Holly Marie Combs

Holly Marie Combs Ryan (born December 3, 1973)<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> is an American actress. She gained recognition for playing Kimberly Brock in the CBS series Picket Fences (1992–1996) and had her first leading film role in the slasher Dr. Giggles (1992). The former earned her a Young Artist Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award nomination.

Her breakthrough came with the leading role of Piper Halliwell in the WB fantasy drama series Charmed (1998–2006), which introduced her to a wider audience. After appearing in a number of television films, she returned to attention with the role of Ella Montgomery in the Freeform drama thriller series Pretty Little Liars (2010–2017). Her other projects include a 2015 Great American Country travel documentary series with Charmed costar Shannen Doherty, and a podcast titled House of Halliwell (2024–present).

Early life

Combs was born in San Diego, California, and is of Irish descent.<ref name="cosmopolitan">Kizis, Deanna (December 2000). "Holly Charms Hollywood". Cosmopolitan, pp. 190 & 192. Via HollyMCombs.com. "Combs was born in San Diego when her mom was just 15 and her dad was 17."</ref><ref name="Peeple:Holly Marie Combs">Template:Cite news</ref> At the time of her birth, her mother, Lauralei Combs<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> was 15 years old, and her father was 17.<ref name="cosmopolitan"/> Combs' biological parents married, but the two split up after two years,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> feeling they were too young to make a marriage work.

While Combs was learning to walk, she fell and hit her head on a marble table, resulting in a noticeable 'split' at the top of her right eyebrow. She lived in many different homes with her mother, near the beach in San Diego, often having very little privacy, while her mother attempted to pursue an acting career.<ref name=tv.com>Template:Cite web</ref> When Combs was seven, she and her mother moved to New York City where she spent most of her growing years. Combs was 12 when her mother married her stepfather. In New York City, Combs attended Beekman Hill Elementary and then the Professional Children's School.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In an interview when she was in Sydney, Australia, for Supanova Expo, she said that she was a certified scuba diver at 13.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Career

1985–1992: Career beginnings

Combs at the 1993 Emmy Awards

When she was 14 years old, Combs landed her first major role in Sweet Hearts Dance (1988), a comedy drama film directed by Robert Greenwald. She played Debs Boon, the daughter of Wiley Boon (played by Don Johnson) and Sandra Boon (played by Susan Sarandon).<ref name="yahoo!bio">Template:Cite web</ref> Her next major role was in Oliver Stone's Born on the Fourth of July (1989), a film adaptation of the best selling autobiography of the same name by Vietnam War veteran Ron Kovic. Combs portrayed Jenny in the film, which also starred Tom Cruise.<ref name="yahoo!bio"/> Her other roles included Helena in the 1989 anthology film New York Stories, and Kim Fields in Hal Hartley's Simple Men (1992).<ref name="yahoo!bio"/> Also in 1992, Combs made an appearance in Temístocles López's Chain of Desire as Diana, and in the slasher film Dr. Giggles, in which she played Jennifer Campbell, the 19-year-old daughter of Tom Campbell (played by Cliff De Young) and girlfriend of Max Anderson (played by Glenn Quinn).

1993–2000: Breakthrough to stardom with Picket Fences and Charmed

Combs's first major breakthrough as an actress came at the age of 18, in the CBS television series Picket Fences.<ref name="yahoo!bio"/> She portrayed Kimberly Brock, the daughter of Sheriff Jimmy Brock (played by Tom Skerritt) and his first wife Lydia for the show's four seasons (1992–96).<ref name="yahoo!bio"/> Jimmy's second wife, Dr. Jill Brock (played by Kathy Baker), was her character's stepmother. Combs auditioned for the role in New York. The casting director told her that she wasn't right for the part because she "didn't have a big enough heart." Combs retorted, "If you're looking for someone with a big heart, what the hell are you doing in New York?" She was later called back and offered the job.<ref name="cosmopolitan"/> Combs won a Young Artist Award for her performance on the show.<ref name="PF" /><ref name="PF2" /> During 1996, Combs starred as Sophie DiMatteo in Sins of Silence, a drama/horror television film directed by Sam Pillsbury. The following year, Combs portrayed real-life convicted murderer Diane Zamora in the television film Love's Deadly Triangle: The Texas Cadet Murder, and appeared in the fact-based drama film Daughters as Alex Morell, one of the two daughters of a murdered heiress.<ref name="yahoo!bio"/>

