grizzly''), is a 2015 American action horror-thriller film directed by David Hackl from a screenplay by Guy Moshe and Jack Reher. It star ...
'', which was released in 2015. She starred as Julia George in the
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 ...
drama series ''
Notorious'' (2016). She co-starred with
Antonio Banderas
José Antonio Domínguez Bandera (born 10 August 1960), known professionally as Antonio Banderas, is a Spanish actor and singer. Known for his work in films of several genres, he has received List of awards and nominations received by Antonio Ba ...
in the thriller film ''
Black Butterfly'', which was released in May 2017. In June 2018, it was announced that Perabo was cast as Sara in the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fil ...
comedy series ''
Turn Up Charlie''. Also in 2019, she starred as Leah Banning in the action film ''
Angel Has Fallen''. In 2020, she had a recurring role as Linda Craft in the
Showtime
Showtime or Show Time may refer to:
Film
* ''Showtime'' (film), a 2002 American action/comedy film
* ''Showtime'' (video), a 1995 live concert video by Blur
Television Networks and channels
* Showtime Networks, a division of Paramount Global w ...
supernatural horror series ''
Penny Dreadful: City of Angels''.
Perabo co-starred as Angela in the 2020 dark comedy film, ''
Spontaneous''.
Perabo joined the cast of ''
Yellowstone
Yellowstone National Park is an American national park located in the western United States, largely in the northwest corner of Wyoming and extending into Montana and Idaho. It was established by the 42nd U.S. Congress with the Yellowston ...
'' as Summer Higgins, an
animal rights
Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the sa ...
activist and ally of John (season 4).
Personal life
In 2013, Perabo became engaged to director and writer
Stephen Kay; they married on July 26, 2014, in New York City. Perabo is step-mother to Kay's daughter.
Perabo has been close friends with actress
Lena Headey
Lena Kathren Headey ( ; born 3 October 1973) is a British actress. She gained international recognition and acclaim for her portrayal of Cersei Lannister on the HBO epic fantasy drama series '' Game of Thrones'' (2011–2019), for which she re ...
since they starred together in the 2005 films ''
The Cave'' and ''
Imagine Me & You
''Imagine Me & You'' is a 2005 romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Ol Parker and starring Piper Perabo and Lena Headey with Matthew Goode, Celia Imrie, and Anthony Head. It centers on the relationship between Rachel (Perabo) and ...
''. She speaks fluent
French,
advocates for
LGBT rights
Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender ( LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality.
Notably, ...
and women's political leadership, and serves on the advisory board of VoteRunLead. She is part owner of ''Employees Only'', a
Prohibition
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption of alcoholic ...
-themed bar in the
West Village
The West Village is a neighborhood in the western section of the larger Greenwich Village neighborhood of Lower Manhattan, New York City.
The traditional boundaries of the West Village are the Hudson River to the west, West 14th Street to th ...
, that opened in 2005, and ''Jack's Wife Freda'', a
SoHo
Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century.
The area was develo ...
restaurant that opened in 2012.
Political activism
Perabo was arrested for protesting
Brett Kavanaugh
Brett Michael Kavanaugh ( ; born February 12, 1965) is an American lawyer and jurist serving as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. He was nominated by President Donald Trump on July 9, 2018, and has served since ...
's Supreme Court confirmation hearing.
She was also arrested in November 2019 while attending one of
Jane Fonda's weekly climate change protests.
Perabo endorsed
Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...
in the
2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries and regularly uses her Twitter and Instagram accounts to advocate for voter registration and voter education. She has encouraged followers to seek out
VoteRiders
VoteRiders is an American non-partisan, non-profit 501(c)(3) organization whose mission is to ensure that all US citizens over 18 years old are able to exercise their right to vote. Through resources and media exposure, one of its main focuses is ...
to learn more about Voter ID requirements.
Filmography
Film
Television
Stage
Awards and nominations
References
External links
*
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Perabo, Piper
Actresses from New Jersey
Actresses from Dallas
American film actresses
American people of English descent
American people of German descent
American people of Irish descent
American people of Norwegian descent
American stage actresses
American television actresses
LGBT rights activists from the United States
Living people
Ohio University alumni
People from Toms River, New Jersey
Toms River High School North alumni
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
New Jersey Democrats
1976 births