Date of Birth
11 January 1972, New York City, New York, USA
Height
5' 7" (1.70 m)
Mini Biography
Amanda Peet grew up
in New York with her older sister and their parents; Charles, a lawyer; and
Penny, a social worker. She made an unconventional stage debut at the age of three, when she jumped
onto the stage during a play. Yet, despite this early start, she later studied
acting more as a hobby than anything else. She studied history at Columbia
University, where a drama professor convinced her to audition for acting
teacher Uta Hagen, with whom she
later went on to study for a four-year period. During this time, she
participated in the off-Broadway revival
of Clifford Odets's "Awake
and Sing." She supported herself during the audition phase of her career
by working as a waitress and with the residual checks she received from a
Skittles candy commercial. Perseverance and hard work paid off, and, in 1995,
she was cast in a guest-starring role on the hit series"Law &
Order" (1990).
Her feature film debut came in 1995 with the movie Animal Room (1995). For a while afterward, Amanda continued to find steady work but also found herself appearing in a depressingly large number of indie films that were never picked up for distribution. She did, however, meet her boyfriend Brian Van Holt on the set of indie movie Whipped (2000). Her turn as the ditzy hit-woman with the heart of gold in the hit comedy The Whole Nine Yards(2000), opposite Bruce Willis, took her from supporting role status to leading lady. That same year she was voted one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World by "People" Magazine.
Her feature film debut came in 1995 with the movie Animal Room (1995). For a while afterward, Amanda continued to find steady work but also found herself appearing in a depressingly large number of indie films that were never picked up for distribution. She did, however, meet her boyfriend Brian Van Holt on the set of indie movie Whipped (2000). Her turn as the ditzy hit-woman with the heart of gold in the hit comedy The Whole Nine Yards(2000), opposite Bruce Willis, took her from supporting role status to leading lady. That same year she was voted one of the 50 Most Beautiful People in the World by "People" Magazine.
Trivia
Graduated from
Columbia University in 1994.
Voted one of the 50
most beautiful people in the World 2000 by People Magazine.
Was maid of honor at
actress Lauren Holly's wedding to
Francis Greco. [10 March 2001]
Worked at the City
Crab restaurant in New York before hitting it big. (Source: Interview, "Larry King Live" (1985), 10 February 2000).
Replaced Amelia Heinle (the original Jack) in the "Jack & Jill" (1999) pilot episode.
Attended Friends
Seminary (k-12) with actor Liev
Schreiber: when he was a senior she was in the 7th grade.
Educated at an
all-girls' prep school in London.
Her father, Charles,
has been a prominent corporate attorney in New York City for decades.
Ranked #44 in Stuff
magazine's 102 Sexiest Women in the World (2002).
Engaged to David Benioff [July 22, 2005].
Has one older
sister.
Named #87 in FHM
magazine's 100 Sexiest Women in the World 2006 supplement. (2006).
Did not learn to
drive until she moved to Los Angeles, California, in 2000.
Her character on "Studio 60 on the Sunset
Strip" (2006), Jordan
McDeere, is based on former NBC president Jamie
Tarses.
Mother: the former
Larry (sic) Levy, who was born in England.
At age 35, she gave
birth to her first child. Daughter, Frances Pen, was born on February 20, 2007,
weighing 6 lbs, 10 oz (~3 kilograms). The baby's middle name is in honor of
Amanda's mother, Penny. Peet's second child, daughter Molly June Benioff was
born April 20, 2010.
Amanda and David
were married at her alma mater, Friends Seminary high school, in New York City.
Childhood friend of Jill Leiderman.
She studied drama at
HB Studio in Greenwich Village in New York City.
Returned to work
seven months after giving birth to her daughter Frances in order to begin
filming $5 a Day (2008).
Returned to work five
months after giving birth to her daughter Molly in order to begin filming Untitled Terrence Malick Project (2012).
Personal Quotes
And I also
definitely love glamor. I mean, I love getting dressed up, and having someone
do my make-up and feeling pretty. I'm not gonna lie about that, cause that's
part of what I love about what I do. But celebrity, it's like the feeling of
going to the prom, the adolescent feeling of popularity. As an actor, my main focus
is finding good writing and attacking a good role. I mean, I understand when
you're incredibly famous that it becomes difficult to deal with the publicity
aspect. But people who are like me, who go, "Oh, I'm not gonna do that.
I'm just here for the work!" I find it to be a little pretentious,
honestly. Cause you're not that famous. Calm down.
[2007] I'm not into
vilifying L.A., like "Everyone is so dumb, everyone has fake boobs . . .
" It's just not true. There's a lot of really smart, fascinating people
there. I'm a New Yorker who loves L.A.
Where Are They Now
(April 2006)
Starring on Broadway in Neil
Simon's "Barefoot in the Park".
