Talia Balsam (born March 5, 1959) is an American television and film actress.

Early life

Balsam was born in New York City on March 5, 1959, to actors

Martin Balsam Martin Henry Balsam (November 4, 1919 – February 13, 1996) was an American actor. He had a prolific career in character roles in film, in theatre, and on television. An early member of the Actors Studio, he began his career on the New Y ...

and

Joyce Van Patten Joyce Benignia Van Patten (born March 9, 1934) is an American film and stage actress. She is best known for her roles in films like '' The Bad News Bears'' (1976), ''St. Elmo's Fire'' (1985) (as Mrs. Beamish), and as Rob Schneider's septuagenari ...

. Her ancestry is Russian Jewish (father) and Italian, Dutch, and English (mother). She is the niece of actor

Dick Van Patten Richard Vincent Van Patten (December 9, 1928 – June 23, 2015) was an American actor, comedian, businessman, and animal welfare advocate, whose career spanned seven decades of television. He was best known for his role as patriarch Tom Brad ...

, actress Pat Van Patten and actor and director

Tim Van Patten Timothy Van Patten (born June 10, 1959) is an American director, actor, screenwriter, and producer. He has directed episodes of ''Perry Mason'', ''Boardwalk Empire'', '' Black Mirror'', '' Deadwood'', '' Ed'', '' Game of Thrones'', '' The Pacific ...

. Her cousin is actress

Grace Van Patten Grace Van Patten (born November 21, 1996) is an American actress. She has appeared in two films distributed by Netflix: '' Tramps'' (2016) and ''The Meyerowitz Stories'' (2017), and in Hulu's miniseries ''Nine Perfect Strangers'' (2021) and ''Tel ...

. She attended a boarding school in

Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...

, in her adolescent years.

Career

Balsam began her career appearing in a recurring role on the ABC sitcom ''

Happy Days ''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marshall, it was one of the most su ...

'' and later appeared in a number of shows, including ''

Dallas Dallas () is the third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 million people. It is the largest city in and seat of Dallas County ...

'', ''

Taxi A taxi, also known as a taxicab or simply a cab, is a type of vehicle for hire with a driver, used by a single passenger or small group of passengers, often for a non-shared ride. A taxicab conveys passengers between locations of their choic ...

'', ''

Hill Street Blues ''Hill Street Blues'' is an American serial police procedural television series that aired on NBC in prime-time from January 15, 1981, to May 12, 1987, for 146 episodes. The show chronicles the lives of the staff of a single police station loca ...

'', ''

Family Ties ''Family Ties'' is an American sitcom television series that aired on NBC for seven seasons, premiering on September 22, 1982, and concluding on May 14, 1989. The series, created by Gary David Goldberg, reflected the move in the United States ...

'' and '' Magnum, P.I.''. Balsam also played female leading roles in films '' Crawlspace'' (1986) and ''

In the Mood "In the Mood" is a popular big band-era jazz standard recorded by American bandleader Glenn Miller. "In the Mood" is based on the composition " Tar Paper Stomp" by Wingy Manone. The first recording under the name "In the Mood" was released by ...

'' (1987). She also appeared in a number of made-for-television movies, including ''Kent State'' (1981), ''

Nadia Nadia is a female name. Variations include Nadja, Nadya, Nadine, Nadiya, and Nadiia. Most variations of the name are derived from Arabic, Slavic languages, or both. In Slavic, names similar to ''Nadia'' mean "hope" in many Slavic languages: ...

'' (1984), and '' Consenting Adult'' (1985). Balsam continued playing supporting film roles and guest starred on television through 1990s and 2000s, include '' The Cake Eaters'' (2007), '' L.A. Doctors'' (1998–99) and ''

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 ...

'' (2003–04). From 2007 to 2014, Balsam had a recurring role as Mona Sterling in the AMC period drama series ''

Mad Men ''Mad Men'' is an American period drama television series created by Matthew Weiner and produced by Lionsgate Television. It ran on the cable network AMC from July 19, 2007, to May 17, 2015, lasting for seven seasons and 92 episodes. Its f ...

''. In 2012, she also had a recurring role in the Showtime thriller ''

Homeland A homeland is a place where a cultural, national, or racial identity has formed. The definition can also mean simply one's country of birth. When used as a proper noun, the Homeland, as well as its equivalents in other languages, often has ethn ...

'' as Cynthia Walden. From 2016 to 2019, she starred opposite

Sarah Jessica Parker Sarah Jessica Parker (born March 25, 1965) is an American actress and television producer. She is the recipient of numerous accolades, including six Golden Globe Awards and two Primetime Emmy Awards. ''Time'' magazine named her one of the 100 ...

in the HBO comedy series, ''

Divorce Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganizing of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving th ...

''.

Personal life

Balsam married actor

George Clooney George Timothy Clooney (born May 6, 1961) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including a British Academy Film Award, four Golden Globe Awards, and two Academy Awards, one for his acting and the ot ...

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Veg ...

in 1989; they were divorced in 1993. In an interview with ''Vanity Fair'' after their divorce, Clooney stated, "I probably (definitely) wasn't someone who should have been married at that point. I just don't feel like I gave Talia a fair shot." Since 1998, Balsam has been married to

John Slattery John M. Slattery Jr. (born August 13, 1962) is an American actor and director widely known for his role as Roger Sterling Jr. in the AMC drama series ''Mad Men'' (2007–15), for which he was nominated four times for the Primetime Emmy Award fo ...

, with whom she has a son, Harry Slattery. They married in

Kauai, Hawaii Kauai, () anglicized as Kauai ( ), is geologically the second-oldest of the main Hawaiian Islands (after Niʻihau). With an area of 562.3 square miles (1,456.4 km2), it is the fourth-largest of these islands and the 21st largest island ...

. They played husband and wife

Roger Roger is a given name, usually masculine, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") and ', ' ( ...

and Mona Sterling in ''

''. Balsam lives with her family in

SoHo, Manhattan SoHo, sometimes written Soho (South of Houston Street), is a neighborhood in Lower Manhattan, New York City. Since the 1970s, the neighborhood has been the location of many artists' lofts and art galleries, and has also been known for its vari ...

. She owns two cats, named Caesar and Catalina.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Balsam, Talia 1959 births Actresses from New York City American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni Living people People from SoHo, Manhattan 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American people of Russian-Jewish descent American people of English descent American people of Dutch descent American people of Italian descent Van Patten family