Biography
A classically trained actress with her roots in the theater, buxom performer Debra Monk spent years specializing in portrayals of matronly types, including aunts, mothers, and policewomen, on-stage and onscreen. Monk made one of her first film appearances as Aunt Dorothy in
Norman Rene's fantasy comedy
Prelude to a Kiss (1993) opposite
Alec Baldwin and
Meg Ryan, then moved into a lengthy series of additional A-list Hollywood projects, including
Fearless (1993),
For Love or Money (1993),
Quiz Show (1994), and
Extreme Measures (1996). In the meantime, Monk also continued her stage work in such Manhattan-area productions as Death Defying Acts (1995) and Redwood Curtain (1997), for which she netted a substantial degree of acclaim. Monk found even greater success on the small screen, however, with two ongoing roles on popular series: that of Katie Sipowicz on Steven Bochco's
NYPD Blue and that of Louise O'Malley on
Grey's Anatomy. In 2008, Monk landed a supporting role opposite
John Malkovich and
Colin Hanks in the bittersweet show business drama
The Great Buck Howard (2008). ~ Nathan Southern, All Movie Guide