Debra Frances "Camryn" Manheim (born March 8, 1961) is an American actress who first came to attention with her

off-Broadway An off-Broadway theatre is any professional theatre venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, inclusive. These theatres are smaller than Broadway theatres, but larger than off-off-Broadway theatres, which seat fewer tha ...

one-woman show, "Wake Up, I'm Fat", in 1994. She is known for her portrayals of Ellenor Frutt on ''

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 i ...

'' (1997–2004), Delia Banks on ''

Ghost Whisperer ''Ghost Whisperer'' is an American supernatural television series, which ran on CBS from September 23, 2005, to May 21, 2010. The series follows the life of Melinda Gordon ( Jennifer Love Hewitt), who has the ability to see and communicate w ...

'' (2006–2010), "Control" on ''

Person of Interest "Person of interest" is a term used by law enforcement in the United States, Canada, and other countries when identifying someone possibly involved in a criminal investigation who has not been arrested or formally accused of a crime. It has no leg ...

'' (2013–2015), Lieutenant Cosgrove on '' Stumptown'' (2019–2020), and Gladys Presley in the 2005 miniseries '' Elvis''. From 2022 to 2024, she played the lead role of Kate Dixon on ''

Law & Order ''Law & Order'' is an American police procedural and legal drama television series created by Dick Wolf and produced by Wolf Entertainment and Universal Television, launching the ''Law & Order'' franchise. ''Law & Order'' aired its entire ...

''. Manheim's film credits include '' Romy and Michele's High School Reunion'' (1997), ''

Happiness Happiness is a complex and multifaceted emotion that encompasses a range of positive feelings, from contentment to intense joy. It is often associated with positive life experiences, such as achieving goals, spending time with loved ones, ...

'' (1998), '' What Planet Are You From?'' (2000), '' Scary Movie 3'' (2003), '' Twisted'' (2004), '' Dark Water'' (2005), '' An Unfinished Life'' (2005), and '' Cop Car'' (2015). She is the recipient of a

Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress may refer to: *Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture The Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture is a Golden Globe Awards, Golden Globe Award th ...

and a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series, in addition to three

Screen Actors Guild Award Screen Actors Guild Awards (also known as SAG Awards) are accolades given by the Screen Actors Guild-American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (SAG-AFTRA). The award was founded in 1995 to recognize outstanding performances in movie an ...

nominations.

Early life

Manheim was born in West Caldwell, New Jersey, into a Jewish family, the daughter of Sylvia (née Nuchow), a teacher, and Jerome Manheim, a mathematics professor and the Dean of Letters and Science at California State University Long Beach. Her family relocated several times in her early childhood due to her father taking new teaching positions, and she spent her early years in

Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...

and

Peoria, Illinois Peoria ( ) is a city in Peoria County, Illinois, United States, and its county seat. Located on the Illinois River, the city had a population of 113,150 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Ill ...

. When she was in sixth grade, her family relocated to

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and Cultural area, cultural List of regions of California, region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its densely populated coastal reg ...

, settling in

Long Beach Long Beach is a coastal city in southeastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. It is the list of United States cities by population, 44th-most populous city in the United States, with a population of 451,307 as of 2022. A charter ci ...

, where she attended Woodrow Wilson Classical High School. She became interested in acting after working at a

Renaissance fair A Renaissance Festival (medieval fair or ren faire) is an outdoor gathering that aims to entertain its guests by recreating a historical setting, most often the English Renaissance. Renaissance festivals generally include costumed entertainers ...

e during high school. Manheim graduated from

University of California, Santa Cruz The University of California, Santa Cruz (UC Santa Cruz or UCSC) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Santa Cruz, California, United States. It is one of the ten campuses in the University of C ...

with a BFA degree in 1984 and

New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...

's Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Acting Program with an MFA degree in 1987. Her brother, Karl Manheim, is a law professor at

Loyola Law School Loyola Law School is the law school of Loyola Marymount University, a private Jesuit university in Los Angeles, California. Loyola was established in 1920. Academics Degrees offered include the Juris Doctor (JD); Master of Science in Legal ...

Career

Manheim worked for a while as a

sign language Sign languages (also known as signed languages) are languages that use the visual-manual modality to convey meaning, instead of spoken words. Sign languages are expressed through manual articulation in combination with #Non-manual elements, no ...

interpreter at hospitals. Her knowledge of sign language was used on ''The Practice'', in the ''

'' episodes "Benevolence" (1993) and "Castle in the Sky" (2024), and in her role as a child behavioral psychologist in the movie '' Mercury Rising''. In 1983, she made a brief appearance as a girl in an elevator in '' Sudden Impact'' in the post-courtroom scene at the beginning. Manheim's breakthrough was her one-woman show "Wake Up, I'm Fat", which played

at Classic Stage Company in 1994. She adapted the show into a book of the same name, which was published by

Broadway Books Broadway Books is an imprint of the Crown Publishing Group, a division of Random House, Inc.. It released its first list in Fall 1996. Broadway was founded in 1995 as a unit of Bantam Doubleday Dell, a unit of Bertelsmann. Bertelsmann acquire ...

in 1999. In 1999, Manheim won an Emmy for her work on ''

''. In 1999, she was awarded the

Women in Film Women are involved in the film industry in all roles, including as film directors, actor, actresses, cinematographers, film producers, film criticism, film critics, and other film industry professions, though women have been underrepresented in ...

Lucy Award.

Personal life

Manheim's son Milo, conceived via

sperm donation Sperm donation is the provision by a man of his sperm with the intention that it be used in the artificial insemination or other "fertility treatment" of one or more women who are not his sexual partners in order that they may become pregnant by h ...

from her close friend Jeffrey Brezovar, was born on March 6, 2001. Manheim has been involved with the Los Angeles–based charity Bet Tzedek Legal Services – The House of Justice, serving as a co-chair for their annual fundraiser, the Justice Ball.Bet Tzedek Raises $300,000 With Its Sixth Annual Justice Ball
Retrieved January 29, 2016.

Filmography

Film

Television

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Manheim, Camryn 1961 births Living people 20th-century American actresses 21st-century American actresses Actors from Essex County, New Jersey Actresses from Long Beach, California Actresses from New Jersey American film actresses Jewish American actresses American television actresses American voice actresses Best Supporting Actress Golden Globe (television) winners American feminist artists Jewish American feminists American LGBTQ rights activists Tisch School of the Arts alumni University of California, Santa Cruz alumni People from West Caldwell, New Jersey Outstanding Performance by a Supporting Actress in a Drama Series Primetime Emmy Award winners Wilson Classical High School alumni