Debra Monk

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