Piper Perabo

Piper Lisa Perabo<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> (Template:IPAc-en Template:Respell; born October 31, 1976<ref>Template:Cite news See also:

• Template:Cite news</ref>) is an American actress. Following her breakthrough in the comedy-drama film Coyote Ugly (2000),<ref name=":0">Template:Cite news</ref> she starred in Cheaper by the Dozen (2003), its sequel Cheaper by the Dozen 2 (2005), The Prestige (2006), Looper (2012), Angel Has Fallen (2019), and as CIA agent Annie Walker in the USA Network spy drama series Covert Affairs (2010–2014), for which she was nominated for a Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Early life

Born in Dallas, Texas and raised in Toms River, New Jersey, Perabo is the child of Mary Charlotte (née Ulland), a physical therapist, and George William Perabo, a lecturer in poetry at Ocean County College.<ref>Sullivan, Eleanor (July 2, 2000). "'Rocky' road to stardom". The Central New Jersey Home News. p. D6. Retrieved August 9, 2024. "Growing up in Toms River, where her family moved from Dallas when she was 7, was typical..."</ref><ref name="sfgate"/> She is of English, German, and Irish (father) and Norwegian (mother) descent; her surname is sometimes mistakenly described as Portuguese.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Perabo's parents named her after actress Piper Laurie.<ref name="sfgate">Template:Cite news</ref> She is the eldest of three children with two brothers, Noah and Adam. She graduated from Toms River High School North in 1994,<ref>O'Sullivan, Eleanor. "COYOTE BEAUTIFUL Toms River's Piper Perabo finds herself in `Lost and Delirous'", Asbury Park Press, July 8, 2001. Accessed February 3, 2011. "Perabo, who grew up in Toms River and graduated in 1994 from Toms River High School North, stars in Lost and Delirious, a gritty drama about the love affair between two adolescent schoolmates at a posh Canadian boarding school."</ref> and earned a bachelor's degree in theater from Honors Tutorial College at Ohio University in 1998.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> In 1996, she attended the Trinity/La MaMa Performing Arts Program.<ref>Andersson, Chris. Trinity/La MaMa Archives: 1994 - 2004. 47 Great Jones St, 4th Fl, New York, NY 10012: Trinity College.</ref> She also studied Latin, physics, and poetry in her final year.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Perabo was first noticed a year before she graduated from college. She was in New York City, visiting her then-boyfriend, and accompanied him to an audition. Casting director Denise Fitzgerald spotted her and asked her to read for a part. She was not cast, but when Fitzgerald found out that she did not have any representation, she made phone calls on Perabo's behalf and found her an agent.<ref name="broadway"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Career

1997–2007: Beginning and breakthrough

After graduating, Perabo moved to New York, where she worked as a waitress.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="blastmag">Template:Cite web</ref> She also studied acting at the La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club and had roles in various plays.<ref name="broadway">Template:Cite web</ref> She was cast in her first feature film just a month after moving to the city, Marc Levin's comedy Whiteboyz.<ref name="blastmag"/> In 2000, she was cast in the romantic musical comedy-drama film Coyote Ugly as Violet "Jersey" Sanford, for which she won an MTV Movie Award for Best Music Moment for "One Way or Another".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Despite the film's mixed response from critics, it was a box office success, grossing over $113 million worldwide.<ref name=":0" /> She also appeared in The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle as FBI agent Karen Sympathy.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

After the success of Coyote Ugly, Perabo decided to focus on independent films.<ref name="slapher">Template:Cite web</ref> In 2001, she starred in an independent Canadian drama called Lost and Delirious, playing a boarding school student who falls in love with a female classmate (played by Jessica Paré). The film was met with mixed reviews, but the performances of Perabo, Paré and co-star Mischa Barton were widely praised.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Perabo's performance in particular received critical acclaim; Loren King of the Chicago Tribune called it her "breakout performance".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Entertainment Weekly's Owen Gleiberman called her "an actress of glittering ferocity" and her performance "a geyser of emotion".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Jim Lane of the Sacramento News & Review said that "Perabo is a revelation, wild and fiery — it's a breakthrough performance, astonishing in its fervency"<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> and Roger Ebert praised her performance for its sincerity and "wonderful abandon and conviction".<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The next year she starred as a French exchange student in the independent comedy Slap Her... She's French, which was shelved in North America for two years, then released under the new title She Gets What She Wants. The film was released under its original title in Europe. She had a role as the eldest Baker child, Nora, in Cheaper by the Dozen (2003), a role she reprised in the film's 2005 sequel. Her other films include The I Inside (2003), Perfect Opposites (2004), George and the Dragon (2004), The Cave (2005), Imagine Me & You (2005), Edison (2005), and The Prestige (2006).

