Lisa Edelstein ( ; born May 21, 1966) is an American actress and artist. She is known for playing Dr. Lisa Cuddy on the Fox medical drama series House (2004–2011). Between 2014 and 2018, Edelstein starred as Abby McCarthy in the Bravo series Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce.
Early life Edelstein was born in Boston, Massachusetts, to Bonnie and Alvin Edelstein, the youngest of three children in a Jewish family. Her father worked as a pediatrician at Chilton Memorial Hospital. She was raised in Wayne, New Jersey,Vaughan, Bonnia. "Small-Screen GemLisa Edelstein – The actress talks about her role on Relativity", Entertainment Weekly, October 6, 2008. Retrieved March 31, 2011. "Thanks to Relativity – and her role as lovelorn lesbian Rhonda – the Wayne, N.J., native has another opportunity to set a strong example." and attended Wayne Valley High School, graduating in 1984.Rohan, Virginia. "North Jersey-bred and talented too", The Record (Bergen County), June 18, 2007. Retrieved June 25, 2007. "Lisa Edelstein: Class of 1984, Wayne Valley High School"
At 16, Edelstein was a cheerleader for the New Jersey Generals. Edelstein participated in a protest against poor working conditions. She said she felt they were treated "like hookers" and helped organize a cheerleader walkout.
While living in New York, she became involved in the club scene (known there only as "Lisa E") with "celebutant" James St. James, who briefly refers to Edelstein in his 1999 book Disco Bloodbath. She caused enough of a stir in the community to be dubbed New York City's "Queen of the Night" by Maureen Dowd in a 1986 article of The New York Times entitled "Lisa In Wonderland."
Career Actress In response to the growing AIDS crisis of the 1980s, Edelstein wrote, composed and starred in an original musical called Positive Me which she performed at La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club in New York City, receiving many accolades. She followed that with a short stint hosting MTV's Awake on the Wild Side in 1990, then began working in earnest as an actress. She got her SAG card appearing as a backstage make-up artist in Oliver Stone's Jim Morrison biography The Doors, and then landed a quick series of guest roles on several popular comedies, including Mad About You, Wings, The Larry Sanders Show, and Sports Night, where she played a sports reporter who claimed to be a former lover of Josh Charles' character whom he did not remember. Perhaps most famous from this time was her appearances on Seinfeld, where she played George Costanza's girlfriend in the episodes "The Mango" and "The Masseuse."
Bigger roles in TV dramas soon followed, among them the lesbian sister on ABC's Relativity (1996); a high-priced call girl turned Rob Lowe's date on The West Wing (1999); a transgender woman on Ally McBeal (2000); and Ben Covington's (Scott Speedman) girlfriend on Felicity (2001). She also continued to land guest-star spots on such shows as ER, Frasier, Just Shoot Me!, Without a Trace, and Judging Amy, as well as small parts in the films What Women Want, Keeping the Faith, As Good as It Gets, and Daddy Day Care.
From 2004 to 2011, Edelstein portrayed Lisa Cuddy, the Dean of Medicine at Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital and frequent adversary, friend, and eventual girlfriend of title character Gregory House (Hugh Laurie) on Fox's TV series House. Edelstein has often spoken fondly of her experiences on the show and fellow cast and crew, especially her friendship and strong working relationship with Laurie.
In May 2011, Edelstein announced that she would not return for the eighth and final season of House. Starting in June 2011, she joined the cast of The Good Wife, where she played lawyer Celeste Serrano. She guest-starred in Scandal in 2013, and later three episodes of the ABC series Castle.
In 2014, Edelstein landed the lead role of Abby McCarthy in the Bravo series Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce, an hour-long dramedy loosely based on the book series by Vicki Iovine focusing on the lives of newly divorced, mid-life women. It ran for five seasons in which she got to expand her creative participation by becoming a producer, writer, and director on the series.
