Jordana Spiro is an American actress, director, and writer. As an actress, she has starred in numerous films and television series including

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's '' Ozark'' and TBS comedy

television program A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via Terrestrial television, over-the-air, Satellite television, satellite, and cable te ...

My Boys ''My Boys'' is an American television sitcom that debuted on November 28, 2006, on TBS (American TV channel), TBS. The show deals with a sports columnist in Chicago, Illinois, played by Jordana Spiro, and the men in her life, including her brot ...

''. Her debut feature '' Night Comes On'', which she directed and co-wrote (with Angelica Nwandu) premiered at the

Sundance Film Festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

in 2018. She developed the film at the Sundance Institute's Directors, Screenwriters, and Composers Labs, and through a Cinereach development grant. Her short ''Skin'' premiered at Sundance and won the Women In Film Productions award. ''Skin'' also won the Honorable Mention Award at

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

, showed at Telluride, Palm Springs, and AFI among others. Spiro earned her MFA in Film from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

in 2015 and received the Adrienne Shelly Foundation Fellowship. She studied drama at the

Circle in the Square Theatre The Circle in the Square Theatre is a Broadway theater at 235 West 50th Street, within the basement of Paramount Plaza, in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, New York, U.S. The current Broadway theater, completed in 1972, i ...

School in New York and was selected to join the Berlinale Talent Campus in Berlin.

Early life and education

Spiro was born and raised in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

. She is Jewish. Spiro has a brother and three sisters. She studied at the Circle in the Square Theatre School and briefly attended the

Royal Academy of Dramatic Art The Royal Academy of Dramatic Art, also known by its abbreviation RADA (), is a drama school in London, England, which provides vocational conservatoire training for theatre, film, television, and radio. It is based in Bloomsbury, Central London ...

in London. In fall 2009, she began the MFA Program in Filmmaking at Columbia University. She finished the degree in 2015. Spiro currently splits her time between Los Angeles and New York.

Career

Spiro's first film role was as Catherine Reece in the 1999 film, '' From Dusk Till Dawn 3: The Hangman's Daughter'', a direct-to-DVD prequel to the 1996 film '' From Dusk till Dawn''. In 2000 Spiro starred in her first TV series, the USA crime drama '' The Huntress''. Co-star

Annette O'Toole Annette O'Toole (born Annette Toole; April 1, 1952) is an American actress, singer, and songwriter. She has received nominations for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe Award, and a Primetime Emmy Award. She is known for portraying Lisa Bridges in t ...

and Spiro played mother and daughter bounty hunters, based on the lives of Dottie And Brandi Thorson. The series ran for 28 episodes, concluding in 2001. Spiro starred in the TBS original comedy series ''

''. She played the role of P.J., a twenty-something "guy's girl", and sports reporter who tries to find romance within her world that is dominated by male friends. The series wrapped its fourth and final season on TBS in 2010. Spiro also appeared in the 2009 comedy '' The Goods: Live Hard, Sell Hard'' alongside Jeremy Piven,

Ed Helms Edward Parker Helms (born January 24, 1974) is an American actor, musician and comedian. From 2002 to 2006, he was a correspondent on Comedy Central's '' The Daily Show with Jon Stewart''. He played paper salesman Andy Bernard in the NBC sit ...

and Rob Riggle, and produced by

Will Ferrell John William Ferrell (; born July 16, 1967) is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer. He is known for his leading man roles in comedy films and for his work as a television producer. Ferrell received various accolades, including ...

and Adam McKay. ''The Goods'' was directed by

Neal Brennan Neal Brennan (born October 19, 1973) is an American comedian, writer, producer, director, and podcaster. He is best known for co-creating and co-writing the Comedy Central series ''Chappelle's Show'' (2003–2006) with Dave Chappelle and for his N ...

. Additional credits include ''The Year of Getting to Know Us'', which premiered at the 2008

Sundance film festival The Sundance Film Festival is an annual film festival organized by the Sundance Institute. It is the largest independent film festival in the United States, with 423,234 combined in-person and online viewership in 2023. The festival has acted ...

, IFC's ''Alone with Her'', as well as guest appearances on ''

Cold Case ''Cold Case'' is an American police procedural crime drama television series. It ran on CBS from September 28, 2003, to May 2, 2010. The series revolved around a fictionalized Philadelphia Police Department division that specializes in invest ...

'', '' Out of Practice'', and '' CSI: NY''. Spiro was scheduled to star in the planned 2010–11 television series '' Love Bites'', but fell out of the role in June 2010 due to other contractual obligations. Spiro was also cast alongside

Nicolas Cage Nicolas Kim Coppola (born January 7, 1964), known professionally as Nicolas Cage, is an American actor and film producer. He is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Nicolas Cage, various accolades, including an Academy A ...

and

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...

in the thriller, ''

Trespass Trespass is an area of tort law broadly divided into three groups: trespass to the person (see below), trespass to chattels, and trespass to land. Trespass to the person historically involved six separate trespasses: threats, assault, battery ...

''. She was a guest star on the Showtime 2011 season of ''

Dexter Dexter may refer to: People * Dexter (given name) * Dexter (surname) * Dexter (singer), Brazilian rapper Marcos Fernandes de Omena (born 1973) * Famous Dex, also known as Dexter, American rapper Dexter Tiewon Gore Jr. (born 1993) Places United ...

''. For the 2012–13 season, she had the lead role in the Fox-TV medical/crime drama '' The Mob Doctor''. Recently, Spiro starred as Rachel Garrison in the

crime drama '' Ozark''. In February 2024, Spiro joined the cast of '' Law & Order: Special Victims Unit'' as Shannah Sykes, an FBI agent on loan to the show's special victims unit squad.

Personal life

She is married to Matthew Spitzer with whom she has a daughter.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Spiro, Jordana Living people Alumni of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art Actresses from New York City American film actresses American television actresses Jewish American actresses Circle in the Square Theatre School alumni Columbia University School of the Arts alumni Sundance Film Festival award winners 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses 20th-century American Jews 21st-century American Jews Year of birth missing (living people)