Talia Balsam (born 1959) is an American television and film actress.
Early life
Talia Balsam 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 ...
in 1959, to actors
Martin Balsam and
Joyce Van Patten.
Her ancestry is Russian Jewish (father) and Italian, Dutch, and English (mother). She is the niece of actor
Dick Van Patten, actress Pat Van Patten, and actor/director
Tim Van Patten. Her cousin is actress
Grace Van Patten.
Career
Balsam began her career appearing in a recurring role on the ABC sitcom ''
Happy Days
''Happy Days'' is an American television sitcom that aired first-run on the American Broadcasting Company, ABC network from January 15, 1974, to July 19, 1984, with a total of 255 half-hour episodes spanning 11 seasons. Created by Garry Marsha ...
'' and later appeared in a number of shows, including ''
Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
'', ''
Taxi'', ''
Hill Street Blues'', ''
Family Ties'', ''
The Larry Sanders Show'', and ''
Magnum, P.I.'' Balsam also played leading roles in films ''
Crawlspace'' (1986) and ''
In the Mood'' (1987). She also appeared in a number of made-for-television movies, including ''Kent State'' (1981), ''
Nadia'' (1984), and ''
Consenting Adult'' (1985). Balsam continued playing supporting film roles and guest starred on television through 1990s and 2000s, include ''
The Cake Eaters'' (2007), ''
L.A. Doctors'' (1998–99) and ''
Without a Trace'' (2003–04).
From 2007 to 2014, Balsam had a recurring role as Mona Sterling in the AMC period drama series ''
Mad Men''. In 2012, she also had a recurring role in the Showtime thriller ''
Homeland'' as Cynthia Walden. From 2016 to 2019, she starred opposite
Sarah Jessica Parker in the HBO comedy series, ''
Divorce
Divorce (also known as dissolution of marriage) is the process of terminating a marriage or marital union. Divorce usually entails the canceling or reorganising of the legal duties and responsibilities of marriage, thus dissolving the M ...
''.
Personal life
Balsam married actor
George Clooney in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...
in 1989; they were divorced in 1993.
In an interview with ''
Vanity Fair'' after their divorce, Clooney stated, "I probably (definitely) wasn't someone who should have been married at that point. I just don't feel like I gave Talia a fair shot."
Since 1998, Balsam has been married to
John Slattery, with whom she has a son.
They married in
Kauai, Hawaii.
They played husband and wife
Roger
Roger is a masculine given name, and a surname. The given name is derived from the Old French personal names ' and '. These names are of Germanic languages">Germanic origin, derived from the elements ', ''χrōþi'' ("fame", "renown", "honour") ...
and
Mona Sterling in ''
Mad Men''. As of 2015, Balsam was living with her family in
SoHo, Manhattan.
Filmography
Film
Television
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Balsam, Talia
1959 births
Living people
Actresses from Manhattan
American film actresses
American stage actresses
American television actresses
Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute alumni
People from SoHo, Manhattan
20th-century American actresses
21st-century American actresses
American people of Russian-Jewish descent
American people of English descent
American people of Dutch descent
American people of Italian descent
Van Patten family
Clooney family
Theatre World Award winners