In 1998, Combs landed a lead role in The WB television series Charmed, in which she portrayed Piper Halliwell, the middle of three sisters who are witches.<ref name="yahoo!bio"/> Following Shannen Doherty's departure after season three (2000–01), Combs's character became the eldest sister for the remaining five seasons of the show.<ref name="yahoo!bio"/> Combs also became a producer for Charmed from season five onwards.<ref name="imdb">Template:Cite web</ref> The series ended its eight-season run on May 21, 2006. In 2007 and 2008, AOL named Combs's character Piper the third-greatest witch in television history.<ref name="tv witch 07"/><ref name="tv witch 08"/> Combs was the only cast member to appear in every episode of the series, including the original unaired pilot.

2001–2009: Career expansion

During Charmed, Combs made an uncredited cameo appearance in Steven Soderbergh's Ocean's Eleven (2001), and starred opposite Charisma Carpenter in the romantic comedy film See Jane Date (2003), portraying the role of "a struggling actress whose career benefits from an affair with an A-list actor."<ref name="yahoo!bio"/> In 2007, she starred in the Lifetime television film Point of Entry (also titled Panic Button) as Kathy Alden, a wife and mother of a single child whose family moves to a "beautiful and supposedly secure gated community after she's the victim of a violent house break-in."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The following year, Combs signed a contract with Lifetime to produce and star in a series Mistresses, based on the British series of the same name.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> However, that version of the show never made it to air. (ABC later made a version featuring Combs' former Charmed co-star Alyssa Milano.)

2010–present: Pretty Little Liars and beyond

Combs in 2012

In 2010, Combs was cast in the Freeform series Pretty Little Liars as Ella Montgomery, the mother of one of the main characters, Aria Montgomery (played by Lucy Hale).<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> Combs was a series regular for the first three seasons, but became credited as a special guest star from season four onwards. Pretty Little Liars ended after seven seasons, and Combs returned for the show's final episode on June 27, 2017.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Combs and Doherty starred in their own road trip reality show Off the Map with Shannen & Holly, which premiered on Great American Country on January 2, 2015.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The six-episode series followed the pair traveling across southeastern United States, with stops in Kentucky, Tennessee, Mississippi, Alabama, Georgia and Florida.<ref name="TV Guide">Template:Cite web</ref> Viewers were able to vote on activities Doherty and Combs would partake in at each destination on Great American Country's official website.<ref name="TV Guide"/> In January 2016, Combs starred in the Hallmark Channel television film Love's Complicated, playing the lead role of Leah Townsend, a big city novel writer and senator's daughter who is "known for being a people pleaser."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Personal life

In 1993, Combs married actor Bryan Travis Smith; they divorced in 1997.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

On February 14, 2004, she married her long time boyfriend and the former Charmed key-grip David Donoho. They have three sons together.<ref>

• Template:Cite news
• Template:Cite magazine
• Template:Cite magazine</ref> In November 2011, she filed for divorce from Donoho, citing irreconcilable differences.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>

In 2016, Combs began dating restaurateur Mike Ryan. On September 3, 2017, Combs announced their engagement.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> On September 7, 2019, it was reported that they married in Carmel, California.<ref name="Marriage" /> Through this marriage, Combs has one stepdaughter.<ref name="Marriage" />

