Laura San Giacomo
Encyclopedia
Laura San Giacomo is an American
actress known for playing the role of Maya Gallo on the NBC
sitcom Just Shoot Me!
and Kit De Luca in the film Pretty Woman
, and Cynthia in sex, lies, and videotape
as well as other work on television
and in film
s. She most recently played the role of Holly Hunter's
childhood best friend on the TNT crime drama series Saving Grace
.
, was born in West Orange, New Jersey
, the daughter of MaryJo and John San Giacomo, a paper mill
owner. She grew up in Denville, New Jersey
. San Giacomo discovered acting while attending Morris Knolls High School
. Laura got a Fine Arts degree, specializing in acting, at Carnegie Mellon School of Drama (Pittsburgh). After graduating in 1984, she moved to New York. San Giacomo then went on to appear in several theater productions. San Giacomo has appeared on the Los Angeles
stage in the Garry Marshall
-Lowell Ganz
production of Wrong Turn at Lungfish, the Princeton/McCarter Theatre production of Three Sisters and Off-Broadway in Beirut. She has also starred in Italian American Reconciliation
, regional productions of Shakespeare's The Tempest, As You Like It and Romeo And Juliet, as well as Crimes of The Heart.
in 1989 for the episode, "Leap Of Faith" as Tania Lewis. This also featured a guest appearance by her future husband, actor Cameron Dye
, one year before their marriage. Prior to that, she was featured on the daytime soap opera All My Children
as Louisa Sanchez, the Latina common-law wife of Mitch Beck (Brian Fitzpatrick) whose presence threatened to thwart his relationship with Hillary Martin (Carmen Thomas).
However, San Giacomo first drew international attention in Steven Soderbergh
's Sex, Lies, and Videotape
(1989), which also marked her film debut as a credited actor (in the 1988 movie Miles from Home her role as "Sandy" was not credited). Her work in S, L & V was nominated for a Golden Globe, and she received a Los Angeles Film Critics Association
New Generation Award. The film was honored with the Cannes Film Festival
's prestigious Grand Prize, the Palme d'Or
.
San Giacomo cemented her reputation as a bankable actress from her role as Julia Roberts
' character's wisecracking friend Kit De Luca in Pretty Woman
(1990). The blockbuster
ended up generating $178 million at the box office
. San Giacomo has appeared in such films as Miles from Home
(1988), Quigley Down Under
(1990), Vital Signs (1990), Under Suspicion
(1991), Once Around
(1991), Where the Day Takes You
(1992), Nina Takes a Lover (1994), and Suicide Kings
(1997). She also appeared in the Stephen King
TV miniseries The Stand
opposite Rob Lowe
, which landed them on the cover of the May 7 – 13 1994 issue of TV Guide
. She continued doing films, and as 1999 ended, she did the film Eat Your Heart Out. In 2001, San Giacomo landed the starring role in the Jenifer Estess
bio-pic Jenifer, which aired on CBS
in October of that year.
San Giacomo did voice work for the animated series Gargoyles
(as the character of Fox), but her agent insisted that she not be credited, believing it could damage her career if her name appeared on an animated series. Greg Weisman
, the show's producer, stated that "Laura was nothing but wonderful, working on the show. A real pleasure."
(1997–2003). Her character was partially based on an unproduced idea that executive producer Steven Levitan
once had in mind for actress Janeane Garofalo
when he was a writer for The Larry Sanders Show
. San Giacomo was originally cast in the starring role, since the series was meant to be centered around her character, but the show soon became an ensemble format. Despite the shift in focus, San Giacomo remained as an integral part of the show and with top billing. She and the four other main cast members appeared in all 148 episodes of Just Shoot Me!. Her move to television gave her a regular work schedule and allowed her to work close to her home, since the CBS Studio Center
- the site of her new television project's tapings - was near her San Fernando Valley
residence.