In 2018, Edelstein joined the cast of ABC's The Good Doctor in season two as Dr. Marina Blaize in a recurring role. This reunited her with House creator David Shore as well as with Richard Schiff, who played her father on Relativity.
Edelstein then joined the award-winning The Kominsky Method, a Netflix series that debuted in November 2018, playing the drug-addled daughter of Alan Arkin and working alongside such actors such as Michael Douglas, Paul Reiser and Chuck Lorre. During that time she also reunited with Rob Lowe, playing his ex-wife Gwyneth Morgan, and mother of TK Strand (Ronen Rubenstein) on the ABC drama series 9-1-1: Lone Star. She played a Holocaust survivor and adoptive mother in the Canadian indigenous TV drama Little Bird, which was nominated for 19 Canadian Screen Awards.
Edelstein is also a voice actress. Her roles include Mercy Graves in the DC Animated Universe, Sharri Rothberg in American Dad!, Kya in The Legend of Korra, and a guest role as Alexis in King of the Hill.
Other appearances Edelstein is a supporter of Best Friends Animal Society, of which she is an ambassador. She supports human rights organizations and is a patron of the arts. She has appeared in numerous magazines, including the September 2010 cover of H magazine.Edelstein on the cover of the September 2010 H mag at H's official site; Retrieved September 17, 2010 She posed for PETA in an ad promoting vegetarianism, a diet she has followed for most of her life.Christina Everett, "'House' Star, 44, Poses Nude for PETA," NY Daily News, April 18, 2012.
Art During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Edelstein began to sketch and paint. She began working with magic marker, and at the suggestion of her artist husband Robert Russell switched to watercolor as the size of each piece grew. Edelstein's portfolio is inspired by old family photographs that are "unintended moments, telling unintended truths".
Personal life Edelstein married artist Robert Russell in Los Angeles on May 25, 2014. She became a stepmother to Russell's two sons from a previous marriage.
Edelstein was raised in a traditional Jewish household that kept kosher, built a sukkah, attended synagogue on Shabbat, and discussed the weekly Torah portion at Shabbat dinner. After marrying artist Robert Russell, she resumed hosting Shabbat dinners, a practice the couple continued with extended family and friends.
Filmography Film Year Title Role Notes 1991 The Doors Makeup artist 1997 As Good as It Gets Woman at table 1998 Susan's Plan Penny Myers L.A. Without a Map Sandra 1999 30 Days Danielle 2000 Keeping the Faith Ali Decker What Women Want Dina 2003 Daddy Day Care Crispin's mother 2005 Say Uncle Sarah Faber 2013 She Loves Me Not Amy 2016 Joshy Claudia 2019 Phoenix, Oregon Tanya 2021 Dr. Bird's Advice for Sad Poets Elly 2023Swipe NYCSyd Short filmShadow Brother SundaySandra2024The Everything PotRachelAlso producer
Television Year Title Role Notes 1992 L.A. Law Francine Flicker Episode: "My Friend Flicker" Mad About You Lynne Stoddard Episode: "Out of the Past" 1993 Good Advice Robin Episode: "The Kiss" Seinfeld Karen "The Masseuse" and "The Mango" Wings Marsha Peebles Episode: "Labor Pains" 1994 The Larry Sanders Show Diane French Episode: "The Mr. Sharon Stone Show" Wild Oats Unknown Episode: "Pilot" 1995–97 Almost Perfect Patty Karp 8 episodes 1995 Partners Cindy Wolfe Episode: "Who's Afraid of Ron and Cindy Wolfe?" Superman: The Animated Series Mercy Graves (voice) 7 episodes A green check mark indicates that a role has been confirmed using a screenshot (or collage of screenshots) of a title's list of voice actors and their respective characters found in its credits or other reliable sources of information. 