Betsy Brandt

Betsy Brandt

Brandt at ComicCon, 2012
Born (1973-11-14) November 14, 1973
Bay City, Michigan, U.S.
Occupation Actress
Years active 1998–present
Spouse(s) Grady Olsen (1996 - present)
Children 2

Betsy Ann Brandt (14 November 1973) is an American actress. She is best known for portraying Marie Schrader in Breaking Bad. She currently co-stars in the CBS sitcom Life in Pieces.

Early life

Brandt, who is of German descent, was born November 14, 1973 in Bay City, Michigan,[1] the daughter of teacher Janet and electrician Gary.[2] She graduated from Bay City Western High School in Auburn, Michigan in 1991.[3]

Betsy Brandt took an interest in theater from an early age, but unlike many of her peers, she was more interested in directing stage musicals than starring in them. But after winning the lead in a high school production of Exit the Body, she shifted her focus to acting, which she studied at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, as well as the Moscow Theater School at Harvard and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. After graduation, Brandt moved to Seattle, WA, where she worked in theater while appearing in several short films, beginning with Confidence in 1998. She eventually moved to Los Angeles, where she soon landed guest roles on ER (NBC, 1994–2009) and "NCIS (CBS, 2003– ), among other series. In 2005, she was top-billed in the indie comedy Shelf Life, as a rebellious young woman who takes a job at a small town library after a stint in rehab.

She received her BFA in acting from the University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign in 1996.[4][5] She studied theater at Harvard University's Institute for Advanced Theater Training and the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama, Glasgow.[1]

Career

In theater, Brandt has acted in performances of Much Ado About Nothing with the Arizona Theatre Company, Control+Alt+Delete with the San Jose Repertory Theatre, Beth Henley's Ridiculous Fraud, Julia Cho's The Language Archive with South Coast Repertory, and Next Fall with Geffen Playhouse. She has had guest roles on the television shows Without a Trace, Judging Amy, ER, Boston Legal, The Practice, and NCIS.

From 2008 to 2013, Brandt portrayed Marie Schrader in the AMC drama series Breaking Bad. She auditioned for three different roles before being offered the part of Marie.[6] In 2012, she was cast as Sandy in Parenthood. Brandt was cast as Annie Henry on The Michael J. Fox Show, which premiered in September 2013.[4] Her performance was met with overwhelmingly positive reviews.[7]

In 2014, Brandt was cast as one of the lead characters in the ABC series Members Only created by Susannah Grant, but the series did not go forward.[8][9][10]

Personal life

Brandt is married to fellow UIUC graduate Grady Olsen; they have two children.[3][4][11] She gave birth to her second child in 2008 while the second season of Breaking Bad was in production. Brandt and her family reside in Los Angeles, California.[1]

On June 6, 2010, Brandt was honored as the 2010 Distinguished Alumnus at the Bay City Western High School commencement, and was a featured speaker.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1998 Confidence Natasha Short film
2001 Memphis Bound and Gagged The Director
2001 The Red Boot Diaries Rachel Short film
2004 Back When We Were Grownups Nono Television film
2004 Shelf Life Nikki Reynolds
2005 All Features Great and Small Jennifer Short film
2011 Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life Madame Zaleski
2012 Magic Mike Banker
2013 The Professor The Professor Short film
2014 Mothers of the Bride Haley Snow Television film
2016 Between Us

Television

Year Title Role Notes
2001 Judging Amy Elizabeth Granson Episode: "Imbroglio"
2002 JAG Leslie Rosenbaum Episode: "The Promised Land"
2003 ER Franny Myers Episode: "Death and Taxes"
2003 Without a Trace Libby Coulter 2 episodes
2003 The Guardian Sofia Trokey Episode: "The Intersection"
2004 NCIS PO Barbara Swain Episode: "The Good Wives Club"
2004 The Practice Lynda Hobbs Episode: "Adjourned (AKA Cheers)"
2005 Medical Investigation Karen Banks Episode: "Ice Station"
2006 CSI: Crime Scene Investigation Dawn Hanson Episode: "Burn Out"
2006 Close to Home Karen Randall Episode: "Reasonable Doubts"
2007 Boston Legal Gwen Richards Episode: "Hope and Gory"
2007 Side Order of Life Sara Rose Episode: "Aliens"
2008–2013 Breaking Bad Marie Schrader 51 episodes
Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2013)
Nominated—Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series (2011–2012)
2010 The Whole Truth Sister Theresa Bendicta Episode: "Thicker Than Water"
2010 Miami Medical Dana Episode: "Medicine Man"
2011 No Ordinary Family Dr. Lena Hopkins Episode: "No Ordinary Double Standard"
2011–2012 Private Practice Joanna Gibbs 2 episodes
2012–2015 Parenthood Sandy 7 episodes
2012 Fairly Legal Natalie Roberts Episode: "Shattered"
2013 Body of Proof Susan Hart Episode: "Eye for an Eye"
2013–2014 The Michael J. Fox Show Annie Henry 22 episodes
2014 Masters of Sex Barbara 7 episodes
2014 Members Only Leslie Holmes Pilot
2015–present Life in Pieces Heather Hughes Series regular

References

External links

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