Debra Frances "Camryn" Manheim (born March 8, 1961)[2] is an American actress known for her roles as attorney Ellenor Frutt on ABC's The Practice, Delia Banks on CBS's Ghost Whisperer, Gladys Presley in the 2005 miniseries Elvis, and "Control" on Person of Interest. In 1999, Manheim won the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series for her work on The Practice. Since 2022, she has been part of the main cast of the revival of Law & Order.
Camryn Manheim | |
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![]() Manheim at the 2007 Tribeca Film Festival | |
Born | Debra Frances Manheim[1] (1961-03-08) March 8, 1961 (age 61) |
Education |
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Occupation | Actress |
Years active | 1983–present |
Children | Milo Manheim |
Debra Manheim was born in West Caldwell, New Jersey into a Jewish family,[3][4] the daughter of Sylvia (née Nuchow), a teacher, and Jerome Manheim, a mathematics professor and the Dean of Letters and Science at California State University Long Beach.[5][6] Her family relocated several times in her early childhood due to her father taking new teaching positions, and she spent her early years in Michigan and Peoria, Illinois.[7]
When Manheim was in sixth grade, her family relocated to Southern California, settling in Long Beach, where she attended Woodrow Wilson Classical High School.[8] She became interested in acting after working at a Renaissance faire during high school.[9] Manheim graduated from University of California, Santa Cruz with a BFA degree in 1984 and New York University's Tisch School of the Arts Graduate Acting Program with an MFA degree in 1987.[10] Her brother, Karl Manheim, is a law professor at Loyola Law School.[11][12]
Manheim worked for a while as a sign language interpreter at hospitals.[13] Her knowledge of sign language was used on The Practice, in an episode of Law & Order, and in her role as a child behavioral psychologist in the movie Mercury Rising.[citation needed] In 1983, she made a brief appearance as a girl in an elevator in Sudden Impact in the post-courtroom scene at the beginning.
Manheim's breakthrough was her one-woman show "Wake Up, I'm Fat", which played off-Broadway at Classic Stage Company in 1994.[14] She adapted the show into a book of the same name, which was published by Broadway Books in 1999.[15]
In 1999, Manheim collected an Emmy for her work on The Practice. In 1999, she was awarded the Women in Film Lucy Award.[16]
In 2005, Manheim earned Golden Globe and Emmy nominations for her work in the miniseries Elvis, and the following year she joined the cast of Ghost Whisperer. Her other television credits include Chicago Hope, Ally McBeal, Family Guy, Will & Grace, Boston Public, Two and a Half Men, The L Word, How I Met Your Mother and Hannah Montana. She also voiced Juliet in the episode "Company Picnic" of Dilbert on UPN in 2000.
In addition, Manheim has several film credits. These include Romy and Michele's High School Reunion, Happiness (which earned the cast a National Board of Review Award for Best Acting by an Ensemble), The Laramie Project, Scary Movie 3, Dark Water and An Unfinished Life.
In 2015, Manheim was in the Deaf West production of the musical Spring Awakening as Adult Women. The production, which had a cast composed half of hearing actors and half of deaf or hard-of-hearing actors, paired every deaf actor (who signed their lines in American Sign Language) with a hearing actor who said their lines verbally. Manheim voiced for Marlee Matlin as well as signing her own dialogue in the parts of Frau Bergmann, Fräulein Großebüstenhalter, and Fräulein Knuppeldick.
In August 2019, she was elected secretary-treasurer of the SAG-AFTRA union. Manheim was elected to the secretary-treasurer position with 16,047 votes. Candidates Jodi Long, Chuck Slavin and Rob Stats received 10,251, 2,204 and 1,790 votes respectively. She did not run for reelection in 2021, and was succeeded by Joely Fisher.
