Christine Dunford is an American actress from
the Bronx
The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
.
Early life and education
Christine Dunford was born in the
Bronx
The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five Boroughs of New York City, boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County, New York, West ...
.
[ She graduated from the ]Bronx High School of Science
The Bronx High School of Science is a State school, public Specialized high schools in New York City, specialized high school in the Bronx in New York City. It is operated by the New York City Department of Education. Admission to Bronx Science ...
in 1979, the year that she played a featured role in the school's production of '' Dark of the Moon''. She was also voted class president during her senior year.
She received theater training at the Juilliard School
The Juilliard School ( ) is a Private university, private performing arts music school, conservatory in New York City. Founded by Frank Damrosch as the Institute of Musical Art in 1905, the school later added dance and drama programs and became ...
and began her career in the New York theater, cast in Joseph Papp
Joseph Papp (born Joseph Papirofsky; June 22, 1921 – October 31, 1991) was an American theatrical producer and director. Papp is a pioneering figure in American theater, known for creating Shakespeare in the Park, which aimed to make classi ...
's New York Shakespeare Festival
Shakespeare in the Park (or Free Shakespeare in the Park) is a theatrical program that stages productions of Shakespearean plays at the Delacorte Theater, an open-air theater in New York City's Central Park. The theater and the productions are ...
production of ''Two Gentlemen of Verona
''The Two Gentlemen of Verona'' is a Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1589 and 1593. It is considered by some to be Shakespeare's first play, and is often seen as showing his first ten ...
'' at the Delacorte Theater
The Delacorte Theater is a 1,800-seat open-air theater in Central Park, in the New York City borough of Manhattan. It is home to the Public Theater's free Shakespeare in the Park productions. As of September 2023, it has been closed for renov ...
in Central Park
Central Park is an urban park between the Upper West Side and Upper East Side neighborhoods of Manhattan in New York City, and the first landscaped park in the United States. It is the List of parks in New York City, sixth-largest park in the ...
.
Career
Dunford spent the next two years working at the Public Theater
The Public Theater is an arts organization in New York City. Founded by Joseph Papp, The Public Theater was originally the Shakespeare Workshop in 1954; its mission was to support emerging playwrights and performers.Epstein, Helen. ''Joe Papp: ...
in the American premiere of the off-Broadway and Broadway runs of '' Serious Money'' and in the lead role of '' Love's Labours Lost'', directed by Gerald Freedman.
Other New York stage appearances include ''Infidelities'' at Primary Stages and the title role in '' Tamara''. On the west coast, Dunford starred with Ed Begley, Jr. in David Mamet
David Alan Mamet (; born November 30, 1947) is an American playwright, author, and filmmaker.
He won a Pulitzer Prize and received Tony Award, Tony nominations for his plays ''Glengarry Glen Ross'' (1984) and ''Speed-the-Plow'' (1988). He first ...
's '' The Cryptogram'' at the Geffen Playhouse
The Geffen Playhouse is a not-for-profit theater company founded in Los Angeles, California by Gilbert Cates in 1995.
It produces plays in two theaters in Geffen Playhouse, which is owned by University of California Los Angeles. The Playhous ...
. She appeared and in the Bottom's Dream Theater Company productions of ''Losing Venice'' and ''7 Blow Jobs'', and was directed by fellow Juilliard alumnus Keith David
Keith David Williams (born June 4, 1956) is an American actor. He is known for his deep voice and screen presence in over 300 roles in film, stage, television, and interactive media.
He has starred in such films as '' The Thing'' (1982), ''Pla ...
in ''The Shadow Box
''The Shadow Box'' is a play written by actor Michael Cristofer. The play made its Broadway debut on March 31, 1977. It is the winner of the 1977 Pulitzer Prize for Drama and Tony Award for Best Play. The play was made into a telefilm, directed ...
'' at the Edgemar Theater.
Since moving to Los Angeles
Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
, Dunford has appeared in over 100 television episodes, both as a series regular ('' Good Sports'', '' Hudson Street'' with Tony Danza
Tony Danza (born Anthony Salvatore Iadanza; April 21, 1951) is an American actor and retired professional boxer. He is known for co-starring in the television series ''Taxi (TV series), Taxi'' (1978–1983) and ''Who's the Boss?'' (1984–1992 ...
, '' Something So Right'', '' Bob'', with Bob Newhart
George Robert Newhart (September 5, 1929 – July 18, 2024) was an American comedian and actor. Newhart was known for his deadpan and stammering delivery style. Beginning his career as a stand-up comedian, he transitioned his career to acting in ...
, and ''The Secret Lives of Men
''The Secret Lives of Men'' is an American sitcom that aired on ABC from September 30, 1998 to November 11, 1998. The series aired in full in Ireland on RTÉ2.
Premise
Three divorced men get thrown back into the bachelor life. With nothing left ...
'') and as a guest star ('' Law & Order: LA'', ''Harry's Law
''Harry's Law'' is an American legal comedy drama series created by David E. Kelley, and starring Kathy Bates, which ran for two seasons on NBC from January 17, 2011, to May 27, 2012. On May 11, 2012, NBC announced that ''Harry's Law'' would ...