Perabo at the premiere of Looper at the Toronto International Film Festival in 2012

2008–present: Covert Affairs and other work

In 2008, Perabo co-starred with Jamie Lee Curtis in the family comedy film Beverly Hills Chihuahua. Also that year, she made her off-Broadway debut in the Neil LaBute play Reasons to Be Pretty.<ref name="broadway"/><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> As the play's run was coming to an end, she read the script for the USA Network television spy drama series Covert Affairs: "I was reading movie scripts and I wasn't finding anything that was really speaking to me and my agent suggested that I read [the Covert Affairs script]. And I hadn't thought about doing television, but when I read it, it kind of changed everything for me. She's such a powerful character, she's so smart, the action is so intense, and I really thought it would be fun to do."<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

The following year, Perabo was cast as CIA field agent Annie Walker, the lead character in Covert Affairs.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> For her work in the series, she received a nomination for the 2010 Golden Globe Award for Best Actress – Television Series Drama.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The series ran for five seasons, from 2010 to 2014.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In September 2012, Perabo had a supporting role, alongside Bruce Willis, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Emily Blunt, in the time travel thriller film Looper. In December 2012, she was cast in a recurring role on the sitcom Go On. Her character, Simone, was a former member of Matthew Perry's character's support group, who returned and became his love interest. She was originally scheduled to appear in three episodes, but this was increased to four.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Perabo had a starring role in the thriller Into the Grizzly Maze, which was released in 2015.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She starred as Julia George in the ABC drama series Notorious (2016).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She co-starred with Antonio Banderas in the thriller film Black Butterfly, which was released in May 2017. In June 2018, it was announced that Perabo was cast as Sara in the Netflix comedy series Turn Up Charlie.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Also in 2019, she starred as Leah Banning in the action film Angel Has Fallen. In 2020, she had a recurring role as Linda Craft in the Showtime supernatural horror series Penny Dreadful: City of Angels.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Perabo co-starred as Angela in the 2020 dark comedy film, Spontaneous.

In 2021, Perabo joined the cast of Yellowstone as Summer Higgins, an animal rights activist and ally of John (season 4).<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

In 2025, she co-starred in the independent Quebec film Peak Everything as Tina, in which she performed in both English and French.

Personal life

In 2013, Perabo became engaged to New Zealand director and writer Stephen Kay; they married on July 26, 2014, in New York City.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref> Perabo is stepmother to Kay's daughter.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Perabo has been close friends with actress Lena Headey since they starred together in the 2005 films The Cave and Imagine Me & You.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She speaks fluent French,<ref name="slapher"/> advocates for LGBT rights and women's political leadership, and serves on the advisory board of VoteRunLead.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She is part owner of Employees Only, a Prohibition-themed bar in the West Village, that opened in 2005, and Jack's Wife Freda, a SoHo restaurant that opened in 2012.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Political activism

In 2018, Perabo was arrested for protesting Brett Kavanaugh's Supreme Court confirmation hearing.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> She was also arrested in November 2019 while attending one of Jane Fonda's weekly climate change protests.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Perabo endorsed Elizabeth Warren in the 2020 Democratic Party presidential primaries<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref> and regularly uses her Twitter and Instagram accounts to advocate for voter registration and voter education. She has encouraged followers to seek out VoteRiders to learn more about Voter ID requirements.<ref>Template:Cite tweet</ref><ref>Template:Cite instagram</ref>

