Tara Buck (born March 16, 1975) is an American film, stage, and television actress. Buck is known for her roles in ''

True Blood ''True Blood'' is an American fantasy horror drama television series produced and created by Alan Ball. It is based on ''The Southern Vampire Mysteries'', a series of novels by Charlaine Harris. A reboot is currently in development. The serie ...

,'' ''

Ray Donovan ''Ray Donovan'' is an American crime drama television series created by Ann Biderman for Showtime. The twelve-episode first season premiered on June 30, 2013. The pilot episode broke viewership records, becoming the biggest premiere of all t ...

'', and ''

Party of Five ''Party of Five'' is an American television teen and family drama created by Christopher Keyser and Amy Lippman that originally aired on Fox for six seasons from September 12, 1994, to May 3, 2000. The series featured an ensemble cast led by Sc ...

''.

Early life

Buck attended Wood River High School in Hailey Idaho, where she took on her first acting roles in their theater productions. Later, she moved to

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' ...

to attend the

American Academy of Dramatic Arts The American Academy of Dramatic Arts (AADA) is a private performing arts conservatory with two locations, one in Manhattan and one in Los Angeles. The academy offers an associate degree in occupational studies and teaches drama and related art ...

. Shortly after graduating, Buck landed her first recurring television role on the series ''Party of Five''.

Career

Theater

Buck has starred in numerous live theater productions including

Paula Vogel Paula Vogel (born November 16, 1951) is an American playwright who received the 1998 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for her play ''How I Learned to Drive.'' A longtime teacher, Vogel spent the bulk of her academic career – from 1984 to 2008 – at Bro ...

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...

-winning play ''How I Learned To Drive'' in 2010 and in the West Coast premiere of ''Ten Cent Night'' written by

Marisa Wegrzyn Marisa Wegrzyn (born 1981) is an American playwright based in Chicago, Illinois. She won the 2009 Wasserstein Prize for her play ''Hickorydickory''. Early life Wegrzyn grew up in Wilmette, Illinois. Born to an anesthesiologist and former flight ...

in 2009. She was nominated for an

Ovation Award The Ovation Awards are a Southern California award for excellence in theatre, established in 1989. They are given out by the non-profit arts service organization LA Stage Alliance and are the only peer-judged theatre awards in Los Angeles. Winne ...

for her performance in 2004's ''A Gift From Heaven''.

Television

On television, Buck is known for her

recurring role A recurring character is a fictional character, usually in a prime time TV series, who frequently appears from time to time during the series' run. Recurring characters often play major roles in more than one episode, sometimes being the main foc ...

Ginger Ginger (''Zingiber officinale'') is a flowering plant whose rhizome, ginger root or ginger, is widely used as a spice A spice is a seed, fruit, root, bark, or other plant substance primarily used for flavoring or coloring food. Spices ...

in the

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

series ''

''. She appeared on the show from 2008 to 2014 and was promoted to series regular for the seventh and final season of the show. In 2008 Tara also completed a motorcycle-themed drama pilot for

called ''1%'' directed by Alan Taylor and written by

Michael Tolkin Michael L. Tolkin (born October 17, 1950) is an American filmmaker and novelist. He has written numerous screenplays, including ''The Player (1992 film), The Player'' (1992), which he adapted from his own 1988 novel of the same name,Tolkin, Micha ...

. The show never aired on HBO due to creative conflicts from the Hells Angels founder. Buck has made guest appearances on ''

Bones A bone is a rigid organ that constitutes part of the skeleton in most vertebrate animals. Bones protect the various other organs of the body, produce red and white blood cells, store minerals, provide structure and support for the body, an ...

'', ''

The X-Files ''The X-Files'' is an American science fiction on television, science fiction drama (film and television), drama television series created by Chris Carter (screenwriter), Chris Carter. The series revolves around Federal Bureau of Investigation ...

'', ''

Criminal Minds ''Criminal Minds'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series created and produced by Jeff Davis (writer), Jeff Davis. The series premiered on CBS on September 22, 2005, and originally concluded on February 19, 2020; it was r ...

