Suzanne Savoy 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

voice artist Voice acting is the art of performing voice-overs to present a character or provide information to an audience. Performers are called voice actors/actresses, voice artists, dubbing artists, voice talent, voice-over artists, or voice-over talent ...

best known for playing Victoria Robertson in Steven Soderbergh's Cinemax series ''

The Knick ''The Knick'' is an American medical period drama television series on Cinemax created by Jack Amiel and Michael Begler and directed by Steven Soderbergh. The series follows Dr. John W. Thackery (Clive Owen) and the staff at a fictionalized vers ...

'' and DNC Chairwoman Patricia Whittaker in ''

House of Cards A house of cards (also known as a card tower or card castle) is a structure created by stacking playing cards on top of each other, often in the shape of a pyramid. "House of cards" is also an Expression (language), expression that dates back to ...

'', and for her one-woman touring show ''Je Christine

about late-Medieval author Christine de Pizan. She appears in and does

voice-overs Voice-over (also known as off-camera or off-stage commentary) is a production technique where a voice—that is not part of the narrative (non-diegetic)—is used in a radio, television production, filmmaking, theatre, or other presentations. ...

for many commercials, and has roles ranging from minor to starring in both

film A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...

and

television Television, sometimes shortened to TV, is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. The term can refer to a television set, or the medium of television transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertisin ...

. Savoy appears on the ''Breaking Bad'' fan site as lawyer Perry Trivedi in the award-winning prequel series, ''Better Call Saul''.

Early life

Suzanne Hélène Savoy was born in

Wilmington, Delaware Wilmington ( Lenape: ''Paxahakink /'' ''Pakehakink)'' is the largest city in the U.S. state of Delaware. The city was built on the site of Fort Christina, the first Swedish settlement in North America. It lies at the confluence of the Christina ...

, the daughter of Jean Dawson Savoy and Prew Savoy. The family relocated to the town of Iberville in the province of Québec, Canada, when she was five years old. She and her sister Jeanette ("Jeanie") were weekly boarders at the Convent of the Sacred Heart in Montreal while their younger sister Alexis remained in Iberville to be schooled in French. Summer vacations and holidays were spent at the shore in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware, with their maternal grandparents, Ella and Ralph Dawson. Savoy attended

CEGEP A CEGEP ( or ; ), also written cégep, CÉGEP and cegep, is a publicly funded college providing technical, academic, vocational or a mix of programs; they are exclusive to the province of Quebec's education system. A loanword from French, i ...

at Sir George Williams University, since renamed

Concordia University Concordia University ( French: ''Université Concordia'') is a public research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College and Sir George Williams University, Concordia is one of the t ...

Design Work

A graduate of National Theatre School of Canada's Design Program, her set design for Goldoni's ''The Boors'' was selected by the head of the program, designer François Barbeau, to be displayed at the 1975

Prague Quadrennial Held in Prague once every four years since 1967, the Prague Quadrennial of Performance Design and Space or Prague Quadrennial is the world's largest event in the field of scenography, consisting of a competitive presentation of contemporary work in ...

of Performance Design and Space. Savoy has designed and/or built costumes and puppets for various theaters in Canada and the United States, including the Groupe Nouvel'Aire in Montreal,

Persephone Theatre Persephone Theatre is a regional theatre company in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, Canada. The company was founded in 1974 by director Brian Richmond and sisters Janet Wright and Susan Wright and named after the Greek goddess Persephone. The first seaso ...

in Saskatoon, Gryphon Theatre in Ontario, and NYC's The Shakespeare Project and Bloodstone Theatrical.

Performing career

Savoy began her acting career after moving to

Houston Houston (; ) is the most populous city in Texas, the most populous city in the Southern United States, the fourth-most populous city in the United States, and the sixth-most populous city in North America, with a population of 2,304,580 in ...

in her late twenties. She studied at The Royal National Theatre of Great Britain and various other schools and colleges including the University of Houston as a guest of the Director of UH's School of Theatre, Dr. Sidney Berger. She quickly established herself as a full-time working actor in Texas through her voice-over and commercial work as well as supporting and starring roles in film, co-starring and principal roles on TV, and stage work at venues such as regional theaters The

Dallas Theater Center The Dallas Theater Center is a major regional theater in Dallas, Texas, United States. It produces classic, contemporary and new plays and was the 2017 Tony Award recipient for Best Regional Theater. Dallas Theater Center produces its original w ...

and The

Alley Theatre The Alley Theatre is a Tony Award-winning theatre company in Houston, Texas. It is the oldest professional theatre company in Texas and the third oldest resident theatre in the United States. Alley Theatre productions have played on Broadway at L ...