San Giacomo's work during Season 2 (1997–1998) earned her a Golden Globe nomination in 1998 for Best Actress in a Television Comedy or Musical; the award went to Ally McBeal's
Calista Flockhart
.
crime drama The Handler in 2003 and HBO's Unscripted
in 2005. She was the narrator for the true crime
series Snapped on Oxygen
. San Giacomo also appeared in the 2005 films Checking Out
and Havoc
, as well as the 2006 film Conquistadora. San Giacomo was to have made her return to television on The WB's
new drama Related in 2005, but the character was recast due to creative differences. Kiele Sanchez
took her place as "Anne Sorelli" on the show. San Giacomo also made few public appearances; she made her first public appearance in nearly a year on 19 October 2005 at the 15th Annual Environmental Media Awards. She made two more public appearances at the Crystal and Lucy Awards on 6 June 2006 and at the 3rd Annual Alfred Mann
Foundation Innovation and Inspiration Gala on 9 September 2006.
In 2006, San Giacomo returned to network television with three guest appearances on the third season of Veronica Mars
. She reunited with her former love interest from Just Shoot Me!, Enrico Colantoni
, playing Harmony Chase. Both Colantoni and San Giacomo enjoyed their reunion so much that they lobbied for their characters to appear together in further episodes.
In September 2006, San Giacomo secured her first starring role on a television program after Just Shoot Me!, when she reunited with a former peer and co-starred opposite fellow Carnegie-Mellon alum Holly Hunter
in TNT's
drama
series Saving Grace
. San Giacomo played Grace's best friend Rhetta Rodriguez.
In June 2010, San Giacomo guest starred in the episode titled "Death Becomes Her" on the USA network's
In Plain Sight
. She played a woman from an organized crime family with a terminal illness.
from 1990 to 1998, with whom she had a son, Mason, born in 1996. Her son has cerebral palsy
. In 2000, she married actor Matt Adler
.
San Giacomo is a cousin of Torry Castellano
, former drummer of the rock group The Donnas
.
She lives in the San Fernando Valley
in California
. Her hobbies include horseback riding, gymnastics, ice skating, ballet, tennis, golf and playing piano.
San Giacomo is a strong supporter of charitable causes, mostly disability
-related ones. She has appeared at the Environmental Media Awards
, the "Voices For Change" gala benefit and concert which benefits Children with Disabilities, and the "Friends Finding a Cure" gala benefiting Project ALS
. She is also a founder of the CHIME Charter Elementary School, an elementary school
in Woodland Hills, CA for children with special needs
. The school opened its doors in 2001. As a charter school, CHIME provides free public education
to students and admits them through a lottery system. The school serves approximately 200 children in kindergarten
through fifth grade who live in communities around California's San Fernando Valley
.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
actress known for playing the role of Maya Gallo on the 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...
sitcom Just Shoot Me!
Just Shoot Me!
Just Shoot Me! is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from March 4, 1997 to August 16, 2003, with 148 episodes produced. The show was created by Steven Levitan, the show's executive producer.-Description:...
and Kit De Luca in the film Pretty Woman
Pretty Woman
Pretty Woman is a 1990 romantic comedy film set in Los Angeles, California. Written by J.F. Lawton and directed by Garry Marshall, this motion picture features Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and also Hector Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy, and Jason Alexander in supporting roles. Roberts played the only...
, and Cynthia in sex, lies, and videotape
Sex, lies, and videotape
Sex, Lies, and Videotape is a 1989 independent film that brought director Steven Soderbergh to prominence. It tells the story of a man who films women discussing their sexuality, and his impact on the relationship of a troubled married couple....
as well as other work on television
Television
Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...
and in film
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
s. She most recently played the role of Holly Hunter's
Holly Hunter
Holly Hunter is an American actress. Hunter starred in The Piano for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She has also been nominated for Oscars for her roles in Broadcast News, The Firm, and Thirteen...
childhood best friend on the TNT crime drama series Saving Grace
Saving Grace (TV series)
Saving Grace is an American television crime drama series which premiered on TNT on July 23, 2007 and ran until June 21, 2010. The show stars Academy Award-winner Holly Hunter in her first television series, as well as Leon Rippy, Kenny Johnson, Laura San Giacomo, Bailey Chase, Bokeem Woodbine,...
.
Early life
San Giacomo, an Italian AmericanItalian American
An Italian American , is an American of Italian ancestry. The designation may also refer to someone possessing Italian and American dual citizenship...
, was born in West Orange, New Jersey
West Orange, New Jersey
West Orange is a township in central Essex County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 46,207...
