Robin Tunney Biography

Robin Tunney
extracted from Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, distributed under the GNU Free Documentation License

Robin Tunney

Robin Tunney playing Veronica Donovan in Prison Break
Born June 19, 1972 (1972-06-19) (age 36)
Chicago, Illinois, U.S.
Occupation Actress
Spouse(s) Bob Gosse (1997–2006) (Divorced)
Andrew Dominik (2007–Present)

Robin Tunney (born June 19, 1972) is an American film, stage and television actress.

Contents

Biography

Early life

Tunney was born in Chicago, Illinois, to a car salesman father and a bartender mother.1 Tunney is Irish American;2 her father emigrated from Ireland and her mother is a first generation Irish-American.3 Tunney is Roman Catholic,4 and grew up on the South Side of Chicago. Robin graduated from Carl Sandburg High School in the class of 1990. She then went on to study acting at the Chicago Academy for the Arts.

Career

At the age of eighteen, Tunney moved to Los Angeles, California and obtained several recurring TV roles on Class of '96, Law & Order, Dream On, and Life Goes On. Her breakthrough role was as a suicidal teenager in Empire Records before receiving the leading role as a Gothic witch in The Craft, alongside Fairuza Balk, Neve Campbell and Rachel True. Robin shaved her head for her role in Empire Records, and had to wear a wig in The Craft.

In 1997, Tunney starred in Bob Gosse's Niagara, Niagara with Henry Thomas in a performance which garnered her the Best Actress award Volpi Cup at the 1997 Venice International Film Festival. Tunney also starred opposite Arnold Schwarzenegger in the 1999 action film End of Days.

She starred in the House episode "Pilot" as a kindergarten teacher who collapses before her class and descends into dysphasia.

She starred as Veronica Donovan on the first season of Prison Break.

She had a minor role in the film August released on July 11, 2008.

She stars opposite Simon Baker in the CBS drama series, "The Mentalist", which debuted in September 2008. She will also appear in the upcoming comedy Passenger Side along side Adam Scott and Joel Bissonnette.

Personal life

In 1997, Tunney married producer/director Bob Gosse. They were separated in 2002.

On June 28, 2006, Tunney won the 5th table of Bravo's Celebrity Poker Showdown's 8th season, finishing ahead of Christopher Meloni, Macy Gray, Joy Behar, and Andy Dick, moving on to the final table. The finale aired on July 5, 2006, where she competed against Jason Alexander, Michael Ian Black, Ida Siconolfi, and Keegan-Michael Key. Tunney came in second, behind Alexander, and ahead of Black, Siconolfi, and Key. She played for The Children's Health Fund, which received $200,000 for her efforts. In August 2006, Tunney played in the WSOP after having her entrance fee covered by the online cardroom PokerRoom.com.

Within the film industry Tunney has acquired the nickname "Rubbin' Tummy" for her habit of absentmindedly rubbing her stomach while conferring with the director and other actors.

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1992 Encino Man Ella
1994 Law & Order Jill Templeton TV Episode - "Mayhem" (Season 4, episode 17)
1995 Empire Records Debra
1996 The Craft Sarah Bailey
1997 Julian Po Sarah
Niagara, Niagara Marcy
1998 Montana Kitty
1999 End of Days Christine York
2000 Vertical Limit Annie Garrett
Supernova Danika Lund
2001 Investigating Sex Zoe
2002 The Secret Lives of Dentists Laura
Cherish Zoe
2003 Abby Singer Herself (Cameo)
The In-Laws Angela Harris
2004 Paparazzi Abby Laramie
House Rebecca Adler Pilot episode
2005 The Zodiac Laura Parish
Runaway Carly
2005 - 2006 Prison Break Veronica Donovan TV series -
2006 Hollywoodland Leonore Lemmon
The Darwin Awards Zoe
2008 August Melanie
The Burning Plain Laura
The Mentalist Teresa Lisbon TV Series
Passenger Side Theresa

The Two Mr. Kissels Made for TV movie

References

  1. ^ "Robin Tunney Biography (1972?-)". Film Reference.
  2. ^ Bernstein, Jonathan (March 1998). "Fly, Robin, fly", Interview. 
  3. ^ "The Zodiac".
  4. ^ Eby, Douglas (1996). "Robin Tunney". Cinefantastique.

External links

Persondata
NAME Tunney, Robin
ALTERNATIVE NAMES
SHORT DESCRIPTION Actress
DATE OF BIRTH June 19, 1972
PLACE OF BIRTH Chicago, Illinois, USA
DATE OF DEATH
PLACE OF DEATH