Kim Delaney
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Kim Delaney (born November 29, 1961) is an American actress known for her starring role as Detective
Diane Russell Diane Marie Russell (born August 9, 1976) is an American politician who served in the Maine House of Representatives. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Political career When Russell first ran for the State House in 2008, she was workin ...
on the
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drama television series ''
NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble c ...
'', for which she won an
Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...
. Early in her career, she played the role of
Jenny Gardner Greg Nelson and Jenny Gardner are fictional characters and a supercouple from the American soap opera '' All My Children''. Greg was portrayed by Laurence Lau, and Jenny was portrayed by actress Kim Delaney. They were best friends to fellow su ...
in the ABC daytime television drama ''
All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...
''. She later had leading roles in the short lived TV drama ''
Philly Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
'', part of the first season of ''
CSI: Miami ''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Dete ...
'', and the first six seasons of ''
Army Wives ''Army Wives'' is an American drama television series that followed the lives of four army wives, one army husband, and their families. The series premiered on Lifetime on June 3, 2007, and ran for seven seasons, ending on June 9, 2013. The sh ...
''. She also appeared in Tour of Duty, Season 2 and the first two episodes of Season 3, playing a writer during the Vietnam War named Alex Devlin.


Early life

Delaney, an
Irish American , image = Irish ancestry in the USA 2018; Where Irish eyes are Smiling.png , image_caption = Irish Americans, % of population by state , caption = Notable Irish Americans , population = 36,115,472 (10.9%) alone ...
, was born in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
, to Joan and Jack Delaney, the only daughter of five children. Delaney's mother was a
homemaker Homemaking is mainly an American and Canadian term for the management of a home, otherwise known as housework, housekeeping, housewifery or household management. It is the act of overseeing the organizational, day-to-day operations of a hous ...
and her father a senior
union Union commonly refers to: * Trade union, an organization of workers * Union (set theory), in mathematics, a fundamental operation on sets Union may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * Union (band), an American rock group ** ''Un ...
official in the
United Auto Workers The International Union, United Automobile, Aerospace, and Agricultural Implement Workers of America, better known as the United Auto Workers (UAW), is an American labor union that represents workers in the United States (including Puerto Rico ...
. She was raised
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a lette ...
. Delaney has brothers Ed, John, Keith and Patrick. While she was attending J. W. Hallahan Catholic Girls High School, she worked as a model for the
Elite In political and sociological theory, the elite (french: élite, from la, eligere, to select or to sort out) are a small group of powerful people who hold a disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege, political power, or skill in a group. D ...
agency. Upon graduation, she went to New York and found employment there as a model. At the same time, she studied acting with William Esper.


