Monica Potter

Monica Potter (June 30, 1971)<ref>Template:Cite news See also:

• Template:Cite news</ref> is an American actress. She is known for her starring roles in the films Con Air (1997), Patch Adams (1998), and Along Came a Spider (2001). She also appeared in the horror film, Saw (2004), and The Last House on the Left, a 2009 remake film.

Potter has also appeared on television, as a series regular on Boston Legal, as well as a Golden Globe-nominated role as Kristina Braverman in the NBC drama series Parenthood (2010–2015). She was a series regular in the CBS drama Wisdom of the Crowd.

Potter is also the founder and principal owner of Monica Potter Home, an upscale home goods, natural skin care and home decor business in Cleveland, Ohio. With the family business struggling to make money, the company was featured on the reality TV show, The Profit.

Early life

Monica Potter's mother was a secretary in a hospital, and her father invented the first flame-resistant car wax.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Potter has three sisters (Kerry, Jessica, and Brigette). Her maternal grandparents were Irish immigrants, and she was raised Catholic.<ref name="info">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="maxim">The Full Monica Article on Maxim.com :: Hot Girls, Babes, Sex, Photos, Videos, Gear, Entertainment Template:Webarchive</ref> As a child, Potter wanted to be a nun.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

During her childhood she attended the Villa Angela Academy, and graduated from Euclid High School.<ref name="ex-clevelander">Template:Cite web</ref> She also spent part of her early years in Arab, Alabama.<ref name="ex-clevelander"/> Potter had wanted to be an actress since childhood.<ref name="info"/> She began acting at the Cleveland Play House when she was in elementary school.<ref name="ex-clevelander"/> Starting at age 12, she worked at a flower shop, and later in her teens, she worked in a sub sandwich shop and did some modeling for newspaper and magazine ads and local commercials.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> After appearing in several commercials in Chicago, Potter relocated to Los Angeles in 1994.<ref name="ex-clevelander"/> In 1995, she appeared in the Alan Jackson music video for "Tall, Tall Trees".

Career

Potter made her screen debut in 1994, on CBS soap opera The Young and the Restless as Sharon Newman.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1995, Potter was featured in the music video for the song "Tall, Tall Trees" by country artist Alan Jackson. She later appeared in several feature films, including Con Air (playing the wife of Nicolas Cage's character) and starring opposite Robin Williams in Patch Adams. In 1998, she played the love interest of doomed distance runner Steve Prefontaine in the movie Without Limits, and also appeared in the British comedy Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence (1998).<ref>Template:Cite journal Template:Open access</ref> In 2001, she had two major roles, co-starring with Freddie Prinze, Jr. in Head Over Heels, and in the thriller Along Came a Spider with Morgan Freeman, based on the James Patterson best-seller.

Potter in a crowd

Potter in 2010

In 2004, Potter played the role of Alison Gordon in the first Saw film. Later Potter worked on television. She was a cast member of the ABC legal drama Boston Legal but left during the second season. In 2009, Potter became a cast member of the new TNT series Trust Me which was cancelled after the first season due to low ratings. In 2009, she had a lead role in the horror-thriller remake of Wes Craven's The Last House on the Left, opposite Tony Goldwyn.

Potter played the role of Kristina Braverman in the comedy-drama Parenthood, receiving critical acclaim for her performance in the fourth season.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref> In 2013, she won the Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Drama Supporting Actress and was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film for her role in the show.<ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref><ref>Template:Cite magazine</ref>

In 2014, Potter created Monica Potter Home, an upscale home goods, natural skin care and home decor business in Cleveland, Ohio. The business began based on her skin care regimen that made use of Sea Buckthorn essential oils. Her father started using a balm, a natural product, on her when she was a young child because of her eczema. The business is a family affair; her mother and sisters work for her in the business. In 2017, with the business failing, she collaborated with Marcus Lemonis of CNBC's The Profit. She and her business appeared with her family and coworkers on Season 5, Episode 4.

In 2015, Potter was joined by her mother and all three sisters on Celebrity Family Feud.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The following year, she appeared in a HGTV reality series titled Welcome Back Potter, which chronicled the purchase and restoration of her childhood home in Cleveland, Ohio thirty years after the family sold it in 1987.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2016, Counting Crows' frontman Adam Duritz confirmed that the band's song Mrs Potter's Lullaby, from the album This Desert Life (1999), was written about an imaginary version of her, as they had never met.<ref name="NewTimes">Template:Cite news</ref> Duritz explained that serendipity led to them meeting (for the first time) for a casual supper with industry friends the day the band was recording the song, and Potter returned to the studio with Duritz to watch them record. They became friends, and a tape he forgot he gave her on the night of the recording ended up salvaging the song, which the band felt they had ruined during post-production and had decided to not keep on the album.<ref name="NewTimes" />

Personal life

Potter was married to Tom Potter from 1990 to 1998; together they have two sons. In 2005, Potter married Daniel Christopher Allison, an orthopedic surgeon.<ref name="tvg">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="dra">Template:Cite web</ref> Potter and Allison have one daughter.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In March 2015, Potter's husband joined the US Navy Reserve as a physician, with the starting rank of Lieutenant Commander.<ref name="2015-03-27_MT">Exclusive Q&A: 'Parenthood' TV star becomes Navy wife, militarytimes.com, 2015-03-27, accessed 2018-01-09</ref> In February 2018, the couple filed for divorce.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Potter's father died in 2004 of cardiovascular disease.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1996	Bulletproof	Biker's Woman
1997	Con Air	Tricia Poe
1998	A Cool, Dry Place	Kate Durrell
	Martha, Meet Frank, Daniel and Laurence	Martha	Alternative title: The Very Thought of You
	Without Limits	Mary Marckx
	Patch Adams	Carin Fisher
1999	Heaven or Vegas	Lilli
2001	Head Over Heels	Amanda Pierce
	Along Came a Spider	Jezzie Flannigan
2002	I'm with Lucy	Lucy
2004	Reversible Errors	Muriel Wynn
	Saw	Alison Gordon
2008	Lower Learning	Laura Buchwald
2009	The Last House on the Left	Emma Collingwood
2014	Lennon or McCartney	Herself	Short documentary film; interview clip<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
2024	The Girl in the Pool	Kristen
	Running on Empty	Elaine

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1993	Nubeluz	Dalina	TV pilot for English version of Peruvian TV Children's show.
1994	The Young and the Restless	Sharon Newman #1
2003	The Lunchbox Chronicles	Kate	"Pilot"
2004	Reversible Errors	Muriel Wynn	Miniseries
2004–2005	Boston Legal	Lori Colson	Main role Nominated - Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series (2005)
2007	Protect and Serve	Lizzie Borelli	"Pilot"
2009	Trust Me	Sarah Krajicek-Hunter	Main role
2010–2015	Parenthood	Kristina Braverman	Main role Critics' Choice Television Award for Best Drama Supporting Actress (2013) Nominated - Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress - Series, Miniseries or Television Film (2013) Nominated - TCA Award for Individual Achievement in Drama (2013)
2016	Welcome Back Potter	Herself	Six episodes
2017	Wisdom of the Crowd	Alex	Main role
	The Profit	Herself	1 Episode
2020–2021	Goliath	Christina Lukin	Seasons 3 & 4

External links

• [https://www.imdb.com/{{#if: 0005321

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• Monica Potter at the American Film Institute