Betsy Brandt (born March 14, 1973) is an American

actress An actor or actress is a person who portrays a character in a performance. The actor performs "in the flesh" in the traditional medium of the theatre or in modern media such as film, radio, and television. The analogous Greek term is (), li ...

. She portrayed Marie Schrader in ''

Breaking Bad ''Breaking Bad'' is an American crime drama television series created and produced by Vince Gilligan. Set and filmed in Albuquerque, New Mexico, the series follows Walter White (Bryan Cranston), an underpaid, overqualified, and dispirited h ...

'' (2008–2013) and its spinoff show, ''

Better Call Saul ''Better Call Saul'' is an American crime and legal drama television series created by Vince Gilligan and Peter Gould. Part of the ''Breaking Bad'' franchise, it is a spin-off of Gilligan's previous series, ''Breaking Bad'', and serves as a ...

'' (2022) and played Heather Hughes in the

CBS CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...

sitcom ''

Life in Pieces ''Life in Pieces'' is an American sitcom television series created by Justin Adler and which premiered on CBS on September 21, 2015 and concluded on June 27, 2019. The series was produced by 40 or 50 Years, Inc., Kapital Entertainment in associat ...

'' (2015–2019).

Early life

Brandt is a native of

Bay City, Michigan Bay City is a city and county seat of Bay County in the U.S. state of Michigan, located near the base of the Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron. As of the 2010 census, the city's population was 34,932, and it is the principal city of the Bay City Met ...

. She is of German descent. She graduated from Bay City Western High School in

Auburn, Michigan Auburn is a city in Bay County, Michigan, United States. The city's population was 2,087 at the 2010 Census. It is included in the Saginaw, Midland, and Bay City metropolitan area. History It was first settled in 1854. On February 26, 1869, th ...

, in 1991. Brandt took an interest in theater from an early age, but unlike many of her peers, she was more interested in directing stage musicals than starring in them. After winning the lead in a high school production of ''Exit the Body'', she shifted her focus to acting. Brandt received her BFA in acting from the

University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Un ...

in 1996. She studied for her MFA at

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of highe ...

's Institute for Advanced Theater Training and studied abroad at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow. After graduation, Brandt moved to

Seattle, Washington Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region ...

, where she worked in theater while appearing in several short films, beginning with ''Confidence'' in 1998. She eventually moved to

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world ...

Career

In theater, Brandt has acted in performances of ''

Much Ado About Nothing ''Much Ado About Nothing'' is a comedy by William Shakespeare thought to have been written in 1598 and 1599.See textual notes to ''Much Ado About Nothing'' in ''The Norton Shakespeare'' ( W. W. Norton & Company, 1997 ) p. 1387 The play ...

'' with the

Arizona Theatre Company Arizona Theatre Company is a non-profit, professional regional theatre company operating in both Tucson and Phoenix, Arizona. It performs a season of six productions at two theatres—the only League of Resident Theatres member to do so—at the Te ...

, with the

San Jose Repertory Theatre The San Jose Repertory Theatre (a.k.a. San Jose Rep) was the first resident professional theatre company in San Jose, California. It was founded in 1980 by James P. Reber. In 2008, after the demise of the American Musical Theatre of San Jose, th ...

Beth Henley Elizabeth Becker Henley (born May 8, 1952) is an American playwright, screenwriter, and actress. Her play ''Crimes of the Heart'' won the 1981 Pulitzer Prize for Drama, the 1981 New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best American Play, and a ...

's ''Ridiculous Fraud'',

Julia Cho Julia Cho (born July 5, 1975) is an American playwright and television writer. In March 2020 she was awarded the Windham-Campbell Literature Prize. Select full length plays ''99 Histories'' (2002) ''99 Histories'' is a drama portraying the ...

's ''The Language Archive'' with

South Coast Repertory South Coast Repertory (SCR) is a professional theatre company located in Costa Mesa, California. Tony Award-winning South Coast Repertory, founded in 1964 by David Emmes and Martin Benson, is led by Artistic Director David Ivers and Managing Direc ...