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1985	Walls of Glass	Abby Hall	Classmate
1988	Sweet Hearts Dance	Dens Boon
1989	New York Stories	Helena	Costume Party Girl
	Born on the Fourth of July	Jenny Turner
1991	Nobody Can Hear You Scream	Melinda Ashwood
1992	Simple Men	Kim Fields
	Dr. Giggles	Jennifer Campbell	Lead role
	Chain of Desire	Diana Richards
1995	A Reason to Believe	Sharon Digby
	Evil in the Basement	Karen Ford
2001	Ocean's Eleven	Poker Player	Cameo
2022	Corky	Herself	Narrator

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1990	Guiding Light	Louisa Young	2 episodes
1991–1994	As the World Turns	Denise Jones	5 episodes
1992–1996	Picket Fences	Kimberly Brock	Main role
1994	A Perfect Stranger	Amanda Hale	Television movie
	Island City	Erin Sloan
1996	Sins of Silence	Sophie DiMatteo
1997	Love's Deadly Triangle: The Texas Cadet Murder	Diane Zamora
	Our Mother's Murder	Alex Morell
	Relativity	Anne Pryce	Episode: "Billable Hours"
1998–2006	Charmed	Piper Halliwell	Lead role Producer (seasons 5–8)
2003	See Jane Date	Natasha Nutley	Television movie
2007	Panic Button (original title Point of Entry)	Katherine Alden
2010–2017	Pretty Little Liars	Ella Montgomery	Main cast (seasons 1–3) Special guest star (seasons 4–7)
2016	Love's Complicated	Leah Townsend	Television movie
2019	Grey's Anatomy	Heidi Peterson	Episode: "Reunited"<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

Reality TV Shows

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2014	Hell's Kitchen	Herself	Season 12 Episode 6: "15 Chefs Compete";<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Blue kitchen VIP guest
2015	Off the Map with Shannen & Holly		Great American Country reality series<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> (6 episodes)

Internet

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2020	Pretty Little Wine Moms Re-Watch	Herself	Episode: "The Pilot"
	Homeward Bound: Surviving the Coronavirus		Episode: "Wet Suits, Mary Poppins and Pretty Little Wine Moms"
2022–2023	House of Halliwell		Podcaster. Lead role
2023	Let's Be Clear with Shannen Doherty		2 Episodes
2024–present	House of Halliwell		Podcaster. Lead role

Producer

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2002–06	Charmed	Producer	90 episodes
2008	Zack's Life	Executive producer
2009	Mistresses	Co-producer	Television film
2011	Summer of Love	Executive producer
2012	"Naked in Venice"	Producer	Music video by Radical Something
2014	"You Feel Amazing"	Producer
	"Pure"	Producer
2015	Off the Map with Shannen & Holly	Executive producer	Episode: "Kentucky Bourbon & Broncos"
2016	Why Just One?	Associate producer	Documentary
2018	Sharkwater Extinction	Producer	Documentary

Awards and nominations

Year	Association	Category	Title of work	Result	Ref.
1993	Young Artist Awards	Best Young Actress in a New Television Series	Picket Fences	Template:Won	<ref name="PF">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="PF2">Template:Cite web</ref>
1994		Outstanding Youth Ensemble in a Television Series		rowspan=6 Template:Nom	<ref name="PF"/>
1995		Best Performance by a Youth Actress in a TV Mini-Series or Special	A Perfect Stranger	<ref name="PF"/>
	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series	Picket Fences	<ref name="PF"/>
2001	RATTY Awards	Outstanding Ensemble in a Science Fiction Series	Charmed	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
		Outstanding Lead Actress in a Science Fiction Series
2002		Best Science Fiction Lead Actress		<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2003				Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2007	AOL TV	Top TV Witches (Piper Halliwell)		rowspan=2 Template:Won	<ref name="tv witch 07">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2008				<ref name="tv witch 08">Template:Cite web</ref>
2011	E! Online	Top 10 Most Bitchin' Witches (Piper Halliwell)		rowspan=2 Template:Won	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2016	The Huffington Post	Top 10 Greatest Witches of All Time (Piper Halliwell)		<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

External links

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