Career

Delaney first became known for her stint as innocent teenager Jenny Gardner Nelson on the
soap opera A soap opera, or ''soap'' for short, is a typically long-running radio or television serial, frequently characterized by melodrama, ensemble casts, and sentimentality. The term "soap opera" originated from radio dramas originally being sponsored ...
''
All My Children ''All My Children'' (often shortened to ''AMC'') is an American television soap opera that aired on American Broadcasting Company, ABC from January 5, 1970, to September 23, 2011, and on The Online Network (TOLN) from April 29 to September 2, 20 ...
'', which also was her first job. She played the character from August 1981 to August 1984, earning a 1983
Daytime Emmy Award The Daytime Emmy Awards, or Daytime Emmys, are part of the extensive range of Emmy Awards for artistic and technical merit for the American television industry. Bestowed by the New York–based National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences ...
nomination, as well as a loyal fan base; a profile of the actress a decade later noted,
"Delaney left the soap in 1984, but fans still remember her as Jenny. 'They come up and will say they've followed everything I've done, and they stopped watching the show after I left, and they're so happy to see me on ''NYPD Blue'', because they love the character.'"David Brian Walton. "Blue streak", ''Kokomo Tribune'', January 29, 1996, page A5.
After leaving ''All My Children'', Delaney began acting in
feature film A feature film or feature-length film is a narrative film (motion picture or "movie") with a running time long enough to be considered the principal or sole presentation in a commercial entertainment program. The term ''feature film'' originall ...
s. In 1985, she appeared with
Emilio Estevez Emilio Estevez (; born May 12, 1962) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the son of actor Martin Sheen and the older brother of Charlie Sheen. Emilio Estevez started his career as an actor and is known for being a member of the acting Br ...
in '' That Was Then... This Is Now'', a film version of the
S. E. Hinton Susan Eloise Hinton (born July 22, 1948) is an American writer best known for her young-adult novels (YA) set in Oklahoma, especially '' The Outsiders'' (1967), which she wrote during high school. Hinton is credited with introducing the YA genr ...
novel of the same name. In 1986, she played a young
nun A nun is a woman who vows to dedicate her life to religious service, typically living under vows of poverty, chastity, and obedience in the enclosure of a monastery or convent.''The Oxford English Dictionary'', vol. X, page 599. The term is o ...
in the military action movie ''
The Delta Force ''The Delta Force'' is a 1986 American action film starring Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin (in his final film appearance) as leaders of an elite group of Special Operations Forces personnel based on the real life U.S. Army Delta Force unit. Directed ...
'', starring
Chuck Norris Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo. After serving in the United States Air Force, Norris won many martial arts championshi ...
. In 1987, Delaney was cast as Amanda Jones in '' Some Kind of Wonderful'' opposite
Peter Gallagher Peter Killian Gallagher (born August 19, 1955) is an American actor. Since 1980, he has played roles in numerous Hollywood films. He is best known for starring as Sandy Cohen in the television drama series ''The O.C.'' from 2003 to 2007, recurr ...
, but new director
Howard Deutch Howard Deutch (born September 14, 1950) is an American film and television director who worked in collaboration with filmmaker John Hughes, directing two of Hughes's best-known screenplays, ''Pretty in Pink'' and '' Some Kind of Wonderful''. Sinc ...
recast both roles with his future wife
Lea Thompson Lea Katherine Thompson (born May 31, 1961) is an American actress and director. She is best known for her role as Lorraine Baines-McFly in the Back to the Future (franchise), ''Back to the Future'' film trilogy (1985–1990) and Beverly Switzl ...
and
Craig Sheffer Craig Eric Sheffer (born April 23, 1960) is an American film and television actor. He is known for his leading roles as Norman Maclean in the film ''A River Runs Through It (film), A River Runs Through It, ''Aaron Boone in the film ''Nightbreed' ...
before filming. Also in 1987, she appeared both as Jessie in '' Christmas Comes to Willow Creek'', and as associate attorney Leslie Kleinberg during the 2nd season of ''
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 ...
''. In 1988, Delaney starred in the thriller '' The Drifter''. In 1994, she appeared in the film ''The Force''. In 1988, Delaney became a regular on the
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
television series ''
Tour of Duty For military personnel, a tour of duty is usually a period of time spent in combat or in a hostile environment. In an army, for instance, soldiers on active duty serve 24 hours a day, seven days a week for the length of their service commitment. ...
''. After leaving the show in 1989 to give birth to her son with husband Joseph Cortese, her character was killed in an explosion—just as her ''All My Children'' character had died five years earlier. In the years immediately following her departure from her two early television series, her film and TV roles tended to be few and of low quality, in the opinion of both the critics and the actress herself. A 1996 profile article in ''
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 ...
'', on the occasion of her landing a prestigious television role at the end of this period, noted:
"Delaney's
résumé A résumé, sometimes spelled resume (or alternatively resumé), also called a curriculum vitae (CV), is a document created and used by a person to present their background, skills, and accomplishments. Résumés can be used for a variety of re ...
is spotted with ridiculous roles that range from a nun in the
Chuck Norris Carlos Ray "Chuck" Norris (born March 10, 1940) is an American martial artist and actor. He is a black belt in Tang Soo Do, Brazilian jiu jitsu and judo. After serving in the United States Air Force, Norris won many martial arts championshi ...
action movie Action film is a film genre in which the protagonist is thrust into a series of events that typically involve violence and physical feats. The genre tends to feature a mostly resourceful hero struggling against incredible odds, which include life ...
, ''
The Delta Force ''The Delta Force'' is a 1986 American action film starring Chuck Norris and Lee Marvin (in his final film appearance) as leaders of an elite group of Special Operations Forces personnel based on the real life U.S. Army Delta Force unit. Directed ...
'', to a possessed
nymphomaniac Hypersexuality is extremely frequent or suddenly increased libido. It is controversial whether it should be included as a clinical diagnosis used by mental healthcare professionals. Nymphomania and satyriasis were terms previously used for the c ...
in the
soft-core Softcore pornography or softcore porn, is commercial still photography or film that has a pornographic or erotic component but is less sexually graphic and intrusive than hardcore pornography, defined by a lack of visual sexual penetration. Sof ...
