Jill Eikenberry
Encyclopedia
Jill Eikenberry is an American film, stage, and television actress. She is best known for her role as lawyer Ann Kelsey in L.A. Law
(1986–1994). She has won an Obie Award
, been nominated five times for an Emmy Award
and four Golden Globes, winning one, and was nominated Drama Desk Award
in 2011.
, and was raised in Madison
, Wisconsin
and St. Joseph and Kansas City, Missouri
. She began studies in anthropology at Barnard College
but in her second year she auditioned for and was accepted into the Yale School of Drama
.
She met Michael Tucker
at the Arena Stage
in Washington, D.C.
, where they appeared together in The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail
(1970) and Moonchildren
(1971), the latter of which transferred to Broadway in 1972. She married Tucker in 1973 and they settled in New York City
. She has a son, Max, and a stepdaughter, actress Allison Tucker (by Michael's first marriage).
Her first role in film was a minor role in the television movie
, They've Killed President Lincoln (1971). Among her early feature films was Between the Lines (1977), directed by Joan Micklin Silver
. She and Michael Tucker had small roles in Lina Wertmuller
's 1978 success A Night Full of Rain
, and she also appeared in An Unmarried Woman
starring Jill Clayburgh
the same year.
Throughout the 1970s, Eikenberry's main focus was on theater. She made her Broadway
debut in 1974 in All Over Town, and later appeared Off-Broadway
in Uncommon Women and Others
which was later filmed for American public television
. She also starred in the musical Onward Victoria
(1980), which closed on opening night.
The 1980s saw a number of television films to her credit, and a major film success, Dudley Moore
's star vehicle Arthur (1981). In 1986, she and Michael Tucker scored a major success by each securing major parts in the successful television series L.A. Law
. They were given the roles by producer Steven Bochco
, who had been impressed by the pair when he used them for two episodes on his earlier hit Hill Street Blues
. Jill and Michael moved to Hollywood at this time, and it was in this period that Jill discovered she had breast cancer
, which was successfully treated over the next two years.
The event was significant in her life. In 1989, she co-produced a documentary for NBC
television called Destined to Live, which featured interviews with cancer survivors like herself, including Nancy Reagan
. She remains an activist for breast cancer research and early detection.
Eikenberry continued to appear in television movies over the next decade, while continuing her role on L.A. Law. With the financial success accruing from their L.A. Law work, Jill and Michael produced a number of television movies as vehicles in which they appeared together. They include Assault and Matrimony (1987), The Secret Life of Archie's Wife (1990), A Town Torn Apart (1992) and Gone in a Heartbeat (1996).
Since L.A. Laws run ended in 1994, her film and television appearances have been sporadic. One of her more recent roles was in the comedy Manna from Heaven (2003), in which she appeared with Cloris Leachman
and Shirley Jones
.
She has sung on stage and in films, and in recent years, she and her husband have written a number of songs. She currently resides in New York and Umbria
.
After meeting artist Emile Norman
, Eikenberry and Tucker purchased land from him to become his neighbors in Big Sur
, California. Becoming friends with him, they produced a 2008 PBS
documentary, Emile Norman: By His Own Design.
Eikenberry was also a guest star Numb3rs
in 2008, Law & Order
in 2009 and Body of Proof
in 2011. She played a role in the comedy film Something Borrowed
, which was released in May, 2011.
L.A. Law
L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...
(1986–1994). She has won an Obie Award
Obie Award
The Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
, been nominated five times for an Emmy Award
Emmy Award
An Emmy Award, often referred to simply as the Emmy, is a television production award, similar in nature to the Peabody Awards but more focused on entertainment, and is considered the television equivalent to the Academy Awards and the Grammy Awards .A majority of Emmys are presented in various...
and four Golden Globes, winning one, and was nominated Drama Desk Award
Drama Desk Award
The Drama Desk Awards, which are given annually in a number of categories, are the only major New York theater honors for which productions on Broadway, Off-Broadway, Off-Off-Broadway compete against each other in the same category...
in 2011.
Life and career
Eikenberry was born in New Haven, ConnecticutConnecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
, and was raised in Madison
Madison, Wisconsin
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the county seat of Dane County. It is also home to the University of Wisconsin–Madison....
, Wisconsin
Wisconsin
Wisconsin is a U.S. state located in the north-central United States and is part of the Midwest. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake Michigan to the east, Michigan to the northeast, and Lake Superior to the north. Wisconsin's capital is...
and St. Joseph and Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
. She began studies in anthropology at Barnard College
Barnard College
Barnard College is a private women's liberal arts college and a member of the Seven Sisters. Founded in 1889, Barnard has been affiliated with Columbia University since 1900. The campus stretches along Broadway between 116th and 120th Streets in the Morningside Heights neighborhood in the borough...
but in her second year she auditioned for and was accepted into the Yale School of Drama
Yale School of Drama
The Yale School of Drama is a graduate professional school of Yale University providing training in every discipline of the theatre: acting, design , directing, dramaturgy and dramatic criticism, playwriting, stage management, sound design, technical design and production, and theater...
.
She met Michael Tucker
Michael Tucker (actor)
Michael Tucker is an American actor and author, most widely known for his role in L.A. Law, a portrayal for which he received Emmy nominations three years in a row....
at the Arena Stage
Arena Stage
Arena Stage is a not-for-profit regional theater based in Southwest Washington, D.C. Its declared mission"is to produce huge plays of all that is passionate, exuberant, profound, deep and dangerous in the American spirit. Arena has broad shoulders and a capacity to produce anything from vast epics...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, where they appeared together in The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail
The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail
The Night Thoreau Spent in Jail is a two-act play by Robert Edwin Lee and Jerome Lawrence written in 1970. The play is based on the early life of the titular character, Henry David Thoreau, leading up to his night spent in a jail in Concord, Massachusetts...
(1970) and Moonchildren
Moonchildren
Moonchildren is a play by Brooklyn-based playwright Michael Weller. The play chronicles a year in the life of the "moonchildren" referred to in the title: eight college students living communally together in an off-campus attic in the mid 1960s.-Performances:The work was first performed in 1971...
(1971), the latter of which transferred to Broadway in 1972. She married Tucker in 1973 and they settled in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
. She has a son, Max, and a stepdaughter, actress Allison Tucker (by Michael's first marriage).
Her first role in film was a minor role in the television movie
Television movie
A television film is a feature film that is a television program produced for and originally distributed by a television network, in contrast to...
, They've Killed President Lincoln (1971). Among her early feature films was Between the Lines (1977), directed by Joan Micklin Silver
Joan Micklin Silver
Joan Micklin Silver is an American director.She was born in Omaha, Nebraska and received her B.A. From Sarah Lawrence College....
. She and Michael Tucker had small roles in Lina Wertmuller
Lina Wertmüller
Lina Wertmüller is an Italian film writer and director of aristocratic Swiss descent. In 1976, she became the first woman ever to be nominated for an Academy Award for Directing with the film Seven Beauties.-Biography:...
's 1978 success A Night Full of Rain
A Night Full of Rain
A Night Full of Rain is an Italian American film directed by Lina Wertmüller and stars Candice Bergen and Giancarlo Giannini.Lina Wertmuller was nominated as best director at the 28th Berlin International Film Festival in 1978....
, and she also appeared in An Unmarried Woman
An Unmarried Woman
An Unmarried Woman is a 1978 American comedy-drama film that tells the story of the wealthy New York wife Erica Benton whose “perfect” life is shattered when her stockbroker husband Martin leaves her for a younger woman. The film documents Erica's attempts at being single again, where she suffers...
starring Jill Clayburgh
Jill Clayburgh
Jill Clayburgh was an American actress. She received Academy Award nominations for her roles in An Unmarried Woman and Starting Over.-Personal life:...
the same year.
Throughout the 1970s, Eikenberry's main focus was on theater. She made her Broadway
Broadway theatre
Broadway theatre, commonly called simply Broadway, refers to theatrical performances presented in one of the 40 professional theatres with 500 or more seats located in the Theatre District centered along Broadway, and in Lincoln Center, in Manhattan in New York City...
debut in 1974 in All Over Town, and later appeared Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway
Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...
in Uncommon Women and Others
Uncommon Women and Others
Uncommon Women and Others , is the first play by noted 20th century American playwright Wendy Wasserstein.-1977 Off-Broadway debut:...
which was later filmed for American public television
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
. She also starred in the musical Onward Victoria
Onward Victoria
Onward Victoria is a musical with a book and lyrics by Charlotte Anker and Irene Rosenberg, and music by Keith Herrmann.Its subject is Victoria Woodhull, the 19th-century woman who with her sister were the first women to operate a brokerage firm, at which they became millionaires; and started a...
(1980), which closed on opening night.
The 1980s saw a number of television films to her credit, and a major film success, Dudley Moore
Dudley Moore
Dudley Stuart John Moore, CBE was an English actor, comedian, composer and musician.Moore first came to prominence as one of the four writer-performers in the ground-breaking comedy revue Beyond the Fringe in the early 1960s, and then became famous as half of the highly popular television...
's star vehicle Arthur (1981). In 1986, she and Michael Tucker scored a major success by each securing major parts in the successful television series L.A. Law
L.A. Law
L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,...
. They were given the roles by producer Steven Bochco
Steven Bochco
Steven Ronald Bochco is a US television producer and writer. He has developed a number of popular television hits including Hill Street Blues, L.A. Law, and NYPD Blue, as well as some notable flops such as Cop Rock....
, who had been impressed by the pair when he used them for two episodes on his earlier hit Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues
Hill Street Blues is an American serial police drama that was first aired on NBC in 1981 and ran for 146 episodes on primetime into 1987. Chronicling the lives of the staff of a single police precinct in an unnamed American city, the show received critical acclaim and its production innovations ...
. Jill and Michael moved to Hollywood at this time, and it was in this period that Jill discovered she had breast cancer
Breast cancer
Breast cancer is cancer originating from breast tissue, most commonly from the inner lining of milk ducts or the lobules that supply the ducts with milk. Cancers originating from ducts are known as ductal carcinomas; those originating from lobules are known as lobular carcinomas...
, which was successfully treated over the next two years.
The event was significant in her life. In 1989, she co-produced a documentary for NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
television called Destined to Live, which featured interviews with cancer survivors like herself, including Nancy Reagan
Nancy Reagan
Nancy Davis Reagan is the widow of former United States President Ronald Reagan and was First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989....
. She remains an activist for breast cancer research and early detection.
Eikenberry continued to appear in television movies over the next decade, while continuing her role on L.A. Law. With the financial success accruing from their L.A. Law work, Jill and Michael produced a number of television movies as vehicles in which they appeared together. They include Assault and Matrimony (1987), The Secret Life of Archie's Wife (1990), A Town Torn Apart (1992) and Gone in a Heartbeat (1996).
Since L.A. Laws run ended in 1994, her film and television appearances have been sporadic. One of her more recent roles was in the comedy Manna from Heaven (2003), in which she appeared with Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman
Cloris Leachman is an American actress of stage, film and television. She has won eight Primetime Emmy Awards—more than any other performer—and one Daytime Emmy Award...
and Shirley Jones
Shirley Jones
Shirley Mae Jones is an American singer and actress of stage, film and television. In her six decades of television, she starred as wholesome characters in a number of well-known musical films, such as Oklahoma! , Carousel , and The Music Man...
.
She has sung on stage and in films, and in recent years, she and her husband have written a number of songs. She currently resides in New York and Umbria
Umbria
Umbria is a region of modern central Italy. It is one of the smallest Italian regions and the only peninsular region that is landlocked.Its capital is Perugia.Assisi and Norcia are historical towns associated with St. Francis of Assisi, and St...
.
After meeting artist Emile Norman
Emile Norman
-Life:Emile Norman grew up with a club foot on a San Gabriel Valley walnut farm. From an early age he exhibited artistic talent, carving his first sculpture from a riverside rock at age 11, – ruining his father's chisels, but also gaining his respect....
, Eikenberry and Tucker purchased land from him to become his neighbors in Big Sur
Big Sur
Big Sur is a sparsely populated region of the Central Coast of California where the Santa Lucia Mountains rise abruptly from the Pacific Ocean. The name "Big Sur" is derived from the original Spanish-language "el sur grande", meaning "the big south", or from "el país grande del sur", "the big...
, California. Becoming friends with him, they produced a 2008 PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
documentary, Emile Norman: By His Own Design.
Eikenberry was also a guest star Numb3rs
NUMB3RS
Numb3rs is an American television drama which premiered on CBS on January 23, 2005, and concluded on March 12, 2010. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton, and follows FBI Special Agent Don Eppes and his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes , who helps Don solve crimes...
in 2008, Law & Order
Law & Order
Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,...
in 2009 and Body of Proof
Body of Proof
Body of Proof is an American medical drama television series created by Chris Murphey and produced by ABC Studios. Starring Dana Delany as medical examiner Dr. Megan Hunt, the series premiered on March 29, 2011 on ABC....
in 2011. She played a role in the comedy film Something Borrowed
Something Borrowed (film)
Something Borrowed is a 2011 American romantic comedy film based on Emily Giffin's book of the same name, directed by Luke Greenfield, starring Ginnifer Goodwin, Kate Hudson, Colin Egglesfield, and John Krasinski....
