Camryn Manheim

Camryn Manheim
Manheim at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival
Born	Debra Frances Manheim (1961-03-08) March 8, 1961 Caldwell, New Jersey, U.S.
Occupation	Actress
Years active	1983–present
Children	1 son

Camryn Manheim (born March 8, 1961) is an American actress known primarily for her roles as attorney Ellenor Frutt on ABC's The Practice, Delia Banks on CBS's Ghost Whisperer and as Elvis's mother, Gladys Presley in the 2005 mini-series Elvis, and "Control" on Person of Interest.

Early life

Manheim was born Debra Frances Manheim in Caldwell, New Jersey and grew up in Peoria, Illinois.^[1] She is the daughter of Sylvia, a teacher, and Jerome Manheim, a mathematics professor.^[2] Her family is Jewish.^[3][4] Manheim became interested in acting after working at a Renaissance fair in high school.^[5] Manheim graduated from University of California, Santa Cruz with a BFA degree in 1984 and New York University's Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Acting Program with an MFA degree in 1987.^[6]

Career

Manheim worked for a while as a sign language interpreter at hospitals. Her knowledge of sign language was used on The Practice, in an episode of Law & Order, and in her role as a child behavioral psychologist in the movie Mercury Rising. In 1983, she made a brief appearance as a girl in an elevator in Sudden Impact alongside Clint Eastwood, in the post-courtroom scene at the beginning. In the mid-1980s, Manheim appeared as a "trebekkie" in a practical joke pulled on Alex Trebek on Bloopers and Practical Jokes. In 1998, Manheim collected an Emmy for her work on The Practice and exclaimed that, "This is for all the fat girls!" She followed up on this statement with a one-woman show titled Wake Up, I'm Fat! followed by her autobiography with the same name. In 1999, she was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award.^[7]

In 2005, Manheim earned Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for her work in the miniseries Elvis, and the following year she joined the cast of Ghost Whisperer. Her other television credits include Chicago Hope, Ally McBeal, Family Guy, Will & Grace, Boston Public, Two and a Half Men, The L Word, How I Met Your Mother and Hannah Montana. She also voiced Juliet in the episode "Company Picnic" of Dilbert on UPN in 2000.

In addition, Manheim has several film credits. These include Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, Happiness (which earned her and her co-stars a National Board of Review Award for Best Acting by an Ensemble), The Laramie Project, Scary Movie 3, Dark Water and An Unfinished Life.

Personal life

Manheim has been involved with the Los Angeles-based charity, Bet Tzedek Legal Services – The House of Justice, serving as a co-chair for their annual fundraiser, The Justice Ball.^[8][9] Her brother, Karl Manheim, is a law professor at Loyola Law School.^[10][11] Her only child, son Milo, was born March 6, 2001, two days before her 40th birthday.

Filmography

Film

Television

Awards and nominations

References

External links

• Official website
• Camryn Manheim at the Internet Movie Database
• Camryn Manheim at the Internet Off-Broadway Database