Dinah Lenney (née Gross; born November 18, 1956) is an American actress and writer. She is the author of ''Bigger than Life: A Murder, a Memoir'', a 2007 book about the murder of her father, Republican Party politician and businessman Nelson G. Gross.

Biography

Lenney was born in

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

to Nelson Gerard Gross and Leah (née Binger) Gross. Her parents divorced in 1958, after which time she lived with her mother, who remarried Ron Lenney. Her surname was legally changed from Gross to Lenney around her sixteenth birthday.Lenney, Dinah. ''Bigger than Life: A Murder, a Memoir'' (2007); She attended

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

, graduating with a B.A. degree in American Studies in 1978. She received a Certificate of Acting from the

Neighborhood Playhouse A neighbourhood (Commonwealth English) or neighborhood (American English) is a geographically localized community within a larger town, city, suburb or rural area, sometimes consisting of a single street and the buildings lining it. Neighbourh ...

, where she studied with

Sanford Meisner Sanford Meisner (August 31, 1905 – February 2, 1997) was an American actor and acting teacher who developed an approach to acting instruction that is now known as the Meisner technique. While Meisner was exposed to method acting at the Group ...

. She also holds a

Master of Fine Arts A Master of Fine Arts (MFA or M.F.A.) is a terminal degree in fine arts, including visual arts, creative writing, graphic design, photography, filmmaking, dance, theatre, other performing arts and in some cases, theatre management or arts admi ...

in creative nonfiction from the Bennington Writing Seminars.Playwrights: Dinah Lenney
PioneerDrama.com; accessed March 28, 2008. In her acting career, Lenney has had a variety of stage, film, and television roles. On television she has appeared on shows such as '' Married... with Children'' (1991), ''

Murphy Brown ''Murphy Brown'' is an American television sitcom created by Diane English that premiered on November 14, 1988, on CBS. The series stars Candice Bergen as the eponymous Murphy Brown, a famous investigative journalist and news presenter, news anch ...

'', ''

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 television series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly. Its main character (Brenneman) is a judge who serves ...

'', '' A Fine Romance'' and ''

South of Nowhere ''South of Nowhere'' is an American teen drama television series created by Thomas W. Lynch. It first aired on November 4, 2005, on Noggin as part of its teen programming block, The N. The show was produced by Noggin LLC in association with ...

''. Beginning in 1995 she played a recurring role on '' ER'' as Nurse Shirley. In 2006 she coauthored the book ''Acting for Young Actors'' with Mary Lou Belli. In 2007

University of Nebraska Press The University of Nebraska Press (UNP) was founded in 1941 and is an academic publisher of scholarly and general-interest books. The press is under the auspices of the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, the main campus of the University of Ne ...

published her memoir, ''Bigger than Life: A Murder, a Memoir'', which recounts her experience of learning that her father, Nelson G. Gross, had been kidnapped and murdered in September 1997. Her book ''The Object Parade'', a collection of 32 personal essays which first appeared in publications including ''

Creative Nonfiction Creative nonfiction (also known as literary nonfiction, narrative nonfiction, literary journalism or verfabula) is a genre of writing that uses literary styles and techniques to create factually accurate narratives. Creative nonfiction contrasts ...

'', ''

AGNI Agni ( ) is the Deva (Hinduism), Hindu god of fire. As the Guardians of the directions#Aṣṭa-Dikpāla ("Guardians of Eight Directions"), guardian deity of the southeast direction, he is typically found in southeast corners of Hindu temples. ...

'' and the ''

Harvard Review ''Harvard Review'' is a biannual literary journal published by Houghton Library at Harvard University. History In 1986 Stratis Haviaras, curator of the Woodberry Poetry Room at Harvard University, founded a quarterly periodical called ''Erato ...

'', was first published in 2014. Writing in the ''

Los Angeles Review of Books The ''Los Angeles Review of Books'' (''LARB'' is a literary review magazine covering the national and international book scenes. A preview version launched on Tumblr in April 2011, and the official website followed one year later in April 201 ...

'', Ned Stuckey-French described ''The Object Parade'' as an "essay collection isguisedas a memoir, though perhaps it's the other way around."

Family

Lenney is married to screenwriter/producer Fred Mills; the couple has two children."Births"
''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'', March 5, 1993. Accessed March 28, 2008.

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Lenney, Dinah 1956 births American film actresses American memoirists American stage actresses American television actresses Bennington College alumni Living people Yale University alumni Actresses from Englewood, New Jersey Writers from Englewood, New Jersey American women memoirists 21st-century American women Memoirists from New Jersey