, the daughter of MaryJo and John San Giacomo, a paper mill
Paper mill
A paper mill is a factory devoted to making paper from vegetable fibres such as wood pulp, old rags and other ingredients using a Fourdrinier machine or other type of paper machine.- History :...
owner. She grew up in Denville, New Jersey
Denville, New Jersey
Denville is a township in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the township population was 16,635. Denville is known as the "Hub of Morris County" for its location along major transportation routes at the center of the county...
. San Giacomo discovered acting while attending Morris Knolls High School
Morris Knolls High School
Morris Knolls High School is a four-year comprehensive public high school serving students in grades 9 to 12 in Morris County, New Jersey as part of the Morris Hills Regional High School District. The school is located in Denville but has a Rockaway mailing address...
. Laura got a Fine Arts degree, specializing in acting, at Carnegie Mellon School of Drama (Pittsburgh). After graduating in 1984, she moved to New York. San Giacomo then went on to appear in several theater productions. San Giacomo has appeared on the Los Angeles
Los Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
stage in the Garry Marshall
Garry Marshall
Garry Kent Marshall is an American actor, director, writer and producer. His notable credits include creating Happy Days and The Odd Couple and directing Nothing In Common, Pretty Woman, Runaway Bride, Valentine's Day, and The Princess Diaries.-Early life:Marshall was born in the New York City...
-Lowell Ganz
Lowell Ganz
Lowell Ganz is an American screenwriter, television writer, and television producer. He is the long-time writing partner of Babaloo Mandel.-Life and career:...
production of Wrong Turn at Lungfish, the Princeton/McCarter Theatre production of Three Sisters and Off-Broadway in Beirut. She has also starred in Italian American Reconciliation
Italian American Reconciliation
Italian American Reconciliation is a play by John Patrick Shanley. It was first performed at the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center in Waterford, Connecticut in 1986...
, regional productions of Shakespeare's The Tempest, As You Like It and Romeo And Juliet, as well as Crimes of The Heart.
Early career
San Giacomo's first television appearances were four episodes on three TV series during 1987. A first notable appearance was on Miami ViceMiami Vice
Miami Vice is an American television series produced by Michael Mann for NBC. The series starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas as two Metro-Dade Police Department detectives working undercover in Miami. It ran for five seasons on NBC from 1984–1989...
in 1989 for the episode, "Leap Of Faith" as Tania Lewis. This also featured a guest appearance by her future husband, actor Cameron Dye
Cameron Dye
Cameron Dye is an American actor. He played "Fred" in the movie Valley Girl.Dye was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Dye's family moved around the United States and in the mid-1970s he attended Sylvania High School in Sylvania, Ohio. Later, Dye moved to California and attended Mills High School in...
, one year before their marriage. Prior to that, she was featured on the daytime soap opera All My Children
All My Children
All My Children is an American television soap opera that aired on ABC from January 5, 1970 to September 23, 2011. Created by Agnes Nixon, All My Children is set in Pine Valley, Pennsylvania, a fictitious suburb of Philadelphia. The show features Susan Lucci as Erica Kane, one of daytime's most...
as Louisa Sanchez, the Latina common-law wife of Mitch Beck (Brian Fitzpatrick) whose presence threatened to thwart his relationship with Hillary Martin (Carmen Thomas).
However, San Giacomo first drew international attention in Steven Soderbergh
Steven Soderbergh
Steven Andrew Soderbergh is an American film producer, screenwriter, cinematographer, editor, and an Academy Award-winning film director. He is best known for directing commercial Hollywood films like Erin Brockovich, Traffic, and the remake of Ocean's Eleven, but he has also directed smaller less...
's Sex, Lies, and Videotape
Sex, lies, and videotape
Sex, Lies, and Videotape is a 1989 independent film that brought director Steven Soderbergh to prominence. It tells the story of a man who films women discussing their sexuality, and his impact on the relationship of a troubled married couple....
(1989), which also marked her film debut as a credited actor (in the 1988 movie Miles from Home her role as "Sandy" was not credited). Her work in S, L & V was nominated for a Golden Globe, and she received a Los Angeles Film Critics Association
Los Angeles Film Critics Association
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association was founded in 1975. Its main purpose is to present yearly awards to members of the film industry who have excelled in their fields. These awards are presented each January...