'', '' Justified'', ''

Cold Case A cold case is a crime, or a suspected crime, that has not yet been fully resolved and is not the subject of a current criminal investigation, but for which new information could emerge from new witness testimony, re-examined archives, new or re ...

'', ''

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 ...

'', ''

The Shield ''The Shield'' is an American crime drama television series starring Michael Chiklis that premiered on March 12, 2002, on FX in the United States, and concluded on November 25, 2008, after seven seasons. Known for its portrayal of corrupt poli ...

'', ''

Southland Southland may refer to: Places Canada * Dunbar–Southlands, Vancouver, British Columbia New Zealand * Southland Region, a region of New Zealand * Southland County, a former New Zealand county * Southland District, part of the wider Southland Reg ...

'', ''

The Closer ''The Closer'' is an Television in the United States, American television police procedural starring Kyra Sedgwick as Brenda Leigh Johnson, a Los Angeles Police Department Chief of police#United States, deputy chief. A CIA-trained interrogator o ...

'' and ''

Bloodline Heredity, also called inheritance or biological inheritance, is the passing on of traits from parents to their offspring; either through asexual reproduction or sexual reproduction, the offspring cells or organisms acquire the genetic inform ...

''. In 2016 and 2017, Buck recurred on the fourth and fifth seasons of 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 ...

series ''

'' with

Liev Schreiber Isaac Liev Schreiber (; born October 4, 1967) is an American actor, director, screenwriter, producer, and narrator. He became known during the late 1990s and early 2000s after appearing in several independent films, and later mainstream Hollywoo ...

. She played patrol cop Maureen Dougherty, an

LAPD The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD), officially known as the City of Los Angeles Police Department, is the municipal police department of Los Angeles, California. With 9,974 police officers and 3,000 civilian staff, it is the third-large ...

patrol cop and love interest to Terry Donovan. In the show, Buck's character, Maureen, joined the Donovan family when she married Terry Donovan (

Eddie Marsan Edward Maurice Charles Marsan (born 9 June 1968) is an English actor. He won the London Film Critics Circle Award and the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film '' Happy-Go-Lucky'' (2008). He has feature ...

) in season 5, episode 2, entitled "Las Vegas". In 2018, Buck guest-starred as Madeline Locarno in the pilot episode for the

Shondaland Shondaland (stylized as ShondaLand from 2005 to 2016 and shondaland thereafter) is an American television production company founded by television writer/producer Shonda Rhimes. She founded it to be one of the production companies of her first s ...

-produced show, '' For The People'' on

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 ...

Film

VIP_Reception_for_Chris_Cuffaro's_Exhibit

Buck was featured in the crime thriller ''Tomorrow You’re Gone'', in 2013, a film based on the book, ''Boot Tracks''. The actress has appeared in several independent feature films including the American-Italian-Mexican drama film, '' Medeas'' in 2014 with

Catalina Sandino Moreno Catalina Sandino Moreno (born 19 April 1981) is a Colombian actress. She shared the Silver Bear with Charlize Theron and received a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Actress for her leading role in ''Maria Full of Grace'' (2004). She cu ...

and directed by

Andrea Pallaoro Andrea Pallaoro is an Italian film director and screenwriter. ''Hannah (2017 film), Hannah'', his second feature and the first of an intended trilogy of films centering on a female lead, premiered at the 74th Venice Film Festival and proceeded to ...

. The film premiered at the 70th annual

Venice Film Festival The Venice Film Festival or Venice International Film Festival ( it, Mostra Internazionale d'Arte Cinematografica della Biennale di Venezia, "International Exhibition of Cinematographic Art of the Venice Biennale") is an annual film festival he ...

, and was well received by critics. She appeared in the horror film, ''

At the Devil's Door ''At the Devil's Door'' (originally titled ''Home'') is a 2014 American supernatural horror film directed by Nicholas McCarthy. The film had its world premiere on March 9, 2014, at South by Southwest. It stars Naya Rivera as a woman caught amidst ...

