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Lisa Edelstein
Lisa Edelstein recadré (cropped).jpg
Edelstein in 2007
Born (1966-05-21) May 21, 1966 (age 58)
Alma mater New York University
Occupation
  • Actress
  • Playwright
  • Artist
Years active 1990–present
Spouse(s)
Robert Russell
(m. 2014)

Lisa Edelstein (/ˈlsə ˈɛdəlstn/; born May 21, 1966) is an American actress and artist. She is known for playing Dr. Lisa Cuddy on the Fox medical drama series House (2004–2011). Between 2014 and 2018, Edelstein starred as Abby McCarthy in the Bravo series Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce.

Early life

Edelstein was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Bonnie and Alvin Edelstein, the youngest of three children in a Jewish family. Her father worked as a pediatrician at Chilton Memorial Hospital. She was raised in Wayne, New Jersey, and attended Wayne Valley High School, graduating in 1984.

At 16, Edelstein was a cheerleader for the New Jersey Generals. Edelstein participated in a protest against poor working conditions. She said she felt they were treated "like hookers" and helped organize a cheerleader walkout.

She moved to New York City at the age of 18 to study theatre at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. While living in New York, she became involved in the club scene (known there only as "Lisa E") and caused enough of a stir in the community to be dubbed New York City's "Queen of the Night" by writer and fellow celebutant James St. James, who briefly refers to Edelstein in his 1999 book Disco Bloodbath. Her Lisa E. persona was the focus of a feature article by Maureen Dowd in The New York Times in 1986.

Career

Actress

In response to the growing AIDS crisis of the 1980s, Edelstein wrote, composed and starred in an original musical called Positive Me which she performed at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in New York City, receiving many accolades. She followed that with a short stint hosting MTV’s Awake on the Wild Side in 1990, then began working in earnest as an actress. She got her SAG card appearing as a backstage make-up artist in Oliver Stone's Jim Morrison biography The Doors, and then landed a quick series of guest roles on several popular comedies, including Mad About You, Wings, The Larry Sanders Show and Sports Night, where she played a sports reporter who claimed to be a former lover of Josh Charles' character whom he did not remember. Perhaps most famous from this time was her appearances on Seinfeld, where she played George Costanza's girlfriend in the episodes "The Mango” and "The Masseuse.”

Lisa Edelstein LF
Edelstein picketed during the 2007–08 Writers Guild of America strike, which halted the production of House.

Bigger roles in TV dramas soon followed, among them the lesbian sister on ABC's Relativity (1996); a transgender woman on Ally McBeal (2000); and Ben Covington's (Scott Speedman) girlfriend on Felicity (2001). She also continued to land guest-star spots on such shows as ER, Frasier, Just Shoot Me!, Without a Trace, and Judging Amy, as well as small parts in the films What Women Want, Keeping the Faith, As Good as It Gets, and Daddy Day Care.

From 2004 to 2011, she portrayed her biggest and most notable role to date, Dr. Lisa Cuddy, the Dean of Medicine at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital and frequent adversary, friend, and eventual girlfriend of title character Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) on Fox's TV series House. Edelstein has often spoken fondly of her experiences on the show and fellow cast and crew, especially her friendship and strong working relationship with Laurie.

In May 2011, Edelstein announced that she would not return for the eighth and final season of House. Starting in June 2011, she joined the cast of The Good Wife where she played lawyer Celeste Serrano. She guest-starred in Scandal in 2013, and later three episodes of the ABC series Castle.

In 2014, Edelstein got her dream job landing the lead role of Abby McCarthy in the Bravo series Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce, an hour-long dramedy loosely based on the book series by Vicki Iovine focusing on the lives of newly divorced, mid-life women. It ran for five seasons in which she got to expand her creative participation by becoming a producer, writer and director on the series.

In 2018, Edelstein joined the cast of ABC's The Good Doctor in season two as Dr. Marina Blaize in a recurring role. This reunited her with House creator David Shore as well as with Richard Schiff, who played her father on Relativity.

Edelstein then joined the award winning The Kominsky Method, a Netflix series that debuted in November 2018, playing the daughter of Alan Arkin and working alongside such actors such as Michael Douglas, Paul Reiser and Chuck Lorre. During that time she also reunited with Rob Lowe, playing his ex-wife Gwyneth Morgan, and mother of TK Strand (Ronen Rubenstein) on the ABC drama series, 9-1-1: Lone Star.

Throughout her career she has lent her voice to several animated programs, including King of the Hill, American Dad!, the DC Animated Universe, The Legend of Korra, and the first video game adaptation of Blade Runner.

Other appearances

Edelstein is a supporter of Best Friends Animal Society, of which she is an ambassador. She supports human rights organizations and is a patron of the arts. She has appeared in numerous magazines, including the September 2010 cover of H magazine. She posed for PETA in an ad promoting vegetarianism, a diet she has followed for most of her life.

Art

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Edelstein began to sketch and paint. She began working with magic marker and at the suggestion of her artist husband Robert Russell, switched to watercolor as the size of each piece grew. Edelstein's portfolio is inspired by old family photographs that are “unintended moments, telling unintended truths”. In December 2022, her exhibition debuted at Lisa Schiff's SFA Advisory gallery in Tribeca, New York City. Her collection has been featured in Surface and Gio Journal. In September 2023, Lisa's first solo exhibition in Los Angeles opened at Anat Ebgi Gallery.

