Debra Monk
About
Biography
Filmography
Family & Companions
Biography
Debra Monk was an American Broadway and screen actress who was best known for her recurring TV roles on "NYPD Blue" (ABC, 1993-2005), "Mozart in the Jungle" (Amazon, 2014-18), and "Dietland" (AMC, 2018). Born in Ohio and raised in Silver Spring, Maryland, Monk always knew she wanted to be an actress. After earning her Bachelor's degree from Frostburg State University in Maryland, she went on to study theater at the prestigious fine arts program at Southern Methodist University (SMU) in Dallas. Upon earning her MFA from SMU, Monk set out to become an actress. She relocated to New York and worked a myriad of odd jobs, including waitressing and as a rockabilly singer, while appearing in various Off Broadway plays by night. Unhappy with the lack of progress in her career, Monk and a few friends decided to write their own musical. "Pump Boys and Dinettes," which was co-written by and starring Monk, debuted Off Broadway in 1981. The musical was an immediate success and the following year it premiered on Broadway to rave reviews, thus giving Monk's fledgling career the break it needed. Over the next several years Monk would go on to appear in numerous Broadway plays, even winning a 1993 Tony Award for her role in "Redwood Curtain." With her stage acting career on the rise, Monk also began gravitating towards film and television work by the early 90s. Some of her more notable film roles of the 1990s include "Quiz Show" (1994), "The First Wives Club" (1996), "The Devil's Advocate" (1997), and "Bulworth" (1998). Additionally, Monk also began appearing regularly on TV, beginning with her recurring role as Katie Sipowicz on "NYPD Blue." By the 2010s she began nabbing regular work on TV shows like "Grey's Anatomy" (ABC, 2005- ), "Damages" (FX, 2007-2012) and "Mozart in the Jungle." In 2018 Monk began appearing as Mrs. Kettle on the AMC comedy-drama series "Dietland." The series, which was adapted from the bestselling novel by Sarai Walker, premiered on the network in June of 2018 but ran for only a single season.
Filmography
Cast (Feature Film)
Music (Feature Film)
Cast (Special)
Writer (Special)
Music (Special)
Special Thanks (Special)
Life Events
1978
Was member of the acting company at the Colonnades Theatre Laboratory in NYC
1981
Breakthrough stage role as Prudie Cupp in "Pump Boys and Dinettes"; also co-wrote; show transferred to Broadway in 1982
1983
TV debut recreating Prudie in "Pump Boys and Dinettes on Television" (NBC)
1990
Co-starred in the stage play "Prelude to a Kiss"
1992
Feature film debut as Aunt Dorothy in the film version of "Prelude to a Kiss"
1994
Earned second Tony nomination as the spinster Rosemary Snyder in "Picnic"
1995
Played a formidable analyst in the Woody Allen one-act "Central Park West", performed under the umbrella title of "Death Defying Acts"
1995
Recreated her award-winning role as a lumber company owner in "Redwood Curtain" (ABC)
1995
Offered a stinging turn as Joanne in the Roundabout Theater revival of the George Furth-Stephen Sondheim musical "Company"; delivered a fine interpretation of the song "The Ladies Who Lunch"
1996
Played Christian Slater's mother in "Bed of Roses"
1996
Cast as the former wife of Andy Sipowicz (Dennis Franz) on "NYPD Blue"
1997
Garnered a third Tony nomination as the brassy burlesque singer participating in a dance marathon in "Steel Pier"; performed the showstopping "Everybody's Girl"
1997
Co-starred as one of the title character's nasty aunts in "Ellen Foster" (CBS)
1998
Appeared as the senator's secretary in "Bulworth"
2000
Returned to the New York stage as star of a revival of Arthur Laurents' "The Time of the Cuckoo"
2000
Played an overbearing stage mother in "Center Stage"
2001
Appeared in the New York Shakespeare Festival's staging of "The Seagull" in Central Park; directed by Mike Nichols (July-August)
2005
Played the Little Old Lady Investor in "The Producers," the film based on the Tony-winning musical by Mel Brooks
2005
Starred opposite Troy Garity in "Milwaukee, Minnesota"
2006
Nabbed a recurring part as Louise O'Malley on "Grey's Anatomy"
2007
Co-starred with David Hyde Pierce in the Broadway musical, "Curtains"; earned a Tony nomination
2007
Was a recurring character on "Damages"
2014
Played Betty Cragdale on "Mozart in the Jungle"
2018
Was Mrs. Kettle on AMC's "Dietland"
Companions