, at The Houston Shakespeare Festiva

Stages Repertory Theatre Stages (Houston) is a theatre company in the city of Houston, Texas formerly known as Stages Repertory Theatre. It produces performances at The Gordy, the company's three-stage venue that opened in 2020 in Houston's Montrose, Houston, Montrose neig ...

and

Main Street Theater Main Street Theater is a theatre company in the city of Houston, Texas. It consistently produces a repertoire of classic and contemporary plays, and its seasons generally run throughout the entire year. History Main Street was the first of several ...

in Houston. In 1986 she co-founded Mercury Studio, which provided on-camera training for Houston actors until 2005. Having moved to

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 ...

in 1995 with her daughter following divorce, Suzanne became a mainstay of Scott Cargle's The Shakespeare Project, which toured NYC's parks and public spaces. She variously performed, designed sets and costumes, built puppets, and created and ran TSP's education division over a period of nine years. In 2005, Suzanne moved to

Harlem Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street (Manhattan), 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and 110th Street (Manhattan), ...

and continued her work appearing in and doing voice-overs in numerous national commercials. She has performed on a number of New York stages;

Metropolitan Playhouse The Metropolitan Playhouse is a resident producing theater in New York City's East Village. Founded in 1992, the theater is devoted to presenting plays that explore American culture and history, including seldom-produced, "lost" American plays an ...

's production of Sinclair Lewis' Dodsworth, in which she appeared as Edith Cortright, received an Aggie Award for Best Ensemble. After a hiatus from film and TV while raising her daughter, she resumed work in those media. In 2013, Savoy was cast as DNC Chairwoman Patti Whittaker in the first season of the Netflix series ''House of Cards.'' Two days after she wrapped, she began receiving chemotherapy and radiation treatments for stage four colorectal cancer. Given a clean bill of health less than a year later, she was cast as matriarch Victoria Robertson in

Steven Soderbergh Steven Andrew Soderbergh (; born January 14, 1963) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter, cinematographer and editor. A pioneer of modern independent cinema, Soderbergh is an acclaimed and prolific filmmaker. Soderbergh's direc ...

's ''

,'' which shot for two seasons. Savoy subsequently appeared in Seasons 4 and 5 of ''House of Cards.'' While her home base is in Harlem, she also spends time in Los Angeles for work and visiting her daughter, who now resides in LA and works as a screenwriter and directo

Comedy and Improv

Savoy studied at NYC's Upright Citizen's Brigade and went on to co-found indy teams Lascivious Jones, Tonya, and Wasp. Actress and comedian

Nicole Byer Nicole Byer (born August 29, 1986) is an American comedian, actress, and television host. She is known as the host of the Netflix comedic reality bake-off series ''Nailed It!'' (2018–present), for which she received two Primetime Emmy Award no ...

was a teammate and co-founder of Lascivious Jones. Savoy appeared in TV roles for ''The Onion'' and ''UCB Comedy Shorts,'' and has worked repeatedly in sketches on ''Last Week Tonight With John Oliver.''

One-Woman Show

''Je Christine

is a 90-minute live presentation of the life and works of France's first professional female author,

Christine de Pizan Christine de Pizan or Pisan (), born Cristina da Pizzano (September 1364 – c. 1430), was an Italian poet and court writer for King Charles VI of France and several French dukes. Christine de Pizan served as a court writer in medieval France ...

. Savoy translated de Pizan's works from 14th/15th-Century French manuscripts and created and performs the piece at universities, libraries, museums, and other non-traditional venues. Long-time collaborato
Bill Burford
who co-founded Mercury Studio with Savoy, directed the show.

Music

Savoy and band-mate Joe Silver formed the duo ''Bespoke,

which hosted a bi-monthly open mic night for ukulelists at Grill on the Hill in Harlem; they also founded and hosted the Uke Rumble variety nights at Parkside Lounge on Houston Street in NYC. ''Bespoke'' performed covers and original songs on acoustic and electric uke. Joe Silver died in July 2020 of glioblastoma.

