Ari Graynor
Ari Graynor | |
|---|---|
 Graynor at the 2017 Montclair Film Festival | |
| Born | Ariel Geltman Graynor April 27, 1983 Boston, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Alma mater | Trinity College |
| Occupation | Actress |
| Years active | 2001–present |
Ariel Geltman Graynor (born April 27, 1983) is an American actress, known for her roles in TV series such as I'm Dying Up Here, The Sopranos, and Fringe, in stage productions such as Brooklyn Boy and The Little Dog Laughed, and in films such as Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, The Sitter and For a Good Time, Call... She also starred as Meredith Davis on the short-lived CBS television sitcom Bad Teacher in 2014 and as Leslie Abramson in the Netflix drama series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story in 2024.
Early life
[edit]Graynor was born April 27, 1983, in Boston, Massachusetts, the daughter of Joani Geltman, a parenting expert, and Greg Graynor, a contractor.[1][2]
Her mother is from a Jewish family; her father is from a Polish and Roman Catholic background, and converted to Judaism. Graynor was raised Jewish.[3][4] Her paternal grandfather's surname was changed from "Gryzna".[5]
She attended Buckingham Browne & Nichols, a private school in Cambridge, Massachusetts (Class of 2001), and Trinity College, Hartford, Connecticut.[citation needed]
During a June 29, 2017, CBS late-night interview with Stephen Colbert, promoting I'm Dying Up Here, she mentioned she went to a prom with future congressman Joseph Kennedy III.
Career
[edit]Graynor first came to prominence as Caitlin Rucker on HBO's The Sopranos. Her film credits include An American Crime (2007), which premiered in January 2007 at the Sundance Film Festival. She also appeared early in the second season of UPN's Veronica Mars as the daughter of a bus driver. She made her Broadway debut as 'Alison' in 2005's Brooklyn Boy after appearing in the world premiere at South Coast Repertory. She also appeared in The Little Dog Laughed.
Graynor played Elvina, a pop star, in CSI: Miami, and was a recurring guest star on the Fox series Fringe, playing Agent Olivia Dunham's younger sister, Rachel. In 2008, Graynor appeared in the film Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, and in October 2009, she also was in Whip It, a comedy film directed by Drew Barrymore and written by Shauna Cross, based on Cross' young adult novel Derby Girl.
In 2010, she appeared in the play Trust at the off-Broadway Second Stage theatre company with Sutton Foster, Zach Braff, and Bobby Cannavale. In the fall of 2011, she appeared on Broadway in the Woody Allen-written segment of three one-act comedies collectively called Relatively Speaking.[6][7] She played Nina Roth in Allen's “Honeymoon Motel” segment.
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In 2012, Graynor starred in the comedy For a Good Time, Call..., and is also credited as the film's executive producer.[8] Graynor starred on Broadway opposite Cheyenne Jackson, Henry Winkler, and Alicia Silverstone in David West Read's play The Performers, which opened November 2012 at the Longacre Theatre.
She appeared in Yen, a play by Anna Jordan. Yen opened off-Broadway at the Lucille Lortel Theatre on January 31, 2017, directed by Trip Cullman.[9]
In 2024, she starred as Leslie Abramson, Erik Menendez's lead attorney, in the Netflix crime drama series Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story.[10]
Filmography
[edit]Film
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | Mystic River | Eve Pigeon | Film debut |
| 2004 | Book of Love | Naomi | |
| Imaginary Heroes | Jenny | ||
| Bereft | Louise | ||
| 2005 | Game 6 | Laurel Rogan | |
| The Great New Wonderful | Lisa Krindel | Segment "Emme's Story" | |
| 2006 | For Your Consideration | Young PA | |
| 2007 | An American Crime | Paula Baniszewski | |
| Turn the River | Charlotte | ||
| 2008 | Blues | Tara | |
| Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist | Caroline | ||
| 2009 | Youth in Revolt | Lacey | |
