Polly Carey Draper (born June 15, 1955) is an American actress, writer, producer, and director. Draper has received several awards, including a Writers Guild of America Award (WGA), and is noted for speaking in a "

trademark A trademark (also written trade mark or trade-mark) is a type of intellectual property consisting of a recognizable sign, design, or expression that identifies products or services from a particular source and distinguishes them from others ...

throaty voice." She gained recognition for her starring role in the

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 ...

drama television series ''

Thirtysomething ''Thirtysomething'' is an American drama television series created by Edward Zwick and Marshall Herskovitz for United Artists Television (under MGM/UA Television) and aired on ABC from September 29, 1987, to May 28, 1991."The 'don't trust any ...

'' (1987–91). Draper co-starred in her

screenwriting Screenwriting or scriptwriting is the art and craft of writing scripts for mass media such as feature films, television productions or video games. It is often a freelance profession. Screenwriters are responsible for researching the story, devel ...

debut ''

The Tic Code ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the ...

'' (1998) and Off-Broadway in her

playwriting A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays. Etymology The word "play" is from Middle English pleye, from Old English plæġ, pleġa, plæġa ("play, exercise; sport, game; drama, applause"). The word "wright" is an archaic English ...

''Getting into Heaven'' (2003). In mid-2004, she wrote her directing debut '' The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie'', and created and showran the

Nickelodeon Nickelodeon (often shortened to Nick) is an American pay television television channel, channel which launched on April 1, 1979, as the first cable channel for children. It is run by Paramount Global through its List of assets owned by Param ...

musical comedy series '' The Naked Brothers Band'' (2007–09), which won her a WGA for Children's Script: Long Form or Special. Draper also wrote, directed, and co-starred in the film '' Stella's Last Weekend'' (2018).

Personal life

Draper was born in

Gary, Indiana Gary is a city in Lake County, Indiana, United States. The city has been historically dominated by major industrial activity and is home to U.S. Steel's Gary Works, the largest steel mill complex in North America. Gary is located along the ...

, to Phyllis (née Culbertson), a

Peace Corps The Peace Corps is an independent agency and program of the United States government that trains and deploys volunteers to provide international development assistance. It was established in March 1961 by an executive order of President John F. ...

administrator, and

William Henry Draper III William Henry Draper III (born January 1, 1928) is an American venture capitalist. Early life Draper was born on January 1, 1928, in White Plains, New York, the son of Katherine Louise (née Baum) and banker, general, and diplomat William Henry ...

, who was the CEO of the

United Nations Development Programme The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)french: Programme des Nations unies pour le développement, PNUD is a United Nations agency tasked with helping countries eliminate poverty and achieve sustainable economic growth and human dev ...

and president and chairman of the US Export-Import Bank. She has two siblings:

venture capitalist Venture capital (often abbreviated as VC) is a form of private equity financing that is provided by venture capital firms or funds to startups, early-stage, and emerging companies that have been deemed to have high growth potential or which ha ...

Tim Draper Timothy Cook Draper (born June 11, 1958) is an American venture capital investor, and founder of Draper Fisher Jurvetson (DFJ),

and Rebecca Draper. Her grandfather is banker and diplomat William Henry Draper Jr. Draper grew up 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 ...

, as well as in

Palo Alto Palo Alto (; Spanish for "tall stick") is a charter city in the northwestern corner of Santa Clara County, California, United States, in the San Francisco Bay Area, named after a coastal redwood tree known as El Palo Alto. The city was estab ...

and Arlington,

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 ...

. She earned her

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree from

Yale University Yale University is a private research university in New Haven, Connecticut. Established in 1701 as the Collegiate School, it is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and among the most prestigious in the wo ...

(1977) and

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admini ...

from the

Yale School of Drama The David Geffen School of Drama at Yale University is a graduate professional school of Yale University, located in New Haven, Connecticut. Founded in 1924 as the Department of Drama in the School of Fine Arts, the school provides training in e ...

(1980). Following a seven-year marriage with playwright

Kevin Wade Kevin Wade (born March 9, 1954) is an American screenwriter and television producer. Early life and career Wade was born in Chappaqua, New York, and attended Connecticut College. Before his writing career took off, Wade acted in two films for ...

, Draper married musician Michael Wolff after meeting him in 1991 when making a

cameo appearance A cameo role, also called a cameo appearance and often shortened to just cameo (), is a brief appearance of a well-known person in a work of the performing arts. These roles are generally small, many of them non-speaking ones, and are commonly eit ...

on the syndicated

late-night talk show A late-night talk show is a genre of talk show popular in the United States, where the format originated. It is generally structured around humorous monologues about the day's news, guest interviews, comedy sketches and music performances. It i ...