'', ''Two and a Half Men
Two and a Half Men is an American television sitcom created by Chuck Lorre and Lee Aronsohn that aired on CBS for 12 seasons from September 22, 2003, to February 19, 2015. The series originally starred Charlie Sheen as Charlie Harper, a hedonis ...
'', ''Boston Legal
''Boston Legal'' is an American legal 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, 2004, to Decem ...
'', ''Seinfeld
''Seinfeld'' ( ) is an American television sitcom created by Larry David and Jerry Seinfeld that originally aired on NBC from July 5, 1989, to May 14, 1998, with a total of nine seasons consisting of List of Seinfeld episodes, 180 episodes. It ...
'', ''Frasier
''Frasier'' () is an American television sitcom that was broadcast on NBC for 11 seasons from September 16, 1993, to May 13, 2004. The program was created and produced by David Angell, Peter Casey (screenwriter), Peter Casey, and David Lee (scr ...
'', '''Til Death
''Til Death'' is an American sitcom that aired on Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox from September 7, 2006, to June 20, 2010. The series was created by husband and wife team Josh Goldsmith and Cathy Yuspa, who were also the writers and executive pr ...
'', ''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 ...
'' and others). She also co-starred in Fox's ''The Please Watch the Jon Lovitz Special'' in 1992. In 2019, Dunford recurred on ''The Purge
''The Purge'' is an American anthology media franchise centered on a series of dystopian action horror films distributed by Universal Pictures and produced by Blumhouse Productions and Platinum Dunes, which are written and in some cases also ...
'' as the evil Andrea Ziv. She also appeared on the mentalist (season 6 episode 3).
On film, Dunford made her debut in the 1989's ''Slaves of New York
''Slaves of New York'' is a 1989 American comedy-drama Merchant Ivory Productions film. Directed by James Ivory and produced by Ismail Merchant, it stars Bernadette Peters, Adam Coleman Howard, Chris Sarandon, Mary Beth Hurt, Mercedes Ruehl ...
''. The following year, she appeared in ''Reversal of Fortune
''Reversal of Fortune'' is a 1990 American drama film directed by Barbet Schroeder that was adapted from the 1985 book ''Reversal of Fortune: Inside the von Bülow Case'', written by law professor Alan Dershowitz. It recounts the true story of ...
'' alongside Oscar winner Jeremy Irons
Jeremy John Irons (; born 19 September 1948) is an English actor. Known for his roles on stage and screen, he has received numerous accolades including an Academy Award, a Tony Award, three Primetime Emmy Awards, and two Golden Globe Awards, ...
. Her other film roles include 1997's ''Ulee's Gold
''Ulee's Gold'' is a 1997 American Drama (film and television), drama film written and directed by Victor Nuñez and starring Peter Fonda. Co-stars include Patricia Richardson, Christine Dunford, Tom Wood (actor), Tom Wood, Jessica Biel, J. Kennet ...
'' opposite Peter Fonda
Peter Henry Fonda (February 23, 1940 – August 16, 2019) was an American actor, film director, and screenwriter. He was a two-time Academy Award nominee, both for acting and screenwriting, and a two-time Golden Globe Award winner for his a ...
, 2000's '' Love & Basketball'', ''How to Go Out on a Date in Queens'', and the award-winning short ''Dos Corazones''.
Dunford is also a playwright, and was invited to perform her series of monologues, ''Out Loud'', at HBO
Home Box Office (HBO) is an American pay television service, which is the flagship property of namesake parent-subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is based a ...
's Aspen Comedy Festival as well as at the Edgemar Theater in Los Angeles. She performed another solo show, ''Toucan in the Bronx'', at the Improv
Improv may refer to:
*Improvisation, an act of spontaneous invention
**Improvisational theatre (includes improvisational comedy)
**Musical improvisation
Musical improvisation (also known as musical extemporization) is the creative activity of im ...
in Los Angeles.
In addition to her work on stage and screen, Dunford is a voice artist on several animated series as well as television and radio commercials. She provides narration for documentary films and museum installments, and does voice work for video games in the ''Mass Effect
''Mass Effect'' is a military science fiction media franchise created by Casey Hudson. The franchise depicts a distant future where humanity and several alien civilizations have colonized the galaxy using technology left behind by Elder race, a ...
'', ''Lord of the Rings
''The Lord of the Rings'' is an epic high fantasy novel written by English author and scholar J. R. R. Tolkien. Set in Middle-earth, the story began as a sequel to Tolkien's 1937 children's book ''The Hobbit'' but eventually developed into ...
'', ''Civilization
A civilization (also spelled civilisation in British English) is any complex society characterized by the development of state (polity), the state, social stratification, urban area, urbanization, and symbolic systems of communication beyon ...
'', ''Hitman
Contract killing (also known as murder-for-hire) is a form of murder or assassination in which one party hires another party to kill a targeted person or people. It involves an illegal agreement which includes some form of compensation, moneta ...
'', and '' X-COM'' series, as well as '' Warhammer 40,000: Dawn of War'', ''EverQuest
''EverQuest'' is a 3D fantasy-themed massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) originally developed by Verant Interactive and 989 Studios for Windows. It was released by Sony Online Entertainment in March 1999 in North America, ...
'', and '' Infamous Second Son''.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dunford, Christine
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Actresses from the Bronx
21st-century American actresses
20th-century American actresses
American voice actresses
American television actresses
American stage actresses