, and ''

Next Fall ''Next Fall'' is a play written by Geoffrey Nauffts. The play is about two gay men in a committed relationship with a twist, with one, Luke, being devoutly religious and the other, Adam, an atheist. The play revolves around their five-year relati ...

'' with

Geffen Playhouse The Geffen Playhouse (or the Geffen) is a not-for-profit theater company founded by Gilbert Cates in 1995. It produces plays in two theaters in Geffen Playhouse, which is owned by University of California Los Angeles. The Playhouse is located ...

. She has had guest roles on the television shows ''

Without a Trace ''Without a Trace'' is an American police procedural drama television series created by Hank Steinberg that aired on CBS from September 26, 2002 to May 19, 2009 with the total of seven seasons and 160 episodes. The series focuses the cases of ...

'', ''

Judging Amy ''Judging Amy'' is an American legal drama television series that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly. Its main character (Brenneman) is a judge who serves in a ...

'', '' ER'', ''

Boston Legal ''Boston Legal'' is an American legal drama and comedy drama television series created by former lawyer and Boston native David E. Kelley, produced in association with 20th Century Fox Television for ABC. The series aired from October 3, 200 ...

'', ''

The Practice ''The Practice'' is an American legal drama television series created by David E. Kelley centering on partners and associates at a Boston law firm. The show ran for eight seasons on ABC, from March 4, 1997, to May 16, 2004. It won an Emmy ...

'', and '' NCIS''. From 2008 to 2013, Brandt portrayed Marie Schrader in the AMC drama series ''

''. She auditioned for three different roles before being offered the part of Marie. In 2012, she was cast as Sandy in '' Parenthood''. Brandt was cast as Annie Henry on ''

The Michael J. Fox Show ''The Michael J. Fox Show'' is an American sitcom television series starring Michael J. Fox, that aired on NBC in the United States from September 26, 2013, to January 23, 2014, as part of the 2013–14 American television season. Fox made his ...

'', which premiered in September 2013. Her performance was met with positive reviews. She reprised her role as Marie Schrader for the ''

'' series finale. In 2014, Brandt was cast as one of the lead characters in the ABC series '' Members Only'' created by

Susannah Grant Susannah Grant (born January 4, 1963) is an American screenwriter, director, and producer. Life and career Grant was born in New York City. She studied at Amherst College and attended the AFI Conservatory. From 1994 to 1997 she worked on televi ...

, but the series did not go forward. From 2015 to 2019, she starred as Heather Short Hughes in the

comedy series ''

''. The series was cancelled after four seasons. In 2020, Brandt was announced to be playing the role of Cleo in the pilot episode of the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...

sitcom ''Jefferies,'' which was created by Jim Jefferies and

Suzanne Martin Suzanne Moore Martin is an American television producer and writer. She is best known for creating ''Hot in Cleveland'' (2010–15). Her writing and producing credits include '' Ellen'', ''Frasier'' and ''The Soul Man''. She also created the tele ...

. To date, the pilot remains unaired.

Personal life

Brandt is married to fellow

UIUC The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign (U of I, Illinois, University of Illinois, or UIUC) is a public land-grant research university in Illinois in the twin cities of Champaign and Urbana. It is the flagship institution of the Uni ...

graduate Grady Olsen; they have two children. She gave birth to her second child in 2008 while the second season of ''

'' was in production. Brandt and her family reside in Los Angeles. On June 6, 2010, Brandt was honored as the 2010 Distinguished Alumnus at the Bay City Western High School commencement, and was a featured speaker.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Brandt, Betsy 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses American people of German descent Actresses from Michigan Alumni of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland American film actresses American stage actresses American television actresses Institute for Advanced Theater Training, Harvard University alumni Living people People from Bay City, Michigan University of Illinois College of Fine and Applied Arts alumni 1973 births