Monica Potter (born June 30, 1971) is an American film and television actress.

Biography

Early life

Potter, one of four daughters,^[1] was born Monica Gregg Brokaw^[2] in Cleveland, Ohio, to an Irish American Catholic^[1][3] family. Her father, Paul Brokaw, was an inventor who invented the first flame-resistant car wax, and her mother, Nancy, was a secretary.^[1] During her childhood, she was a part of the St. Jerome Parish in Cleveland, and attended the local elementary school, as well as Villa Angela Catholic School for Girls, before graduating from Euclid High School.^[4] She also spent part of her early years in Arab, Alabama. Potter had wanted to be an actress since childhood, as well as a nun.^[1]

Career

At the age of twelve, Potter started modeling and appearing in commercials in Chicago and Miami, before deciding to pursue an acting career. Her very first role on television was as a "Dalina" in the English version of the Peruvian TV show Nubeluz. Then she found a role on the daytime soap opera The Young and the Restless as Sharon Abbott in 1994. She has since appeared in several feature films, including Con Air (playing the wife of Nicolas Cage's character) and starring opposite Robin Williams in Patch Adams. In 1998, she also played the love interest, and eventual girlfriend, of Steve Prefontaine in the movie Without Limits. In 2001, she had two major roles, co-starring with Freddie Prinze Jr. in Head Over Heels, and with Morgan Freeman in the thriller Along Came a Spider. She was a series regular on Boston Legal but left after the first season. She was also in the Alan Jackson music video for "Tall Tall Trees".

Adam Duritz of Counting Crows wrote the song "Mrs. Potter's Lullaby" about her after seeing her in a film. This led to a relationship between the two.

Personal life

Potter was married to Tom Potter from 1990 to 1998, and they have two sons. She married Daniel Christopher Allison, an orthopedic surgeon, in June 2005. Potter and Allison had their first child, a daughter named Molly Brigid Allison, on August 3, 2005.

Potter was named "Best Movie Star Loyal to Cleveland" by ClevelandScene.com for her insistence on keeping her family in the Ohio city even after Hollywood success. "It's a great place to raise kids. I had a very happy childhood there, growing up on a special street where everyone knew everyone," said Potter in an interview with Maxim magazine in March 2001.

Filmography

References

External links

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