Anne Dudek

Anne Dudek
Dudek at the 2011 San Diego Comic-Con
Born
Anne Louise Dudek

(1975-03-22) March 22, 1975 (age 49)
Alma materNorthwestern University
OccupationActress
Years active2000–present
Spouse
Matthew Dana Heller
(m. 2008; div. 2016)
Children2

Anne Louise Dudek (born March 22, 1975)[1] is an American actress. She is known for portraying Tiffany Wilson in the 2004 film White Chicks, Danielle Brooks in the television series Covert Affairs, Dr. Amber Volakis on the series House, Lura Grant on the series Big Love, and Francine Hanson on the series Mad Men. She has also starred in the British television series The Book Group.

Early life

Dudek was born in Boston, Massachusetts, and grew up in Newton, Massachusetts.[2] Her father was an architect.[3] She graduated from Newton North High School and attended Northwestern University.[4]

Career

From the mid-1990s (while at Northwestern University) through 2001, Dudek appeared in various theater productions and on Broadway. She made her Broadway debut in Wrong Mountain in 2000.[5] She won the Connecticut Critics Circle Award for outstanding performance in The Glass Menagerie.[6]

After success on Broadway, she made the jump to television. Her first starring role on television came when she was cast as the lead in the British comedy drama The Book Group. The show aired on Channel 4 in the United Kingdom to rave reviews. In her native United States, Dudek has since guest starred on other TV shows, including Desperate Housewives (as Karl Mayer's girlfriend in Season 1), How I Met Your Mother (as 'Nathalie', Ted's Krav Maga-trained ex-girlfriend), Friends (as 'Precious', Mike Hannigan's girlfriend), ER (as a mother who accidentally shot her son), Charmed, Bones (as Seeley Booth's lawyer girlfriend), Numb3rs, and Six Feet Under. She also played Lucinda Barry in the pilot episode of Psych, and a teacher who has a sexual relationship with one of her students (based on the case of Debra Lafave) on Law & Order: Criminal Intent. In both Friends and How I Met Your Mother, her character was dumped on her birthday.[7] Dudek appeared in several episodes of the HBO series Big Love as a child bride.

Dudek had a role on House (recurring from season 4 onwards) as Amber Volakis, one of 40 physicians under consideration by Dr. House for permanent positions on his team. Her character, nicknamed "Cutthroat Bitch" by House, continued to the end of season 4 but was killed off in the two-part season finale, "House's Head" and "Wilson's Heart".[8][9] She would later reappear as a hallucination by House in the season 5 episode "Saviors", appearing in this form for the remainder of the season.

Dudek later appeared in Mad Men as next-door neighbor Francine Hanson, and on Big Love as one of antagonist Alby Grant's wives, both recurring roles. In 2010, she joined the cast of Covert Affairs.[10] She played Anthony Hopkins' character's daughter in the 2003 film The Human Stain, and cruise line heir Tiffany Wilson in the 2004 comedy film White Chicks. In 2012, she played an ISS astronaut in one episode of the TV show Touch. She also reprised her role as Amber Volakis for the House series finale "Everybody Dies".

In 2015, Dudek played villainess Dawn Lin in an episode of NCIS: New Orleans, and also made a guest appearance in the fifth-season finale of Rizzoli & Isles. In 2017, she recurred on The Flash as Tracy Brand.[11]

Personal life

Dudek married artist Matthew Dana Heller in 2008. They have a son, who was born in December 2008,[12] and a daughter, who was born in February 2012.[13] The couple divorced in 2016.[14]

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
2003 The Human Stain Lisa Silk
2004 White Chicks Tiffany Wilson
2004 The Naughty Lady Sara Short film
2005 A Coat of Snow Anna Marie
2006 Park Meredith
2006 10 Items or Less Lorraine
2006 And Then It Breaks Girlfriend
2007 Speed Dating Amy Short film
2013 Shadow People Ellen
2016 Middle Man Grail
2016 The Good Neighbor Elise Fleming
2017 House by the Lake Karen
TBA Reminisce Yvette