1996–97 Relativity Rhonda Roth Main role 1996Ned & Stacey Janine Episode: "Friends and Lovers" 1997 ER Aggi Orton Episode: "Ambush" 1998Frasier Caitlin Episode: "Frasier Gotta Have It" Just Shoot Me! Erin Simons Episode: "Sewer!" Indiscreet Beth Sussman Television film Nothing Sacred Rabbi Judith Fisher Episode: "Holy Words" 1999 Sports Night Bobbi Bernstein 2 episodes 1999–2000 The West Wing Laurie "Brittany" Rollins 5 episodes 2000 Grosse Pointe Shawn Shapiro Episode: "Satisfaction" 2000–01 Ally McBeal Cindy McCauliff 5 episodes 2001 Black River Laura Television filmThe Zeta ProjectGwen Evans (voice)Episode: "Ro's Reunion" 2001–02 Felicity Lauren 6 episodes 2002 Obsessed Charlotte Television film Leap of Faith Patty Main 2003 A Date with Darkness: The Trial and Capture of Andrew Luster Maeve Fox Television film Without a Trace Dr. Lianna Sardo Episode: "Moving On" The Practice Diane Ward 2 episodes Justice League Mercy Graves (voice) Episode: "Tabula Rasa" 2004 Judging Amy Sylvia Danforth Episode: "The Quick and the Dead" 2005Justice League Unlimited Mercy Graves (voice) Episode: "Clash"Fathers and Sons Irene Television film 2004–11 House Dr. Lisa Cuddy Main: Seasons 1–7People's Choice Award for Favorite TV Drama ActressSatellite Award for Best Supporting Actress – Series, Miniseries or Television FilmNominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama Series 2007 King of the Hill Alexis (voice) Episode: "The Powder Puff Boys" 2007–11 American Dad! Sharri Rothberg (voice) 6 episodes 2008 Special Delivery Maxine Carter Television film 2011 Childrens Hospital Herself/Lisa Cuddy Episode: "Run, Dr. Lola Spratt, Run!" The Good Wife Celeste Serano 3 episodes Paul The Male Matchmaker Jillian Episode: "Know When You Are Not Ready" 2012 Blue-Eyed Butcher Kelly Siegler Television film Elementary Heather Van Owen Episode: "The Long Fuse" 2013 House of Lies Brynn 2 episodes Scandal Sarah Stanner Episode: "Top of the Hour" Castle Rachel McCord 3 episodes 2013–14 The Legend of Korra Kya (voice) 14 episodes 2014–18 Girlfriends' Guide to Divorce Abby McCarthy Main Women's Image Network Award for Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series (2015, 2016) 2018–19 The Good Doctor Dr. Marina Blaize 6 episodes 2018–21 The Kominsky Method Phoebe Recurring roleNominated — Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series 2021–22 9-1-1: Lone Star Gwyneth Morgan Recurring (season 2); guest (season 3) 2023 Little Bird Golda Rosenblum TV Limited Series 2025 Going Dutch Nina Quinn Episode: "The Exes of Evil" Long Story Short Naomi Schwartz (voice) Main cast
Video games Year Title Role Notes 1997 Blade Runner Crystal Steele
Podcasts Year Title Role Notes 2020 Borrasca Leah Dixon
Awards Edelstein has been nominated by the Screen Actors Guild for the following performances: 15th SAG Awards: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Drama, nomination, for House (2009) 26th SAG Awards: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy, nomination, for The Kominsky Method (2020) 28th SAG Awards: Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy, nomination, for The Kominsky Method (2022) Edelstein has won the International Press Academy's Satellite Awards for the following performances:
10th Satellite Awards: Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, winner, for House (2005) 26th Satellite Awards: Outstanding Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, winner, for The Kominsky Method (2021)
In 2011, she won the People's Choice Award for Best Drama Actress in a TV Series for her portrayal of Dr. Lisa Cuddy on House.
Edelstein has won the Women's Image Network Awards for the following performances:
17th WIN Awards: Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series, winner, for Girlfriend's Guide to Divorce (2015) 18th WIN Awards: Outstanding Actress in a Comedy Series, winner, for Girlfriend's Guide to Divorce (2016)
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