Amanda Peet

Amanda Peet (born January 11, 1972) is an American film and television actress.

Biography

Peet was born in New York City to Charles Peet, a lawyer, and Penny Levy, a social worker; the two are now divorced. Her father is a Quaker and her mother is Jewish. Peet attended Friends Seminary, then studied history at and graduated from Columbia University, where she auditioned for acting teacher Uta Hagen and decided to become an actress after taking Hagen's class. During her four-year period of study with Hagen, Peet appeared in the off-Broadway revival of Clifford Odets's Awake and Sing.

Peet's first screen performance was a television commercial for Skittles. Her early roles included a guest starring role on the television series Law & Order. She made her film debut in Animal Room (1995). Peet maintained a steady acting career in relatively obscure indie movies.

Her first major role was as "Jack" in the 1999 WB network series Jack & Jill (which aired for two seasons). She also appeared in the eighth-season finale of Seinfeld ("The Summer of George") as a waitress whom Jerry Seinfeld meets. Her character is notable for seemingly dating two men at once: Jerry and her apparent roommate ("dude"), Lyle. Peet's first role in a widely-released feature film came in 2000, with The Whole Nine Yards, elevating her status from supporting actress to lead. That same year, she was voted one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World by People magazine. Peet was also in the movie Saving Silverman with Jack Black and Steve Zahn. She also starred in Something's Gotta Give in 2003. Peet played Diane Keaton's daughter, and, at one point, Jack Nicholson's lover.

In 2005, Peet appeared in the play This Is How It Goes, filling in for Marisa Tomei at the last minute after six days of rehearsal. In the same year, she also co-starred in the films Syriana with onscreen husband Matt Damon, and A Lot Like Love, with Ashton Kutcher. In February 2006, she was performing in Neil Simon's Broadway production of Barefoot in the Park. Peet was a member of the cast of the television series Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip, which premiered on NBC on September 18, 2006. She stars with Matthew Perry, with whom she worked in The Whole Nine Yards and The Whole Ten Yards, and Sarah Paulson, with whom she co-starred in Jack & Jill. In the show; Studio 60 On The Sunset Strip, Peet's character Jordan McDeere is the newly-appointed president of the National Broadcasting System (NBS). In 2006, she also starred along with Dermot Mulroney in a Lifetime movie, Griffin and Phoenix, in which she played a terminally-ill woman living life to the fullest. Her most recent role was in 2007's The Ex, a comedy co-starring Zach Braff in which Peet plays an attorney who stays home to raise a new baby. She will next co-star with Hilary Duff, Amanda Seyfried and Amber Tamblyn in Safety Glass, a film set around the Space Shuttle Challenger launch; filming will begin this fall.