Personal life

On May 25, 2014, Edelstein married artist Robert Russell in Los Angeles. She became a stepmother to Russell's two sons from a previous marriage.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1991 The Doors Makeup artist
1997 As Good as It Gets Woman at table
1998 Susan's Plan Penny Myers
1998 L.A. Without a Map Sandra
1999 30 Days Danielle
2000 Keeping the Faith Ali Decker
2000 What Women Want Dina
2003 Daddy Day Care Crispin's mother
2005 Say Uncle Sarah Faber
2013 She Loves Me Not Amy
2016 Joshy Claudia
2021 Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets Elly

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1992 L.A. Law Francine Flicker Episode: "My Friend Flicker"
1992 Mad About You Lynne Stoddard Episode: "Out of the Past"
1993 Good Advice Robin Episode: "The Kiss"
1993 Seinfeld Karen 2 episodes
1993 Wings Marsha Peebles Episode: "Labor Pains"
1996 Ned & Stacey Janine Episode: "Friends and Lovers"
1994 The Larry Sanders Show Diane French Episode: "The Mr. Sharon Stone Show"
1994 Wild Oats Unknown Episode: "Pilot"
1995–97 Almost Perfect Patty Karp 8 episodes
1995 Partners Cindy Wolfe Episode: "Who's Afraid of Ron and Cindy Wolfe?"
1995 Superman: The Animated Series Mercy Graves Voice, 7 episodes
1996–97 Relativity Rhonda Roth Main role
1997 ER Aggi Orton Episode: "Ambush"
1998 Frasier Caitlin Episode: "Frasier Gotta Have It"
1998 Just Shoot Me! Erin Simons Episode: "Sewer!"
1998 Indiscreet Beth Sussman Television film
1999 Sports Night Bobbi Bernstein 2 episodes
1999–2000 The West Wing Laurie "Brittany" Rollins 5 episodes
2000 Grosse Pointe Shawn Shapiro Episode: "Satisfaction"
2000–01 Ally McBeal Cindy McCauliff 5 episodes
2001 Black River Laura Television film
2001 The Zeta Project Gwen Evans Voice, episode: "Ro's Reunion"
2001–02 Felicity Lauren 6 episodes
2002 Obsessed Charlotte Television film
2002 Leap of Faith Patty Main
2003 A Date with Darkness: The Trial and Capture of Andrew Luster Maeve Fox Television film
2003 Without a Trace Dr. Lianna Sardo Episode: "Moving On"
2003 The Practice Diane Ward 2 episodes
2003 Justice League Mercy Graves Voice, episode: "Tabula Rasa"
2004 Judging Amy Sylvia Danforth Episode: "The Quick and the Dead"
2005 Justice League Unlimited Mercy Graves Voice, episode: "Clash"
2005 Fathers and Sons Irene Television film
2004–11 House Dr. Lisa Cuddy Main: Seasons 1–7
People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Drama Actress
Satellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series
2007 King of the Hill Alexis Voice, episode: "The Powder Puff Boys"
2007–11 American Dad! Sharri Rothberg Voice, 6 episodes
2008 Special Delivery Maxine Carter Television film
2011 Childrens Hospital Herself/Lisa Cuddy Episode: "Run, Dr. Lola Spratt, Run!"
2011 The Good Wife Celeste Serano 3 episodes
2011 Paul The Male Matchmaker Jillian Episode: "Know When You Are Not Ready"
2012 Blue-Eyed Butcher Kelly Siegler Television film
2012 Elementary Heather Van Owen Episode: "The Long Fuse"
2013 House of Lies Brynn 2 episodes
2013 Scandal Sarah Stanner Episode: "Top of the Hour"
2013 Castle Rachel McCord 3 episodes
2013–14 The Legend of Korra Kya Voice, 14 episodes
2014–18 Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce Abby McCarthy Main

Women's Image Network Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series (2015, 2016)

2018–19 The Good Doctor Dr. Marina Blaize 6 episodes
2018–19,
2021
The Kominsky Method Phoebe Recurring role
Nominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series
2021–22 9-1-1: Lone Star Gwyneth Morgan Recurring (season 2); guest (season 3)
2023 Little Bird Golda Rosenblum TV Limited Series

Video games

Year Title Role Notes
1997 Blade Runner Crystal Steele

Podcasts

Year Title Role Notes
2020 Borrasca Leah Dixon

Awards

Edelstein has been nominated by the Screen Actors Guild for the following performances:

  • 15th SAG Awards: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama, nomination, for House (2009)
  • 26th SAG Awards: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy, nomination, for The Kominsky Method (2020)
  • 28th SAG Awards: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy, nomination, for The Kominsky Method (2022)

Edelstein has won the International Press Academy's Satellite Awards for the following performances:

  • 10th Satellite Awards: Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, winner, for House (2005)
  • 26th Satellite Awards: Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, winner, for The Kominsky Method (2021)

In 2011, she won the People's Choice Award for Best Drama Actress in a TV Series for her portrayal of Dr. Lisa Cuddy on House.

Edelstein has won the Women's Image Network Awards for the following performances:

  • 17th WIN Awards: Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series, winner, for Girlfriend's Guide to Divorce (2015)
  • 18th WIN Awards: Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series, winner, for Girlfriend's Guide to Divorce (2016)

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Lisa Edelstein para niños

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