Lisa Ann Walter
Lisa Ann Walter is an American actress, comedian, writer and film producer. She has appeared in such films as the 1998 version of The Parent Trap, Bruce Almighty, Shall We Dance, and War of the Worlds. Walter also created and starred in the short-lived 1996–1997 sitcom, Life's Work. She was a judge on ABC's reality television series The Next Best Thing: Who Is the Greatest Celebrity Impersonator?. She also won for her charity in a celebrity edition of The Weakest Link.
Lisa Ann Walter | |
---|---|
Walter in 2015 | |
Born | Silver Spring, Maryland, U.S. |
Occupation | Actress, comedian, producer, writer |
Years active | 1995–present |
Children | 4 |
Early life
Walter was born in Silver Spring, Maryland. She and her older sister, Laura, are the children of a geophysicist father who was born in France, and a substitute-teacher mother who was born in Sicily. The family lived in different places following their father's work, and their childhood homes included Germany and the suburbs of Washington, D.C..[1] Her ancestry also includes German.[2] She graduated with a theater degree from Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C., in 1983.[1]
Personal life
Walter resides in Los Angeles with her four children, including son Jordan, daughter Delia, and twin boys Simon and Spencer (born October 11, 2001).
Career
After five years of standup comedy, she was cast to star in her own Fox Network comedy series, My Wildest Dreams, followed by an ABC sitcom, Life's Work, which she both created and starred in. Walter also co-starred in the Bravo series Breaking News and in the NBC sitcom Emeril.
In addition to Bruce Almighty (2003) and Shall We Dance (2004), Walter co-starred in the Disney film The Parent Trap (1998); in the remake of the original classic, she appeared as Chessy, the nanny to Dennis Quaid's character's daughter, who was played by a young Lindsay Lohan. Prior to that, she played Whoopi Goldberg's tarty sidekick Claudine in Eddie (1996).
In early 2007, Walter had a supporting role as Mabel the bartender in the MyNetworkTV soap opera Watch Over Me. Later that May she served as a judge on the ABC reality TV show The Next Best Thing, which searched for the best celebrity impersonators in America.
In early 2008, Walter was in the comedy film Drillbit Taylor, and also starred on the VH1 reality series Celebracadabra, in which celebrities competed to see who was the best magician among them. She made it to the final three but was eliminated in the sixth episode. She has developed a series for the Oxygen network called Dance Your Ass Off. On December 19, 2011, she appeared on Rizzoli & Isles as a ballet coach, J.J. It was far from her usual role, as she played a very serious character in a drama. Her comic memoir, "The Best Thing About My Ass Is That It's Behind Me" was published in May 2011.
Beginning in May 2011, Walter hosted The Fabulous Lisa Ann Walter Show, a talk show on the Los Angeles radio station KFI. The program aired for three hours each Saturday and Sunday. In August 2014, Walter quit in order to focus on her acting career.
Filmography
Film
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1996 | Eddie | Claudine | |
1998 | The Parent Trap | Chessy | |
2000 | Get Your Stuff | Nancy Perry | |
2001 | Early Bird Special | Janet | |
2003 | Bruce Almighty | Debbie | |
2004 | Shall We Dance? | Bobbie | |
2005 | War of the Worlds | Cheryl | |
2005 | The Trouble with Dee Dee | Dee Dee Rutherford | |
2006 | Room 6 | Sgt. Burch | |
2006 | Coffee Date | Sara | |
2006 | Man vs. Monday | Joan | Short film |
2007 | Graduation | Carol | |
2007 | Entry Level | Kathie | |
2008 | Drillbit Taylor | Dolores | |
2010 | Wreckage | Dr. Richardson | |
2010 | Killers | Olivia Brooks | |
2010 | Monsters Under the Bed | Leslie Branson | Short film |
2012 | Wedding Day | Chef Cherie | |
2013 | Feels So Good | Lisa Wright | |
2014 | Wish Wizard | Helga | Short film |
2015 | You Can't Have It | Suzanne | |
2015 | Dependent's Day | Bette | |
2015 | The LA Spinster | Lisa | Short film |
2017 | The Ice Cream Truck | Christina | Film |
2019 | Stripped | Margot Mathison |
Television
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
1995 | My Wildest Dreams | Lisa McGinnis | Main role |
1996–1997 | Life's Work | Lisa Ann Hunter | Main role |
1997 | Late Bloomer | Cassie Baltic | TV film |
1998 | The Love Boat: The Next Wave | Audrey Cranston | "How Long Has This Been Going On?" |
2000 | Curb Your Enthusiasm | Nurse | "Interior Decorator" |
2000–2001 | Emeril | Cassandra Gilman | Recurring role |
2001 | Strong Medicine | Rita Harper | "Hot Flash" |
2002 | Breaking News | Rachel Glass | Main role |
2004 | Las Vegas | Rose Gluck | "Sons and Lovers" |
2006 | Modern Men | Iris | "Kyle Dates Up" |
2006 | Nip/Tuck | Mrs. Hickock | "Reefer" |
2006 | Watch Over Me | Mabel | "Pilot", "The Engagement", "Goodbye" |
2011 | Rizzoli & Isles | Coach JJ | "Don't Stop Dancing, Girl" |
2013–2015 | The Exes | Margo | "Defending Your Wife", "What Dreams May Come", "Along Came Holly" |
2016 | The Odd Couple | ||
2017 | GLOW | Lorene | "Debbie Does Something" |
2019 | Grey’s Anatomy | Shirley Gregory | "Reunited" |
References
- Knutzen, Eirik (October 20, 1996). "Pennsylvanians Collaborate on 'Life's Work'". The Morning Call. Allentown, Pennsylvania. Archived from the original on July 19, 2020. Retrieved July 19, 2020.
Born in Bellefonte to a geophysicist father born in Alsace and a substitute teacher mother from Sicily, Walter and her older sister, Laura, grew up on the road as their father's profession took them to the Max Planek Institute in Germany and NASA positions in the Washington, D.C. area.
- Walter, Lisa Ann [@LisaAnnWalter] (July 23, 2014). "I'M part German, but not FROM there" (Tweet). Archived from the original on July 19, 2020 – via Twitter.
External links
- Lisa Ann Walter at IMDb
- Walter, Lisa Ann (May 16, 2011). "Actress recalls her Italian family's love of food". Today.