Arsenio Hall Arsenio Hall (born February 12, 1956) is an American comedian, actor and talk show host. He hosted the late-night talk show, ''The Arsenio Hall Show'', from 1989 until 1994, and again from 2013 to 2014. He has appeared in ''Martial Law'', ''Comi ...

'', where Wolff served as the

bandleader A bandleader is the leader of a music group such as a rock or pop band or jazz quartet. The term is most commonly used with a group that plays popular music as a small combo or a big band, such as one which plays jazz, blues, rhythm and blues or ...

. Wolff's life with

Tourette syndrome Tourette syndrome or Tourette's syndrome (abbreviated as TS or Tourette's) is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that begins in childhood or adolescence. It is characterized by multiple movement (motor) tics and at least one vocal (phonic) ...

influenced ''The Tic Code''; he provided the score. She and Wolff have two sons,

Nat Nat or NAT may refer to: Computing * Network address translation (NAT), in computer networking Organizations * National Actors Theatre, New York City, U.S. * National AIDS trust, a British charity * National Archives of Thailand * National As ...

and Alex; the latter three played the father and sons in '' The Naked Brothers Band'' series and

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 ...

, which also featured Draper's niece,

Jesse Jesse may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jesse (biblical figure), father of David in the Bible. * Jesse (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Jesse (surname), a list of people Music * ''Jesse'' ( ...

, as the band's babysitter. More recently, she starred with her sons as their mother in ''Stella's Last Weekend''. Draper is a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

; she voted for Democratic presidential candidates

John Kerry John Forbes Kerry (born December 11, 1943) is an American attorney, politician and diplomat who currently serves as the first United States special presidential envoy for climate. A member of the Forbes family and the Democratic Party (Unite ...

and

Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the U ...

in 2004 and 2008, respectively. Her father and late grandfather, William Henry Draper Jr., were members of the Republican Party. Draper's late mother, Phyllis, was also a friend of former US first lady

Barbara Bush Barbara Pierce Bush (June 8, 1925 – April 17, 2018) was First Lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993, as the wife of President George H. W. Bush, and the founder of the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. She previously was ...

's since the late 1980s; the two first met when Draper's father was leading the United Nations.

Career

Draper began her acting career appearing Off-Broadway, including a role in ''Split'' (1980). She later starred as Ellyn Warren in the

drama television series ''

'' (1987–91), and in 1993, as Adrian in the NBC television movie adaptation of Danielle Steel's ''Heartbeat''. She starred in the off-Broadway production of ''Four Dogs and a Bone'' (1993), and also made appearances on TV shows, such as ''

The Larry Sanders Show ''The Larry Sanders Show'' is an American television sitcom set in the office and studio of a fictional late-night talk show. The series was created by Garry Shandling and Dennis Klein and aired from August 15, 1992, to May 31, 1998, on the HBO ...

'' (1998); ''

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 ...

''; and ''

Law & Order: Criminal Intent ''Law & Order: Criminal Intent'' is an American police procedural Drama (film and television), drama television series set in New York City, where it was also primarily produced. Created and Executive producer#Motion pictures and television, p ...

'', both in 2002; as well as in the Lifetime TV movie ''

Too Young to Marry ''Too Young to Marry'' is a 2007 romantic comedy-drama television film directed by Michel Poulette and based on a story by Elle Triedman. It involves two 17-year-olds, Max Doyle (Dillon Casey) and Jessica Carpenter (Nina Dobrev), who think that ...

'' in 2007. Draper played Laura Caraday in her screenwriting debut ''

'' (1999). In 2003, she starred as Cat, a

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 ...

with a

drug addiction Addiction is a neuropsychological disorder characterized by a persistent and intense urge to engage in certain behaviors, one of which is the usage of a drug, despite substantial harm and other negative consequences. Repetitive drug use of ...

, and provided lead vocals and lyrics for, her playwriting ''Getting Into Heaven'' (2003) at

The Flea Theater The Flea Theater, founded in 1996, is a theater in the TriBeCa section of New York City. It presents primarily new American theater and provides a venue for film stars to act on a very small (74-seat) stage, as well as a smaller black box theat ...

; the music was also composed and performed by her husband. She played Nina in the Broadway production of ''

Brooklyn Boy ''Brooklyn Boy'' is a play by American playwright Donald Margulies. The play premiered in 2004 at South Coast Repertory and then on Broadway in 2005. Plot Novelist Eric Weiss, critically celebrated but unsuccessful, "arrives" when his new, autobi ...

'' in 2005. In addition, Draper was the creator,

showrunner A showrunner (or colloquially a helmer) is the top-level executive producer of a television series production who has creative and management authority through combining the responsibilities of employer and, in comedy or dramas, typically also th ...