| Whip It | Eva Destruction | ||
| 2010 | Holy Rollers | Rachel Apfel | |
| Date Night | Young Woman | ||
| Conviction | Mandy Marsh | ||
| No Deal | Cassie | Short film | |
| 2011 | Lucky | Lucy St. Martin | |
| 10 Years | Sam | ||
| What's Your Number? | Daisy Darling | ||
| The Sitter | Marisa Lewis | ||
| 2012 | Celeste & Jesse Forever | Beth | |
| For a Good Time, Call... | Katie Steele | Also executive producer | |
| The Guilt Trip | Joyce Margolis | ||
| 2016 | Wiener-Dog | Carol Steinhart | |
| Join the Club | Nina | Short film | |
| 2017 | The Disaster Artist | Juliette Danielle | |
| 2018 | The Front Runner | Ann Devroy | |
| 2020 | Like a Boss | Angela | |
| 2023 | The Anne Frank Gift Shop | Amy | Short film |
Television
[edit]| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | The Sopranos | Caitlin Rucker | Television debut, recurring role; 4 episodes |
| 2003 | Law & Order: Special Victims Unit | Missy Kurtz | Episode: "Damaged" |
| 2005 | Veronica Mars | Jessie Doyle | Episode: "Driver Ed" |
| 2007 | CSI: Miami | Elvina | Episode: "Rush" |
| Numbers | Ella Pierce | Episode: "Tabu" | |
| 2008–2012 | American Dad! | Additional voices | Voice role; 5 episodes |
| 2009–2010 | Fringe | Rachel/Kelsie | Recurring role; 10 episodes |
| 2010 | The Cleveland Show | BigSkeez | Voice role; Episode: "Our Gang" |
| 2011 | Family Guy | Kitty Hawk Woman | Voice role; Episode: "Amish Guy" |
| 2014 | Bad Teacher | Meredith Davis | Series regular; 13 episodes Also producer |
| Garfunkel and Oates | Cornish | Episode: "Third Member" | |
| 2015 | Kroll Show | Proctor | Episode: "Karaoke Bullies" |
| 2017–2018 | I'm Dying Up Here | Cassie Feder | Series regular; 20 episodes |
| 2019 | SMILF | Emma | Episode: "So Maybe I Look Feminine" |
| 2020 | Mrs. America | Brenda Feigen-Fasteau | Miniseries |
| Home Movie: The Princess Bride[11] | Valerie | Episode: "Chapter Nine: Have Fun Storming the Castle!" | |
| 2022 | Surface | Caroline | Main role |
| 2023 | Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty | Honey Kaplan | Recurring role |
| 2024 | Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story | Leslie Abramson | Main role |
References
[edit]- ^ "Ari Graynor Biography". Tvguide.com. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
- ^ Blank, Matthew (September 20, 2011). ""Relatively Speaking" star Ari Graynor". Playbill. Archived from the original on October 17, 2013. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
- ^ "Hollywood Now: Chris Pine, Rachel Weisz & Ari Graynor, Plus So Many Babies!". InterfaithFamily. May 30, 2017. Retrieved September 26, 2019.
- ^ "Ari Graynor talks about 'Holy Rollers' and 'What's Your Number'". Nypost.com. May 12, 2010. Archived from the original on November 18, 2010. Retrieved December 5, 2010.
- ^ "Ari Graynor on Jewish Mothers and Phone Sex – The Arty Semite". Blogs.forward.com. August 31, 2012. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
- ^ "Ari Graynor: Anatomy of a Sundance 'it' girl". Los Angeles Times. January 25, 2012.
- ^ Yuan, Jada. "Ari Graynor on Moving Beyond Best-Friend Roles". Vulture. Retrieved October 3, 2013.
- ^ Lawrence, Vanessa (August 2012). "On the Verge: Ari Graynor". W. Condé Nast: 43. Archived from the original on October 16, 2015. Retrieved November 12, 2013.
- ^ Clement, Olivia. " 'Yen', with Oscar Nominee Lucas Hedges, Opens Jan. 31" Playbill, January 31, 2017
- ^ Burack, Emily (September 19, 2024). "The Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story Casting Is So Spot-On". Town & Country.
- ^ Breznican, Anthony (June 26, 2020). "Watch the Celebrity-Filled Fan-Film Version of The Princess Bride". Vanity Fair. Retrieved June 26, 2020.
External links
[edit]
- Ari Graynor at IMDb
- 1983 births
- Actresses from Boston
- American film actresses
- American people of Polish descent
- Jewish American actresses
- American television actresses
- Living people
- Trinity College (Connecticut) alumni
- 21st-century American actresses
- Buckingham Browne & Nichols School alumni
- 21st-century American Jews
- Jewish actresses