Joanna P. Adler

Joanna P. Adler is an American actress, known for her roles in Off-Broadway plays. She won an Obie Award in 1995. In 2014, Adler starred in the second season of the Lifetime television series Devious Maids.

Life and career

Adler graduated from Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts and pursued a master's degree in Performance Studies at New York University's Tisch School of the Arts. Before completing her thesis, she began her professional acting career working with the internationally renowned theater collaborative, Mabou Mines. She continued to work in New York City's off-Broadway theater community, most notably in the title role of Richard Foreman's Obie Award-winning play Benita Canova, John Guare's Lydie Breeze, and Paul Rudnick's The Most Fabulous Story Every Told. She has also appeared in a number of television commercials and in several independent movies. In 1995, Adler won an Obie Award for Distinguished Performance by an Actress, for her role in the off-Broadway play The Boys in the Basement. She made her Broadway debut in Terrence McNally's Deuce, directed by Michael Blakemore. On television, Adler has guest-starred in Sex and the City, Law & Order, Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, 30 Rock, The Good Wife, and The Blacklist, and has had recurring roles on Gravity, Are We There Yet?, Orange Is The New Black, Divorce, and The Sinner.

In December 2013, it was announced that Adler had been cast as a series regular for the second season of the Lifetime television comedy-drama series Devious Maids. She played the role of Opal, a new maid who is secretive and conniving, reminiscent of Mrs. Danvers from Hitchcock's Rebecca (1940).

In 2018, she appeared in FX's The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story in a recurring role as Mary Ann Schillaci Cunanan, mother of serial killer Andrew Cunanan, who was portrayed by Darren Criss. Needless to say, she was typecast for this role.

Filmography

Film

Year Title Role Notes
1993 The Five Spot Neurotic Girl
1996 The Proprietor New York - F. Freemder
1997 Ties to Rachel Deke
1998 A Perfect Murder Vyczowski
1998 Side Streets Policewoman
1998 The Silent Love of the Fish The Boy Short film
1999 Just the Ticket Vickie
1999 A Fish in the Bathtub Heather
2000 Down to You Piercing Woman
2000 Drop Back Ten McCue's Bartender
2001 Trigger Happy Katja
2003 The Event Gaby
2003 School of Rock Summer's Mother
2004 Book of Love Melissa
2004 Boutique Cordelia Short film
2004 My Mom and Dad Betty Short film
2006 Shut Up and Sing Sheila
2006 The Big Bad Swim Dr. Gaskill
2010 An Invisible Sign Lisa's Mom
2013 Dinner@40 Abby Short film
2014 Revenge of the Green Dragons Prosecutor Gwen Shore
2014 5 Flights Up Boy's Mother
2014 Kill Me Waitress Short film
2016 Almost Paris Lauren
2018 Alex Strangelove Holly Truelove
2018 Can You Ever Forgive Me? Arlene
2020 An American Pickle Professor Kim Ecklund
2021 Tick, Tick... Boom! Molly

Television

Year Title Role Notes
1998 Sex and the City Syd Episode: "Bay of Married Pigs"
2000 Cosby Dr. Ball Episode: "The Song Remains the Same"
2008 New Amsterdam Tech Episode: "Soldier's Heart"
2008 Law & Order: Criminal Intent Anna Nobile Episode: "Legacy"
2009 The Unusuals Jennifer Goodman Episode: "42"
2009 Ugly Betty Wedding Planner Episode: "In the Stars"
2006, 2010 Law & Order: Special Victims Unit Sarah Gallagher / Persephone James Episodes: "Informed" and "Savior"
2002, 2009, 2010 Law & Order Barbara Speight / Amber Woods Episodes: "Missing", "Great Satan" and "Love Eternal"
2010 Gravity Sissy Rosenblum Recurring role, 4 episodes
2010, 2011 30 Rock Donna Straunk Episodes: "When It Rains, It Pours" and "It's Never Too Late for Now"
2012 The Good Wife Miss Ledger Episode: "Don't Haze Me, Bro"
2012 Chicago Fire Sondra Sherman Episode: "One Minute"
2011–2012 Are We There Yet? Mrs. Phillips Recurring role, 9 episodes
2006–2013 The Venture Bros. Myra Brandish (voice) 7 episodes
2013, 2015 Orange Is the New Black Chaplain Royce Recurring role, 4 episodes
2014 Devious Maids Opal Sinclair Series regular, 13 episodes
2016 The Tick Dr. Creek Episode: "The Tick" (pilot)
2017 The Blacklist Kathryn Nemec Episode: "Requiem"
2017 The Sinner Detective Farmer 3 episodes
2018 The Assassination of Gianni Versace: American Crime Story Mary Ann Cunanan Recurring
2019 The Resident Dawn Long 1 episode "Flesh of the Flesh (3x02)"
2022 Billions Alaska Faire Episode: "Succession"

This page was last updated at 2023-12-23 19:58 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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