Camryn Manheim

Camryn Manheim, born Debra Frances Manheim on March 8, 1961, in West Caldwell, New Jersey, is an American actress whose work spans theater, television, and film. She was raised in a Jewish American household by her mother, Sylvia, a teacher, and her father, Jerome Manheim, a mathematics professor and Dean of Letters and Science at California State University Long Beach. Family relocations tied to her father's academic career brought her through Michigan and Peoria, Illinois before the family settled in Long Beach, California, where she attended Woodrow Wilson Classical High School. Her interest in acting developed during high school, sparked by her work at a Renaissance faire. She earned a BFA from the University of California, Santa Cruz in 1984 and an MFA from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Acting Program in 1987. Her brother, Karl Manheim, is a law professor at Loyola Law School.

Before establishing herself as a screen actress, Manheim worked as a sign language interpreter at hospitals. That skill later informed several of her professional roles, including her character on The Practice, appearances in the Law & Order episodes "Benevolence" and "Castle in the Sky," and her role as a child behavioral psychologist in Mercury Rising. Her theatrical breakthrough came in 1994 with the off-Broadway one-woman show Wake Up, I'm Fat, performed at Classic Stage Company. She later adapted the material into a book of the same title, published by Broadway Books in 1999. In 2015, Manheim appeared on Broadway in Spring Awakening.

Manheim gained widespread recognition through her portrayal of attorney Ellenor Frutt on the legal drama The Practice, a role she held from 1997 to 2004. Her performance earned her a Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series in 1999, the same year she received the Women in Film Lucy Award. She also received a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress, along with three Screen Actors Guild Award nominations. Subsequent television roles included Delia Banks on Ghost Whisperer from 2006 to 2010, the recurring character known as "Control" on Person of Interest from 2013 to 2015, Lieutenant Cosgrove on Stumptown from 2019 to 2020, and Gladys Presley in the 2005 miniseries Elvis. From 2022 to 2024, she played Kate Dixon, the lead role on Law & Order.

Her film work includes Romy and Michele's High School Reunion and Happiness, both released in 1997 and 1998 respectively, followed by What Planet Are You From? in 2000, Scary Movie 3 in 2003, Twisted and Dark Water in 2004 and 2005, An Unfinished Life in 2005, and Cop Car in 2015.

Manheim's son, Milo, was born on March 6, 2001, conceived via sperm donation from her close friend Jeffrey Brezovar. She has been involved with the Los Angeles-based charity Bet Tzedek Legal Services, serving as a co-chair for its annual fundraiser, the Justice Ball.