Nicole Renee DeHuff (January 6, 1975 – February 16, 2005) was an American actress. She is noted for role in the comedy movie '' Meet the Parents''.

Early life

DeHuff was born in

Antlers, Oklahoma Antlers is a city in and the county seat of Pushmataha County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 2,453 at the 2010 census, a 3.9 percent decline from 2,552 in 2000. The town was named for a kind of tree that becomes festooned with antl ...

, and raised in

Broken Bow, Oklahoma Broken Bow is a city in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, United States. The population was 4,120 at the 2010 census. It is named after Broken Bow, Nebraska, the former hometown of the city's founders, the Dierks brothers. Other Dierks-associate ...

, and

Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (), officially the City of Oklahoma City, and often shortened to OKC, is the capital and largest city of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. The county seat of Oklahoma County, it ranks 20th among United States cities in population, a ...

. She began her acting career by earning 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 ...

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

from Carnegie Mellon University. She also met and later married executive producer and director Ari Palitz, whom she met at Carnegie Mellon.

Career

DeHuff landed her first big role in the hit movie comedy '' Meet the Parents'', in which she played

Teri Polo Theresa Elizabeth Polo (born June 1, 1969) is an American actress. She starred as Pam Byrnes-Focker in the ''Meet the Parents'' trilogy and played the role of police officer Stef Adams Foster in the Freeform series '' The Fosters'' (2013–201 ...

's character's sister, Deborah Byrnes. After ''Meet the Parents'', DeHuff had a regular role in the 2002 TV series '' The Court'' and appeared in '' CSI: Miami'', ''

Without a Trace ''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...

'', '' Dragnet'', ''

The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy in ...

'', and ''

Monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

''.

Death

In the days preceding her death, DeHuff checked into two hospitals for respiratory illnesses, and was misdiagnosed both times as having

bronchitis Bronchitis is inflammation of the bronchi (large and medium-sized airways) in the lungs that causes coughing. Bronchitis usually begins as an infection in the nose, ears, throat, or sinuses. The infection then makes its way down to the bronchi. ...

. She was sent home and directed to take

Tylenol Tylenol may refer to: * Paracetamol Paracetamol, also known as acetaminophen, is a medication used to treat fever and mild to moderate pain. Common brand names include Tylenol and Panadol. At a standard dose, paracetamol only slightly decr ...

in addition to being prescribed an antibiotic. However, her health worsened. On February 16, 2005, paramedics rushed to her home after she collapsed, gasping for air. She subsequently lost consciousness en route to the hospital. By the time the doctor discovered her true illness,

pneumonia Pneumonia is an inflammatory condition of the lung primarily affecting the small air sacs known as alveoli. Symptoms typically include some combination of productive or dry cough, chest pain, fever, and difficulty breathing. The severi ...

, it was too late. Shortly upon arrival to the facility, she died of the illness at the age of 30.Pneumonia Kills Actress Nicole Dehuff at Age 30
/ref> Between 2004 and 2005, DeHuff worked on three feature films. One of these, ''

Unbeatable Harold ''Unbeatable Harold'' is a 2006 romantic comedy film directed by Ari Palitz and starring Gordon Michaels, Nicole DeHuff, Henry Winkler, Gladys Knight, Charles Durning, Taryn Manning, Phyllis Diller, Lourdes Benedicto and Dylan McDermott. Based ...

'', her final film which was released posthumously, was directed by her husband.

Filmography

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dehuff, Nicole 1975 births 2005 deaths People from Antlers, Oklahoma American film actresses Carnegie Mellon University College of Fine Arts alumni Deaths from pneumonia in California 21st-century American actresses