New Generation Award. The film was honored with the Cannes Film Festival
Cannes Film Festival
The Cannes International Film Festival , is an annual film festival held in Cannes, France, which previews new films of all genres including documentaries from around the world. Founded in 1946, it is among the world's most prestigious and publicized film festivals...
's prestigious Grand Prize, the Palme d'Or
Palme d'Or
The Palme d'Or is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival and is presented to the director of the best feature film of the official competition. It was introduced in 1955 by the organising committee. From 1939 to 1954, the highest prize was the Grand Prix du Festival International du...
.
San Giacomo cemented her reputation as a bankable actress from her role as Julia Roberts
Julia Roberts
Julia Fiona Roberts is an American actress. She became a Hollywood star after headlining the romantic comedy Pretty Woman , which grossed $464 million worldwide...
' character's wisecracking friend Kit De Luca in Pretty Woman
Pretty Woman
Pretty Woman is a 1990 romantic comedy film set in Los Angeles, California. Written by J.F. Lawton and directed by Garry Marshall, this motion picture features Richard Gere and Julia Roberts, and also Hector Elizondo, Ralph Bellamy, and Jason Alexander in supporting roles. Roberts played the only...
(1990). The blockbuster
Blockbuster (entertainment)
Blockbuster, as applied to film or theatre, denotes a very popular or successful production. The entertainment industry use was originally theatrical slang referring to a particularly successful play but is now used primarily by the film industry...
ended up generating $178 million at the box office
Box office
A box office is a place where tickets are sold to the public for admission to an event. Patrons may perform the transaction at a countertop, through an unblocked hole through a wall or window, or at a wicket....
. San Giacomo has appeared in such films as Miles from Home
Miles from Home
Miles From Home is a 1988 film starring Richard Gere. It is about two brothers who, after being forced off their farm in the debt stricken mid-west, become folk heroes when they begin robbing the banks that have been foreclosing on farmers. The movie was directed by Gary Sinise and written by Chris...
(1988), Quigley Down Under
Quigley Down Under
Quigley Down Under is a 1990 western film set in Australia's outback. Starring Tom Selleck, Alan Rickman and Laura San Giacomo, it was directed by Simon Wincer.-Plot:...
(1990), Vital Signs (1990), Under Suspicion
Under Suspicion
Under Suspicion may refer to:* Under Suspicion , an American television police drama* "Under Suspicion" , an episode of the American television series CSI: Miami...
(1991), Once Around
Once Around
Once Around is a 1991 romantic comedy-drama film about a young woman who falls for and eventually marries an overbearing older man who proceeds to rub her close-knit family the wrong way...
(1991), Where the Day Takes You
Where the Day Takes You
Where the Day Takes You is a 1992 film directed by Marc Rocco. The film tells the story of teenage runaways trying to survive on the streets of Los Angeles...
(1992), Nina Takes a Lover (1994), and Suicide Kings
Suicide Kings
Suicide Kings is a 1997 American neo-noir/comedy-drama film, starring Christopher Walken, Denis Leary, Sean Patrick Flanery, Johnny Galecki, Jay Mohr, Jeremy Sisto, and Henry Thomas...
(1997). She also appeared in the Stephen King
Stephen King
Stephen Edwin King is an American author of contemporary horror, suspense, science fiction and fantasy fiction. His books have sold more than 350 million copies and have been adapted into a number of feature films, television movies and comic books...
TV miniseries The Stand
The Stand (TV miniseries)
# Project Blue [1:33]# The Dream Begins [2:08]# On the Road to Kansas [3:57]# The Trashmen in Vegas [1:58]# Headin' West [1:56]# Larry & Nadine [2:38]# Mother Abigail [3:10]# 'Sorry Mister, I Don't Understand' [2:54]# Mid Country [3:22]...
opposite Rob Lowe
Rob Lowe
Robert Hepler "Rob" Lowe is an American actor. Lowe came to prominence after appearing in films such as The Outsiders, Oxford Blues, About Last Night..., St. Elmo's Fire, and Wayne's World. On television, Lowe is known for his role as Sam Seaborn on The West Wing and his role as Senator Robert...
, which landed them on the cover of the May 7 – 13 1994 issue of TV Guide
TV Guide
TV Guide is a weekly American magazine with listings of TV shows.In addition to TV listings, the publication features television-related news, celebrity interviews, gossip and film reviews and crossword puzzles...
. She continued doing films, and as 1999 ended, she did the film Eat Your Heart Out. In 2001, San Giacomo landed the starring role in the Jenifer Estess
Jenifer Estess
Jenifer Estess was a Moline, Illinois-born theatre producer. She began her career as an actor after graduating from New York University with a B.A. in drama. She was a co-founder of the Naked Angels theatre company in Manhattan; she was its producing director until 1993...
bio-pic Jenifer, which aired on CBS
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
in October of that year.
San Giacomo did voice work for the animated series Gargoyles
Gargoyles (TV series)
Gargoyles is an American animated series created by Greg Weisman. It was produced by Greg Weisman and Frank Paur and aired from October 24, 1994 to February 15, 1997. Gargoyles is known for its dark tone, complex story arcs and melodrama...
(as the character of Fox), but her agent insisted that she not be credited, believing it could damage her career if her name appeared on an animated series. Greg Weisman
Greg Weisman
Greg Weisman is an American comic book and animation writer and producer, best known as the creator of Gargoyles and as the Supervising Producer of The Spectacular Spider-Man. Weisman is currently a producer on the Young Justice animated series...
, the show's producer, stated that "Laura was nothing but wonderful, working on the show. A real pleasure."
Just Shoot Me!
Arguably, San Giacomo's best known role is Maya Gallo in the sitcom Just Shoot Me!Just Shoot Me!
Just Shoot Me! is an American television sitcom that aired for seven seasons on NBC from March 4, 1997 to August 16, 2003, with 148 episodes produced. The show was created by Steven Levitan, the show's executive producer.-Description:...
(1997–2003). Her character was partially based on an unproduced idea that executive producer Steven Levitan
Steven Levitan
Steven E. Levitan is an American director, screenwriter and producer of television comedies. He has created such TV series as Just Shoot Me!, Stark Raving Mad, Stacked, Back to You, and Modern Family....
once had in mind for actress Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Garofalo
Janeane Garofalo is an American stand-up comedian, actress, political activist and writer. She is the former co-host on the now defunct Air America Radio's The Majority Report. Garofalo continues to circulate regularly within New York City's local comedy and performance art scene.-Early...
when he was a writer for The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show
The Larry Sanders Show is a satirical television sitcom that aired from August 1992 to May 1998 on the HBO cable television network in the United States. It starred stand-up comedian Garry Shandling as vain, neurotic talk show host Larry Sanders, and centered on the running of his TV show, and the...
. San Giacomo was originally cast in the starring role, since the series was meant to be centered around her character, but the show soon became an ensemble format. Despite the shift in focus, San Giacomo remained as an integral part of the show and with top billing. She and the four other main cast members appeared in all 148 episodes of Just Shoot Me!. Her move to television gave her a regular work schedule and allowed her to work close to her home, since the CBS Studio Center
CBS Studio Center
CBS Studio Center is a television and film studio located in the Studio City district of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley. It is located at 4024 Radford Avenue and takes up a triangular piece of land, with the Los Angeles River bisecting the site...
- the site of her new television project's tapings - was near her San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
residence.
San Giacomo's work during Season 2 (1997–1998) earned her a Golden Globe nomination in 1998 for Best Actress in a Television Comedy or Musical; the award went to Ally McBeal's
Ally McBeal
Ally McBeal is an American legal comedy-drama series which aired on the Fox network from 1997 to 2002. The series was created by David E. Kelley, who also served as the executive producer, along with Bill D'Elia...
Calista Flockhart
Calista Flockhart
Calista Kay Flockhart is an American actress who is primarily recognized for her work in television. She is best known for playing the title character in the Fox comedy-drama series Ally McBeal for which she won a Golden Globe Award...
.
