Katie Finneran (born January 22, 1971) is an American actress best known for her

Tony Award The Antoinette Perry Award for Excellence in Broadway Theatre, more commonly known as the Tony Award, recognizes excellence in live Broadway theatre. The awards are presented by the American Theatre Wing and The Broadway League at an annual c ...

-winning performances in the

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 ...

play ''

Noises Off ''Noises Off'' is a 1982 play by the English playwright Michael Frayn. Frayn conceived the idea in 1970 while watching from the wings a performance of '' The Two of Us'', a farce that he had written for Lynn Redgrave. He said, "It was funnier ...

'' in 2002, and the musical '' Promises, Promises'' in 2010.Katie Finneran awards
at the Internet Broadway Database

Personal life

Finneran was born in

Chicago, Illinois (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

, of Irish Catholic extraction. She was raised in

Miami, Florida Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at ...

, where she attended the

New World School of the Arts New World School of the Arts (NWSA) is a public magnet high school and college in Downtown Miami, Florida. Its dual-enrollment programs in the visual and performing arts are organized into four strands: visual arts, dance, theatre (comprising prog ...

High School.Schwartz, Paula
"Vows: Katie Finneran and Darren Goldstein"
''

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 ...

'', August 27, 2010; print edition page ST13, August 29, 2010 She attended

Carnegie Mellon University Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. One of its predecessors was established in 1900 by Andrew Carnegie as the Carnegie Technical Schools; it became the Carnegie Institute of Technology ...

Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...

for one year before moving to New York City at age 19 to study acting with

Uta Hagen Uta Thyra Hagen (12 June 1919 – 14 January 2004) was a German-American actress and theatre practitioner. She originated the role of Martha in the 1962 Broadway premiere of ''Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?'' by Edward Albee, who called her "a ...

HB Studio The HB Studio (Herbert Berghof Studio) is a non-profit 501(c)(3) organization offering professional training in the performing arts through classes, workshops, free lectures, theater productions, theater rentals, a theater artist residency progra ...

. Outside of acting, Finneran has had many "day jobs" to augment her income, including a ringside girl at a boxing ring, waitress, and perfume spray girl at

Bloomingdale's Bloomingdale's Inc. is an American luxury department store chain; it was founded in New York City by Joseph B. and Lyman G. Bloomingdale in 1861. A third brother, Emanuel Watson Bloomingdale, was also involved in the business. It became a di ...

. Finneran and actor Darren Goldstein married on August 22, 2010; the couple have two children.

Career

Film

Finneran's biggest film role was as Judy Rose in the remake of

George A. Romero George Andrew Romero (; February 4, 1940 – July 16, 2017) was an American-Canadian filmmaker, writer, editor and actor. His ''Night of the Living Dead'' series of films about an imagined zombie apocalypse began with the 1968 film of the ...

's ''

Night of the Living Dead ''Night of the Living Dead'' is a 1968 American independent horror film directed, photographed, and edited by George A. Romero, with a screenplay by John Russo and Romero, and starring Duane Jones and Judith O'Dea. The story follows seven pe ...

''. Her film credits include ''

You've Got Mail ''You've Got Mail'' is a 1998 American romantic comedy film directed by Nora Ephron and starring Tom Hanks and Meg Ryan. Inspired by the 1937 Hungarian play '' Parfumerie'' by Miklós László (which had earlier been adapted in 1940 as ''The S ...

'', '' Chicken Little'', '' Liberty Heights'', ''

Bewitched ''Bewitched'' is an American fantasy sitcom television series that originally aired for eight seasons on ABC from September 17, 1964, to March 25, 1972. It is about a witch who marries an ordinary mortal man and vows to lead the life of a typ ...

'', '' Miss Congeniality 2: Armed and Fabulous'', and ''

Death to Smoochy ''Death to Smoochy'' is a 2002 satirical black comedy crime film directed by Danny DeVito and written by Adam Resnick. Starring Robin Williams, Edward Norton, DeVito, Catherine Keener and Jon Stewart, the film centers on "Rainbow" Randolph Sm ...

''.

Television

She co-starred in television series ''

Wonderfalls ''Wonderfalls'' is an American comedy-drama television series created by Todd Holland and Bryan Fuller that was broadcast on the Fox television network in 2004. The show centers on Jaye Tyler (Caroline Dhavernas), a recent Brown University gra ...

''. She was also featured as a part of the cast on the Fox show '' The Inside'', in the short-lived CBS sitcom ''

Bram & Alice ''Bram & Alice'' is an American sitcom that aired on CBS from October 6 to October 27, 2002. The series only aired four episodes, although an additional five unaired episodes were also produced. Plot The series centered on Bram Shepard, who won a ...

'', and in many guest roles in shows like ''

Frasier ''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons. It premiered on September 16, 1993, and ended on May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey, and David Lee (as Grub ...

'', ''

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

'' and '' Oz''. In 2007 Finneran was featured in the new series ''

Drive Drive or The Drive may refer to: Motoring * Driving, the act of controlling a vehicle * Road trip, a journey on roads Roadways Roadways called "drives" may include: * Driveway, a private road for local access to structures, abbreviated "drive" * ...

''. She played the sister of the main character, Alex Tully (

Nathan Fillion Nathan Fillion (; born March 27, 1971) is a Canadian-American actor. He played the leading roles of Captain Malcolm Reynolds, Malcolm "Mal" Reynolds on ''Firefly (TV series), Firefly'' and its film continuation ''Serenity (2005 film), Serenity'', ...

). In an interview for the DVD of the full series of ''

'', Finneran said that when asked if she felt nervous about playing

lesbian A lesbian is a Homosexuality, homosexual woman.Zimmerman, p. 453. The word is also used for women in relation to their sexual identity or sexual behavior, regardless of sexual orientation, or as an adjective to characterize or associate n ...

immigration attorney Sharon Tyler on ''

'' she replied, "I'd rather have people think that I'm a lesbian than a lawyer." In 2012, she co-starred in the Fox sitcom '' I Hate My Teenage Daughter''. From 2013 to 2014, she played Leigh Henry on the NBC sitcom, ''

The Michael J. Fox Show ''The Michael J. Fox Show'' is an American sitcom television series starring Michael J. Fox, that aired on NBC in the United States from September 26, 2013, to January 23, 2014, as part of the 2013–14 American television season. Fox made his ...

''. She has also appeared 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 ...

series ''

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 informa ...

''. In April 2019, CBS announced that Finneran would be starring in a recurring role as Naomi in the

CBS All Access Paramount+ is an American subscription video on-demand service owned by Paramount Global. The service's content is drawn primarily from the libraries of CBS Media Ventures (including CBS Studios), Paramount Media Networks (formerly Viacom Media ...

series ''

Why Women Kill ''Why Women Kill'' is an American dark comedy-drama anthology television series created by Marc Cherry. Set in multiple time periods, the series depicts the events leading to deaths caused by women. It premiered on August 15, 2019, on CBS All A ...

''. In 2022, Finneran starred in ''

The Gilded Age In United States history, the Gilded Age was an era extending roughly from 1877 to 1900, which was sandwiched between the Reconstruction era and the Progressive Era. It was a time of rapid economic growth, especially in the Northern and Weste ...

'' on HBO.

Theatre

Finneran "has played barflies and rich girls, giggly ingénues and world-weary lowlifes..."Marks, Peter
"Theater; The Magic Moment When a Part Becomes a Triumph"
''The New York Times'', December 16, 2001 She played a "lovely but dim fashion model" in the original

production of

Neil Simon Marvin Neil Simon (July 4, 1927 – August 26, 2018) was an American playwright, screenwriter and author. He wrote more than 30 plays and nearly the same number of movie screenplays, mostly film adaptations of his plays. He has received mo ...

's ''

Proposals Proposal(s) or The Proposal may refer to: * Proposal (business) * Research proposal * Proposal (marriage) * Proposition, a proposal in logic and philosophy Arts, entertainment, and media * ''The Proposal'' (album) Films * ''The Proposal'' ...

'' in 1997–98, Sally Bowles in the 1998 Broadway revival of ''

Cabaret Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music, song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, a casino, a hotel, a restaurant, or a nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dinin ...