horror film Horror is a film genre that seeks to elicit fear or disgust in its audience for entertainment purposes. Horror films often explore dark subject matter and may deal with transgressive topics or themes. Broad elements include monsters, apoca ...
, ''Temptress''. 'There's a lot of things I did to pay the mortgage,' Delaney says resignedly."
Roles from this period include her 1992 appearance as Lucky Santangelo in the television
miniseries A miniseries or mini-series is a television series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. "Limited series" is another more recent US term which is sometimes used interchangeably. , the popularity of miniseries format h ...
, ''
Lady Boss ''Lady Boss'' is a 1990 novel written by Jackie Collins and the third in her Santangelo novels, ''Santangelo'' novels series. The novel was adapted as a TV movie miniseries in 1992, starring Kim Delaney in the title role of Lucky Santangelo. C ...
''. In 1995, Delaney began portraying ''
NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble c ...
'' Detective
Diane Russell Diane Marie Russell (born August 9, 1976) is an American politician who served in the Maine House of Representatives. She is a member of the Democratic Party. Political career When Russell first ran for the State House in 2008, she was workin ...
. Originally slated for only four episodes, the role became permanent after her character's relationship with Detective
Bobby Simone Robert "Bobby" Simone is a fictional character in the television series '' NYPD Blue''. Played by Jimmy Smits he was introduced in the fifth episode of the second season remaining until the fifth episode of the sixth. Simone was introduced to t ...
(
Jimmy Smits Jimmy L. Smits (born July 9, 1955) is an American actor. He is best known for playing attorney Victor Sifuentes on the 1980s-1990s legal drama '' L.A. Law'', NYPD Detective Bobby Simone on the 1990s-2000s police drama ''NYPD Blue'', Matt Santos ...
) became a hit with viewers. In this role, she was nominated three times for the
Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series This is a list of winners and nominees of the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series. In early Primetime Emmy Award ceremonies, the supporting categories were not always genre-, or even gender-, specific. Begin ...
, winning at the 1997 Emmy Awards. In 2001, ''NYPD Blue'' producer
Steven Bochco Steven Ronald Bochco Masterson (December 16, 1943 – April 1, 2018) was an American television writer and producer. He developed a number of television series, including ''Hill Street Blues'', ''L.A. Law'', ''Doogie Howser, M.D.'', ''Cop Rock'' ...
chose Delaney for the lead in the new television series ''
Philly Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
'' and she was written out of ''NYPD Blue''. Despite critical acclaim, the show lasted only one season. In 2002, Delaney was the female lead on the new
CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
drama series ''
CSI: Miami ''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Dete ...
'', a spin-off of sorts from the hit ''
CSI: Crime Scene Investigation ''CSI: Crime Scene Investigation'', also referred to as ''CSI'' and ''CSI: Las Vegas'', is an American procedural forensics crime drama television series that ran on CBS from October 6, 2000, to September 27, 2015, spanning 15 seasons. This wa ...
''. She was written off the series after just 10 episodes; ''
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 ...
'' suggested that it had been due to a lack of chemistry between Delaney and star
David Caruso David Stephen Caruso (born January 7, 1956) is a retired American actor and producer, best known for his roles as Detective John Kelly on the ABC crime drama ''NYPD Blue'' (1993–94) and Lieutenant Horatio Caine on the CBS series ''CSI: Miami ...
. After briefly returning in 5 episodes of ''NYPD Blue'' (one at the end of season 10 and a four-episode story arc mid-way through Season 11), Delaney starred in the 2004 NBC miniseries '' 10.5'', and its 2006 sequel, '' 10.5: Apocalypse''. The following year, she began a recurring role on ''
The O.C. ''The O.C. '' is an American teen drama television series created by Josh Schwartz that originally aired on the Fox network in the United States from August 5, 2003, to February 22, 2007, running a total of four seasons. "O.C." is an initiali ...
'' In 2006, Delaney starred in an episode of '' Nightmares & Dreamscapes: From the Stories of Stephen King'' titled "
You Know They Got a Hell of a Band "You Know They Got a Hell of a Band" is a 1992 horror short story by American writer Stephen King. It was first published January 1992 in the horror anthology '' Shock Rock'' and later included in King's collection ''Nightmares & Dreamscapes''. I ...
," about
Rock and Roll Rock and roll (often written as rock & roll, rock 'n' roll, or rock 'n roll) is a Genre (music), genre of popular music that evolved in the United States during the late 1940s and early 1950s. It Origins of rock and roll, originated from Africa ...
Heaven Heaven or the heavens, is a common religious cosmological or transcendent supernatural place where beings such as deities, angels, souls, saints, or venerated ancestors are said to originate, be enthroned, or reside. According to the belie ...
. Delaney next appeared twice on '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' in early 2007, guest-starring on the episodes "
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
" and "
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
". Delaney played the main role of
Claudia Joy Holden Claudia Joy Holden (''née'' Meade) was a fictional character on the Lifetime television series '' Army Wives'', portrayed by Kim Delaney. Fictional biography Claudia Joy was the daughter of Randall, a judge, and Shirley Meade. The Meades are imp ...
on the
Lifetime Television 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 toward ...
series ''
Army Wives ''Army Wives'' is an American drama television series that followed the lives of four army wives, one army husband, and their families. The series premiered on Lifetime on June 3, 2007, and ran for seven seasons, ending on June 9, 2013. The sh ...
''. In November 2012, a few weeks after the end of season six, it was announced that Delaney would not be returning for the show's seventh season, with a short storyline that her character had died. In early 2016, Delaney was cast in ''
God Bless the Broken Road ''God Bless the Broken Road'' is a 2018 American Christian drama film directed by Harold Cronk. A loose interpretation of the 1994 song "Bless the Broken Road," the plot follows a mother who loses her husband in the War in Afghanistan and must c ...
'', a feature film based on the song of the same name. It was released in the United States on September 7, 2018. In September 2020, Delaney joined the cast of ''
General Hospital ''General Hospital'' (often abbreviated as ''GH'') is an American daytime television soap opera. It is listed in ''Guinness World Records'' as the list of longest-running television shows by category, longest-running American soap opera in pro ...
'' in the role of Jackie Templeton; she made her first appearance on October 6.


