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IMDbPro

Brenda Strong

  • Actress
  • Producer
  • Director
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,000242
Brenda Strong
Selected Scenes from Episodes #405 and #406 13 Reasons Why
Play demo reel11:11
Director's Reel
10 Videos
99+ Photos
Brenda Strong may be best known for her seminal acting and voice portrayal of "Mary Alice Young" on Desperate Housewives, but this two-time Emmy-nominated and SAG Award-winning actress has had a long and endearing film and television career. In addition to her success as a working actress, in 2017 she joined her husband John Farmanesh-Bocca (aka John Farzad Strong), in creating their production company, End Stop Star Entertainment, which has produced two multi-award winning short films- 'I Did Not Forget You' and '#3 Normandy Lane.' The latter, her directorial debut, showed in 21 film festivals world-wide and won 12 film festival awards, including several best narrative short, best first-time filmmaker, and two best actress awards for her lead, Scottie Thompson. In 2019, she went on to direct two pivotal episodes on 13 Reasons Why for Netflix in their fourth and final season. She is currently prepping for her directorial film debut and is a proud DGA member. She is currently working on a series of books to empower women, both fiction and non-fiction.

Graduating with a degree in Musical Theatre from Arizona State University, she made her career debut with Mel Brooks' Spaceballs and Aaron Sorkin's Malice.

Television audiences have come to know her in such diverse roles as "Sue Ellen Mishke" (aka "The Braless Wonder) on Seinfeld, "Kathleen Isley" in Party of Five, "Sally Sasser" in Sports Night, and three seasons as "Ann Ewing" in Dallas, the reboot of Dallas, for TNT. Her more recent turns include "Ilene Stowe" in Season 2 of Fear the Walking Dead (2016-17) and as "Lillian Luthor" on CW's Supergirl (2016-21). She also played Nora Walker on 13 Reasons Why (2017-19)

In the world of Theatre, she played "Tamara", opposite Jack Stehlin, in Not Man Apart Physical Theatre Ensemble's/New American Theatre's co-production of "Titus Redux" at CTG's Kirk Douglas Theatre. Most recently on stage in Los Angeles, she played a fantasy role in Nick Jones' Ovation-nominated play, "Trevor", at Circle X Theatre, with Laurie Metcalf and Jimmi Simpson. She has been in two of John Farmanesh-Bocca's Multi-Award winning plays, "Tempest Redux", and "Lysistrata Unbound" starring in the titular role at The Odyssey Theatre. A bit of trivia: She sang with the Millennium Choir at the Vatican in 2000 and toured with composer Beppe Cantarelli as one of his premiere soloists, singing in Latin and Italian throughout Italy.
BornMarch 25, 1960
  • More at IMDbPro
    • Contact info
    • Agent info
    • Resume
BornMarch 25, 1960
IMDbProStarmeterTop 5,000242
  • View contact info at IMDbPro
    • Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys
      • 14 wins & 10 nominations total

    Photos188

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    Known for

    Dina Meyer and Casper Van Dien in Starship Troopers (1997)
    Starship Troopers
    7.3
    • Captain Deladier
    • 1997
    Desperate Housewives (2004)
    Desperate Housewives
    7.6
    TV Series
    • Mary Alice Young
    Mel Brooks, Bill Pullman, John Candy, Rick Moranis, and Daphne Zuniga in Spaceballs (1987)
    Spaceballs
    7.1
    • Nurse
    • 1987
    #3 Normandy Lane (2019)
    #3 Normandy Lane
    Short
    • Producer
    • 2019

    Credits

    Edit
    IMDbPro

    Actress



    • Song of the Bigfoot
      • Ms. Tig
      • Post-production
    • The Venery of Samantha Bird
      • Nan Bird
      • In Production
      • TV Series



    • Delroy Lindo and Kerry Washington in Unprisoned (2023)
      Unprisoned
      7.0
      TV Series
      • Nadine Gregory
      • 2023–2024
    • Courtney B. Vance in 61st Street (2022)
      61st Street
      6.8
      TV Series
      • Kim Pearson
      • 2023
    • Dan Jeannotte and Eloise Mumford in Sweeter Than Chocolate (2023)
      Sweeter Than Chocolate
      6.7
      TV Movie
      • Helen Sweet
      • 2023
    • David Harewood, Chyler Leigh, Jesse Rath, Azie Tesfai, Melissa Benoist, Katie McGrath, and Nicole Maines in Supergirl (2015)
      Supergirl
      6.2
      TV Series
      • Lillian Luthor
      • 2016–2021
    • Tar Pit (2021)
      Tar Pit
      Short
      • Catherine
      • 2021
    • Dylan Minnette and Katherine Langford in 13 Reasons Why (2017)
      13 Reasons Why
      7.4
      TV Series
      • Nora Walker
      • 2018–2020
    • Megan Park, Whitmer Thomas, and Mickey Gooch Jr. in Deported (2020)
      Deported
      4.0
      • Mrs. Becker
      • 2020
    • All Rise (2019)
      All Rise
      7.1
      TV Series
      • Jean Rubenstone-Frost
      • 2020
    • Dylan Minnette in 13 Reasons Why: Season 3 Promo (2019)
      13 Reasons Why: Season 3 Promo
      7.4
      Short
      • Nora Walker
      • 2019
    • Christopher Larkin, Devon Bostick, Eliza Taylor, Bob Morley, Marie Avgeropoulos, and Thomas McDonell in The 100 (2014)
      The 100
      7.5
      TV Series
      • Queen Nia
      • 2016–2019
    • Pillow Talk (2017)
      Pillow Talk
      4.5
      TV Series
      • Barbara
      • 2017
    • Kim Dickens and Lennie James in Fear the Walking Dead (2015)
      Fear the Walking Dead
      6.8
      TV Series
      • Ilene Stowe
      • 2016–2017
    • Road to Redemption (2016)
      Road to Redemption
      5.8
      • Abigail (rumored)
      • 2016
    • Notorious (2016)
      Notorious
      6.6
      TV Series
      • Maggie Sherman
      • 2016
    • Brenda Strong, Benjamin Ayres, and Beau Garrett in Love by Chance (2016)
      Love by Chance
      6.2
      TV Movie
      • Helen Michaels
      • 2016

    Producer



    • #3 Normandy Lane (2019)
      #3 Normandy Lane
      Short
      • executive producer
      • 2019
    • Fallen (2017)
      Fallen
      6.7
      • producer
      • 2017
    • I Did Not Forget You (2015)
      I Did Not Forget You
      8.5
      Short
      • executive producer
      • producer
      • 2015

    Director



    • Dylan Minnette and Katherine Langford in 13 Reasons Why (2017)
      13 Reasons Why
      7.4
      TV Series
      • Director
      • 2020
    • #3 Normandy Lane (2019)
      #3 Normandy Lane
      Short
      • Director
      • 2019

    • In-development projects at IMDbPro

    Verified affiliations

    Learn more at IMDbPro
    SAG-AFTRA

    Videos10

    Director's Reel
    Demo Reel 11:11
    Director's Reel
    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:04
    Official Trailer
    Official Trailer
    Trailer 2:04
    Official Trailer
    Good Graces
    Trailer 0:33
    Good Graces
    Dallas
    Trailer 1:00
    Dallas
    Ice Sculpture Christmas
    Trailer 0:33
    Ice Sculpture Christmas
    Teacher of the Year
    Trailer 1:24
    Teacher of the Year

    Personal details

    Edit
    • Official site
      • X
    • Height
      • 5′ 11″ (1.80 m)
    • Born
      • March 25, 1960
      • Portland, Oregon, USA
    • Spouses
        John Farzad StrongMay 2, 2015 - present
    • Children
      • Zak Henri
    • Parents
        Jack Strong
    • Other works
      TV commercial for Jif Peanut Butter.
    • Publicity listings
      • 1 Interview
      • 3 Articles

    Self-verified on IMDbPro

    • Gender / Gender identity
      • Female

    Did you know

    Edit
    • Trivia
      Miss Arizona 1980 in the 1981 Miss America pageant.
    • Trademark
        Statuesque height

    FAQ

    Powered by Alexa
    • How old is Brenda Strong?
      65 years old
    • When was Brenda Strong born?
      March 25, 1960
    • Where was Brenda Strong born?
      Portland, Oregon, USA
    • What is Brenda Strong's birth name?
      Brenda Lee Strong
    • How tall is Brenda Strong?
      5 feet 11 inches, or 1.80 meters

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