Covid Relief Program

In March 2020 when Covid19 forced libraries to close their doors to the public, Lewes Public Library in lower Delaware contacted Savoy to create an online program to help relieve the isolation of their adult membership, mostly retirees. ''Lunchtime Short Story Readings for Adults'' has been a popular regular event curated, produced, directed, and hosted by Ms. Savoy twice weekly throughout the duration of the pandemic. Attendees from around the world listen, discuss, and chat in a non-political forum. A virtual “Catbird Seat Award” is presented at the end of each reading to one or more attendees for arbitrary reasons of merit, along with “five hundred ‘library dollars’ to spend at the library of their choice.�

Personal life

Savoy was married to James Black (actor and interim Artistic Director of The Alley Theatre) for seven years; they have one daughter, screenwriter/director Bonnie Savoy Black. Suzanne Savoy works bi-coastally, lives in Manhattan, and owns a second home in lower Delaware, close to her sisters' families.

Filmography

Television Roles

* '' For Life (TV series), For Life'' - Judge Gina Sorensen, 5 episodes, (2020) * ''

SMILF ''SMILF'' is an American sitcom starring, created, written, and directed by Frankie Shaw. It was based on her short film of the same title. The series premiered on Showtime on November 5, 2017. The series' name, SMILF, is a play on the term "MIL ...

'' - Mrs. Waterstein, "Surrogate Mothers Inspire Loving Families" (2019) * '' NCIS'' - Rachel Brentwood, "Beneath the Surface" (2018) * ''

Better Call Saul ''Better Call Saul'' is an American crime and legal drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, ''Breaking Bad'', and serves as a ...

'' - Perry Trivedi, recurring (2016, 2018) * ''

Red Oaks The genus ''Quercus'' contains about 500 species, some of which are listed here. The genus, as is the case with many large genera, is divided into subgenera and sections. Traditionally, the genus ''Quercus'' was divided into the two subgenera ''C ...

'' - Adelaide, "Old Flames" (2016) * ''

Last Week Tonight With John Oliver ''Last Week Tonight with John Oliver'' (often abridged as ''Last Week Tonight'') is an American late-night talk and news satire television program hosted by comedian John Oliver. The half-hour-long show premiered in April 2014 on HBO. ''Last Wee ...

'' - Executive, Reporter #3, Mother (2014-2016) * '' I Love You...But I Lied'' - Lydia, "Cougar/Hired" (2015) * ''

How to Get Away With Murder ''How to Get Away with Murder'' is an American legal thriller television series that premiered on ABC on September 25, 2014, and concluded on May 14, 2020. The series was created by Peter Nowalk, and produced by Shonda Rhimes and ABC Studios. Th ...

'' - Judge Kathy Powell, Pilot (2014) *''

'' - Victoria Robertson, recurring (2014-2015) *''

'' - Patricia Whittaker, recurring (2013 - 2018) *''

Boardwalk Empire ''Boardwalk Empire'' is an American period crime drama television series created by Terence Winter and broadcast on the premium cable channel HBO. The series is set chiefly in Atlantic City, New Jersey, during the Prohibition era of the 1920s and ...

'' - Mrs. Pendergast, "Resolution" (2012) *''

30 Rock ''30 Rock'' is an American satirical sitcom television series created by Tina Fey that originally aired on NBC from October 11, 2006, to January 31, 2013. The series, based on Fey's experiences as head writer for ''Saturday Night Live'', takes ...

'' - Maternity Photographer, " ¡Qué Sopresa!" (2011) *UCB Comedy Originals - Mom, "Trip Tips: Family Holiday Guilt Trips (2009) *

Onion News Network ''Onion News Network'' is a parody television news show that ran for two seasons of ten episodes each, both during 2011, on the Independent Film Channel. History In March 2007, ''The Onion'' launched ''The Onion News Network'', a daily web v ...

- Countess Stephania Isabella De Uster, "Bad Boy Fencing Star Implicated in Yet Another Jewel Heist (2009) *'' Six Degrees'' - Woman Passenger, "Ray's Back" (2007) *''

Sex and the City ''Sex and the City'' is an American romantic comedy, romantic comedy-drama television series created by Darren Star for HBO. An adaptation of Candace Bushnell's Sex and the City (newspaper column), newspaper column and 1996 book anthology of the ...

'' - Elaine, "20-Something Girls vs. 30-Something Women" (1998) *'' Heaven Help Us: The Belles' Farewell'' - Sandra (1994) *''

The Fire Next Time ''The Fire Next Time'' is a 1963 non-fiction book by James Baldwin, containing two essays: "My Dungeon Shook: Letter to my Nephew on the One Hundredth Anniversary of the Emancipation" and "Down at the Cross: Letter from a Region of My Mind". Th ...

'' - Jackie (1993; TV movie) *''

Dangerous Curves (TV series) ''Dangerous Curves'' is an American television series that aired on CBS as part of its late night umbrella series lineup, ''Crimetime After Primetime''. The private detective series premiered in February 1992 and ran through May 1993, airing two ...

