Monica Potter facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Monica Potter
Potter in 2013
Born	(1971-06-30) June 30, 1971 (age 54) Cleveland, Ohio, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1993–present
Spouse(s)	Tom Potter ​ ​ (m. 1990; div. 1998)​ Daniel Christopher Allison ​ ​ (m. 2005; div. 2018)​
Children	3

Monica Potter (born June 30, 1971) is an American actress. She is well-known for her main roles in movies like Con Air (1997), Patch Adams (1998), and Along Came a Spider (2001). She also appeared in the film Saw (2004) and The Last House on the Left (2009).

Monica Potter has also acted on television. She was a regular on Boston Legal. She also received a Golden Globe nomination for her role as Kristina Braverman in the NBC drama series Parenthood (2010–2015). Later, she was a regular cast member in the CBS drama Wisdom of the Crowd.

Potter is also known for starting Monica Potter Home. This is a business in Cleveland, Ohio, that sells home goods, natural skin care products, and home decor. Her family business was shown on the reality TV show The Profit.

Early Life and Childhood Dreams

Monica Potter was born on June 30, 1971. Her mother worked as a secretary in a hospital. Her father invented a special car wax that could resist flames. Monica has three sisters named Kerry, Jessica, and Brigette. Her grandparents on her mother's side came from Ireland. She grew up in a Catholic family. When she was a child, Monica even thought about becoming a nun.

School Days and First Jobs

During her childhood, Monica went to Villa Angela Academy. She later graduated from Euclid High School. She also spent some of her early years living in Arab, Alabama. Monica wanted to be an actress from a young age. She started acting at the Cleveland Play House when she was still in elementary school.

When she was 12, she began working at a flower shop. Later, as a teenager, she worked in a sandwich shop. She also did some modeling for newspaper and magazine ads and local commercials. After appearing in several commercials in Chicago, Monica moved to Los Angeles in 1994. In 1995, she was in the music video for Alan Jackson's song "Tall, Tall Trees".

Acting Career Highlights

Monica Potter started her acting career on screen in 1994. She appeared on the CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless as Sharon Newman. In 1995, she was featured in the music video for "Tall, Tall Trees" by country singer Alan Jackson. After that, she appeared in several movies.

Big Screen Roles

She was in Con Air, where she played the wife of Nicolas Cage's character. She also starred alongside Robin Williams in Patch Adams. In 1998, she played the girlfriend of runner Steve Prefontaine in the movie Without Limits. She also appeared in the British comedy Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence (1998).

In 2001, Monica had two important movie roles. She co-starred with Freddie Prinze, Jr. in Head Over Heels. She also appeared in the thriller Along Came a Spider with Morgan Freeman. This movie was based on a popular book by James Patterson.

Potter in 2010

In 2004, Potter played Alison Gordon in the first Saw film.

Television Appearances

Later, Monica Potter worked on television. She was a cast member of the ABC legal drama Boston Legal. She left the show during its second season. In 2009, Potter joined the cast of the new TNT series Trust Me. This show was canceled after its first season. Also in 2009, she had a main role in the horror-thriller movie The Last House on the Left, acting with Tony Goldwyn.

Potter played Kristina Braverman in the comedy-drama Parenthood. She received great praise for her acting in the fourth season of the show. In 2013, she won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Drama Supporting Actress. She was also nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film for her role in Parenthood.

Monica Potter Home Business

In 2014, Monica Potter started her own business called Monica Potter Home. This company sells nice home goods, natural skin care products, and home decor items in Cleveland, Ohio. The business began because of her own skin care routine. She used Sea Buckthorn essential oils for her skin. Her father had used a natural balm on her when she was young because she had eczema.

Her business is a family effort. Her mother and sisters work with her. In 2017, when the business was having trouble, she worked with Marcus Lemonis from CNBC's The Profit. She and her business, along with her family and coworkers, appeared on Season 5, Episode 4 of the show.

Other Projects and Personal Life

In 2015, Monica Potter, her mother, and all three of her sisters appeared on Celebrity Family Feud. The next year, she was in an HGTV reality series called Welcome Back Potter. This show followed her as she bought and fixed up her childhood home in Cleveland, Ohio. Her family had sold the house 30 years earlier in 1987.

In 2016, Counting Crows' lead singer Adam Duritz shared a story. He confirmed that the band's song "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby" from their 1999 album This Desert Life was written about an imaginary version of Monica. They had never met when he wrote it. Duritz explained that they later met by chance for dinner with friends. Monica then went back to the studio with Duritz to watch the band record the song. They became friends. A tape he had given her helped save the song, which the band thought they had ruined during post-production.

Family Life

Monica Potter was married to Tom Potter from 1990 to 1998. They have two sons together. In 2005, Monica married Daniel Christopher Allison, who is a surgeon. Monica and Daniel have one daughter. In March 2015, her husband joined the US Navy Reserve as a doctor. He started with the rank of Lieutenant Commander. In February 2018, Monica and Daniel filed for divorce.

Monica's father passed away in 2004 from a heart condition.

Film and Television Roles

Film Appearances

Television Roles

See also

In Spanish: Monica Potter para niños