'' with

Naya Rivera Naya Marie Rivera (; January 12, 1987July 8, 2020) was an American actress, singer, and model. Recognized for her work on the popular musical comedy-drama series ''Glee'', she received various awards, including a Screen Actors Guild Award and ...

that premiered at the

South by Southwest South by Southwest, abbreviated as SXSW and colloquially referred to as South By, is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in m ...

(SXSW) film festival in 2014. Buck was the lead in the 2016 film ''Great Plains'', from director lair Hayesand starred in the 2016

Judd Apatow Judd Apatow (; born December 6, 1967) is an American comedian, director, producer, and screenwriter, best known for his work in comedy and drama films. He is the founder of Apatow Productions, through which he produced and directed the films '' ...

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 film ''

Pee-Wee's Big Holiday ''Pee-wee's Big Holiday'' is a 2016 American adventure comedy film directed by John Lee and written by Paul Reubens and Paul Rust. The film stars Reubens as Pee-wee Herman and Joe Manganiello as himself. The film was released on March 18, 2016, ...

''. She starred in ''A Mother’s Escape'' also in 2016 for the

Lifetime channel Lifetime is an American basic cable channel that is part of Lifetime Entertainment Services, a subsidiary of A&E Networks, which is jointly owned by Hearst Communications and The Walt Disney Company. It features programming that is geared towar ...

. In 2017, Buck starred in and executive produced the film, ''Son of Perdition,'' a period drama set in the early days of the American frontier which was written and directed by Trevor Riley. Buck had a supporting role in the crime thriller, ''

Inherit The Viper ''Inherit the Viper'' is a 2019 American crime drama film directed by Anthony Jerjen, in his feature directorial debut, from a screenplay by Andrew Crabtree. It stars Josh Hartnett, Margarita Levieva, Chandler Riggs, Bruce Dern, Valorie Curry, Ow ...

'' with

Josh Hartnett Joshua Daniel Hartnett (born July 21, 1978) is an American actor and producer. He first came to attention in 1997 for his role as Michael Fitzgerald in the television crime drama series '' Cracker''. He made his feature film debut in 1998 in th ...

. The film had its world premiere at the

Zurich Film Festival Zurich Film Festival (ZFF) is an annual film festival that has been held in Zürich, Switzerland, since 2005. The festival's main focus is to promote emerging filmmakers from all over the world. In three competition categories only first, second ...

in 2019 and was released internationally by

Lionsgate Lions Gate Entertainment Corporation, doing business as Lionsgate, is a Canadian-American entertainment company. It was formed by Frank Giustra on July 10, 1997, domiciled in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada and is currently headquartered ...

in early 2020.

Personal life

Buck married singer/songwriter

Chris Pierce Chris Pierce is an American singer, songwriter, producer, multi-instrumentalist, public speaker, wine producer and officiant born and based in California. Early life Pierce is from Pasadena, California. He grew up singing in church and playing ...

in 2012. She lives in Southern California with her husband. The actress is an outspoken

feminist Feminism is a range of socio-political movements and ideologies that aim to define and establish the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Feminism incorporates the position that society prioritizes the male po ...

and has been a guest speaker for multiple events that address issues of

gender inequality Gender inequality is the social phenomenon in which men and women are not treated equally. The treatment may arise from distinctions regarding biology, psychology, or cultural norms prevalent in the society. Some of these distinctions are empi ...

including, among others, "Conversations With Exceptional Women," an annual conference bringing together highly accomplished women from all professional areas to discuss female-related concerns. In addition, along those lines, Buck founded her own production company called She & I Productions. The company, based in Los Angeles, is a film and television production company geared toward female content and its mission is a commitment to the empowerment of women both in front of and behind the camera. Buck and her husband are co-owners of a boutique wine label called Ledbetter. Ledbetter Wines can be found in many

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

restaurants.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Buck, Tara 1975 births Actresses from Idaho American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses People from Hailey, Idaho