'' - Suzie Aames, "Let Us Prey" (1993) *''

Walker, Texas Ranger ''Walker, Texas Ranger'' is an American action crime television series created by Leslie Greif and Paul Haggis. It was inspired by the film ''Lone Wolf McQuade'', with both this series and that film starring Chuck Norris as a member of the Texa ...

'' - Cathy Sant, "Storm Warning" (1993) *'' Trial: The Price of Passion'' - Melissa Mills (1992; TV movie) *'' Finding the Way Home'' - Sandy Mittelmann (1991; TV movie) *'' In Broad Daylight'' - News Reporter (1991; TV movie) *''

America's Most Wanted ''America's Most Wanted'' (often abbreviated as ''AMW'') is an American television program whose first run was produced by 20th Television, and second run is under the Fox Alternative Entertainment division of Fox Corporation. At the time of i ...

'' - Joy Aylor (1991) *'' Jailbirds'' - Grace (1991; TV movie) *'' Miller & Muller'' - Bonnie Miller, Title Role, Mini-series, 8 Episodes (1991) *'' Little Girl Lost'' - Dr. Deborah Meewsen (1988; TV movie)

Movie Roles

* ''

The Upside ''The Upside'' is a 2017 American comedy-drama film directed by Neil Burger, written by Jon Hartmere. It is a remake of the French 2011 film ''The Intouchables'', which was itself inspired by the lives of Abdel Sallou and Philippe Pozzo di Borg ...

'' - Charlotte (2017) * ''

Louder Than Bombs ''Louder Than Bombs'' is a compilation album by English rock band the Smiths, released as a double album in March 1987 by their American record company, Sire Records. It peaked at number 62 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 album chart. Popular dem ...

'' - Documentary Voice-over, uncredited (2015) * ''

Freeheld ''Freeheld'' is a 2015 American drama film directed by Peter Sollett and written by Ron Nyswaner. The film stars Julianne Moore, Elliot Page, Michael Shannon, Steve Carell, and Luke Grimes. It is based on the 2007 documentary short film of the ...

'' - Town Clerk (2015) * ''Honey Flood'' - Lady Pamela (2016) * ''The Undiscovered Country'' - Kathy (2017) *'' The Cloud'' - Carmen Rosenthal (2014) * '' Detention (2013/III)'' - Teacher (2013) *'' An Inappropriate Affect'' - Dr. Regina Larose (2013) *''

Safe A safe (also called a strongbox or coffer) is a secure lockable box used for securing valuable objects against theft or fire. A safe is usually a hollow cuboid or cylinder, with one face being removable or hinged to form a door. The body and ...

'' - Furious Woman (2012) *''

The Best and the Brightest ''The Best and the Brightest'' (1972) is an account by journalist David Halberstam of the origins of the Vietnam War published by Random House. The focus of the book is on the foreign policy crafted by academics and intellectuals who were in Pr ...

'' - Chapin Headmistress (2010) *''

Dare Dare may refer to: Places * Dare, East Timor, a city * Darè, Italy, a commune * Dare County, North Carolina, United States * Dare, Virginia, United States, an unincorporated community Name * Dare (name), a list of people and fictional c ...

'' - Deirdre Walker (2009) *''

The Sixth Sense ''The Sixth Sense'' is a 1999 American psychological thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. It stars Bruce Willis as a child psychologist whose patient (Haley Joel Osment) claims he can see and talk to the dead. Released by ...

'' - Social Worker, deleted scene (1999) *'' Zero Woman: Dangerous Game'' - Rei (English dub) (1998) *''

The Bondage Master , also known as ''Rope Detective'', is a 1996 Japanese V-Cinema erotic thriller directed by Hitoshi Hoshino (Jin Hoshino) and starring Yukijirō Hotaru. Plot synopsis Shiro is the Bondage Master who has a special technique with ropes and women. W ...

'' - Rumi (English dub) (1998) *''Beautiful Killing Machine'' - Dr. Kyoko Hakami (English dub) (1996) *'' Close Your Eyes and Hold Me - Hanabusa (English dub) (1996) *''

The Man with the Perfect Swing ''The Man with the Perfect Swing'' is a 1995 American comedy-drama movie written and directed by Michael Hovis. Synopsis A passion for golf drives this story about fame, schemes and paying the bills. Having successfully failed at everything, An ...