Personal life

Delaney has been married and divorced twice. She married actor
Charles Grant Charles or Charlie Grant may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Charles Jameson Grant (), American editorial cartoonist * Charles L. Grant (1942–2006), American novelist * Charles Grant (actor) (born 1957), American actor * Charles Grant (dancer ...
, also known as Charles Flohe, on July 22, 1984. Her second marriage, to actor
Joseph Cortese Joseph Cortese (born February 22, 1948) is an American actor who had major roles in films such as ''Windows'' (1980), '' Evilspeak'' (1981) and ''Monsignor'' (1982). Early life Cortese was born on February 22, 1948 in Paterson, New Jersey. He ...
from 1989 to 1994, produced a son named Jack, born circa 1990. She was engaged for a time to producer Alan Barnette. Like her character in her breakout role on the television series ''
NYPD Blue ''NYPD Blue'' is an American police procedural television series set in New York City, exploring the struggles of the fictional 15th Precinct detective squad in Manhattan. Each episode typically intertwines several plots involving an ensemble c ...
'', Delaney has struggled with
alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...
. In 2002, Delaney was arrested in Malibu,
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 ...
, for suspicion of drunk driving after she refused to take a
breathalyzer A breathalyzer or breathalyser (a portmanteau of ''breath'' and ''analyzer/analyser'') is a device for estimating blood alcohol content (BAC), or to detect viruses or diseases from a breath sample. The name is a genericized trademark of the Br ...
test. She subsequently pleaded
no contest ' is a legal term that comes from the Latin phrase for "I do not wish to contend". It is also referred to as a plea of no contest or no defense. In criminal trials in certain United States jurisdictions, it is a plea where the defendant neith ...
and was sentenced to two years'
probation Probation in criminal law is a period of supervision over an offender, ordered by the court often in lieu of incarceration. In some jurisdictions, the term ''probation'' applies only to community sentences (alternatives to incarceration), such ...
, fined, and ordered to take a
defensive driving Defensive driving describes the practice of anticipating dangerous situations, despite adverse conditions or the mistakes of others when operating a motor vehicle. It can be achieved by adhering to general guidelines, such as keeping a two- or ...
course. In 2003, after being dropped from the cast of ''
CSI: Miami ''CSI: Miami'' (''Crime Scene Investigation: Miami'') is an American police procedural drama television series that ran from September 23, 2002 until April 8, 2012 on CBS. Featuring David Caruso as Lieutenant Horatio Caine, Emily Procter as Dete ...
'', Delaney checked herself into an alcohol rehab center. In 2005, she lost custody of her then 15-year-old son after endangering his life by forcing him to ride with her when she drove while intoxicated, which her son testified was not the first such incident. In 2011, Delaney was pulled from the stage before finishing a long, slurred, odd speech at an award ceremony recognizing the work of former
United States Secretary of Defense The United States secretary of defense (SecDef) is the head of the United States Department of Defense, the executive department of the U.S. Armed Forces, and is a high ranking member of the federal cabinet. DoDD 5100.1: Enclosure 2: a The s ...
Robert Gates Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was originally appointed by president George W. Bush an ...
.


Filmography


Film


Television


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Delaney, Kim 1961 births Living people American film actresses American soap opera actresses American television actresses American people of Irish descent Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Primetime Emmy Award winners Actresses from Philadelphia 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses