Jenna Lamia is an American actress, writer, and audiobook narrator. She developed the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

limited series '' The Perfect Couple'', and also served as its showrunner. She is also known for her role as Judy in the Netflix series ''

Resident Alien In law, an alien is generally any person (including an organization) who is not a citizen or a national of a specific country, although definitions and terminology differ across legal systems. Lexicology The term "alien" is derived from the L ...

'', and is a writer on a few episodes.

Career

Acting

Lamia began her acting career in New York City, where she appeared on Broadway in Eugene O'Neill's ''

Ah, Wilderness! ''Ah, Wilderness!'' is a comedy play by American playwright Eugene O'Neill that premiered on Broadway at the Guild Theatre on October 2, 1933. It differs from a typical O'Neill play in its happy ending for the central character, and depiction o ...

'' at

Lincoln Center Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts (also simply known as Lincoln Center) is a complex of buildings in the Lincoln Square neighborhood on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. It has thirty indoor and outdoor facilities and is host to 5 ...

. She soon moved on to television and film appearances, and is best known for her roles as Sherri Ward in ''

The Fighter ''The Fighter'' is a 2010 American Biographical film, biographical sports drama film directed by David O. Russell, and stars Mark Wahlberg (who also produced), Christian Bale, Amy Adams, and Melissa Leo. The film centers on the lives of profes ...

'' with

Mark Wahlberg Mark Robert Michael Wahlberg (born June 5, 1971), formerly known by his stage name Marky Mark, is an American actor, producer, and former rapper. Mark Wahlberg filmography, His work as a leading actor, leading man spans the Comedy film, come ...

and

Christian Bale Christian Charles Philip Bale (born 30 January 1974) is an English actor. Known for his versatility and physical transformations for his roles, he has been a leading man in films of several genres. List of awards and nominations received by C ...

, Siobhan Miller in '' Law and Order: SVU'', Carrie Schillinger in '' Oz'', and as Poppy Downes in Comedy Central's ''

Strangers With Candy ''Strangers with Candy'' is an American television sitcom created by Stephen Colbert, Paul Dinello, Amy Sedaris, and Mitch Rouse that originally aired on Comedy Central from April 7, 1999, to October 2, 2000. Its timeslot was Sundays at 10:00 ...

'', with

Amy Sedaris Amy Louise Sedaris (; born March 29, 1961) is an American actress, comedian, and writer. She played Jerri Blank in the Comedy Central comedy series '' Strangers with Candy'' (1999–2000) and the prequel film '' Strangers with Candy'' (2005), wh ...

. Over the span of her career, she has appeared on and off-Broadway, in over 30 television shows and feature films, and voiced video games and animated characters for film and television. As of 2021, she appears as Judy Cooper in the Syfy television series ''

'', starring

Alan Tudyk Alan Wray Tudyk ( ; born March 16, 1971) is an American actor. His film work includes roles in '' 28 Days'' (2000), '' A Knight's Tale'' (2001), '' Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story'' (2004), voice and motion capture for Sonny in '' I, Robot'' (2 ...

Audiobook narration

As an

audiobook An audiobook (or a talking book) is a recording of a book or other work being read out loud. A reading of the complete text is described as "unabridged", while readings of shorter versions are abridgements. Spoken audio has been available in sch ...

narrator, Lamia has won several golden earphones awards from '' AudioFile'' magazine, and was named Female Narrator of the Year in 2010 by the

Audio Publishers Association The Audio Publishers Association (APA) is the first and only not-for-profit trade organization of the audiobook industry in the United States. Its mission is to "advocate the common, collective business interests of audio publishers." Membership is ...

. Also in 2010, she won Best Solo Narration - Female for '' The Chosen One''. She voiced Eugenia "Skeeter" Phelan in ''

The Help ''The Help'' is a historical fiction novel by American author Kathryn Stockett published by Penguin Books in 2009. The story is about African Americans working in white households in Jackson, Mississippi, during the early 1960s. A ''USA Today' ...

'', which won best fiction audiobook of the year in 2010. In 2020, she won another Audie Award as part of the ensemble cast of Jarrett Krozocska's ''Hey, Kiddo''.

Writing and producing

Lamia is also a writer and producer of television and films. After selling her first feature script, ''All About Me'', to

New Line Cinema New Line Productions, Inc., Trade name, doing business as New Line Cinema, is an American film production, film and television production company that is a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Motion Picture Group, a division of the Major film studios, ...

in 2006, she joined the writing staff of

The CW The CW Network, LLC (commonly referred to as The CW or simply CW) is an American commercial broadcast television network which is controlled by Nexstar Media Group through a 75% ownership interest. The network's name is derived from the firs ...

's '' 90210''. After ''90210'', Lamia went on to write, produce, and act in '' Awkward''. She began writing and producing the dramedy '' No Tomorrow'' in 2016. In 2017, she began writing and co-executive producing the crime comedy-drama '' Good Girls'' for

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...

. In December 2019, it was announced that she would write and executive produce an adaptation of

Elin Hilderbrand Elin Hilderbrand (born July 17, 1969) is an American writer of beach reads that are often focused on Mystery fiction, mystery and Romance novel, romance. Her novels are typically set on and around Nantucket, where she resides. In 2019, New Yor ...

's novel ''The Perfect Couple'', for the

Fox Foxes are small-to-medium-sized omnivorous mammals belonging to several genera of the family Canidae. They have a flattened skull; upright, triangular ears; a pointed, slightly upturned snout; and a long, bushy tail ("brush"). Twelve species ...

network. In April 2021, production began on the feature film '' My Best Friend's Exorcism'', which Lamia adapted from the 2016 novel by Grady Hendrix. In September 2024, Netflix released all six episodes of the limited series '' The Perfect Couple'', which Lamia wrote and executive produced. The series is an adaptation of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' bestselling novel by Elin Hilderbrand, and stars

Nicole Kidman Nicole Mary Kidman (born 20 June 1967) is an Australian and American actress and producer. Known for Nicole Kidman on screen and stage, her work in film and television productions across many genres, she has consistently ranked among the world ...

, Liev Schreiber, Eve Hewson, Billy Howle, Meghann Fahy, Ishaan Khatter, Donna-Lynn Champlin and Michael Beech. ''The Perfect Couple'' was the most-watched American debut series on Netflix in all of 2024, and the second most-watched debut series worldwide.

Filmography

Acting

Writing

Television

Film

Awards and nominations

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Lamia, Jenna American television actresses Living people American stage actresses American voice actresses American film actresses 21st-century American actresses Year of birth missing (living people) American television writers American women television writers 21st-century American screenwriters 21st-century American women writers