Post-Just Shoot Me! and appearances
After NBC cancelled Just Shoot Me! in 2003, San Giacomo appeared sporadically on television and in films. She made guest appearances on several television series, including the short-lived CBSCBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc. is a major US commercial broadcasting television network, which started as a radio network. The name is derived from the initials of the network's former name, Columbia Broadcasting System. The network is sometimes referred to as the "Eye Network" in reference to the shape of...
crime drama The Handler in 2003 and HBO's Unscripted
Unscripted
Unscripted is an American comedy-drama series that aired on HBO in early 2005. Its title referred to the fact that the series was largely improvised by its performers...
in 2005. She was the narrator for the true crime
True crime
True crime is a non-fiction literary and film genre in which the author examines an actual crime and details the actions of real people.The crimes most commonly include murder, but true crime works have also touched on other legal cases. Depending on the writer, true crime can adhere strictly to...
series Snapped on Oxygen
Oxygen (TV channel)
Oxygen is an American cable television specialty channel with television programming marketed towards women, with a format similar to Lifetime.- History :...
. San Giacomo also appeared in the 2005 films Checking Out
Checking Out (2005 film)
Checking Out is a 2005 feature film directed by Jeff Hare and written by Richard Marcus and Allen Swift.-Reviews:The film received generally average reviews upon its release. Based on 7 professional reviews, Checking Out gained a "rotten" seal on review aggregate Rotten Tomatoes, with an approval...
and Havoc
Havoc (film)
Havoc is a 2005 American film about the lives of wealthy Los Angeles, California teenagers whose exposure to hip hop culture inspires them to imitate the gangster lifestyle...
, as well as the 2006 film Conquistadora. San Giacomo was to have made her return to television on The WB's
The WB Television Network
The WB Television Network is a former television network in the United States that was launched on January 11, 1995 as a joint venture between Warner Bros. and Tribune Broadcasting. On January 24, 2006, CBS Corporation and Warner Bros...
new drama Related in 2005, but the character was recast due to creative differences. Kiele Sanchez
Kiele Sanchez
Kiele Michelle Sanchez is an American actress who stars in the A&E Network drama The Glades. Previously she starred as the second-eldest Sorelli sister, Anne, a therapist in her mid-twenties, in The WB's comedic ensemble drama, Related. She was cast as a co-star in the third season of the ABC...
took her place as "Anne Sorelli" on the show. San Giacomo also made few public appearances; she made her first public appearance in nearly a year on 19 October 2005 at the 15th Annual Environmental Media Awards. She made two more public appearances at the Crystal and Lucy Awards on 6 June 2006 and at the 3rd Annual Alfred Mann
Alfred Mann
Alfred Mann may mean:*Alfred E. Mann, , also known as Al Mann, an American entrepreneur and philanthropist*Alfred Mann...
Foundation Innovation and Inspiration Gala on 9 September 2006.
In 2006, San Giacomo returned to network television with three guest appearances on the third season of Veronica Mars
Veronica Mars
Veronica Mars is an American television series created by Rob Thomas. The series premiered on September 22, 2004, during television network UPN's final two years, and ended on May 22, 2007, after a season on UPN's successor, The CW Television Network. Veronica Mars was produced by Warner Bros...
. She reunited with her former love interest from Just Shoot Me!, Enrico Colantoni
Enrico Colantoni
Enrico Colantoni is a Canadian actor, probably best known for portraying Elliot DiMauro in the sitcom Just Shoot Me!, Keith Mars on the television series Veronica Mars, and Sergeant Greg Parker on the television series Flashpoint. He has also had supporting roles in such films as The Wrong Guy, ...
, playing Harmony Chase. Both Colantoni and San Giacomo enjoyed their reunion so much that they lobbied for their characters to appear together in further episodes.
In September 2006, San Giacomo secured her first starring role on a television program after Just Shoot Me!, when she reunited with a former peer and co-starred opposite fellow Carnegie-Mellon alum Holly Hunter
Holly Hunter
Holly Hunter is an American actress. Hunter starred in The Piano for which she won the Academy Award for Best Actress. She has also been nominated for Oscars for her roles in Broadcast News, The Firm, and Thirteen...
in TNT's
Turner Network Television
Turner Network Television is an American cable television channel created by media mogul Ted Turner and currently owned by the Turner Broadcasting System division of Time Warner...
drama
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
series Saving Grace
Saving Grace (TV series)
Saving Grace is an American television crime drama series which premiered on TNT on July 23, 2007 and ran until June 21, 2010. The show stars Academy Award-winner Holly Hunter in her first television series, as well as Leon Rippy, Kenny Johnson, Laura San Giacomo, Bailey Chase, Bokeem Woodbine,...
. San Giacomo played Grace's best friend Rhetta Rodriguez.