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2001 ER Paula Gamble Episode: "I'll Be Home for Christmas"
2002–2003 The Book Group Clare Pettengill Main cast
2002 For the People Jennifer Carter Recurring role
2003 Judging Amy Candace Hurley Episode: "Marry, Marry Quite Contrary"
2003 Six Feet Under Allison Williman Episode: "Twilight"
2003 Friends Precious Episode: "The One After Joey and Rachel Kiss"
2004 Desperate Housewives Brandi Episode: "Pretty Little Picture"
2004 Less than Perfect Annie 2 episodes
2005 Charmed Denise Episode: "Ordinary Witches"
2005 Invasion Katie Paxton 2 episodes
2005 Bones Tessa Jankow 2 episodes
2005–2010 How I Met Your Mother Natalie 2 episodes
2006 Psych Lucinda Barry Episode: "Pilot"
2006 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Danielle McCaskin Episode: "Tru Love"
2006–2007 Big Day Brittany 3 episodes
2007 Numbers Emmanueline Kirtland Episode: "Nine Wives"
2007–2010, 2014 Mad Men Francine Hanson Recurring role (seasons 1–3); guest role, 2 episodes
2007–2011 Big Love Lura Grant Recurring role (seasons 2–5)
2007–2009, 2012 House Dr. Amber Volakis Recurring role (seasons 4–5), series finale: "Everybody Dies"
2009 Castle Emma Carnes Episode: "The Fifth Bullet"
2010–2012 Covert Affairs Danielle Brooks Main cast (seasons 1–2), recurring role (season 3)
2012 Touch Allegra Episode: "Zone of Exclusion"
2012 Private Practice Lori Episode: "Drifting Back"
2012 Criminal Minds Emma Kerrigan Episode: "The Good Earth"
2012 The Mentalist Sloan Dietz Episode: "Cherry Picked"
2013 Masters of Sex Rosalie Episode: "Fallout"
2013 Santa Switch Linda Ryebeck TV movie
2014 Those Who Kill Benedicte Schaeffer Recurring role
2014 Grimm Vera Gates Episode: "Once We Were Gods"
2014 Grey's Anatomy Elise Castor Episode: "Do You Know?"
2015 NCIS: New Orleans Dawn Lin Episode: "The Walking Dead"
2015 Rizzoli & Isles Cynthia Wallace Episode: "Family Matters"
2016–2017 The Magicians Pearl Sunderland Recurring role (seasons 1–2)
2016 The Mindy Project Eden Episode: "The Greatest Date in the World"
2016 Aquarius Episode: "Everybody's Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey"
2016 Longmire Melissa Parr Episode: "Chrysalis"
2017 The Flash Tracy Brand 4 episodes
2017 You're the Worst Whitney 3 episodes
2018–2020 Corporate Kate Glass Main cast
2018 Bosch Pamela Duncan 4 episodes
2019 The InBetween Hannah Foreman 2 episodes
2023 The Good Doctor Olivia Episode: "Quiet and Loud"
2024 Manhunt Ellen Stanton Miniseries, 2 episodes

References

  1. ^ "Anne Dudek". Hollywood.com. Retrieved October 21, 2017.
  2. ^ Dudek, Anne (April 11, 2013). "The Past". The Anne Dudek Mama Blog. Blogspot. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
  3. ^ Dudek, Anne (October 3, 2010). "My architect". The Anne Dudek Mama Blog. Blogspot. Retrieved August 30, 2014.
  4. ^ Cheatle, Julian (2 May 2017). "Anne Dudek: Who is actress who plays Tracy Brand on The Flash?". Monsters & Critics. Retrieved 27 November 2017.
  5. ^ Bio at American Rep. Theatre web site
  6. ^ "Anne Dudek Shows Off Baby Bump on 'Big Love' " Buddy TV.com, August 10, 2008
  7. ^ Friends Season 10, Episode 1; How I Met Your Mother Season Season 1 Episode 4
  8. ^ CRITIC, Maureen Ryan, TRIBUNE (8 April 2009). "'House' shocker handled badly". chicagotribune.com. Retrieved 2021-03-08.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  9. ^ "I'm Still Not Over... The Heartbreaking 'House' Season 4 Finale". EW.com. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  10. ^ "Anne Dudek knows her mission on 'Covert Affairs'". Boston Herald. 2010-08-03. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  11. ^ Mitovich, Matt Webb (2017-03-20). "The Flash: House Alum Anne Dudek to Recur as Quirky Future Genius". TVLine. Retrieved 2021-03-08.
  12. ^ Mad Men's Anne Dudek Welcomes a Son Archived 2011-03-29 at the Wayback Machine People Magazine, December 23, 2008
  13. ^ "Anne Dudek Welcomes Baby No. 2: Saskia". CelebrityBabyScoop.com. March 2, 2012. Archived from the original on November 7, 2017. Retrieved September 8, 2012.
  14. ^ Bielski, Zosia (June 23, 2016). "Divorcing with dignity: How modern exes are treating a split as an awakening". The Globe and Mail. Retrieved 4 November 2016.