'' - Susan Lombardo (1995) *'' Zero Woman: Final Mission'' - Rei (English dub) (1995) *'' Beautiful Beast'' - Mei Fan (English dub) (1995) *''On Board Amtrak'' (Amtrak promotional film) - Suzan Peterson (1994) *'' The Trust'' - Alice Graham Baker (1993) *'' Shadow Force'' - Waitress (1992) *''

Hard Promises ''Hard Promises'' is the fourth studio album by Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers released on May 5, 1981 on Backstreet Records. History Its original working title was ''Benmont's Revenge'', referring to the band's keyboard player, Benmont Tench. ...

'' - Gameshow Wife (1991) *''

Rush Rush(es) may refer to: Places United States * Rush, Colorado * Rush, Kentucky * Rush, New York * Rush City, Minnesota * Rush Creek (Kishwaukee River tributary), Illinois * Rush Creek (Marin County, California), a stream * Rush Creek (Mono Cou ...

'' - Dodd's Wife (1991) *'' I Come in Peace'' - Policewoman (1990) *'' The Cellar'' - Emily Cashen (1989) *'' Cohen and Tate'' - Martha Knight (1988) *''Into the Spider's Web'' - The Spider Lady (1988) *'' Vasectomy: A Delicate Matter'' - Jackie (1986) *'' The American Way'' - Brunette (1986)

Voice Roles

Anime Roles

*''

Agent Aika ''Agent Aika'' (stylized and known simply as ''AIKa'' in Japan) is a Japanese OVA series animated by Studio Fantasia and directed by Katsuhiko Nishijima. The series follows Aika Sumeragi, a salvager for hire who gets caught up in a plot for w ...

'' - Nena Hargen *'' Alien from the Darkness'' - Captain Sara *''

Alien Nine is a Japanese manga series by Hitoshi Tomizawa, which was later adapted into an original video animation (OVA) series by J.C.Staff. The manga was serialized in Akita Shoten's ''Young Champion'' magazine, spanning 3 volumes. In 2003, Tomiz ...

'' - Principal *''

Angel Sanctuary is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kaori Yuki. It was serialized in the Shōjo manga, ''shōjo'' manga magazine ''Hana to Yume'' from July 1994 to October 2000. It follows Setsuna Mudo, a human teenager who, as the rein ...

'' - Alexiel *''

Animation Runner Kuromi is an OVA anime film produced by Yumeta Company; part 1 in 2001 and part 2 in 2004. It is a parody of the anime production business itself. It was released on DVD in North America by Central Park Media. Plot ''Animation Runner Kuromi'' ''1' ...

'' - Hamako Shihonmatsu *''

Descendants of Darkness is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Yoko Matsushita. The story revolves around shinigami. These Guardians of Death work for '' Enma Daiō'', the king of the dead, sorting out the expected and unexpected arrivals to the Under ...

'' - Maria's Mother (Ep. 3-4) *''

Garzey's Wing is a three episode anime OVA by Japanese director Yoshiyuki Tomino. Plot The protagonist Chris is abruptly whisked away to a parallel world called Byston Well while his physical body remains in his home world. Chris' spiritual manifestat ...

'' - Rumiko *'' Geobreeders: Breakthrough'' - Ayumi Narusawa, Beauty Bakeneko *'' Hyper Speed GranDoll'' - Miki Amagi *''

Maze A maze is a path or collection of paths, typically from an entrance to a goal. The word is used to refer both to branching tour puzzles through which the solver must find a route, and to simpler non-branching ("unicursal") patterns that lea ...

'' - Rapier *''

Midnight Panther is the name of a hentai manga created by Yu Asagiri, which later spawned an OVA. Both manga and anime were licensed by Anime 18. Plot Taking place in a post-apocalyptic fantasy world, this is the story about three beautiful, young females ...

'' - Sonya *'' Photon: The Idiot Adventures'' - Aho Furnace, Keyne Aqua, Operator *''

RG Veda is a manga created by Clamp, consisting of ten volumes in all. It was first published in Japan in 1989 as Clamp's debut manga. The story features elements of Vedic mythology; the title itself is pronounced ''Rigveda'', the name of one of ...

'' - Kuyoh *''

Shamanic Princess is a six episode OVA series developed by the Princess Project creative collective and produced by Animate (retailer), Animate Film in association with Triangle Staff starting in June 1996 and continuing over a two-year period. Central Park M ...

'' - Lena, Princess (Ep. 6) *''Sins of the Sisters'' - Rika *''Spy of Darkness'' - Vanessa

Video Game Roles

*'' Crusader: No Remorse'' - Maj. Jo Anne Vargas

References

External links

Official Website
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Savoy, Suzanne American actresses Living people Year of birth missing (living people) 21st-century American women