Manheim's son Milo Jacob Manheim was born on March 6, 2001.[17][18]
Manheim has been involved with the Los Angeles-based charity Bet Tzedek Legal Services – The House of Justice, serving as a co-chair for their annual fundraiser, the Justice Ball.[19][20]
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1983 | Sudden Impact | Girl in elevator | Uncredited |
1994 | Cracking Up | Unknown | |
1994 | The Road to Wellville | Virginia Cranehill | |
1995 | Jeffrey | Single woman | |
1996 | Eraser | Nurse | |
1996 | Rescuing Desire | Pappa | |
1997 | David Searching | Gwen | |
1997 | Romy and Michele's High School Reunion | Toby Walters | |
1998 | Fool's Gold | Patricia | |
1998 | Happiness | Kristina | |
1998 | Mercury Rising | Dr. London | |
1998 | Wide Awake | Sister Sophia | |
1998 | The Tic Code | Mrs. Swensrut | |
1998 | You Are Here | Registry woman | |
1999 | East of A | Agatha | |
1999 | Joe the King | Mrs. Basil | |
2000 | What Planet Are You From? | Alison | |
2003 | Scary Movie 3 | Trooper | |
2004 | The Land Before Time XI: Invasion of the Tinysauruses | Tria | Voice |
2004 | Twisted | Lisa | |
2005 | Dark Water | Teacher | |
2005 | Marilyn Hotchkiss' Ballroom Dancing and Charm School | Lisa Gobar | |
2005 | Snow Wonder | Bev | |
2005 | An Unfinished Life | Nina | |
2006 | The Land Before Time XII: The Great Day of the Flyers | Tria | Voice |
2007 | Slipstream | Barbara | |
2009 | Just Peck | Ms. Wood | |
2011 | Without Men | Boss | |
2012 | Jewtopia | Eileen Daniels | |
2013 | The Hot Flashes | Roxie Rosales | |
2014 | Fort McCoy | Florie | |
2015 | Cop Car | Bev | |
2015 | Return to Sender | Nancy | |
2018 | All About Nina | Debora |
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
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1991 | Law & Order | Leila | Episode: "Life Choice" |
1993 | Law & Order | Martha Rollins | Episode: "Benevolence" |
1994 | Law & Order | Beatrice Hines | Episode: "Nurture" |
1994 | New York Undercover | Bettina | Episode: "Blondes Have More Fun" |
1995 | ABC Afterschool Special | Rita | Episode: "Notes for My Daughter" |
1995 | Deadly Whispers | Betty | Television film |
1995 | One Life to Live | Rabbi Heller | 2 episodes |
1996 | Chicago Hope | Marge Stewart | Episode: "Sexual Perversity in Chicago Hope" |
1997–2004 | The Practice | Ellenor Frutt | Main role |
1998 | Ally McBeal | Ellenor Frutt | Episode: "The Inmates" |
2000 | Family Guy | Ellen Pine (voice) | Episode: "Dammit Janet" |
2000 | Loretta Clairborne Story | Janet MacFarland | Television film |
2000 | The 10th Kingdom | Snow White | 3 episodes |
2000 | Will & Grace | Sue | Episode: "Gypsies, Tramps and Weed" |
2001 | Boston Public | Ellenor Frutt | Episode: "Chapter Thirteen" |
2001 | A Girl Thing | Suzanne Nabor | Television film |
2001 | Jennifer | Suzzane Allen | Television film |
2001 | Kiss My Act | Samantha Berger | Television film, also co-executive producer |
2002 | The Laramie Project | Rebecca Hillicker | Television film |
2003 | The System | Peggy Barker | 9 episodes |
2004 | Higglytown Heroes | Camryn (voice) | Episode: "Twinkle Tooth" |
2004 | The L Word | Veronica Bloom | 4 episodes |
2004 | Strong Medicine | June | Episode: "Cinderella in Scrubs" |
2004 | Two and a Half Men | Daisy Ray | Episode: "A Kosher Slaughterhouse Out in Fontana" |
2005 | Elvis | Gladys Presley | 2 episodes |
2005 | How I Met Your Mother | Ellen Pierce | Episode: "Matchmaker" |
2006–2010 | Ghost Whisperer | Delia Banks | Main role (season 2–5) |
2007 | Hannah Montana | Margo | 2 episodes |
2007 | SeeMore's Playhouse | Herself | Episode: "Dental Visits" |
2009 | Jesse Stone: Thin Ice | Elizabeth Blue | Television film |
2010 | The Pregnancy Pact | Nurse Daly | Television film |
2011–2012 | Harry's Law | Kimberly Mendelsohn | 5 episodes |
2013 | Criminal Minds | Carla Hines | 2 episodes |
2013 | The Makeover | Colleen | Television film |
2013–2015 | Person of Interest | Control | 9 episodes |
2014 | Extant | Sam Barton | Main role (season 1) |
2015 | Hand of God | Dr. Langston | 2 episodes |
2016 | Code Black | Alice Williams | Episode: "Life and Limb" |
2016 | Masters of Sex | Alice | Episode: "In to Me You See" |
2016 | Younger | Jane Wray | 2 episodes |
2017 | Major Crimes | Winnie Davis | 3 episodes |
2018 | Living Biblically | Twila Meadows | Main role |
2018 | Waco | Balenda Thibodeau | 4 episodes |
2019 | Hell's Kitchen | Herself | Guest diner and Waterkeeper Alliance contributor; Episode: "Poor Trev" |
2019 | The Magicians | Sheila | 4 episodes |
2019–2020 | Stumptown | Mary Cosgrove | Main role |
2019 | Heartstrings | Betty Grover | 1 episode |
2020 | Utopia | Artemis | 2 episodes |
2021 | Big Shot | Coach McCarthy | Recurring role |
2022 | Law & Order | Kate Dixon | Main role (season 21) |
2022 | This Is Us | Debbie | 1 episode |
Year | Association | Category | Nominated work | Result |
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1998 | National Board of Review | Best Cast | Happiness | Won |
Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | The Practice | Won | |
Viewers for Quality Television | Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Drama Series | Nominated | ||
1999 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Won | |
Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Drama Series | Nominated | ||
Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Nominated | ||
Television Critics Association Awards | Individual Achievement in Drama | Nominated | ||
Viewers for Quality Television | Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Drama Series | Won | ||
2000 | Satellite Awards | Best Actress – Television Series Drama | Won | |
Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Nominated | ||
Viewers for Quality Television | Best Supporting Actress in a Quality Drama Series | Nominated | ||
2001 | Screen Actors Guild Awards | Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series | Nominated | |
2005 | Primetime Emmy Awards | Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie | Elvis | Nominated |
Satellite Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Nominated | ||
2006 | Golden Globe Awards | Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television Film | Nominated |
General | |
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National libraries | |
Other |