, which was released in May, 2011.
Awards
- Won an Obie AwardObie AwardThe Obie Awards or Off-Broadway Theater Awards are annual awards given by The Village Voice newspaper to theatre artists and groups in New York City...
for roles "Lemon Sky" (1985) and Life Under Water (1986). - She was nominated five times for an Emmy for her role on L.A. Law although she did not win.
- She was nominated four times for a Golden Globe for L.A. Law and she won in 1988.
- Humanitas Award for Destined to Live
- Cancer Survivors Hall of Fame, New York City (1998) .
- She was nominated Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a MusicalDrama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a MusicalThe Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Musical was first awarded in the 1974-1975 Drama Desk Awards and has subsequently been awarded every year. In the 1993-1994 Drama Desk Awards the award was given under the name of Outstanding Supporting Actress - Musical...
The KidThe Kid (musical)The Kid is a musical with a book by Michael Zam, music composed by Andy Monroe and lyrics by Jack Lechner. The comic story concerns an open adoption process by a same-sex couple. It is based on the 1999 non-fiction book by Dan Savage, The Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go...
(2011)
Filmography
| Year | Film | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | Between the Lines | Lynn | |
| 1978 | A Night Full of Rain A Night Full of Rain A Night Full of Rain is an Italian American film directed by Lina Wertmüller and stars Candice Bergen and Giancarlo Giannini.Lina Wertmuller was nominated as best director at the 28th Berlin International Film Festival in 1978.... |
||
| An Unmarried Woman An Unmarried Woman An Unmarried Woman is a 1978 American comedy-drama film that tells the story of the wealthy New York wife Erica Benton whose “perfect” life is shattered when her stockbroker husband Martin leaves her for a younger woman. The film documents Erica's attempts at being single again, where she suffers... |
Claire | ||
| Rush It Rush It Rush It is a 1977 film co-written and directed by Gary Youngman. The directorial debut film also featured the first acting role in a film by Tom Berenger.-Principal cast:... |
Merrill | ||
| 1979 | Uncommon Women and Others Uncommon Women and Others Uncommon Women and Others , is the first play by noted 20th century American playwright Wendy Wasserstein.-1977 Off-Broadway debut:... |
Kate Quin | |
| Butch and Sundance: The Early Days Butch and Sundance: The Early Days Butch and Sundance: The Early Days is a 1979 Western film and prequel to the 1969 film Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. It starred Tom Berenger as Butch Cassidy and William Katt as the Sundance Kid.... |
Mary Parker | ||
| Rich Kids | Juilliard Student | ||
| 1980 | Hide in Plain Sight | Alisa/Ali | |
| 1981 | Arthur | Susan Johnson | |
| 1985 | Kane & Abel | Susan Lester | TV mini-series |
| 1986 | The Manhattan Project Manhattan Project (film) The Manhattan Project is an American film, released in 1986. Named after the World War II-era program, the plot revolves around a gifted high school student who decides to construct a nuclear bomb for a national science fair. The film's underlying theme involves the Cold War of the 1980s when... |
Elizabeth Stephens | |
| 1986-1994 | L.A. Law L.A. Law L.A. Law is a US television legal drama that ran on NBC from September 15, 1986 to May 19, 1994. L.A. Law reflected the social and cultural ideologies of the 1980s and early 1990s and many of the cases featured on the show dealt with hot topic issues such as abortion, racism, gay rights,... |
Ann Kelsey | 171 episodes |
| 1991 | An Inconvenient Woman An Inconvenient Woman An Inconvenient Woman is a 1990 novel by Dominick Dunne. Its plot centers on the affair between married Jules Mendelson, an extremely influential member of Los Angeles high society, and Flo March, a diner waitress and aspiring actress whose life is transformed by the illicit relationship until she... |
Pauline Mendelson | |
| 1993 | Chantilly Lace Chantilly Lace (film) Chantilly Lace is a 1993 film shot in Sundance, Utah for the Showtime Network and eventually released on video via Columbia TriStar Home Entertainment. The film was directed by Linda Yellen and features a script that was largely improvised by its ensemble cast, led by JoBeth Williams, Helen... |