In June 2010, San Giacomo guest starred in the episode titled "Death Becomes Her" on the USA network's
USA Network
USA Network is an American cable television channel launched in 1971. Once a minor player in basic cable, the network has steadily gained popularity because of breakout hits like Monk, Psych, Burn Notice, Royal Pains, Covert Affairs, White Collar, Monday Night RAW, Suits, and reruns of the various...
In Plain Sight
In Plain Sight
In Plain Sight is an American dramatic television series on USA Network. The series revolves around Mary Shannon , a Deputy United States Marshal attached to the Albuquerque, New Mexico office of the Federal Witness Security Program , more commonly known as the Federal Witness Protection Program...
. She played a woman from an organized crime family with a terminal illness.
Personal life
San Giacomo has been married twice, first to actor Cameron DyeCameron Dye
Cameron Dye is an American actor. He played "Fred" in the movie Valley Girl.Dye was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Dye's family moved around the United States and in the mid-1970s he attended Sylvania High School in Sylvania, Ohio. Later, Dye moved to California and attended Mills High School in...
from 1990 to 1998, with whom she had a son, Mason, born in 1996. Her son has cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy
Cerebral palsy is an umbrella term encompassing a group of non-progressive, non-contagious motor conditions that cause physical disability in human development, chiefly in the various areas of body movement....
. In 2000, she married actor Matt Adler
Matt Adler
Matthew D. "Matt" Adler is an American film actor. He is best known for his work in the 1980s for his supporting roles in the teenage films: Teen Wolf, White Water Summer, North Shore, and Dream a Little Dream....
.
San Giacomo is a cousin of Torry Castellano
Torry Castellano
Torrance Heather Castellano is the former drummer of The Donnas, announcing her retirement in July 2010. She is the cousin of actress Laura San Giacomo....
, former drummer of the rock group The Donnas
The Donnas
The Donnas are an American all-female rock band from Palo Alto, California. They draw inspiration from The Ramones, The Runaways, AC/DC, Bachman–Turner Overdrive and Kiss. Rolling Stone has stated that "the Donnas offer a guileless take on adolescent alienation; they traffic in kicks, not...
.
She lives in the San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
in California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
. Her hobbies include horseback riding, gymnastics, ice skating, ballet, tennis, golf and playing piano.
San Giacomo is a strong supporter of charitable causes, mostly disability
Disability
A disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
-related ones. She has appeared at the Environmental Media Awards
Environmental Media Awards
The Environmental Media Awards have been awarded by the Environmental Media Association since 1991 to the best television episode or film with an environmental message....
, the "Voices For Change" gala benefit and concert which benefits Children with Disabilities, and the "Friends Finding a Cure" gala benefiting Project ALS
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis
Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis , also referred to as Lou Gehrig's disease, is a form of motor neuron disease caused by the degeneration of upper and lower neurons, located in the ventral horn of the spinal cord and the cortical neurons that provide their efferent input...
. She is also a founder of the CHIME Charter Elementary School, an elementary school
Elementary school
An elementary school or primary school is an institution where children receive the first stage of compulsory education known as elementary or primary education. Elementary school is the preferred term in some countries, particularly those in North America, where the terms grade school and grammar...
in Woodland Hills, CA for children with special needs
Special needs
In the USA, special needs is a term used in clinical diagnostic and functional development to describe individuals who require assistance for disabilities that may be medical, mental, or psychological. For instance, the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and the International...
. The school opened its doors in 2001. As a charter school, CHIME provides free public education
Public education
State schools, also known in the United States and Canada as public schools,In much of the Commonwealth, including Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, and the United Kingdom, the terms 'public education', 'public school' and 'independent school' are used for private schools, that is, schools...
to students and admits them through a lottery system. The school serves approximately 200 children in kindergarten
Kindergarten
A kindergarten is a preschool educational institution for children. The term was created by Friedrich Fröbel for the play and activity institute that he created in 1837 in Bad Blankenburg as a social experience for children for their transition from home to school...
through fifth grade who live in communities around California's San Fernando Valley
San Fernando Valley
The San Fernando Valley is an urbanized valley located in the Los Angeles metropolitan area of southern California, United States, defined by the dramatic mountains of the Transverse Ranges circling it...
.