Perabo is an advisory board member for The Hometown Project, a non-profit organization that works to help elect candidates in local races.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Perabo endorsed Kamala Harris in the 2024 United States presidential election.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Filmography

Film

Year	Title	Role	Notes
1997	Single Spaced	The Dame	Short
1999	Whiteboyz	Sara
	Knuckleface Jones	That Girl	Short
2000	The Adventures of Rocky and Bullwinkle	FBI Agent Karen Sympathy
	Coyote Ugly	Violet "Jersey" Sanford
	Followers	Girl at Party
2001	Lost and Delirious	Pauline "Paulie" Oster
2002	Slap Her... She's French	Genevieve Le Plouff
	Flowers	Iris
2003	Cheaper by the Dozen	Nora Baker
2004	Perfect Opposites	Julia Bishop
	The I Inside	Anna
	George and the Dragon	Princess Luna
2005	Karas: The Prophecy	Yurine (voice)
	Edison	Willow Summerfield
	The Cave	Charlene "Charlie"
	Imagine Me & You	Rachel
	Good Morning Baby	Gabriella	Short
	Cheaper by the Dozen 2	Nora Baker-McNulty
	Perception	Jen
2006	10th & Wolf	Brandy
	First Snow	Deirdre
	The Prestige	Julia McCullough
2007	Because I Said So	Mae Wilder
	In Vivid Detail	Leslie	Short
2008	Beverly Hills Chihuahua	Rachel Ashe
	The Lazarus Project	Lisa Garvey
	The Prince of Motor City	Meg Riley	TV movie
2009	Sordid Things	Tabitha White
	Carriers	Bobby
2010	Ashes	Bettina
2012	Looper	Suzie
2015	Into the Grizzly Maze	Michelle
2017	Black Butterfly	Laura
2018	Tough Love	Woman	Short
2019	Angel Has Fallen	Leah Banning	<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>
2020	Spontaneous	Angela Carlyle
2025	Peak Everything (Amour Apocalypse)	Tina

Television

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2007	House	Honey	Episode: "Resignation"
2009	Law & Order: Criminal Intent	Calista Haslum	Episode: "Folie à Deux"
2010–14	Covert Affairs	Annie Walker	Main Cast
2013	Go On	Simone	Recurring Cast
2016	Notorious	Julia George	Main Cast
	ABC Fall Preview Special	Herself/Host	Main Host
2019	Turn Up Charlie	Sara	Main Cast
2020	Penny Dreadful: City of Angels	Linda Craft	Recurring Cast
2021	The Big Leap	Paula Clark	Main Cast
2021–24	Yellowstone	Summer Higgins	Recurring Cast: Season 4–5
2022–23	Billions	Andy	Recurring Cast: Season 6–7
2025	Grey's Anatomy	Jenna Gatlin	Guest: Season 21
2025	Butterfly	Juno Lund	Main Cast

Stage

Year	Title	Role	Notes
2008	Reasons to Be Pretty	Carly	Lucille Lortel Theatre
2015	Lost Girls	Maggie	Lucille Lortel Theatre

Awards and nominations

Year	Award	Category	Work	Result
2001	Blockbuster Entertainment Award	Favorite Female - Newcomer	Coyote Ugly	Template:Nom
2001	MTV Movie Award	Best Music Moment	Coyote Ugly	Template:Won
2001	MTV Movie Award	Breakthrough Female Performance	Coyote Ugly	Template:Nom
2004	Teen Choice Award	Choice Movie: Liplock (shared with Ashton Kutcher)	Cheaper by the Dozen	Template:Nom
2006	Young Artist Award	Best Performance in a Feature Film - Young Ensemble Cast	Cheaper by the Dozen 2	Template:Nom
2011	Golden Globe Award	Best Actress in a Drama Series	Covert Affairs	Template:Nom
2011	Gracie Award	Outstanding Female Actor in a Breakthrough Role	Covert Affairs	Template:Won
2017	People's Choice Award	Favorite Actress in a New TV Series	Notorious	Template:Nom
2022	Screen Actors Guild Awards	Outstanding Drama Series Cast (shared with Yellowstone cast)	Yellowstone	Template:Nom

External links

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