Val | |
| 1994 | Without Consent Without Consent Without Consent is a 1994 television film directed by Robert Iscove. The film, which was based on a true story, was received generally negatively, although the lead actors were praised for their roles.- Plot :... |
Michelle Mills | |
| Parallel Lives Parallel Lives (film) Parallel Lives is a 1994 TV movie, directed by Linda Yellen. The movie resumes some actors and similar patterns of the previous Yellen's work, Chantilly Lace... |
|||
| 1995 | The Other Woman | Tessa Bryan | |
| 1996 | My Very Best Friend | Barbara | |
| 2000 | Strong Medicine Strong Medicine Strong Medicine is a medical drama with a focus on feminist politics, health issues and class conflict. The television series aired on the Lifetime network from 2000 to 2006. It is distributed by Sony Pictures Home Entertainment. The series was created and produced in part by comedienne and... |
Evelyn Barrett | 1 episode |
| Judging Amy Judging Amy Judging Amy is an American television drama that was telecast from September 19, 1999, through May 3, 2005, on CBS-TV. This TV series starred Amy Brenneman and Tyne Daly... |
Sheila Townsend | 1 episode | |
| 2002 | Manna from Heaven Manna from Heaven (film) Manna from Heaven is a 2002 film written by Gabrielle B. Burton and co-directed by her daughter Gabrielle and her sister Maria. The film won awards at four film festivals. It was actor Jerry Orbach's final film.-Principal cast:-Critical reception:... |
Dottie | |
| Roughing It | Livy Clemens | ||
| L.A. Law: The Movie L.A. Law: The Movie L.A. Law: The Movie , is a television movie which reunited most of the original cast of the 1986-1994 television drama L.A. Law. Prominent castmembers who did not return included Blair Underwood , Jimmy Smits , Amanda Donohoe and John Spencer .The movie's initial working title was L.A... |
Ann Kelsey | ||
| 2007 | Suburban Girl | Marlene Eisenberg | |
| 2008 | Numb3rs NUMB3RS Numb3rs is an American television drama which premiered on CBS on January 23, 2005, and concluded on March 12, 2010. The series was created by Nicolas Falacci and Cheryl Heuton, and follows FBI Special Agent Don Eppes and his mathematical genius brother, Charlie Eppes , who helps Don solve crimes... |
Susan Doran | 1 episode |
| 2009 | Law & Order Law & Order Law & Order is an American police procedural and legal drama television series, created by Dick Wolf and part of the Law & Order franchise. It aired on NBC, and in syndication on various cable networks. Law & Order premiered on September 13, 1990, and completed its 20th and final season on May 24,... |
Irene Matson | 1 episode |
| 2011 | Body of Proof Body of Proof Body of Proof is an American medical drama television series created by Chris Murphey and produced by ABC Studios. Starring Dana Delany as medical examiner Dr. Megan Hunt, the series premiered on March 29, 2011 on ABC.... |
Lillian Parkson | 1 episode |
| Something Borrowed Something Borrowed (film) Something Borrowed is a 2011 American romantic comedy film based on Emily Giffin's book of the same name, directed by Luke Greenfield, starring Ginnifer Goodwin, Kate Hudson, Colin Egglesfield, and John Krasinski.... |
Bridget Thaler |
Broadway plays
- Moonchildren (1972)
- All Over Town (1974)
- Summer BraveSummer BraveSummer Brave is a play by William Inge, a revision of his Pulitzer Prize-winning 1953 play Picnic. Set in a small town in Kansas in the early 1950s, it focuses on Hal Carter, an attractive young stranger who drifts into town just before the annual Labor Day celebration and sets off a chain of...
(1975) - Watch on the RhineWatch on the RhineWatch on the Rhine is a 1943 American drama film directed by Herman Shumlin. The screenplay by Dashiell Hammett is based on the 1941 play of the same title by Lillian Hellman.-Plot:...
(1980) - Onward VictoriaOnward VictoriaOnward Victoria is a musical with a book and lyrics by Charlotte Anker and Irene Rosenberg, and music by Keith Herrmann.Its subject is Victoria Woodhull, the 19th-century woman who with her sister were the first women to operate a brokerage firm, at which they became millionaires; and started a...
(1980)