, head writer, and director of the hit

musical comedy series '' The Naked Brothers Band'' (2007–09), which was adapted by the pilot movie of the same name that she originally wrote and directed as an independent film in mid-2004. In 2010, she appeared with a recurring guest role in 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 ...

comedic television drama '' The Big C''. Draper directed her youngest son's play ''What Would Woody Do?'' (2010) at The Flea Theater. In 2011, she also wrote and starred in an episode of the

Current TV Current TV was an American television channel which broadcast from August 1, 2005, to August 20, 2013. Prior INdTV founders Al Gore and Joel Hyatt, with Ronald Burkle, each held a sizable stake in Current TV. Comcast and DirecTV each held a smalle ...

science fiction series ''

Bar Karma ''Bar Karma'' is the first online community-developed network television series. Online users pitch their own ideas for scenes and twists online, using a tool designed by Will Wright called the Storymaker. Some are eventually chosen by the produc ...

'' and appeared in the play ''My Brilliant Divorce'' (2012) at the Bay Street Theater. Since then, she appeared in the film ''

Side Effects In medicine, a side effect is an effect, whether therapeutic or adverse, that is secondary to the one intended; although the term is predominantly employed to describe adverse effects, it can also apply to beneficial, but unintended, consequence ...

'' and in the CBS television drama '' Golden Boy'', both in 2013. In 2014, Draper appeared in the film ''

Obvious Child ''Obvious Child'' is a 2014 American romantic comedy-drama film written and directed by Gillian Robespierre (in her directorial debut) and stars Jenny Slate, Jake Lacy, Gaby Hoffmann and David Cross. The story follows Donna, a stand-up comed ...

''. Draper portrayed Sally in her film, '' Stella's Last Weekend'', released in 2018. In 2020, she appeared in

Emma Seligman Emma Seligman (born May 3, 1995) is a Canadian film director and screenwriter, best known for their feature directorial debut '' Shiva Baby'' (2020). Career As a teenager, Emma Seligman contributed film reviews to ''The Huffington Post''. They st ...

's film ''

Shiva Baby ''Shiva Baby'' is a 2020 comedy film written and directed by Emma Seligman. The film stars Rachel Sennott as Danielle, a directionless young bisexual Jewish woman who attends a with her parents, Joel (Fred Melamed) and Debbie (Polly Draper). Oth ...

'' as the main character's mother, Debbie. ''

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...

'' said that "Draper's refreshing take on a Jewish mother brightens" the film, and ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' called her performance "delightfully witty". ''Edge'' said that "Draper deserves awards attention for her amusing yet keen embodiment of the Jewish mother". ''Rough Cut'' compares her performance in the film to her similar role in ''Obvious Child''.

Awards

In 1988, Draper’s work on ''

'' earned her 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 ...

nomination 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 ...

. In addition, ''Four Dogs and a Bone'' (1993) won her a ''New York Magazine'' award for Best Broadway Actress. For ''

'' (1998), she received the Bronze Gryphon award for Best Actress at the Giffoni Film Festival. Draper obtained the Audience Award for a Family Feature Film for '' The Naked Brothers Band: The Movie'' at the Hamptons International Film Festival in 2005. She received two

Writers Guild Award The Writers Guild of America Awards is an award for film, television, and radio writing including both fiction and non-fiction categories given by the Writers Guild of America, East and Writers Guild of America West since 1949. Eligibility The ...

nominations for '' The Naked Brothers Band'' TV series (2007–09). The first, in 2007, Draper was nominated in the section of Children's Episodic Shows & Specials for the episode "Nat is a Stand Up Guy". She also won the Children's Script: Long Form or Special category for the TV movie "

Polar Bears The polar bear (''Ursus maritimus'') is a hypercarnivorous bear whose native range lies largely within the Arctic Circle, encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the largest extant bear specie ...

" in 2009. In August 2018, '' Stella's Last Weekend'' won Draper the Grand Prize at the

San Antonio Film Festival The SAFILM – San Antonio Film Festival was founded in 1994 by Adam Rocha as a video festival, which sported a logo of a naughty-looking angel. It was later renamed the San Antonio Underground Film Festival and then finally the SAFILM – San An ...

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Draper, Polly 1955 births Actresses from Palo Alto, California American stage actresses American television actresses American television directors Television producers from California American women television producers American television writers American women film directors American women screenwriters California Democrats Living people American women film producers Writers from Palo Alto, California American women television directors American women television writers Writers Guild of America Award winners Yale School of Drama alumni 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Film directors from California Screenwriters from California Film producers from California Draper family