'' (from November 21, 2000 to January 18, 2001), and call girl Cora in the 1999 Broadway revival of ''

The Iceman Cometh ''The Iceman Cometh'' is a play written by American playwright Eugene O'Neill in 1939. First published in 1946, the play premiered on Broadway at the Martin Beck Theatre on October 9, 1946, directed by Eddie Dowling, where it ran for 136 perf ...

'', opposite

Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolade ...

. She also has appeared in ''

My Favorite Year ''My Favorite Year'' is a 1982 American comedy film released by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, directed by Richard Benjamin and written by Norman Steinberg and Dennis Palumbo from a story written by Palumbo. The film tells the story of a young comedy wr ...

'' with

Tim Curry Timothy James Curry (born 19 April 1946) is an English actor and singer. He rose to prominence for his portrayal of Dr. Frank-N-Furter in the film ''The Rocky Horror Picture Show'' (1975), reprising the role he had originated in the 1973 London ...

John Guare John Guare ( ;; born February 5, 1938) is an American playwright and screenwriter. He is best known as the author of '' The House of Blue Leaves'' and '' Six Degrees of Separation''. Early life He was raised in Jackson Heights, Queens.Druckman ...

's '' Bosoms and Neglect'', and ''Smell of the Kill'', with

Kristen Johnston Kristen Angela Johnston (born September 20, 1967) is an American actress. Best known for her work on television sitcoms, she twice won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series for her role as Sally Solomon in ...

. She won the

and the

Drama Desk Award The Drama Desk Award is an annual prize recognizing excellence in New York theatre. First bestowed in 1955 as the Vernon Rice Award, the prize initially honored Off-Broadway productions, as well as Off-off-Broadway, and those in the vicinity. F ...

for Best Featured Actress in a Play in 2002 for her role as Brooke Ashton in the Broadway revival of ''

''. Finneran appeared

Off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer th ...

at the Laura Pels Theater in the Greg Kotis play ''Pig Farm'', in the original opening cast as Tina. The play opened in June 2006 and ran through September 23, 2006. Finneran appeared in the original cast of '' Love, Loss, and What I Wore'', which opened Off-Broadway at the Westside Theater in September 19, 2009 for a four-week engagement ending on October 18, 2009. The play "....is performed by a rotating cast of five. For the first four weeks of the run Ms.

osie Osie (, german: Osche) is a village in Świecie County, Kuyavian-Pomeranian Voivodeship, in north-central Poland. It is the seat of the gmina (administrative district) called Gmina Osie. It lies approximately north of Świecie, north-east of B ...

O'Donnell is joined by the actresses Tyne Daly, Katie Finneran and Natasha Lyonne, and Samantha Bee..." Finneran returned to the show (after her initial four-week engagement) on November 18, 2009, to fill in for Kristin Chenoweth, and continued on in the play in the next four-week rotation as well (from December 14, 2009, to January 3, 2010). She appeared in the first Broadway revival of the musical '' Promises, Promises'' as Marge MacDougall, opposite

Kristin Chenoweth Kristin Dawn Chenoweth (; born Kristi Dawn Chenoweth; July 24, 1968)Kristin Cheno ...

and Sean Hayes. The show opened March 27, 2010 and Finneran left the show on October 10, 2010 because of her pregnancy. She won the 2010

for Best Featured Actress in a Musical for this role. Finneran played the role of Miss Hannigan in the 2012 Broadway revival of the musical '' Annie''."Breaking News: Two-Time Tony Award Winner Katie Finneran is Miss Hannigan in 'Annie!'"
broadwayworld.com, May 25, 2012 She left the role in May 2013 to pursue a TV pilot. Finneran returned to Broadway in 2015 to star in Terrence McNally's '' It's Only a Play'' as Julia Budder.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

*
"''Promises, Promises'': Katie Finneran leaves 10 Oct"
''New York Theatre Guide'', August 24, 2010 {{DEFAULTSORT:Finneran, Katie 1971 births Living people Actresses from Chicago American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses American people of Irish descent Actresses from Miami Drama Desk Award winners Tony Award winners Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses